Etc.

Testimonials

August 22nd, 2007

"Everything turned out beautifully!!!!!!!!

There will be 3 weddings that I am involved in next year and you will be very highly recomended. We both loved every little detail. The red star balloons in the 'cloud' were a fantastic touch. Thank you very much for being part of our special day."

Melissa Denny

August 25th, 2007

"Thank you so much for your help - sure takes a lot off my shoulders. You have been wonderful to deal with and look forward to your excellent service."

Betty Scissons

A Bit About Helium

Ever wondered how many helium balloons it would take to lift yourself off the ground? If sanity has kept you from finding out, you'll enjoy Jeff Whitehead's video of a safely tethered helium flyer in the crucial experiment (humanbeingcurious.com/page17/page16/page16.html).

The results would have been more dramatic, however, if the pilot had cut her tethers to drift free, as "Lawn-Chair Larry" did in 1982 (go to markbarry.com or to darwinawards.com/darwin to read that remarkable story).

More recently, John Ninomiya, a licensed hot-air balloon pilot, has made about forty such flee-flying helium-powered flights (go to clusterballoon.org to find out more).

Given the rarity of helium on earth, using the noble gas for filling a party balloon seems just, well, frivolous. Therefore, though we will fill our balloons with helium when clients specifically request it we, at General Dollar & Party "Sense", always try to dissuade our clients from using helium-filled balloons, by suggesting other alternatives. The latter are just as attractive, and easier on both the environment and our clients' wallets.

Making up just 0.0005 percent of the atmosphere, helium is so diffuse it wasn't detected until 1868, and then only from a mysterious line in the solar spectrum. For that reason, Sir J. Norman Lockyer, a British astronomer, named it after Helios, the Greek sun god. Go to "Astronomy Picture of the Day" at antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960520.html to see our star glowing in the light emitted from hot, ionized helium.

Fun Facts

• Qualatex latex balloons are made from 100% natural latex — not plastic.
• Our latex balloons are biodegradable, and decompose as fast as an oak leaf in your backyard!
• Latex balloons come from rubber trees. Latex is collected by cutting the tree’s bark, then catching the latex in a cup.
• Latex harvesting doesn’t hurt the tree!
• Latex balloons are Earth-friendly!
• Rubber trees grow in rain forests.
• Latex harvesting discourages deforestation because latex-producing trees are left intact.
• A tree can produce latex for up to 40 years!
• If the sound of a balloon popping startles you, you’re not alone. A bursting balloon actually creates a small sonic boom! Once a hole is made in an inflated balloon, the quick release of the balloon’s energy, or air, causes the hole to grow at almost the speed of sound in rubber. Since this speed is much higher than the speed of sound in air, the hole in the balloon actually breaks the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.
• Balloons were invented in 1824, the same year as the electromagnet.
• Pioneer manufactures nearly one billion Qualatex latex balloons per year.
• Helium-filled balloons float because helium is lighter than nitrogen and oxygen, the two components of air.
• For more than 80 years, Qualatex balloons have celebrated big events worldwide — from American political conventions to Korean television specials.

More, On Balloons

• Learn more about balloons here