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3 unusual facts about Sophie Blanchard


Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom

Napoleon also seriously considered using a fleet of troop-carrying balloons as part of his proposed invasion force and appointed Marie Madeline Sophie Blanchard as an air service chief, though she said the proposed aerial invasion would fail because of the winds.

Sophie Blanchard

Charles Dickens commented "The jug goes often to the well, but is pretty sure to get cracked at last".

In Frankfurt she was apparently the cause of the poor reception of Carl Maria von Weber's opera Silvana on its opening night, 16 September 1810: the people of the city flocked to see her demonstration while only a few attended the opera's debut.



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