Getting High in Minnesota

Today is balloon day in Minnesota! Or at least it should be.

That's because two ballooning milestones happened on this day in history, both in our fair state (though not at the state fair).

August 19, 1863: Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was on a tour of the USA (before he became our enemy in The Great War). He visited St. Paul and was treated to a balloon ride over the city. He reportedly told the balloonist, "You should put a propeller on this thing."

August 19, 1957: The US Air Force launched an ultra-high-level balloon called Man-High II in Crosby (near Hibbing on the Iron Range). Pilot David Simons soared to 101,516 feet (almost twenty-one miles) before setting down in Elm Lake, South Dakota. The flight lasted thirty-two hours and ten minutes. This was one in a series of high-altitude balloon flights designed to explore the feasibility of sending people into space. The balloon was manufactured by General Mills, so presumably the pilot got to eat Cheerios or Frosted Flakes.

I do not know if Elm Lake, SD, was the planned destination or whether the balloon simply went wherever the winds took it. 

This song by Willy Deville is kind of related (inasmuch as it's about borders and fate, more or less). Enjoy!