Here is some interesting history from WWII, about the Japanese balloon bomb attacks against America in 1944.
One of the best kept secrets of WWII involved the Japanese balloon bomb offensive, prompted by the Doolittle raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942 as a means of direct reprisal against the U.S. mainland. Some 9,000 balloons made of paper or rubberized silk and carrying anti-personnel and incendiary bombs were launched from Japan during a five-month period, to be carried by high altitude winds more than 6,000 miles eastward across the Pacific to North America. Perhaps a thousand of these reached this continent, but there were only about 285 reported incidents. Most were reported in the northwest U.S., Canada and as far north as Alaska. Some balloons traveled as far east as Michigan.
On May 5, 1945, The U.S. government quickly publicized the balloon bombs, warning people not to tamper with them. Six people, five youths and one adult, were killed in Oregon when a balloon bomb they were dragging from the woods exploded. These were the only known fatalities occurring within the U.S. during WWII as a direct result of enemy action. Actual damage caused by the balloon bombs was minor. However, the incendiaries which they carried did pose a serious threat to the forests of the northwestern U.S. during the dry months.
These balloons also offered a vehicle for germ warfare had the Japanese decided to use this weapon. The balloon attack began after U.S. air defense facilities had been deactivated. To counter this threat, AAF and Navy fighters flew intercept missions to shoot down balloons when sighted and AAF aircraft and Army personnel were stationed at critical points to combat any forest fires which might occur. Also, supplies of decontamination chemicals and sprays to counter any possible use of germ warfare were quietly distributed in the western states. Before detailed AAF defensive plans had been put into effect, the attacks ceased. Japanese bomb-carrying balloons were 32 feet in diameter and when fully inflated, held about 19,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. Launch sites were located on the east coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu.
The first operational launches took place on Nov. 3, 1944 and two days later a U.S. Navy patrol boat spotted a balloon floating on the water 66 miles southwest of San Pedro, California.
As more sightings occurred, the government, with the cooperation of the news media, adopted a policy of silence to reduce the chance of panic among U.S. residents and to deny the Japanese any information on the success of the launches. Discouraged by the apparent failure of their effort, the Japanese halted their balloon attacks in April 1945.One interesting side note to these attacks was that one of the balloons came down on a power line near Cold Creek, Washington, coincidentally shutting down the nuclear power plant there that was being used to make plutonium for Fat Man, the Atomic Bomb later dropped on Nagasaki.
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I added the emphasis to the one paragraph to contrast the news media of the 1940's to the news media of today.
had "whizzed" right on up into the mid 40's. 
In Your Dreams Asshole