this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
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I read that if it wasn't for the US dumping it's strategic helium supply, the price of a party balloon would be $50. Yes, Helium 3 gets attention for Fusion research but regular Helium is used heavily in imaging equipment like MRI's. The Large Hadron Collider needs 130 metric tons of the stuff.
Helium is one of those things I don't really care about. I could tell you I never liked balloons because of their impact on the environment, and that would be true, especially with ones getting released into the air. However I also have a really selfish reason, and that was cleaning them up. I never really liked water balloons for the same reasons, and I'm so happy I haven't been around much confetti.