• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Home
We're In a Basement Podcast

We're In a Basement

  • Episodes
  •  
  • Golden Thighs and Fava Beans - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP75 – Golden Thighs and Fava Beans – Pythagoras of Samos

    Listen to 75 – Golden Thighs and Fava Beans – Pythagoras of Samos on Spotify
    Listen to 75 – Golden Thighs and Fava Beans – Pythagoras of Samos on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 75 – Golden Thighs and Fava Beans – Pythagoras of Samos on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 75 – Golden Thighs and Fava Beans – Pythagoras of Samos on Stitcher
    Listen to 75 – Golden Thighs and Fava Beans – Pythagoras of Samos on Overcast
    Let's Do Some Math
  • The 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri

    EP23 – Whale Bones & Racism – The 1904 Olympics

    Listen to the Episode
  • First Hot Air Balloon Flight

    EP17 – Noah’s Ark of the Sky – Ballooning

    Listen Now
  • Don't Put Cleveland on the Map - Balloonfest '86 - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP53 – Don’t Put Cleveland on the Map – Balloonfest ’86

    Listen Now
  • What Mighty Good Man - Grigori Rasputin - We're In a Basement Podcast EP78

    EP78 – Whatta Mighty Good Man – Grigori Rasputin

    Listen to 78 – Whatta Mighty Good Man – Grigori Rasputin on Spotify
    Listen to 78 – Whatta Mighty Good Man – Grigori Rasputin on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 78 – Whatta Mighty Good Man – Grigori Rasputin on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 78 – Whatta Mighty Good Man – Grigori Rasputin on Stitcher
    Listen to 78 – Whatta Mighty Good Man – Grigori Rasputin on Overcast
    Who TF Was Rasputin?
  • Albert Einstein - Intellectual Theft - We're In a Basement Podcast Episode 47

    EP47 – Intellectual Theft – Einstein’s Brain

    Listen Now
  • Jared Leto and His Weird Ass Cult

    EP7 – 30 Seconds to Bankruptcy – Jared Leto and Mars Island

    Listen to the Episode
  • Let's See Some Crime - Episode 50 - We're In a Basement Podcast - True Crime

    EP50 – Let’s See Some Crime

    Listen to the Episode
  • Episode 58 - School Sux Chess Roolz - Bobby Fischer - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP58 – School Sux, Chess Roolz – Bobby Fischer

    Listen to 58 – School Sux, Chess Roolz – Bobby Fischer on Spotify
    Listen to 58 – School Sux, Chess Roolz – Bobby Fischer on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 58 – School Sux, Chess Roolz – Bobby Fischer on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 58 – School Sux, Chess Roolz – Bobby Fischer on Stitcher
    Listen to 58 – School Sux, Chess Roolz – Bobby Fischer on Overcast
    Who TF is Bobby
  • Lamp Lady - Florence Nightingale - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP59 – Lamp Lady – Florence Nightingale

    Listen to 59 – Lamp Lady – Florence Nightingale on Spotify
    Listen to 59 – Lamp Lady – Florence Nightingale on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 59 – Lamp Lady – Florence Nightingale on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 59 – Lamp Lady – Florence Nightingale on Stitcher
    Listen to 59 – Lamp Lady – Florence Nightingale on Overcast
    Tell Me About Florence
  • Sugata Mitra - Hole in the Wall Project - EP82 We're In a Basement Podcast - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

    EP82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall

    Listen to 82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall on Spotify
    Listen to 82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall on Stitcher
    Listen to 82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall on Overcast
    Educate Me Please
  • Every Kiss Begins with It's Alright - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP24 – Every Kiss Begins with It’s Alright – Diamonds

    Listen Now
  • Animal Crap - We're in a Basement Podcast Ep 4

    EP4 – Cat ASMR, Penguins, and Corn – Animal Crap

    Tune In Now
  • Rube Waddell - Baseball Batman - EP83 - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell

    Listen to 83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell on Spotify
    Listen to 83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell on Stitcher
    Listen to 83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell on Overcast
    Tell Me About Rube
  • Maniacal Military Tales - The Jakeover - We're In a Basement Podcast Episode 80

