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Comment by DuskStar | Hacker News Reader

The average person is probably less intelligent than the people surrounding you at home and work. Don't underestimate idiocy - though it's probably a combination of both.

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Well of course the average person is less intelligent than the rest of us.

After all, 90% of drivers have above average skill!

I was walking out of Costco earlier this week and noticed a gentleman had a pack of 100+ balloons in his cart. These balloons were pre-fitted with plastic straws, for easy balloon blowing, of course. This will all be garbage in a matter of days after a few fleeting seconds of joy. I just about lose my mind when I see 1) such a product exists and 2) someone actually buys such a product. It was probably for a child’s birthday party, but there has to be another way to share cheer.

Edit: spelling.

That kind of balloon wouldn't fly away, it'd just be blown up manually with air instead of helium.

I'd guess they are water balloons from the description. My wife has purchased those from Costco. They are e easy to fill up all at once. They do make an unholy mess that takes the kids a while to pick up.

Under the sunny conditions that facilitate their use, they bake onto surfaces. It's horrendous when you find a bit that wasn't seen, but just another childhood/childrearing experience.

I think these were probably water balloons. The idea is that all of those straws are connected to a single garden hose fill adaptor, so the whole bunch of balloons can be filled at once. (example: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33011481532.html)

I abhor the single-use plastic, but at the same time water balloons are just fun in the summer. If paintballs can be made biodegradable (they're gelatin), maybe there's hope for water balloons, too.

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