What can I do with a 4 foot balloon?

[Mangetout]

I came across some balloons in a cheapie shop the other day that claim to inflate to 4 feet in diameter (and judging from the deflated size, this seems not an unreasonable claim). I bought one, because… well… they’re 4 FOOT BALLOONS!

OK, so now what?

I work with a couple of children’s groups (ages 8 to 10) so I thought:

-some sort of passing game, but there are a couple of lively characters who are bound to burst it really early on.

-Cover it with strips of glue-soaked newpaper and make a 4 foot papier mache sphere, but… then what? Paint is as a model of the Earth, but it’ll be too big to go through a door.

-Inflate it with HeliHi, attach a plastic bottle with a message in it and let it go - see if we can get a response from somewhere far away.

So what can I do with a 4 foot balloon, or more than one of them?

[29car]

@Mangetout

So what can I do with a 4 foot balloon

Shave its’ belly with a rusty razor?

[CalMeacham]

Blow i up and take it to a science fiction convention as a celebrity.

Tell people it’s “Rover” from The Prisoner.

(They actually did this at a really low-budget SF convention I attended.)

[Full_Metal_Lotus]

I think you are asking the wrong people. Break the kids up onto smaller groups, and have them come up with ideas. After a short period of time, they can vote on any idea but their own. A lesson in brain storming and democracy, with a fun out come. If the balloons are really cheap, and /or the group of kids is small enough to manage, give each one a balloon as a reward for taking part…

regards
FML

[Dewey_Finn]

@Mangetout

-some sort of passing game, but there are a couple of lively characters who are bound to burst it really early on.

Buy a couple dozen more of these balloons, inflate with helium and see if you can float one of these children away.

[2gigch1]

Spherical volume = (pi*d^3)/6
= (3.1428 * 4^3)/6
= (3.1428 * 64)/6
= (201.1392)/6
= 33.5232 cubic feet * 28.316846592 Litres / cubic foot * 1 kilogram / litre * 2.2 lbs/ kilogram

= 2,088.39688568046 Lb WATER BALLOON!!!

[toadbriar]

@Mangetout

-Cover it with strips of glue-soaked newpaper and make a 4 foot papier mache sphere, but… then what?

Cover it with colorful strips of frilled tissue paper, fill it with toys and candy, hang it up, and then bash it to pieces.

You really need to ask??

[Squink]

The Lawn Chair Man
or, if you want to try something less crazy:
Balloon v1.0

This is the story of how I designed, built, launched, and recovered a high-altitude weather balloon. Actually, the term “weather balloon” might be a bit of a misnomer, because aside from the physical latex balloon, and the payload’s ability to measure temperature, this project bears little resemblance to a traditional weather balloon. The design and engineering process encompassed more disciplines than anything I’d ever undertaken before – system engineering, software design, hardware design, basic electrical concepts, radio and RF engineering, and even some plumbing.

[Mangetout]

@Full Metal Lotus

I think you are asking the wrong people. Break the kids up onto smaller groups, and have them come up with ideas. After a short period of time, they can vote on any idea but their own. A lesson in brain storming and democracy, with a fun out come. If the balloons are really cheap, and /or the group of kids is small enough to manage, give each one a balloon as a reward for taking part…

regards
FML

An outstanding suggestion, thanks.

[Mangetout]

@2gigch1

Spherical volume = (pi*d^3)/6
= (3.1428 * 4^3)/6
= (3.1428 * 64)/6
= (201.1392)/6
= 33.5232 cubic feet * 28.316846592 Litres / cubic foot * 1 kilogram / litre * 2.2 lbs/ kilogram

= 2,088.39688568046 Lb WATER BALLOON!!!

Not very likely to remain spherical (or indeed, intact) though, at least not here on Earth.

[Tomcat]

Launch things with it!

Hold it near the knot in one hand. With the other hand push an spherical object (marble, gum-ball, tennis ball, golf ball…ice cube? etc) from the other side and grab it from inside with the first hand. It should now look like a large donut on the top side, or the some depiction of a blackhole in a science book. Aim. Let go. I bet a large balloon will send a marble quite a long way.

-Tcat

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

Is there anybody you want to drop a giant ball of oil on?

They’ll be slippier than an eel!!

[Slypork]

Sorry. When I saw the title “What can I do with a 4 foot balloon?” I immediately thought of this. The woman of my dreams.

[gigi]

@2gigch1

Spherical volume = (pi*d^3)/6
= (3.1428 * 4^3)/6
= (3.1428 * 64)/6
= (201.1392)/6
= 33.5232 cubic feet * 28.316846592 Litres / cubic foot * 1 kilogram / litre * 2.2 lbs/ kilogram

= 2,088.39688568046 Lb WATER BALLOON!!!

I believe you, but boy that sounds odd. A four-foot diameter sphere weighs a ton? Wow.

[UncleRojelio]

This

[AskNott]

Scatter a few on your front lawn, so your neighbors will think elephants had an orgy there last night.

[Annie-Xmas]

Can’t go wrong with the classics

[Squink]

**Test Your Defenses **

Balloons to float above Pentagon to test defences

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