    EP80 – The Jakeover – Maniacal Military Tales

    Listen to 80 – The Jakeover – Maniacal Military Tales on Spotify
    Listen to 80 – The Jakeover – Maniacal Military Tales on Apple Podcasts
    Listen to 80 – The Jakeover – Maniacal Military Tales on Google Podcasts
    Listen to 80 – The Jakeover – Maniacal Military Tales on Stitcher
    Listen to 80 – The Jakeover – Maniacal Military Tales on Overcast
    JOIN THE JAKEOVER
  • Beef. It's What's For Dinner - Alice Roosevelt - Episode 54 - We're In a Basement Podcast

    EP54 – Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner – Alice Roosevelt

    Tune In Now
  • Pope on a Rope - We're in a Basement Episode 43

    EP43 – Pope on a Rope – 3 Bad Popes

    Listen to the Episode
  • Episode 35 - Dinosaur Blood - Fossil Fuels

    EP35 – Dinosaur Blood – Fossil Fuels

    Tune In Now
  • Bertha Benz - We're In a Basement

    EP36 – Fred Flinstone’s Wife’s Car – Bertha Benz

    Listen to the Episode
  • Dancing Plague

    EP1 – People Be Wildin’ – Mass Hysteria

    Tune In Now

17 – Noah’s Ark of the Sky – Ballooning


November 23, 2021

About the Episode

When we think about the first humans flying, we usually associate it with airplanes. Well that’s wrong. Associate it with ballooning now.

This week, Colin tells the origin story of hot air ballooning while Sierra rewrites history, making it a little more drunk. Join us as we discuss how an entire child flew in a weather balloon, the difference between a Pilot and a Captain, and how science didn’t really exist in the 1700’s.

Listen to this episode on other favorite platforms:

Photos from the Episode

  • Montgolfier Brothers

    Montgolfier Brothers

  • First hot air balloon flight - 1783 in Versailles

    First hot air balloon flight - 1783 in Versailles

  • First manned flight of Montgolfier brothers' balloon

    First manned flight of Montgolfier brothers' balloon

  • Replica of Montgolfier brothers' balloon with modern equipment

    Replica of Montgolfier brothers' balloon with modern equipment

  • Pilatre de Rozier's death

    Pilatre de Rozier's death

  • Sir Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand - first to cross Atlantic in balloon

    Sir Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand - first to cross Atlantic in balloon

  • Hot Air Balloon Duel of 1808

    Hot Air Balloon Duel of 1808

  • Hot Air Balloon Duel of 1808 newspaper clipping

    Hot Air Balloon Duel of 1808 newspaper clipping

  • Homemade helium balloon in Balloon Boy Hoax of 2009

    Homemade helium balloon in Balloon Boy Hoax of 2009

  • National Guard searching for Falcon Heene

    National Guard searching for Falcon Heene

  • the Heene's balloon floating across Colorado

    the Heene's balloon floating across Colorado

  • Balloon Boy balloon after landing

    Balloon Boy balloon after landing

  • Richard and Mayumi Heene at courthouse in 2009

    Richard and Mayumi Heene at courthouse in 2009

  • Heene family in 2019, image by Dave Williams for 5280 Magazine

    Heene family in 2019, image by Dave Williams for 5280 Magazine

  • Photos from Colin's trip to Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2021

    Photos from Colin's trip to Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2021

  • More from AIBF 2021

    More from AIBF 2021

  • Another photo from Fiesta 2021

    Another photo from Fiesta 2021

  • Look at all those balloons!!

    Look at all those balloons!!

Videos from the Episode:

Wuh Happen!?

