Balloons Don't Kill People

People do. Pardon the pun under the tragic circumstances, but trying to suck the helium out of an 8' diameter balloon, or crawling inside it shouldn't be anyone's idea of comic relief. Good lord ... what were they thinking?

LUTZ, Fla. (AP) -- Two college students were found dead inside a large, deflated helium balloon after apparently pulling it down and crawling inside it, officials said.

The deaths of Jason Ackerman and Sara Rydman, both 21, appear to be accidental, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Maj. Bob Schrader said.

Their bodies were found Saturday partially inside a deflated helium balloon at the entrance of a condominium complex a few miles north of Tampa. The 8-foot-diameter balloon was used to advertise the complex.

"It was more a fun thing they thought they were doing," said Linda Rydman, whose daughter was found dead. "You know how you blow up the balloon and suck the helium."

Comments

[Rick]

Works like chlorine in the gene pool. College you say?

[splashtc]

Exactly-how dopey can you get. They were of voting age?

[strayze]

I'm continually amazed at the gross ignorance of our material world, things I knew well in high school It appears that dumber and dumber is the norm, even with those educated in colleges. In addition to grammar and spelling going out the window, such everyday basic living skills have gone too. I see this at gas stations when people smoke while gassing their car, or worse still, smoke with an open gallon of gas propped between their legs as they cruise down the highway. ouch! The concept of oxygen being necessary to support life is really basic. The concept of air being 20%/80% oxygen/nitrogen seems too much to expect. Then again, I hear over and over from the people who fill helium balloons, reference to the the helium as air; anything that is gaseous is air. Guess the gas state of matter is incomprehensible. It's no wonder the great fear of ill defined "toxins" or anything with a chemical-sounding name like hydrogen oxide (water) sends people into flights of fear and to the pill-pushers or detox sites that feed on fear.

[smelly]

Hydrogen Dioxide H2O

[strayze]

Skelly, that name most closely fits hydrogen peroxide. Perhaps you meant dihydrogen oxide, which would be equivalent to hydrogen oxide.