We all fly by the seat of our pants now and then, but how about flying with no pants at all? That was the plight of Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries, who on January 7, 1785, made history over these chalk cliffs with the first aerial crossing of the English Channel. When their hydrogen-filled balloon dropped altitude due to overloading, the two tossed all the cargo they could into the drink below, britches included. Reaching France in their underpants, the undoubtedly chilly pilots still received a warm welcome.
Of balloons and lost pantaloons
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Bluespotted ribbontail ray
-
Giant kelp in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
-
Jackie Robinson Day
-
Taughannock Falls State Park
-
Legacy mural in Philadelphia
-
A legend and a legendary home
-
Happy Star Wars Day!
-
Nha Phu Bay, Nha Trang, Vietnam
-
Juniper Springs, Florida
-
Giving Tuesday
-
Cold? What cold?
-
In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
-
The circular castle of Cornwall
-
Going with the floe
-
American bison
-
Ambassadors of the airwaves
-
Porcupine
-
Jamaica celebrates its independence
-
World Penguin Day
-
The largest American bison around
-
Rethymno, Crete, Greece
-
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
-
Shark Awareness Day
-
International Womens Day
-
Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
-
Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France
-
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
-
On the rebirth of the Olympic Games
-
The globe skimmers return
-
A sizzling summit hides in the clouds