Balloonomania their ballooning stunts, with Blanchard and his companion Dr. John Jeffries being the first to cross the English channel in a balloon on January 7, 1785. The public reaction among intellectuals and academics was generally cooler, with some critics of balloonomania including the likes of Sir Joseph Banks and Samuel Johnson, who wrote in a 1783 letter to Hester Thrale, who had inquired about the nature of hot air balloons, “Happy are you, Madam, that have ease and leisure to want intelligence of air balloons. Their existence is, I believe, indubitable, but I know not that they can possibly be
Hot Air Balloon (rock opera) his balloon down on the shore. Leora climbs in with him. They take off together, never to be seen by anyone again, flying off into the sunrise. Hot Air Balloon (rock opera) Hot Air Balloon is a rock opera written in 1998 by Jon Gutwillig, guitarist and founding member of The Disco Biscuits, a Philadelphia based trance fusion jam band. Hot Air Balloon was first performed on December 31, 1998 at the Silk City Lounge in Philadelphia. The debut was unannounced and fans attending the show were given a pamphlet containing accompanying stories for each of the songs. The opera