People do innovative tasks by making animals shape from balloons and balloon sculpture which has become a recognized art form. People have lots of entertainment with the balloons but I am sure they don't know how it is made? Earlier the balloons were made of animal bladders, intestines or bloated animal stomachs. In 1824 Michael Faraday, a famous chemist made the first rubber balloon and filled them with hydrogen gas. He made his balloon from caoutchouc, also known as Indian rubber or gum elastic, which was produced from the milky latex extracted from the rubber tree. The natural latex was a good material for making a balloon and 'Rubber' got its name because it rubbed out pencil marks.
A water balloon is a latex rubber balloon filled with water. They are commonly used in water balloon fights and it is very popularly used in the Indian festival Holi. There is another form of balloon known as fire balloon and it is used as weapon which was launched by Japan during World War II. They were designed as a cheap weapon intended to make use of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean and wreak havoc on Canadian and American cities, forests, and farmland. The balloons were relatively ineffective as weapons but were used in one of the few attacks on North America during World War II.
Balloons cause more choking deaths in children than any other nonfood product according to the CPSC injury data. Over 110 children have died due to suffocation while playing with uninflated balloons or pieces of balloons since the year 1973. The problem arises when kids get the balloons pieces inside their mouths. It becomes unfeasible to get the balloon pieces out of the mouth and the child suffocates. Parents should take some safety measures while handling the balloons to the children. Always give your child the bigger Mylar balloon rather than the smaller one. Children cannot accidentally inhale a big piece of Mylar, and when Mylar balloons pop they generally do not create small fragments. Clean up any balloon fragments immediately if a balloon pops.
The CPSC has strongly recommended parents and guardians that children below eight years of age, are prevented from playing with uninflated balloons without supervision. Hot-air ballooning is another popular sport, that is gaining commercial importance. A typical balloon safari consists of 8-13 adventure enthusiasts in a gondola or wicker basket. The sport though expensive and costing approximately Rs. 2,5oo/- per head, it is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology now pursued as an adventure sport.