The popularity of balloons continued long after this study ends. They appeared in paintings and books, including Edgar Allen Poe's short story ‘The Balloon Hoax’ as well as in Jules Verne's novel Five Weeks in a Balloon. They remain a form of popular entertainment today. Tethered balloon rides are fairly common. Interested individuals, for example, can pay for an outing that takes off from the Parc André Citroën in Paris or at Navy Pier in Chicago. Calendars are available for purchase with balloon themes, some focusing on particular festivals. Of course, the festivals also draw crowds, many of whom come to watch the launches or wish to view the balloons during the inflation process. This is especially true for night-time events during which the interior of the balloon might be illuminated. At the same time, attempts to circum navigate the world in a balloon, undertaken by wealthy adventurers such as Steve Fossett and Richard Branson, occupied the headlines throughout the 1990s and into the twenty-first century. Fossett eventually succeeded in his quest when he travelled around the world in just over thirteen days from 19 June to 3 July 2002. Arguably, then, the continued popularity of aeronautics rests less on their enlightened qualities – such as their potential utility or role in demonstrating humanity's ability to conquer nature – or even because of their appropriation into social and economic life. Instead, balloons undergo something of a transformation during the nineteenth century due to their inability to meet the standards of enlightenment.