Terrorists Can Destroy the United States With Helium Balloon

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-10-10 09:38pm

Shep's 'blown transformer' reminded me of something.

Two days ago, there was a power outage for three square blocks, preceded by a tremendous explosion. Naturally, I hopped on my bike and road around, looking for the source.

After inquiring a bit, I discovered, in front of a nearby elementary school, a power tower pylon wooden thingy with a chunk blown out of the middle.

Lying on the ground next to it were two blasted, scarred, brown, fused-together 'Happy Birthday' balloons. No shit.

According to two eyewitnesses and the guy who came by to fix it, the balloons hit the converter, blew up, and knocked out power to an entire neighborhood.

My fellow Americans, it is clear that the Happy Works Bubble Gum and Balloon Factory represents clear and present danger; and that it is right and fitting that we bomb it to hell, and outlaw helium balloons, given the ease with which a well-coordinated terrorist cell could cripple an entire city with helium balloons...

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-10-10 09:43pm

BTW, the balloons in question are sitting right next to me as I type this.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-10-10 09:49pm

The US already has a Tomahawk variant with a warhead with spews out conductive filaments to short out power grids without causing permanent damage to generator plants or substations. Russia and China both also market such things.

The thing is, they don’t destroy the transformers, just knock them off line, so the repair is rather quick. The same would be true of any such balloon attack.

You'd also need a crap load of balloons, and you would not be able to effect major cities, as mot of there transformers are underground.

Post by **weemadando** » 2002-10-10 09:54pm

Oh no, its the Islamic Fundamentalist Suicide Balloons!

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-10-10 09:56pm

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2002-10-10 10:04pm

Nah, a BB gun will be sufficient to protect us from the dreaded "Fundamentalist Happy Birth Kamikaze Balloon".

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2002-10-10 10:07pm

How about hydrogen ballons? The Hindenberg was filled with hydrogen, and that's what caused it to blow up. The worst a helium ballon could do is make us all sound like Justin Timberlake.

Evil Jerk · Post by **Evil Jerk** » 2002-10-10 10:10pm

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:How about hydrogen ballons? The Hindenberg was filled with hydrogen, and that's what caused it to blow up. The worst a helium ballon could do is make us all sound like Justin Timberlake.

Nitpick: What caused the Hindenberg to blow up was that they painted it with rocket fuel, not it's hydrogen.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2002-10-10 10:15pm

Evil Jerk wrote:
Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:How about hydrogen ballons? The Hindenberg was filled with hydrogen, and that's what caused it to blow up. The worst a helium ballon could do is make us all sound like Justin Timberlake.
Nitpick: What caused the Hindenberg to blow up was that they painted it with rocket fuel, not it's hydrogen.

It did indeed have highly flammable paint but the hydrogen did burn and blow up as well.

Evil Jerk · Post by **Evil Jerk** » 2002-10-10 10:18pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Evil Jerk wrote:
Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:How about hydrogen ballons? The Hindenberg was filled with hydrogen, and that's what caused it to blow up. The worst a helium ballon could do is make us all sound like Justin Timberlake.
Nitpick: What caused the Hindenberg to blow up was that they painted it with rocket fuel, not it's hydrogen.
It did indeed have highly flammable paint but the hydrogen did burn and blow up as well.

Yah, but without the coating it would've never blown up in the first place, and wouldn't have burnt as fast.. and like I said, I'm nitpicking.

IRG CommandoJoe · Post by **IRG CommandoJoe** » 2002-10-10 10:42pm

It's not a nitpick. That was what made them stop using hydrogen in blimps. Just because the geniuses put flammable paint on it. If they didn't put a coat of flammable paint on it, the disaster never would have happened, and they would have never stopped using hydrogen in blimps. I guess it wasn't a major change in history, but it still was a change.

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-10-10 10:45pm

uhm... let's see aluminum powder and iron oxide in a paint...sounds like thermite to me...

Evil Jerk · Post by **Evil Jerk** » 2002-10-10 10:50pm

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:It's not a nitpick. That was what made them stop using hydrogen in blimps. Just because the geniuses put flammable paint on it. If they didn't put a coat of flammable paint on it, the disaster never would have happened, and they would have never stopped using hydrogen in blimps. I guess it wasn't a major change in history, but it still was a change.

Nitpick in that it has little to do with the topic at hand, and as for it's effect on history, who knows, maybe without the stigma on hydrogen, it could be used as a better fuel for cars right now (well, I guess not with the evil oil companies around) and there could've been many, many Zeppelins flying around the sky today, being all Zeppeliny and all.

Jadeite · Post by **Jadeite** » 2002-10-10 11:09pm

and there could've been many, many Zeppelins flying around the sky today, being all Zeppeliny and all.

Theres a company in Germany building a freight zeppelin the size of the Hindenburg, it has an internal docking bay with a retractable crane.

IRG CommandoJoe · Post by **IRG CommandoJoe** » 2002-10-11 12:13am

being all Zeppeliny and all.

LOL

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-10-11 12:26am

I thought mylar balloons were made illegal in a lot of places just because they jack the power lines??