Uncut Video of Balloon Boy Launch

“We did this for the show”

Corrections:

  • The largest hot air balloon to date is not the balloon Per Lindstrand and Sir Richard Branson flew in in their first hot air balloon flight across The Atlantic in 1987. Though the envelope of this balloon was the largest hot air balloon envelope at the time with a volume of 2.29 million cubic feet, Per Lindstrand and Sir Richard Branson broke the record for the largest hot air balloon envelope with their 1991 flight across the Pacific Ocean in the Virgin Otsuka Pacific Flyer. Branson and Lindstrand were accompanied by millionaire Steve Fossett. The Virgin Otsuka Pacific Flyer still holds the record for the largest hot air balloon envelope ever flown, sized at 2.6 million cubic feet.
  • In this episode, we stated Richard Heene called news channels before reaching out to the Federal Aviation Administration. The order of Richard Heene’s phone calls, and whether or not he made a call to the Federal Aviation Administration at all is unsubstantiated. During the 2009 Balloon Boy Hoax, the Heene family stated they first called the Federal Aviation Administration, and then called Denver NBC and KUSA-TV. According to initial reports, the Larimer County Sheriff’s office stated “they had no confirmation that Richard Heene actually made the call to the FAA.”
  • A few key pieces of information were missing from our depiction of the Balloon Boy Hoax:
    • The Heene family stated the balloon was meant to be tethered.
    • Mayumi Heene’s handwritten notes on the incident illustrate a motive and a plan to carry out the hoax. The notes also indicate the family planned on Falcon hiding in a different location than above the garage.
    • In October 2019, Robert Sanchez with 5280 Magazine (Colorado local publication) interviewed the Heene family. After presenting Richard and Mayumi with her handwritten notes from 2009, Sanchez didn’t hear from the Heenes for two days. When they called him back, Richard and Mayumi seemed to act the same way in their balloon launch video from 2009, which “had been an elaborate ruse,” and Mayumi claimed she “made the whole story up.” Read the whole story here.

See corrections from all episodes here

Subjects Covered

Hot Air Ballooning • Montgolfier Brothers • Joseph Montgolfier • Jaques-Étienne Montgolfier • Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier • First Hot Air Balloon Flight • First Manned Flight • Story of the Duck, Sheep, and the Rooster • Champagne and Ballooning • 1808 Hot Air Balloon Duel • Monsieur de Grandpré • Monsieur de Pique • Mademoiselle Tirevit • Balloon Boy Hoax • Richard Heene • Mayumi Heene • Falcon Heene • Blow Jab • Heene Boyz • How Do Hot Air Balloons Work • Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta •

Sources

  • HuffPost - 10 Bizarre Moments in Ballooning History
  • Wickers World - Strange Stories About Hot Air Balloons
  • MentalFloss - Facts About Hot Air Balloons
  • USA Today - Balloon Boy Hoax 10 Years Later
  • Wikipedia - Montgolfier Brothers
  • Wikipedia - Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
  • Wikipedia - Aviation Anniversaries
  • Atlas Obscura - First Hot Air Balloon Passengers
  • Guiness World Records - 1987 - First People to Cross Atlantic in Hot Air Balloon
  • YouTube - How Do You Steer a Hot Air Balloon?
  • Philly History - First Balloon Flight in America
  • Canson - History of Canson Paper Company
  • Canson - More on Canson Heritage
  • British Newspaper Archive - First Duel in Hot Air Balloons
  • Smithsonian - Sophie Blanchard, Aeronaut
  • Hot Air Expeditions - Why is Champagne Served After a Flight?
  • Wikipedia - Balloon Boy Hoax
  • YouTube - Uncut Video of Balloon Boy Liftoff
  • Denver Channel - Ten Years Later: Truth Behind Balloon Boy Stunt
  • YouTube - Falcon Heene Admits "We did this for the show"
  • 5280 - Mayumi's Notes: Domestic Abuse and a Very Convoluted Story
  • ABC News - Balloon Boy 10 Years Later
  • Deadline - Balloon Boy Couple Pardoned
  • YouTube - 10 Years After Balloon Boy
  • Chateau Versailles - First Hot Air Balloon Flight
  • YouTube - First TransAtlantic Crossing in a Hot Air Balloon

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Our Most Recent Episodes:

  • 85 – All Aboard Sierra’s Wild West Express – Crash at Crush
  • 84 – Jesus Christ, Jr. – What’s Inside the Earth?
  • 83 – Baseball Batman – Rube Waddell
  • 82 – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit – Sugata Mitra’s Hole In the Wall
  • 81 – Bar Rescue (1890) – Carrie Nation

Copyright © 2023 We’re In a Basement Podcast · All Rights Reserved