In 1777, Joseph Montgolfier noticed that smoke had the power to lift things up and carry them through the air. Along with his brother Jacques, he began performing experiments on something that later became the first hot-air balloon.The Montgolfier brothers quickly realised that it was heat that had the power to lift things. On 19th September 1783, they presented their first hot-air balloon, which was made from paper and cloth.The Montgolfier brothers were too nervous to go up in the balloon themselves, so instead they put a sheep, a duck and a chicken in the basket that hung below the balloon.The new invention was a great success and the animals landed safe and sound, and the first flight consisting of human passengers took place in Paris on 21st November 1783 starting a long tradition of hot-air ballooning.