51 Astonishing And Fun Balloon Facts You Probably Didn't Know!

From decorations to entertainment, balloons are practically used in everything fun.

A cute little (sometimes also big!) bag infused with gas, balloons are, without a trace of doubt, the life of any party or event. The term 'balloon' originates from the Italian word 'pallone,' which translates to 'large ball.'

Originally made from paper bags, balloons these days are made from a variety of products, such as rubber, latex, nylon fabric, and even plastic. Modern-day balloons are used for a wide range of purposes in multiple sectors, such as meteorology, medicine, military, defense, and transportation.

If you are one of those fact-lovers, who cherish learning new things, these interesting balloon facts will definitely give you something exciting to talk about.

What are balloons made of?

Modern-day balloons are made from many different materials. It is the kind of materials used in the making of the balloon which determines the stretchiness and buoyancy of that particular balloon.

Unlike traditional balloons that use animal intestines, modern balloons are made from rubber and latex. Some are even made from polychloroprene or nylon fabric.

They are primarily sealed off at the end to ensure that the air is not escaping.

Balloons, when filled, also carry some amount of air or gas, including helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, and oxygen. These gases are responsible for making these gas balloons go up.

Depending on the type of gas used, some balloons, such as helium balloons, can stay up in the air for as long as a day.

Types Of Balloons

Some balloons are small. Some balloons are, instead, very big. From small balloons to large balloons, balloons come in a variety of shapes, colors, and forms.

But it is not only size and shapes that determine balloon types. Based on the materials used, balloons can be classified as latex balloons, rubber balloons, solar balloons, or paper balloons. Here we talk about some of the most common balloons used for various practical purposes.

Hot air balloons are practically a flying machine where the warm air is contained and sealed off within the envelope. The fuel and burner ensure the temperature of this gas balloon. Fuel and burner are fitted inside the bottom of the seating box.

Hot air balloons are designed using woven rattan and feature a floor, which is either made from plywood, aluminum, and fiberglass.

They are very colorful and are often used as fun rides during festivals and similar occasions. This is why they are important!

Hopper balloons or hoppers are one of the types of hot air balloons, which can seat only one person. They are significantly smaller than hot air balloons and can float for a maximum of one to two hours.

The first observation balloons were probably used in World War I and used hydrogen. However, manufacturers began to use helium balloons instead of hydrogen balloons after various fire incidences.

People also witnessed tethered balloons even during World War II. Usually used for military and defense purposes, they are tethered to someplace to make observations. Most of them are either blimps or hot air balloons.

The Russian space center also used helium balloons to drop scientific equipment.

Children love toy balloons because they are so cute and fun to play with. These balloons have a flexible bag, which is either filled with air or helium.

These party balloons are typically twisted to make animal shapes or designs of any kind.

While most popular at birthday parties, toy balloons are sometimes also used for balloon modeling, advertising, and promotion purposes.

Of late, water balloons have gained a lot of popularity all over the world. These plastic balloons are usually small balloons, which carry liquid, usually water, and are used to throw at each other.

They are made out of poor material, which makes them easily breakable. In India, children and adults usually play Holi, the color of the festival, using water balloons. They are also featured in some birthday parties and other fun events as well.

These balloons are used for planetary investigations and are usually made with the help of dark balloon material. The air inside such balloons is heated with solar radiation, with some balloons large enough to even carry humans.

Inventions Of Balloons

Invented in late 18th century France, balloons were first made using paper bags by two papermakers, Jacques and Joseph Montgolfier. Realizing that balloons induce a lot of excitement among adults and children alike, these two papermakers began experimenting with different materials, including paper, silk, and even cloth.

The first public demonstration of a light air balloon happened in 1783. This balloon was 420 in (1066.8 cm) long and made of cloth and paper.

Later that year, another balloon maker, Jacques Charles, flew a balloon infused with hydrogen, a gas lighter than air.

Michael Faraday designed the first rubber balloon in 1824, which he invented for use in lab experiments.

After seeing the potential of the balloon industry, Thomas Hancock, a pioneer rubber manufacturer, sold rubber air balloons in a DIY kit in 1835. The kit consisted of a bottle of bubble solution and a syringe to infuse gases.

