College Students Found Dead Inside Balloon

The Las Vegas Sun ^ | 4 June 2006 | AP

[buccaneer81]

College Students Found Dead Inside Balloon

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LUTZ, Fla. (AP) - Two college students were found dead inside a large, deflated helium balloon after apparently pulling it down and crawling inside it, officials said.

The deaths of Jason Ackerman and Sara Rydman, both 21, appear to be accidental, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Maj. Bob Schrader said.

Their bodies were found Saturday partially inside a deflated helium balloon at the entrance of a condominium complex a few miles north of Tampa. The 8-foot-diameter balloon was used to advertise the complex.

"It was more a fun thing they thought they were doing," said Linda Rydman, whose daughter was found dead. "You know how you blow up the balloon and suck the helium."

The county medical examiner said Sunday that the cause of death won't be released for six weeks, until toxicology results come back.

Inhaling helium can quickly lead to brain damage and death from lack of oxygen, according to the Compressed Gas Association, which develops safety standards in the gas industry.

[Jotmo]

Essentially it's economics. To fill a moderately sized 8 foot balloon would take a lot of helium. And you'd have to continually add more as helium is a VERY small molecule, and is very difficult to keep contained. This is why most are made of foil now days.

Additionally, you'd want someone there to discourage passer-byes from having "adventures with helium', which can be dangerous. So it would need to be attended.

Thus the blower type balloons. Much cheaper material and methods can be used to construct since it need not be "sealed". And the bower probably cost on the order of a couple 100 watt bulbs to run, a couple bucks a day.

And if it isn't going to leave the ground, there's simply no point to having a big balloon filled with helium.

All in all, the helium part doesn't sound right to me. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[RBroadfoot]

Or biology

[Jotmo]

Further, I don't think one could get "in" a helium balloon. It needs to be sealed to contain the helium. Rather, it could contain it, but not keep it "inflated" sufficiently. And if a gust of wind came, it blows it sideways, and half the helium escapes out the bottom.

The more I think about it, the helium part just doesn't make sense.

[operation clinton cleanup]

I really find it hard to believe that two people could be this stupid.

Looks like one (judging by myspace pages) was a spoiled rich kid and the other was a gullible hanger on.

[Duffboy]

...Huh ?

[Duffboy]

...Huh ?

[ikka]

The helium part doesn't make sense, because the material in the picture would have small holes in the material, and along the seams, that would let a lot of helium out immediately.

[Doctor Raoul]

They were University of South Florida students. Party Central.

[Richard Kimball]

Just a stupid observation. A friend of mine passed away. I had his cell phone number stored in my cell phone. Every time it comes up, when I'm scrolling through, there's always an odd moment when I wonder what would happen if I dialed it. I know that in actuality, it would either have a disconnect or would have been assigned to someone else, but I think some people, who are frequently just friends with someone through a web site actually think they'll post back. A lot of people here on FR posted like BCM would post back after 9/11.

[Doctor Raoul]

That's not it. That's just an inflatable.

[Doctor Raoul]

Jason the agnostic is going to get an answer to the "agnostic" question.

[buccaneer81]

They were University of South Florida students. Party Central.

I know. I lived in the 33612 ZIP Code for two years. Fletcher Ave. Had a lot of good times there back in the '80s.

[PAR35]

I wonder if they were fully clothed, or if they were trying to get the 'full benefit' of the experience.

[jocon307]

"A helium balloon would have been sealed, yes?"

Good point! maybe the balloon just suffocated them when it deflated.

Yet ANOTHER thing to warn my kid not to do. She's 20. She'll be 40 and God willing I'll still be here on FR reading crazy stories and calling her and saying: "Don't you ever....."

[Cheburashka]

I guess the mothers of these two never told them not to put plastic bags over their heads.
---
Okay, now all you mommies reading this thread, call your children RIGHT NOW and tell them not to crawl into helium balloons. They might not know this is dangerous.

Make sure to do this even if your crumb crunchers are in their 50's.

[Cheburashka]

That's got to be a misquote, because on the CSI shows the tox results come back in about five minutes. Five minutes!
---
And we know no one on television would ever lie.

[Right Wing Assault]

Maybe they tried to climb through the fan and it sliced and diced them and blew the pieces inside.

[maxwell]

"It was more a fun thing they thought they were doing,"

Or maybe the mom was trying to cover up for suicide.

[Right Wing Assault]

This helium balloon would have to have a pretty large opening the fit two people at once, since they both were found partly inside the balloon.

[jimboster]

Just think of the poor mothers when asked by concerned friends and relatives, "How did it happen?"