Take a look at these gorgeous hot air balloons at the European Balloon Festival

Take a look at these gorgeous hot air balloons at the European Balloon Festival
(Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

We've come a long way from the first hot air balloon flight in 1783. That adventure featured a duck, a sheep and a rooster "piloting" a balloon constructed from paper and fabric.

Just a few months later, two men sailed into the air for the first "free flight." Scientist Jean-Francois Pilatre De Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes flew, untethered, over France for a 20-minute sail through the sky.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.