Fly, balloon, fly

I let go of the string
Fly, balloon, fly
Rise up in a whisper
To greet the sky

A wave of my hand
Bids the balloon goodbye
Never looking back
Flying up on high

Fly up and fly free
A little speck to the eye
Ride the mighty winds
Don't ever be shy

Go on and fly higher
Past the clouds and birds
A little wish I have
Never forget my words

For you are made to fly
And you are made to be free
Take my heart up high
So that I may see.

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A little bit of balloon trivia:

* Ballons are made from latex rich fluids harvested fram the bark of the Hevea brasilliensis, or Brazilian rubber trees.

* An 11-inch 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.

* Helium is used to inflate balloons because hydrogen, another "lighter-than-air" gas, is combustible. (I remember a friend who burned his hair and eyebrows when the cigarette he was smoking got too close to one of these hydrogen-balloons. Hahaha, he looked awfully wierd after that)

 

* Free floating balloons (those released in the air) pose no ecological hazards while floating free.

* Latex balloons pose no knows threat to aircraft (i.e. getting sucked into the airplane turbine and getting entangled inside) or to human dwellings.

* An 11-inch helium should rise at a rate of 5-6 feet per second reaching an altitude of 28,000 feet after about 1.5 hours.  (Hmmm.... what if I tie myself to a hundred balloons so that I can fly over Mt. Everest?)

* Over 95% of released helium balloons float upward over hours until an altitude of about five miles.  At this altitude the latex is brittle due to the cold.  Stretched to the breaking point, the balloon bursts into multiple broken fragments.  (Oops, so much for that Mt. Everest balloon flight fantasy)

* There are no knows cases of reported injuries due to falling balloon fragments.

* Balloons are composed of latex taken from rubber trees.  It is not surprising that they will degrade at the same rate as leaves and faster than small wood chips.

* In 1997, Discovery Channel presented a case of intestinal obsruction in a whale that has ingested a balloon.  The whale was treated successfully and released.

Also In 1997, a man successfully flew in a garden chair strapped to 45 helium-filled balloons.

Here's his funny story ;-)