The Life Cycle of a Little Red Balloon Quiz

Answer: A thin layer of bark is carefully shaved from a rubber tree and a small cup left underneath the cut to collect the milky white fluid that exudes from the unharmed tree.

Neil Tillotson, a chemical engineer, is credited with having invented latex balloons in 1931. Frustrated while trying create latex tire tubes, Tillotson turned to the production of "cat" balloons utilizing a hand carved mold. Latex rich fluid is harvested from Hevea brasilliensis (Brazilian rubber trees) without damaging the trees.

The fluid is not, strictly speaking, "sap" since it occurs in the superficial outer layers of the tree rather than in the cambium, where tree growth takes place. The trees will generally produce latex for 40 or more years. Latex is produced principally on plantations in South East Asia, Thailand being the biggest exporter as of 1995. Latex workers are often illiterate and poorly paid.

Answer: Mercuric oxide

Mercuric oxide is rated as an "extreme poison" and is not used in the manufacture of balloons. The other substances listed are used as coagulants in balloon making. Naturally occurring latex is a polymer of isoprene, a hydrocarbon with five carbons and two double bonds. To ready it for commercial use, latex is first softened and homogenized often in a "Gordon Plasticator". Additional water and a small amount of ammonia are then mixed in. Pigments can also be added.

After being coated with a coagulant, the molds are dipped into latex. Before removal, the adherent latex is dried, washed (to remove coagulants) and heat cured.

The process is extremely efficient. Pioneer Balloon Company, just one of the larger balloon makers, produces nearly a billion balloons yearly.

Answer: No

An 11 inch, untreated helium balloon can be expected to remain lighter than air for only 12-16 hours. This is because helium molecules are small enough to escape through the molecular "holes" in the latex. Products such as "Hi-Float" can be placed in the balloon as it is inflated and are advertised to greatly prolong the "float-life".

The water-soluble plastic in "Hi-Float" closes the spaces between the latex molecules.

Answer: None of these

Free-floating latex balloons seem to pose no ecological hazards. It is true that ozone is involved in the decomposition of balloons. Millions of balloons are released yearly. Some are accidental; and in those cases, the balloons typically have a string or ribbon still tied to them. Frequently, at public functions, hundreds or thousands of helium filled latex balloons are purposely released as a display. Again, there is no indication that these balloons pose an ecological hazard while floating free.

Answer: None of these

Latex balloons pose no known threat to aircraft, our air defense system or to human dwellings. However, Mylar balloons and latex balloons with cords attached are a different matter. Of particular concern are balloons with wire-core cords trailing from them. These cords can cause power outages if they become entangled in power lines.

Answer: 28,000 feet

A formula used to calculate the rate of ascent of balloons (usually applied to weather balloons) indicates that an 11 inch helium balloon should rise at a rate of 5-6 feet per second reaching an altitude of 28,000 feet after about 1.5 hours. A balloon industry web site estimates that 95% of balloons reach their maximum altitude before bursting.

Answer: The balloon rises until falling atmospheric pressure results in a degree of expansion of the balloon that causes the stretched and now frozen rubber of the balloon to burst into numerous small fragments.

Based on the known characteristics of helium balloons, it is surmised that over 95% of released helium balloons float upward over hours until reaching an altitude of approximately five miles. At this altitude the latex is brittle due to the cold. Stretched to the breaking point, the balloon bursts into multiple frozen fragments.

A balloon industry website reassures us that if 5000 balloons were released and 10% of them fell to earth intact, we would expect to find but one balloon per 15 square miles.

However, balloon litter likely correlates with population density. Given that a single balloon company (Pioneer) produces more than 2 balloons per person per year, and that population densities can exceed 100 persons per acre, the magnitude of the actual balloon litter problem is underestimated by such reassuring industry quotes.

Answer: None of these

I was unable to find reports of injury due to falling balloon fragments. The large surface area of the fragments would tend to make them "float" as oppose to "plummet". The small mass of the fragments would make any injury unlikely.

Answer: The balloon and the oak leaves will biodegrade at roughly the same rate.

Balloons are, after all, composed almost entirely of latex taken from rubber trees. It is not surprising that studies have shown that they degrade at roughly the same rate as oak leaves and faster than small wood chips. The balloon industry is anxious for us to know that "small, family run businesses" perform the majority of balloon releases.

They point out that the balloon releases often contribute to worthy charitable and commercial activity. However, the aesthetic effect of a few oak leaves on one's driveway is not the same as that of brightly colored balloon fragments on a pristine beach.

Answer: In 1997 the Discovery channel presented a case of intestinal obstruction in a whale. A balloon fragment was shown to have caused the obstruction.

The affected whale did have a balloon-caused bowel obstruction. The whale was treated and released. The two other studies cited actually showed that balloons were not involved in the deaths of the autopsied animals. Much of this quiz has been tongue-in-cheek.

It should be noted that balloons do result in significant human injury and death. Approximately 110 children died from choking on balloons in the United States during the period from 1973 to 2002. Latex allergy is a significant occupational hazard and source of disability. Additionally, many thousands of acres of native rainforest in Southeast Asia have been cleared in order to plant the rubber trees that supply the latex to produce the balloons used in our celebratory balloon releases.