This article is about balloons in general. See also Balloon and Toy balloon. or flowers, are given for special occasions.]] A balloon is a flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide or air. Early balloons were made of dried animal bladder. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene or a nylon fabric. Some balloons are purely decorative, while others are used for specific purposes such as meteorology, medical treatment, military defense, or transportation. A balloon's properties, including its low density and relatively low cost, have led to a wide range of applications. Etymology The word balloon was originally derived from the French word ballon, meaning large ball. This was in turn probably from the latin ballone, but another possible source for it was balla, meaning ball, from Ol

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