Google celebrates first successful parachute jump

Google's latest search page doodle is celebrating the first person in history known to have made a jump with a parachute. Frenchman Andrew Garnerin jumped from a hot air balloon that had carried him to 3,000 feet on Oct. 22, 1797, his primitive parachute bringing him to a safe lancing in Park Monceau in Paris. The parachute used by the 28-year-old -- a 30-foot wide canopy of silk -- looked more like an umbrella than a modern parachute. Following his successful jump, he was given the title Official Aeronaut of France. Garnerin made parachute jumps a family affair. In 1799 his wife Jeanne-Genevieve became the first woman to jump using a parachute. The Google doodle celebrating Garnerin's accomplishment is interactive, allowing users to control the direction of a cartoon figure's descent with a mouse or keyboard arrow keys to bring him to a safe landing.