Japan tried to bomb the United States mainland during World War II by strapping explosives to thousands of paper balloons and floating them across the Pacific Ocean via the jet stream.

A closer look

Japan tried to bomb the United States mainland during World War II by strapping explosives to thousands of paper balloons and floating them across the Pacific Ocean via the jet stream. These weapons, called Fu-Go, were literally crafted from mulberry paper and potato paste by schoolgirls before being launched with the hope that wind currents would carry them 5000 miles to start massive forest fires in America. Out of the 9000 launched, only about 300 actually made it to the US, mostly landing in desolate areas without causing any significant damage. The US government instituted a strict media blackout to prevent the Japanese from knowing if the balloons were working, which was a brilliant strategic move. However, this also meant that the few civilians who stumbled upon the unexploded ordnance had absolutely no idea they were looking at a bizarrely whimsical weapon of war