About Montie

The Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Jacques, invented the hot air balloon that would one day be used for the first piloted flight in history.

There was no knowledge on the physical effects of flying at the time, so the brothers were a little apprehensive about hopping in the basket themselves.

Before a manned flight was attempted, Montauciel the sheep, whose name means "climb-to-the-sky" was used as a guinea pig for the balloon's maiden voyage.

Accompanied by a duck and a rooster as controls for the experiment, Montauciel flew for roughly eight minutes over Paris, traveling a distance of two miles and reaching an altitude of 1,500 feet.

All three animals landed safely, albeit slightly confused.