Latex balloons joined the list of many different varieties of balloons. J.G Ingram manufactured these balloons for the first time in London in 1847.

Initially, latex balloons had limited manufacturing, but manufacturers started producing for the masses by the end of the '40s. They are also biodegradable.

Rubber balloons were not introduced to the United States until 1907, but their popularity increased multi-fold by the mid of the 20th century.

The first commercial sausage balloons were manufactured in 1912, and the trend of twisting balloons to give them shapes of animals or cartoons began in the late '30s or early '40s.

Silver metalized balloons came into existence in the '70s.

How is a balloon made?

Throughout history, balloon productions have been different and unique. Before balloon industries were a thing, different methods were used to make balloons.

In the pre-rubber era, air balloons were made from animal bladders and animal intestines. Most of these bladders came from sea animals.

The Aztecs are believed to be the inventor of the first-ever 'balloon animals' made out of cat bowels.

The English scientist, Michael Faraday, created the first rubber balloon and made balloons for lab experiments.

He made his balloons by cutting two round sheets of raw rubber and then laying the first sheet onto the top of the other while ensuring that the edges were pressed tightly. These sheets were filled with hydrogen gas.

Before the Tillotson Rubber Company created the first modern latex balloon in 1931, the process of making balloons was dangerous and challenging.

The traditional balloons were made using solvent-dissolved rubber, unlike the latex balloon, which is manufactured from the sap of a rubber tree.

Heveabrasiliensis, the most widely used natural latex used in balloon manufacturing, grows primarily in Malaysia. America imports this sap from Malaysia in large ocean tanker ships.

Certain specifications are to be met to make the tree sap suitable for manufacturing balloons, including adding curing agents, oil color, water, and accelerators.

The color of the modern-day balloons is achieved by adding similar pigment to the latex. So, basically, a red balloon looks red because red pigmentation is added to the latex.

Different colors also determine the strength of balloons, as some pigments are larger in size and may interfere with the film continuity.

Why do balloons float?

For those who might be wondering how do balloons float, here is what you need to know.

Balloons float because they are filled with gases, mainly hydrogen or helium. Helium and hydrogen are intrinsically supposed to stay afloat and away from the surface of the Earth.

Balloons filled with human breath do not float because our breath is a mixture of heavy gases instead of light gas, such as helium.

In addition, the kind of material used in the manufacturing of balloons will also decide whether your balloon will float or not if you are inflating the balloon yourself.

For example, latex and foil balloons filled with human breath will not float because the balloon will be heavier in weight than air, leading to negative buoyancy.

Did You Know...

Learning about balloons is so exciting that it is difficult to get a feeling that you know enough about them. Right? If you are feeling the same, here are some more random balloon facts to keep you entertained. You'll love them, whether you love small balloons, solar balloons, or the infamous hot air balloon.

John Cassidy holds the world record for creating the fastest one balloon dog sculpture. He took 6.5 seconds to complete this task at the NY Balloon Saloon Store in 2006.

Xiamen Jimei City Development Cooperative Limited and American Management Institute (both located in China) own the largest balloon zoo, consisting of 469,845 balloons. This was achieved on October 13, 2017.

The longest balloon chain was achieved by Future Generali India Life Insurance Cooperative Limited and Big Bazaar in collaboration with G2rams India Private Limited (Pan India) in Mumbai, India, in 2011.

This chain was about 788346.46 in (approx. 2002400 cm) long and contained over 198 thousand balloons.

Balloons have also been used to symbolize various causes; for example, White Balloon Day is celebrated annually to raise awareness about crimes against children and encourage survivors.

The first planet that hosted the balloons was Venus. It was done in 1985.

Before humans started flying in a balloon, a duck and a rooster were the first ones to ever fly in a balloon.

In 2012, Felix Baumgartner set the record for a human-crewed balloon flight to fly at an altitude of 12.45 mi (20.05 km).

The first disaster ever done by a human-crewed balloon aircraft happened in 1785 when a hot air balloon crashed and burned down more than 100 houses in Tullamore, Ireland.

Did you know that the first gas balloon was destroyed because villagers were too terrified? Well, when the first gas balloon ran out of gas and finally landed in a village, locals were really terrified.

Not knowing what this thing was, these villagers destroyed the poor gas balloon.