When I was in elementary school in the late 60s, my class took walking field trips to the library down town, and we would sometimes sit down in tiny chairs to watch films, the old clickety kind with the projector. One of those films was The Red Balloon. As many times as I watched that movie, I don't remember a thing about it except for the kid and the big balloon. The balloon was invented by a Portuguese priest in 1709 in an attempt to demonstrate his idea of an airship to the King. He had great plans for his invention, but he died before it was ever fully developed. The early balloons were made of animal bladders but were made from rubber later in the 1800s when Michael Faraday invented them to use in experiments with hydrogen. It seems neither man intended to make toys when they went to work, but I'm glad something amusing was at least a byproduct of their bigger projects. One of my favorite things to do with balloons is make animals. When my kids were young enough to appreci...