How many helium balloons does it take to lift a gorilla?
About 15,000 balloonsA gorilla weighs 150 kg, and each balloon lifts about 10 g.
It takes about 15,000 balloons.
How we worked it out
A gorilla weighs 150 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 #15. 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 #15Play today’s experiments
More balloons questions
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift an orangutan? About 8,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a black bear? About 11,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a llama? About 15,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a motorcycle? About 19,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a lion? About 19,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a grizzly bear? About 19,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a tiger? About 22,000.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a zebra? About 30,000.