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I was developing a balloon magic trick a few months ago and as part of it, I inserted a small hex nut inside a 9" round balloon. While working with the balloon, I moved it and heard a weir sound. I realized that the flats on the sides of the nut were causing the sound. I do a gospel trick that I call the Orbiting Quarter which is found in my book, "Dewey's Gospel Balloon Routines #3". This is the same effect, except that with the nut inside instead of the coin, you get a noise maker that any kid would like to have. Just about any small hex nut will work, but a # 8-32 machine screw nut is what I use.
To make the weird noise, hold the round balloon from either the top or the bottom with one hand. I normally hold the nozzle end. Then rotate your hand in a circular motion at the wrist. The nut will start rolling around inside the balloon. The concave surface inside the balloon makes the nut automatically roll on its edge. The 6 flat sides of the nut make a weird noise as it rolls around. The faster you spin the nut, the higher the pitch. If you have trouble making it start, try this. Move your hand quickly up and down so that the nut bounces inside. Once you hear it bouncing, begin the circular motion.
This could be an inexpensive novelty gift at Fall Festivals or Halloween parties. You could also pass this off as a Bee in a Balloon or a Bee Hive. Actually, it sounds like a swarm of bees. Or what if your school mascot is the Yellow Jackets? I wonder how it would sound at basketball games if the stands were full of people using screamer balloons when the other team is at the foul line. I have shown the screamer balloon idea at a couple of conventions in the last few weeks and both times it was a big hit.
Angry Bee
Instead of just a round balloon, you can add the hex nut to a standard bee decorated with an angry face. Hold the bee as in the photo and rotate it around is a very small circle. It may take you a few tries to be able to consistently make the buzzing noise, so keep practicing until you get it . If you do gospel balloon work, here is an idea. Tell the children that you call this balloon the "angry bee" because he has the wrong Bee-Attitude. Then explain to them about having the proper attitudes in life.
UFO Idea
Darin Williams shared in a BalloonHQ email recently how he uses the hex nut idea a Qualatex Alien balloon. He puts the nut in the balloon and fully inflates it. He then burps it back to about 4" and ties off the nozzle. He then inflates a white 6" Geo Blossom. He makes a small bubble on the nozzle end of the alien balloon and then inserts it into the center hole of the Geo to hold the two balloons together. He writes "U.F.O." on the front of the Geo with a Sharpie marking pen. Then he grabs the top of the alien balloon and starts shaking it around to get the hex nut going. It sounds like an alien spaceship invasion from those old B-movies! Thanks Darin for sharing your great idea with the rest of us. I also thank his wife because she originally thought up the idea.
Next month's column will have a Halloween idea using the hex nut.
Quick Duck
Often you need a quick version of a balloon model for line work. Here is a quick duck idea. It only takes one 6" white heart and a 7" length of yellow #160 spaghetti balloon. Inflate a 7" length of a #160 balloon and tie the ends together to form a loop. Leave a little bit of uninflated balloon for tying it in place at the duck's neck.
Inflate the heart balloon to about 75% and tie off the nozzle as close to the nozzle as you can. Twist off a 2-1/2" bubble on one of the lobes of the heart for the head of the duck.
Tie the 6" loop around the base of the duck's head. Curve up the nozzle end of the 6" heart for the duck's tail. Curve up the end of the bill. Then mark the eyes.
