January 9, 2022 - National Static Electricity Day | National Balloon Ascension Day

Welcome to January 9th, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate shocking effects and reaching great heights. Did you ever rub your feet on the carpet and then zap someone? Then you already know the magic of static electricity! When the positive and negative charges of an atom are out of balance and have nowhere to go they build up and stay static in one place, until they are released. A spark of static electricity can measure thousands of volts, but has very little current and only lasts for a short period of time. Lightening is a powerful and dangerous example of static electricity and while it has the power to knock over trees it’s also relatively harmless. About 70 percent of people struck by lightning survive. On National Static Electricity Day celebrate this force of nature that’s useful in photocopiers and printers and also good for annoying your friends The first manned balloon flight in America took place on January 9, 1793. Jean Pierre Blanchard, ascended to a height of nearly 6,000 feet in a hydrogen filled balloon and then made a successful landing in New Jersey. Almost 200 years later, another aeronaut made a spectacular, but less famous flight in California. Larry Walters attached 42 weather balloons to an aluminum lawn chair, pumped them full of helium and sailed off into the air. Unfortunately, he had not planned his flight very carefully and soon found himself 16,000 feet above the ground. Walters stayed there for nearly 2 hours before he got cold and descended by popping balloons with a pellet gun. On National Balloon Ascension Day, celebrate by taking a balloon ride but please leave the piloting to the professionals. I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices