people love to be the first to do something. Many people
tried to be the first to circle the world in a balloon. they failed. Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones did not. In 1999, they took their balloon, Orbiter 3, all the way around the world. Orbiter 3 took off from Switzerland on 1 March. it landed in Egypt
on 21 March. it had travelled 29 056 miles (69 490 km).
Bertrand and Brian got very cold and very tired on the trip. But now they are very happy, because they were the first to go around the world in a balloon, and their names will be in the history books.