Balloon

There is a long history of balloons in and out of the architectural discourse. First, there were the greek balloons which appeared on the Aegean Penninsula around the 5th c. b.c. These were generally depicted in the friezes of the emporer's palace hanging around the ankles of the enemies of the empire.

Later, around 1905, balloons made a resurgence among the clown of Coney Island. There has never been a direct connection made between the original balloons in Greece and these "neo-balloons" in NYC, but it has become the generally accepted hypothesis that a little person, Samuel Frisk who worked at the firehouse in Lilliputia saw the balloons on a visit to Southern Europe looking for a new act. He later came to be known as 'Wild Sam' as he would twist and tie balloons into shapes resembling other "little people."

Balloon artists are entertainers who twist tubular balloons into sculptures.
external link: [work of a typical balloon artist]

Modern days party balloons are mostly made of rubber and filled with air or helium. When rubber balloons are filled with air, their shapes can last for weeks. When rubber balloons are filled with helium, they seldom can hold their shape for more than a few hours. The helium gas molecules are too small to be contained by the stretched rubber membrane. The molecules slowly escape through the gaps among the polymer molecules.

In the last decade, some more expensive helium balloons are made of thin unstretchable impermeable myler films. The myler balloons have attractive shiny reflective surfaces and are printable with color pictures and patterns. The most important attributes are its light weight and its ability to keep the helium gas from escaping for two to three weeks. It became the material of choice for helium balloons.

Large helium balloons are used as high flying vessels to carry scientific instruments or even human passengers.

See also: [Hot air balloon]?