THE HISTORY OF THE BALLOON…

Balloons, in one form or another, have been around for centuries.  Originally they were made from pig bladders and later from a rubber similar to that used to make gum boots.  

But the modern latex balloon (the kind we can blow up ourselves) was invented only a little more than 70 years ago in New England, USA.   A chemical engineer, frustrated in his attempts to make inner tubes from this new product - liquid latex - shaped a cat's head from a piece of cardboard and dipped it in the latex.   When it dried, Neil Tillotson had a 'cat balloon' complete with ears – the first shaped balloon !   He made about 2000 of these balloons and sold them on the street during Boston's annual Patriot Day parade.  Latex balloons are still made from dipping forms into latex, but the process is now mechanised.

~  HISTORY  ~  MADE FROM  ~  ENVIRONMENT  ~  BIODEGRADE  ~  EXPECTED LIFE  ~