| In the European regions in times of old you might | | | | With the advent of the material rubber, Mexican |
| have been entertained by a jester or troubadour | | | | could begin manufacturing the balloons that are |
| who had taken the entrails of a recently butchered | | | | intended for modeling. One of the most famous |
| animal and inflate it for amusement. This is not the | | | | balloon sculptors out of Mexico was Seno r Carlos; he |
| oldest known balloon, though; some balloon history | | | | was the first person to perform the act of balloon |
| can be dated as far back as the Aztecs in Mexico. | | | | sculpting at the famous Lido de Paris. |
| The intestines, bladders and stomachs of various | | | | Rubber balloons were first made by a Professor in |
| animals are quite stretchy and can easily be | | | | 1824 named Michael Faraday. He needed to use them |
| manipulated; they would of course get a thorough | | | | in order to do experiments with hydrogen where he |
| washing first. | | | | taught at the Royal Institution in London. Caoutchouc |
| The Aztecs would use the bowls of cats to make | | | | is an elastic material that is obtained from the latex |
| inflated animals as offerings to their gods. After a | | | | sap of Ficus (and other) trees. This latex sap can |
| careful cleaning, the bowls were turned inside out and | | | | then be vulcanized and finished into numerous |
| the sewn with a special thread made of vegetables | | | | products. The caoutchouc is quite elastic and is what |
| that would form an almost airtight seal. After they | | | | made Faraday’s experimentations succeed. He |
| were sewn together, the bowls would be twisted | | | | made bags of it and then forced air and hydrogen |
| and then have air blown into them after each of the | | | | into the bags. |
| twists. | | | | When expanded by the hydrogen, the material |
| There was a contagious disease that spread through | | | | became quite transparent and light enough to take to |
| the cat population and exterminated most of them. | | | | the air. These first balloons were made by cutting |
| The bowels of the cat corpses were used to make | | | | the sheets of rubber into rounds and then laying |
| the offering balloons, but became very short in | | | | them together and pressing their edges. The rubber |
| supply. When there were no more cat bowels to | | | | was quite tacky and would easily stick together to |
| make the balloon shapes to appease the gods, the | | | | form a strong airtight seal; the inside surfaces were |
| Aztecs turned to human sacrifice. The bowels used | | | | powdered as to not stick together. |
| were then human. | | | | A pioneer rubber manufacturer actually introduced |
| The making of one balloon animal shape took several | | | | the first toy balloons. Thomas Hancock made the |
| days. There were only two models at the time; one | | | | do-it-yourself balloon kit which consisted of a bottle |
| was a donkey-shape and the other was a dog. Once | | | | full of rubber solution with a condensing syringe. The |
| made, these bowel-balloon animals were carried with | | | | vulcanized toy balloons were unaffected by |
| great pomp and circumstance to the top of an Aztec | | | | temperature changes and were manufactured in 1847 |
| pyramid where they were ceremoniously burned in | | | | by J. G. Ingram of London; these balloons were the |
| praise of their God, the sun. | | | | prototype of the balloons you and I recognize today. |