On This Date In History

On December 3, 1976, a giant 40 ft inflatable pig could be seen floating above London, England after breaking free from its moorings at the Battersea Power Station on the River Thames. The pig, nicknamed Algie, was being photographed for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover. The Civil Aviation Authority issued a warning to all pilots that a flying pig was on the run, the pig reaches a height of 18,000 feet before descending and the pig eventually crashed into a barn in Godmersham, Kent, where the farmer was incensed because of his cows being scared by the incident.
The first attempt to photograph the pig flying over the power station was the previous day. They had a marksman standing by in case they needed to shoot down the pig, but they couldn't inflate it in time to get the shot. They didn't re-hire the marksman for the next day, so there was nothing to stop the floating pig when it got loose.