Party balloons, how for do they go?

Brown Swiss · Jun 17, 2016

Was just out in one of the fields and picked up a Congratulations Grad balloon, wonder how far these things really travel. When Parkersburg Ia had a tornado it sent pics and papers all the way across the Mississippi here, that is 90 miles as the crow flies! A balloon should go aways one would think!

old · Jun 17, 2016

Do not know if this is true but I have heard of people sending them up with notes on them telling the person who find it to call and let them know where it landed. Was told one was found over 1000 miles from where it was let go

Mark-Ia · Jun 17, 2016

A few years ago. I found a balloon in the fence that was released in Decorah Iowa. Made it 10 miles southwest of Webster City Iowa. About 175 miles. It had a tag on it. We sent it back per address. It was released the previous day by a 1st grader. He was thrilled to have it found. His teacher said his was the only one returned.

RayP(MI) · Jun 17, 2016

Found a baloon with a card attached released by a church Sunday school class in Chicago. I am in central Michigan. What's that 250 or 300 miles?

Not unusual to find remnants of baloons in my hay. Guess one could go a long way if winds aloft were just right, and it didn't rise too high and burst.

farmerwithmutt · Jun 17, 2016

When the tornado hit Barneveld wi it picked up checks from a bank that been hit in south iowa and I found one on my farm in southwest Wisconsin that spot in the field is a high ridge and over the years I have found different things there.
One time doing volunteer work at a school they had a balloon launch several didn't go up so looking at some sad faced kids I told them I release them out of town. On the way home stopped for gas and told the clerk what happened she said give them to me I'm heading for freeport . She actually stopped and hung them on mailboxes of all the balloons that got launched only the ones that crashed got a response. For some reason the teacher cornered me and asked what I done . She was smiling when I told her the kids never found out

Dave H (MI) · Jun 17, 2016

Probably circumnavigate the globe several times until they happen to pass over my place...then drop like a stone. I pick up several a year.

Deere Scotty · Jun 17, 2016

I remember back in the 80's was disking a field, & a deflated red balloon was stuck to a corn stalk. Traveled from somewhere in Missouri to Gosport, IN. Gave it to Dad, & He sent it back. Don't remember anymore than that.

farmerwithmutt · Jun 17, 2016

Just remembered the Japanese used balloons to bomb the United States in ww 2 and they still haven't found all of them. They landed in Michigan and iowa

Chris(WA) · Jun 17, 2016

Found one with an attached note when I was a kid. It had been sent by a school class project at a school about 150 miles west of us. They sent us a nice note back telling where other balloons had been found. Furthest had landed in the UP of Michigan about 500 miles from where it was sent up.

Goose · Jun 17, 2016

When I was in sales for GM, we always had to hang helium filled balloons around the used car lot. We used to tie our business cards to balloons with a note "If found, please contact" and turn them loose. Nobody ever called, so I have no idea how far they went.

Question: Why do used car lots always have balloons hung all over the premises? I asked our Sales Manager once, and all he knew was that they always did it. I assume it's to lend a festive atmosphere, when in reality buying a vehicle is darned serious business.

Russ from MN · Jun 17, 2016

We find quite a few in the mountains of AZ when hiking, we think it's littering!

marloweg · Jun 17, 2016

boy that is unreal we live 150 miles north east of Barneveld WI and we found money, checks and a lot of photos in the hay fields from Barneveld we keep it and about a year latter we took it to them and some of the photos were of people that passed away in the storm

coonie minnie · Jun 17, 2016

We did a project like that pack in elementary school (very early 80s). We sent perhaps a hundred balloons with cards, and had a big map to put pins in where the letters came back from. If I remember right, some came back from several states away.

Gambles · Jun 17, 2016

My kids is now a junior in college, but when he was small, he was at an Easter church service that had everyone there release a balloon with their name on it. Two days later, a man who lived about 700 miles away called the church to say that he had found it out in his field. Although about 200 balloons were released, his was the only one found.

Crazy Horse · Jun 17, 2016

Found a balloon once in my yard that came from some junior high school class on Mars. Tried to contact them but it was a long distance call and no way was I going to pay the charges on that just to let them know it had made its way to Earth. Thinking back though, I should have done that, never know who you might have been able to hook up with.

37chief · Jun 17, 2016

In the 50's we found weather balloons a couple times, with instruments hanging below. Also we found silver stuff like Christmas tinsel in a field one time. Who knows where that came from. Stan

cool hand · Jun 17, 2016

Several years ago I found one that had a note on it from a nursing home resident in St. Louis. We're in SE Indiana. Wife sent a note to the nursing home resident--never heard anything more.

Elmo · Jun 17, 2016

(quoted from post at 01:04:18 06/18/16) In the 50's we found weather balloons a couple times, with instruments hanging below. Also we found silver stuff like Christmas tinsel in a field one time. Who knows where that came from. Stan

We found both in Mississippi in the early 50's also. We fount the silver tinsel three times.
Elmo

Case Collector · Jun 17, 2016

The silver tinsel probably was dropped by an air force bomber.
shredded tinfoil was used to avoid detection by radar.

John B. · Jun 17, 2016

I remember back in 1999 right after we moved into the house we built and now live in. I was taking the paper trash out to the burn barrel. One sheet of the newpaper got away from me and it swirled around in a circle and kept climbing upward. It went almost out of sight and I never saw it again. The wind had to be just right I guess for this to happen.

Years ago we found a weather monitor in the bean field when combining beans. We mailed it back according the instructions on the outside. It had a parachute attached to it. Another time we found a balloon from the St. Louis Zoo in our one field when I lived at home which was only 30 miles East of the Zoo.

I never had any luck sending up ballons with my name and address on it or should say never heard back from any I sent up.

Mark - IN. · Jun 18, 2016

Well, I was doing a repair yesterday in a 9-1-1 call center when they took a call that some had gotten tangled in overhead power lines, popped and were smoldering. Personally I wouldn't have worried about it, but I know that they go that far.

Mark

bill mart · Jun 18, 2016

found a balloon released from a school in Ohio one time. Over 100 miles away from western NY. Bill

Pair-a-dice farm · Jun 18, 2016

I don't know how far they will go but it could be a long way if they made it up into the winds. I find them all the time but I figure they are only a couple of miles, there's a state park near me. I really wish people would think about what they are doing when they turn them loose. They will come down somewhere and it's nothing more than litter. I've had to untangle them out of a disc mower a few times and when they get caught in the tree tops they are an eyesore that I can't clean up.

Party balloons, how for do they go?

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