Balloons! They’re fun, delightfully whimsical environmental disasters. And in 1986, a mass balloon release in Cleveland went really, really wrong, when 1.5 million helium-filled floaters were let loose into the sky, got caught in a storm, drifted down to earth, and caused a hell of a lot of problems.
One of Google’s Project Loon balloons has completed a journey around the globe in just 22 days. That exceeds the expectations of the Mountain View engineers—they thought it would take 33 days—and puts Phileas Fogg to shame. [Google]
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What happens when you take a giant balloon and inflate it inside a small space? These photos show just that—and the surreal dreamworlds that result, looking like a mix between the inside of a person’s body and a ghostly construction site.
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Is there any other way to improve the balloon as we know it? You know, those staples that are at any decent social event like a birthday party or a celebratory experience. Most of these balloons are filled with helium, where cutting off their string would send these balloons up to the sky before they finally pop. Alternatively, balloons are great to be used in a water fight, although cleaning up after that could prove to be rather messy. Here is an interesting take on what the humble balloon could be – in the form of the £9.99 Illoom Balloons.
The Illoom Balloons will be able to add more than just a dash of color to any party with their glowing ability, where it will arrive in a range of bright shades. The balloons themselves are capable of maintaining their glow for up to 15 hours, and they are extremely easy to activate – all that you need to do would be to pull the tab, and you’re good to go. All of the Illoom Balloons would contain a minute LED each, where all you need to do is to pull the tab, and the light is activated. Follow that act up by blowing the balloon, or to fill it up with helium. Simply brilliant!
[ Illoom Balloons light up the air copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
If you’re ranking fun things to put in a balloon, helium probably tops the list, followed probably by water and then plain old human huffin’ and puffin’. But a fascinating thing happens when dry rice is poured into a balloon and all the air is sucked out: welcome to your new favorite filler.
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Space tourism sounds exciting and unforgettable and all, but with a single trip costing as much as a small house, it’s simply out of reach for the average person. A company called Paragon Space Development Corp is hoping to change that with a new, more affordable ticket to space. It’ll cost as much as a slightly smaller house.
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When Google first announced Project Loon, its plan to cover the world in a blanket of Wi-Fi using internet balloons
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Well, that was quick. Balloon-loving daredevil Jonathan Trappe was supposed to float all the way to Europe under 370 helium-filled balloons in three to six days, but he gave up after only 12 hours citing technical difficulties. He hadn’t even made it out of North America.
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Jonathan Trappe loves balloons. In fact, the 39-year-old IT manager loves them so much that he’s trusting them with his life as he attempts to become the first person to cross the Atlantic using only a life raft and 370 helium-filled balloons. If that sounds crazy, that’s because it is.
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Google’s Project Loon
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