# Those big fan balloons

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 26, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365 "2008-06-26T22:54:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365/1 "2008-06-26T22:54:46Z")

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Is there a proper term for those tall, tube-like balloons that are attached to a high-powered fan on the ground, and are usually in the shape of a person? [Conan O’Brien](http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien/video/index.shtml#mea=268396) had one made in his image recently, dancing around willy-nilly at the entrance of Rockefeller Center.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365/2 "2008-06-26T23:06:14Z")

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[Air Dancer](http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=air%20dancer)

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**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365/3 "2008-06-27T00:09:30Z")

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Not to hijack, but those things give the willies, for some reason. Ban 'em, an 'em all, I say.

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**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365/4 "2008-06-27T00:16:27Z")

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[Wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube-man?](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1648585558811921167&q=wacky+waving&ei=LTFkSPStEp7GrQKQg8iLBg)

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365/5 "2008-06-27T00:55:02Z")

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[QUOTE=El\_Kabong]  
Not to hijack, but those things give the willies, for some reason. Ban 'em, an 'em all, I say.  
[/QUOTE]

There’s a used car place near me that often puts a couple of them out the front - right by the road -on the approach to a busy and fast-moving roundabout junction. They actually make contact with passing cars when they flop over in the direction of the road.

I guess the owners are trying to get people to smash up their existing cars so they’ll need new ones.

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**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-big-fan-balloons/454365/6 "2008-06-27T15:39:18Z")

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[QUOTE=bouv]  
[Wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube-man?](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1648585558811921167&q=wacky+waving&ei=LTFkSPStEp7GrQKQg8iLBg)  
[/QUOTE]

Or [Intergalactic Proton Powered Electrical Tentacled Advertising Droids](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrClDbvHWbo), depending on which galaxy one is in.