Balloons in zoos

[The Horse Boy]

Hey everyone. I thought I'd post a thread regarding how balloons (esp latex) used to be very popular in zoos. There were a lot of cartoon tropes about it (e.g The curious george books and movie). But in the present day, zoos prohibit guests from bringing them in due to animal welfare concerns. Do any users remember these days?

 

[Lori Patton]

Hey everyone. I thought I'd post a thread regarding how balloons (esp latex) used to be very popular in zoos. There were a lot of cartoon tropes about it (e.g The curious george books and movie). But in the present day, zoos prohibit guests from bringing them in due to animal welfare concerns. Do any users remember these days?

Yes, I remember when it was common for little kids to get balloons and tie them around their wrists or onto strollers. These were usually the old-fashioned (and much cheaper) latex balloons in solid colors. Back in the 1980s, you could usually get inflated balloons at parks for 50 cents to one dollar. Balloons were common in many family-oriented establishments, such as zoos, theme parks, circuses, and even pizza parlors! Sometimes there were clowns making animal balloons, too. Nowadays, balloons have gotten very fancy and expensive plus being potentially harmful to the environment.

 

[The Horse Boy]

Yes, I remember when it was common for little kids to get balloons and tie them around their wrists or onto strollers. These were usually the old-fashioned (and much cheaper) latex balloons in solid colors. Back in the 1980s, you could usually get inflated balloons at parks for 50 cents to one dollar. Balloons were common in many family-oriented establishments, such as zoos, theme parks, circuses, and even pizza parlors! Sometimes there were clowns making animal balloons, too. Nowadays, balloons have gotten very fancy and expensive plus being potentially harmful to the environment.

I know in general there traditionally used to be large helium balloon releases to celebrate big events such as the fall of the Berlin wall. But that custom has been phased out in recent decades due their plastic harming the environment.

 

[Jaiden]

I have never been to a zoo with balloons but I have heard of them it makes sense for them to slowly phase them away because of there impact on the environment and Zoos are about saving the Environment.

 

[Batto]

Hmm... now why does this connection trigger a certain cineastic memory?

 

[The Horse Boy]

The 2006 curious george movie has that scene where he takes a cluster of helium balloons from a salesman and they float high up into the sky above NYC, and Ted- AKA The Man in the Yellow Hat chases after him to the rescue with another pack.