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experiment - poking holes in balloonswatch the show watch hot air balloons
poking holes in balloons
poking holes in balloons
poking holes in balloons
What you need:
. some ordinary balloons
. some wooden skewers (the kind you use for barbeques)
. a friend or two to amaze

What to do:
. blow up a balloon and tie it off
. find the dark part of the balloon - it's at the opposite end to the opening
. hold the balloon in one hand, and slowly push the pointy end of the skewer into the dark part of the balloon - if you're careful, you'll have a balloon-kebab!
. once you've gotten this far, you can keep pushing the skewer inside, and poke it out through the dark part of the balloon near where you tied it off. Doubly amazing!
. make sure you pop the balloon at the end by poking another skewer into its side - every trick goes better with a little showmanship.

What's going on:
Balloons are under a lot of pressure when they're inflated, and the rubber is stretched out so it's really thin in most places. Any little stab can burst them. But there are two parts of the balloon that can resist a good old-fashioned poke - the darker parts near the top and bottom. They're dark because they're thicker there, and the thick skin lets them form a tight seal around the skewer without breaking (usually!).

watch the show Watch - Bernie & Ruben go up, up & away - but not before proving that hot air definitely rises!

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