Did you know that balloons was originally invented for military communications, scientific experiments & transportation. Civil war balloons like the Intrepid we're used for reconnaissance or directing artillery fire on enemy position. The largest union balloons was the Intrepid and the Union each had the capacity of 32,000 cubic feet of lifting gas. The gas that was needed to fill these crafted was supplied by special hydrogen generating inflation wagons. Interesting how balloons was invented & used originally for war and over time used for all kinds of celebrations.