Straw:
1. stalks of threshed grain, used as bedding and food for animals, for thatching, and for weaving or braiding, as into baskets.
2. something, such as a hat or basket, made of straw.
3. a slender tube used for sucking up a liquid.
4. something of minimal value or importance.
which is the best meaning for straw as it is used in the following sentence?

there were a couple of trunks indeed, such as a rational man might need, but in addition there were a box of books—big, fat books, of which some were just in an incomprehensible handwriting—and a dozen or more crates, boxes, and cases, containing objects packed in straw, as it seemed to hall, tugging with a casual curiosity at the straw—glass bottles.
a) definition 1
b) definition 2
c) definition 3
d) definition 4

21 balloons is the story of professor william sherman's travels.

in 1883, he set off from san francisco for a balloon ride over the pacific and was found a month later floating with 21 balloons in the atlantic ocean. this seemed an astounding feat and everyone wanted to know what had happened.    

professor sherman was loyal, however, and said he would tell his tale first to the western american explorers club in san francisco, of which he was a member. this built up suspense for several chapters before he began to tell of the wonders of his adventures and the amazing island of krakatoa, an island which had just been blown up by a volcano.  

the residents of krakatoa are all millionaires who live under a "gourmet government" of their own devising. we get to see all the incredible adventures that creative people with unlimited resources would create according to the author.