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Sevevn. Distance records are all the more remarkable because, unlike airplanes, balloons are very hard to steer.
距離記錄是更加非凡的，因為不像飛機，熱氣球非常難以駕駛。
The wind at 100 feet might be going east, while the wind at 200 feet might be going west, says Becky Wigeland, curator of the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa.
愛荷華州印第安諾拉國家氣球博物館館長貝基·維格蘭說，在100英尺高的地方風向可能是東，而在200英尺高的地方風向可能是向西。
"So you just keep going up and down until you get the wind that you want. That's all you can do," she says.
她說，“你需要不停地上下移動，直到你得到你想要的風。這是你唯一能做的事情。
Eight. That doesn't stop balloon pilots from doing some crazy stunts. One of their favorite games is called Hare and Hound.
那不會阻止熱氣球運動員做一些瘋狂的表演。他們最喜歡的游戲之一叫做野兔與獵犬。
One balloon (the hare) launches first. Then all the other balloons (the hounds) chase the hare.
一個熱氣球（野兔）先出發。然后所有其他的熱氣球（獵犬）追趕野兔。
When the hare lands, the hounds try to land as close as they can to their prey.
野兔著陸時，獵犬會在離獵物盡可能近的地方著陸。
Nine. The most famous balloon hunt happened during the Civil War.
最著名的熱氣球捕獵發生于內戰期間。
An aeronaut named Thaddeus Lowe convinced President Abraham Lincoln of the merits of hot-air balloon reconnaissance over the First Battle of Bull Run.
在布爾朗戰役的第一次戰役中，一位名叫撒迪厄斯·洛的熱氣球駕駛員使亞伯拉罕·林肯總統相信了熱氣球偵察的優點。
Lowe went on to command the Union Balloon Corps, with mixed results.
洛繼續指揮聯邦熱氣球兵團，結果喜憂參半。
The Confederate Army's attempts to burst his balloons earned Lowe the title of "the most shot-at man in the war."
南部邦聯軍隊試圖擊破他的氣球，這為洛贏得了“戰爭中最厲害的人”的稱號。
Ten. It's no surprise Lowe survived; flying in a hot-air balloon is very safe.
洛能存活下來絲毫不令人驚訝，在熱氣球里飛行非常安全。
Since 1964, the National Transportation Safety Board has investigated 799 accidents involving balloons in the United States. Of those, 73 resulted in fatal injuries.
自從1964年以來，美國國家運輸安全委員會調查了799起與氣球有關的事故。其中73人受重傷。
Eleven. The greatest balloon faux pas actually took place in a movie.
最嚴重的氣球失誤實際上發生在一部電影里。
Remember when Dorothy piles into one at the end of The Wizard of Oz to fly home to Kansas?
還記得桃樂茜在《綠野仙蹤》最后一集中飛回堪薩斯州的情景嗎？
The writing on the envelope reads "State Fair Omaha"—which is in Nebraska.
信封上寫著“奧馬哈博覽會”——它位于內布拉斯加州。
To be fair, novelist Timothy Schaffert has pointed out that in L. Frank Baum's novel, the wizard came from Omaha.
公平地說，小說家蒂莫西·斯查福特已經在萊曼·弗蘭克·鮑姆的小說《來自奧馬哈的巫師》中指出了這一點。
Twelve. Balloons seem to inspire creative flights of fancy.
氣球似乎能激發想象力的創造性飛行。
For instance, a story in the April 13, 1844, edition of the New York Sun had an intriguing headline:
比如，1844年4月13日的一個故事，紐約太陽報的編輯寫了一個吸引人的標題：
"ASTOUNDING NEWS! THE ATLANTIC CROSSED IN THREE DAYS! SIGNAL TRIUMPH OF MR. MONCK MASON'S FLYING MACHINE!!!"
“令人震撼的新聞！三天之內橫渡大西洋！蒙克·梅森先生的飛行器取得重大勝利?。?！
The tale of the balloon that crossed an ocean before safely landing near Charleston, South Carolina, riveted readers.
氣球在南卡羅萊納州查爾斯頓附近安全著陸前飛越海洋的故事吸引了眾多讀者。
The problem: The story was fake news, written by an ambitious journalist. His name: Edgar Allan Poe.
問題是：這是個假新聞，其作者是一位雄心勃勃的記者。他的名字：埃德加·愛·倫坡。
Thirteen. The reactions that hot-air balloons engender have led to a fizzy tradition.
熱氣球引起的反應形成了一種活躍的傳統。
Back in 19th-century France, balloons would terrify the locals, so pilots packed champagne to appease people where they landed.
而在19世紀的法國，熱氣球會嚇壞當地人，所以飛行員會帶著香檳來取悅著陸地的人們。
Something similar happened one Sunday morning this past June, when balloonist Mark Stodolski unexpectedly landed in the backyard of a homeowner in Stow, Massachusetts.
在今年六月的一個周日早晨，一件相似的事情發生了，當時熱氣球駕駛員馬克·斯托爾斯基意外地降落在馬薩諸塞州斯托市一位房主的后院。
"Oh, do you mind?" Stodolski asked the surprised man, according to the Boston Globe.
據《波士頓環球報》報道，斯托爾斯問這位驚訝的人，“你介意嗎？”
"No, you're cool," he replied. Stodolski handed a bottle of champagne to the man, who then went back to bed.
他回復道，“不介意，你很棒?！彼雇袪査菇o了這個人一瓶香檳，然后他就回房睡覺了。
