Professor Laffmoore

See what I found at About.com on the internet.

The first rubber balloons were made by Professor Michael Faraday in 1824 for use in his experiments with hydrogen at the Royal Institution in London.

I find this fact interesting because first of all the balloon was invented by a Professor.  And second of all I know this professor from my studies in electricity.  You see, I know quite a bit about electricity, and its effect on balloons.

Did you know that if you rub a balloon over the skin of your forearm several times, that it will pick up a static electric charge.  You can use this static electric charge to do some interesting things.

You can make the hair on your head stand up simply by passing the balloon over your head, but not to close, just above your hair.  You will find “the hair standing up trick” is a lot of fun to show other people.

Another trick you can perform with a balloon is to stick it up on the ceiling using the same technique of rubbing it on your arm to “charge” it with electricity.  You may need the help of an adult to get the balloon to the ceiling, but after you rub it on your arm you can easily stick it to the ceiling. It won’t keep the charge very long, but it should stick on the ceiling for several seconds.