I’m trying to figure out why balloons are so appealing, and I’m certain it’s because they are MAGIC. Who wouldn’t love a pleasant orb that defies everything you’ve ever seen? A balloon is like a little pet that says, “Nope, gravity isn’t for me, I’m just going to float here, if you don’t mind.”
Then, given that, the best part is that we tie strings around them and keep them tethered to the ground with the rest of us. Take that, balloons! Misery loves company and people love dragging down magical things to their level. That’s why when you see a balloon floating away in the distance, you say the bastard “got away.”
Anyway, the fact is we’re burning through our finite helium supply like there’s no tomorrow so enjoy balloons while you can because your grandkids sure won’t.
wes
We can start using Hydrogen again, like men.
This makes my scientist heart bleed. Well played, sir.
You dummy. SCUBA divers don’t breath helium, they breathe air.
that’s why it was bad for the SCUBA guy to get the helium, you see
while the balloon kid got the air tank meant for the SCUBA guy
it is in fact the crux of the humour
if you are a tech diver you can use trimix that contain helium.
just for your knowledge. 🙂
Riiight, burning through the second most abundant element in the universe. Oh alarmists.
Ok, you go get it from inside the sun. I’ll wait here with the balloons.
Isn’t most of it unobtainable, though? It’s not the second most abundant element on Earth by far.
Wikipedia: “Helium is the second lightest element and is the second most abundant element in the observable universe, being present at about 24% of the total elemental mass, which is more than 12 times the mass of all the heavier elements combined.”
Everything’s finite but there’s a lot of helium to go around 😮
As much as there’s a lot of it around, most of it in places balloon companies find tricky to get too. Like, Stars. Although I believe that Hallmark are working with SpaceX to solve that.
I notice that although you found a quote on Wikipedia to support your argument, you also left out the “Although it is rare on Earth” that is literally right before it.
Helium is actually very useful for diving! 🙂
The sad part: he was going to propose to his girlfriend while scuba diving
99 Akvalangisty
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Hielt man für Ufos aus dem All
Ninety-nine SCUBA divers
Floating in the summer sky
Panic lads, it’s a red alert
There’s something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky
Ninety-nine SCUBA divers go by
Can’t we just start mining helium from the sun like on Futurama?
Hidden comic for the win!
the “helium is the second most abundant element” comments are hilarious if they are jokes, and i choose to believe they are
Could have been much worse – I’m sure that kid would have loved an acetylene filled balloon
HENNIMORE!
Literally…
Aaaw. A happy ending. 🙂
Classic Johnson.
Amazing
Helium is actually how I plan to commit suicide when I do it because it makes you high before you drift off to a never ending sleep.
Oh and just because there is a lot of helium doesn’t mean it isn’t extremely difficult to extract from the universe and therefore relatively expensive.