Balloon mail

Balloon mail

Balloon mail refers to the transport of mail (usually for weight reasons in the form of a postcard) carrying the name of the sender by means of an unguided hydrogen or helium filled balloon. Since the balloon is not controllable, the delivery of a balloon mail is left to good fortune; often the balloon and postcard are lost. A found balloon should be returned to the sender (by conventional post) with an indication of the discovery site, so that the sender can determine how far their balloon flew. Frequently balloon mail is sent as part of a balloon competition.

Besides racing, balloon mail has been used for spreading information and propaganda materials, in particular for spreading propaganda to the population in countries with dictatorial governments. A balloon can be released from outside the sphere of influence of these governments and, wind permitting, can travel several hundred kilometers.

During the siege of Paris from 23 September 1870 to 22 January 1871, 65 unguided mail balloons were released in besieged Paris to communicate with the world beyond the besieging forces, of which only two went missing. The special balloon postcards were 10 x 7 cm, and were manufactured of thin green paper, subject to a maximum weight of 4 g. The postcards carried an address, and it was hoped that the finder of a balloon would forward the mail by conventional means. Twenty cents were charged for postage (more if the destination lay outside France).


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • balloon mail — noun mail (usually for weight reasons in the form of a postcard) carrying the name of the sender by means of an unguided hydrogen or helium filled balloon …   Wiktionary

  • Balloon — A balloon is a flexible bag filled with a type of gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide or air. Early balloons were made of dried animal bladders. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene or a nylon …   Wikipedia

  • Mail plane — This article is about mail carrying aircraft. For the Mac OS X e mail client, see Mailplane (software). De Havilland twin engine airmail plane in snow storm, 1920 …   Wikipedia

  • Mail carrier — Postman redirects here. For other uses, see Postman (disambiguation). A Melbourne postie riding a motorbike …   Wikipedia

  • balloon — (informal) A huge sack or pouch of mail …   Glossary of postal terms

  • balloon rate — A rate charged for Priority Mail and Parcel Post items that weigh less than 15 pounds and measure more than 84 inches but no more than 108 inches in combined length and girth …   Glossary of postal terms

  • balloon flight — ▪ aviation Introduction  passage through the air of a balloon that contains a buoyant gas, such as helium or heated air, for which reason it is also known as lighter than air free flight. Unmanned balloons have been used to carry meteorological… …   Universalium

  • Balloon boy hoax — The balloon boy hoax occurred on October 15, 2009 in Fort Collins, Colorado, when Richard and Mayumi Heene allowed a gas balloon filled with helium to float away into the atmosphere, and then claimed that their six year old son Falcon was inside… …   Wikipedia

  • Mail — For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). For electronic mail, see Email This article is about Postal services. For other uses, see Postal service (disambiguation). A collection of British pillar boxes at the Inkpen Post Box Museum, near Taunton …   Wikipedia

  • List of balloon uses — This is a list of uses of balloons*tiny **balloon catheter *small (volume of a few litres) **toy balloon **Water bomb ** Papier mâché **balloon animal **decoration **solar balloon **balloon mail as part of a balloon flight competition or to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”