How many helium balloons does it take to lift a flamingo?
About 250 balloonsA flamingo weighs 2.5 kg, and each balloon lifts about 10 g.
It takes about 250 balloons.
How we worked it out
A flamingo weighs 2.5 kg, and each balloon lifts about 10 g. Standard 11-inch party balloons at sea level, about 10 g of lift each. Real life adds a little friction and waste, so treat the number as a solid ballpark rather than a lab result. The constants behind every experiment are on the science page.
Watch it happen
This was one of the five experiments in It Took #20. In the game you guess first, then the experiment plays out with your number: too few and it fails, too many and it overshoots.
Play It Took #20Play today’s experiments
More balloons questions
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a pineapple? About 150.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a laptop? About 150.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a rabbit? About 160.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a Chihuahua? About 200.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a brick? About 210.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift an alto saxophone? About 240.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a chicken? About 250.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift an electric guitar? About 360.