# Balloon Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 19, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047 "2003-02-19T02:57:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kelsonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kelsonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelsonk)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/1 "2003-02-19T02:57:58Z")

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This stupid question has been on my mind for a week, and it’s stupid, BUT IM GONNA ASK IT ANYWAY!

How many average-sized, helium balloons would it take to lift a 160 pound person?

I guess that’s it. Then I thought about it being cool to float way up and then let go and parachute down, but that’s a different story.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/2 "2003-02-19T03:02:31Z")

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I don’t know the answer, but there was a guy back in the '80s who used 42 weather ballons attached to a lawn chair to go aloft over L.A. (He was fined. A couple of years later he went up to the local mountains and shot himself.)

I recently saw something about this. Apparently it’s becoming a popular sport for some people. (The parachute thing has been done, BTW.)

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/3 "2003-02-19T03:21:49Z")

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Take a math break and figure it out [here.](http://newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy99/phy99471.htm)

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/4 "2003-02-19T03:26:29Z")

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A helium party balloon has a buoyancy of only a few grams. It would take tens of thousands of them to lift a person.

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/5 "2003-02-19T03:45:50Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Kelsonk \*  
> **How many average-sized, helium balloons would it take to lift a 160 pound person?**

Approximately 6000.

Very approximately, since I had to guess at balloon weight, string weight, average size, etc.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/6 "2003-02-19T04:31:02Z")

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From [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160065), consider [lawn chair Larry’s](http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid1997-11.html) honorable mention at the 1982 Darwin Awards.

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balloon-question/156047/7 "2003-02-19T05:45:54Z")

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[http://www.clusterballoon.org](http://www.clusterballoon.org)