Ryan Harrison, a 28-year-old resident of Oxford, United Kingdom, claims that he has the world’s oldest balloon which is still inflated. The foil balloon has “It’s a boy” written over it. Harrison claims that this balloon was brought by his grandmother Josephine, now 82, to Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, when he was born on July 11, 1992. The balloon was manufactured by a company named Forever Friends and it has 1991 marked on it as the copyright year.
Harrison oversees a car detailing business in Oxford. Talking to The Sun, he said that he found the balloon when his parents were arranging boxes. Harrison hopes for the balloon to survive till his 50th birthday. He said that he had taped it to stop anything from happening to it.
The claims of owning the “world’s oldest inflated balloon” keep appearing almost every year, most of which have similar stories. In 2018, a Birmingham, UK resident, Jordan Lynam claimed that he had a 26-year-old balloon. Unsurprisingly, Lynam’s balloon also reads, “it’s a boy,” and was bought by his aunt to celebrate his birth. Lynam’s balloon has survived cigarette ashes, squeezes into tight boxes, and been stuck in the house loft for years.
In 2017, 26-year-old Sophie Freeborn, who is from Bromley, London, claimed that she had an “It’s a girl” balloon from her birth in 1991. The balloon was gifted by a colleague of Freeborn’s father and came with a basket of gifts.
If Freeborn’s balloon is still floating in 2021, then the title of oldest balloon among these claims will go to her as her balloon would reach the 30-year mark. However, just based on the claims during the time they reported, Harrison’s balloon has overtaken the other claims.
Contrary to rubber balloons, which last not more than 2-3 days, these decades-lasting balloons have their foil material as the key. Metallised film, also known as the foil that the balloons are made of, entered the market in the late 1970s causing the balloon industry to make longer-lasting balloons. However, the usual age of even a foil balloon is 5-7 days.
Keywords:
World’s oldest balloon, United Kingdom, Oxford, Birmingham, Bromley, Foil Balloons, Metallised Film, It’s a boy, It’s a girl, Birthday, Celebration, Gifts
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