Who Invented Balloons? Why Do We Have Them at Parties?

Balloons have long been part of party festivities--perhaps even longer than some people think. Using balloons at festive events dates back thousands of years to an ancient civilization. Balloons have come a long way since their early days, when they were made out of something that would make many folks cringe.

The first use of balloons at a festive event dates to the Aztecs, whose empire in central Mexico was from the 14th through 16th centuries. Their balloons were not the fun-colored latex or Mylar one sees today, however. Their balloons were made of cat guts. Feline intestines were sewn together, filled with air and then twisted into funky shapes--as if an inflated mass made from cat guts wasn't funky enough.

Aztecs placed their balloons at the altar during festivals and ceremonies as an offering for the gods. They may have wanted good luck, a victory in battle or any number of other wishes that the sacrificial balloons would help bring. They may have even asked for more guts to make more balloons. If a large batch of cats were diseased and dying, the Aztecs sacrificed humans and used their intestines as balloons to ask for more cat intestines.

For a good, airtight cat gut balloon, the Aztecs didn't simply disembowel the creatures and then hope for the best. A whole method of creating the balloon had to be followed. The intestines were first thoroughly cleaned and turned inside out. The guts were then fastidiously sewn shut, save for the opening where it was inflated. A vegetable thread that sealed in the sun was used for the sewing. Once sealed, the cat guts were inflated in sections, with each section sealed off by twisting it once air was blown inside.

Cat gut balloons, for some reason, eventually gave way to balloons as we know them. The first rubber balloon was invented in 1824 by Michael Faraday, a professor at the Royal Institution in London who used it for hydrogen experiments. By the 1880s, rubber balloons were widely available for home use.

Balloons have since expanded--excuse the pun--into a major market. They are available in all colors of the rainbow, made of latex, rubber or shiny foiled Mylar. They come in many shapes, ranging from stars to hearts, flowers to skulls. Balloon sculpting also remains a popular party gimmick, with professionals who have spent years studying how to turn a series of simple, long, skinny balloons into a superhero or a poodle.