Too poor to afford heating oil, villagers in Shandong, China, go to nearby oil extraction facility and bring home some natural gas inside a giant balloon:
On the morning of the 20th, when reporters first arrived, the oil extraction machinery was operating normally, a gas canister and large gas furnace were beside the machine with no people standing guard. At 10 am, a middle aged woman brought a large plastic bag to the machine. The woman skillfully opened the valve to the gas and connected it to the bag she was carrying, the plastic bag quickly rose and grew to be a 6 meter long, 1 meter wide balloon. After about 4 minutes the bag was full.
The Chinese have been drilling for
and using natural gas for at least a
thousand years. Bamboo piping to heat
homes and evaporate seawater for salt.
They even had a gas lantern for travelers.
Truly Neat Stuff