Only $55 for a massive 50 loose helium-filled balloons from Adventure Hire & Party Supplies. Choose ANY balloon colours - pick from white to black and everything in between, even gold and silver, pearl and matte balloons! Have them delivered to anywhere within 30km of the Perth CBD at no extra charge or head to Mount Hawthorn and pick them up yourself! It's normally worth $145 - so you save a wonderful $90! Perfect for parties, functions and any other special occasions!
Hmm, just had my wings clipped…cheers TA! :)
Hmm, an airborne infant at <$4400.
baby bonus: 5000
profit: >600
I thought we were running out of helium? :(
Helium is inert. I thought it didn't react with anything.
So, using that analogy shouldn't we NEVER run out of it unless all of it currently being used?
Maybe it's about easily accessible supplies, rather than that which is dispersed through the atmosphere.
Helium used in balloons is supposed to be a byproduct of industrial helium use.
Because it is impure, it cannot be reused for industrial use and thus does not contribute to the known helium resources.
The biggest waste of helium is the US Government dumping its stocks of helium at super cheap prices to get rid of its large stockpile.
Helium released into the atmosphere escapes our atmosphere and cannot be recaptured. Helium is actually spent alpha radiation particles. These are trapped underground and recovered from natural gas streams in the USA and a few other countries. Although helium is actually a renewable resource (as long as uranium, etc, continue to decay underground), it's a very slow process.
The problem is we're using helium like it's going out of fashion. US Congress has decided to sell off the US stockpile by 2015. Of all the things helium is useful for, the most useless use is to put it into party balloons.
Well there you go. You always learn something new.
Thanks everyone. :)
Yes, we are running out of helium on earth. More and more scientific research can't be performed because of the growing shortage.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/18/helium-party-b…
Thanks for sharing that enlightening article.
Can I get some advice?
Do you guys think it is a by-product of industrial helium and it's morally OK to use as that "lower-grade" helium or do you think these balloon companies are getting their supply direct from the US Govt industrial strength stockpiles?
Hmm, that's weird. On the one hand, "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."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium
On the other, we are running out of it:
"Professor Robert Richardson, of Cornell University, New York, who won the Nobel physics prize in 1996 for his research on helium, argues that a helium party balloon should cost £75, to reflect the true value of the gas used. Yet you can buy enough helium to float 200 balloons for that price. "We are squandering an irreplaceable resource," he says."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/18/helium-party-b…
So there's plenty of it, but not on Earth.
It's not that weird, considering most of the observable mass in the universe are in the stars/suns and they are mostly hydrogen and helium. Earth is just a dust speck. Because helium is inert, it just escapes into the atmosphere as Cluster mentions above.
Being a Tight@ss, I use the sticky-tape (low glue translucent ones) on the ceiling.
$5 for Balloons.
Hot Air from Wife - Free.
Sticky Tape from work stationery - Free.
Hot Air from Wife - Free.
You're lucky, mine costs me…oh, how mine costs me!
Its ok…after a few years Married Man Skin becomes fire retardent.
It's a good price. Just be aware that you'll want to pick them up on the day of your function because generally the balloons will only last for 24-48 hours unless they are foil lined.
err, 24 hours?? I've had some that have not even lasted that!
I would get them a few hours before at most!
Helium gas escapes between the rubber atoms of the balloon, but if the balloon material was of a higher density (cost), it would trap the gas for longer.
Ask what is the expected half life of the helium filled balloon
If I attach these to a External hard disk, does it qualify as cloud storage?
As foobar said, if you have 99 of them, Soviet radar operators will certainly see it as a cloud! :p
I want 99 red ones delivered to 1983 if possible.
Is there an online calculator somewhere to work out how many I will need to lift my deck-chair? ;)