The hot-air balloon has existed for over 300 years. Long before polyester, gas burners, and sewing machines, balloons carried people into the air. The first verified flight of a human being in a balloon was in 1783. Also in 1783, the American Revolutionary War ended. (Not that the two are related, just to give you a time-frame reference. Although Benjamin Franklin claims to have been present for the ascension.)
Think about this: centuries ago someone hand-sewed hundreds of yards of silk into a rounded pouch, attached them to a hand-woven hemp basket, inserted a pan of white-hot coals on an open brazier to heat the air within the balloon, then climbed into the basket as the balloon went aloft.
Kinda makes all those extreme sports seem pretty tame.
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