Bag popping, balloon popping and cork popping; all are fun activities in which no small number of people like to participate. Bag popping and balloon popping have been known to occupy the time of many young children. Often they are activities that are pursued in the school cafeteria or on the school bus.
Later, as young people learn more self control, they find it better to limit their popping. Balloon popping then usually takes place most often at parties. Adult party planners, who look desperately for a way to keep their young guests happy, quickly seize upon the "theme" of popping. Balloon popping might then be introduced to the party in several different forms.
Sometimes the party goers receive balloons that they need to blow up and sit on. The object of this game is to pop as many balloons as possible with the weight of one's body. For younger children this can prove a real challenge. Of course an overweight child would hold the advantage in this game of sitting and popping. Balloon popping in this form could one day be no longer in vogue.
An alternate balloon popping game requires that each participant blow-up balloons and then tie them to his or her ankles. Here the object is to pop by kicking as many balloons as possible. If you can pop everyone else's balloons but keep yours intact, then you have become a skilled player of this game.
In yet a third of the party balloon popping games the filling of the balloons must be done with water instead of air. Here there exist no rules about the method for the popping. Balloon popping done by those playing this game derives its pleasurable qualities from the release of water after the pop has been accomplished.
Today most of these balloon popping games are considered quite unsophisticated and thus unsuitable for an adult party. Adults prefer to go online to do their popping. Balloon popping games on the Internet take-on a form similar to the Balloon Man Video game. This represents the type of game that captures the interest (and steals the time) of many an adult male.
When playing the Balloon Man Video Game one never really hears any popping. Balloon images are on the screen, and each balloon is controlled by a different game player. In this game the object is to avoid a balloon popping. Balloon images must be guided through the stars, with points gained by the collection of computer discs during this journey past the stars. If an unskilled player allows his or her balloon to hit a sharp star and to "pop," then that player will loose points.
This is a far cry from the childhood pursuits of bag popping and balloon popping. It is a much quieter game, and a game that demands much more skill from the game players. The Balloon Man game does share, though, at least one characteristic with the traditional balloon popping games. Both provide those at a party with a fun and harmless way to pass the time. Both acknowledge the fact that people are amused by hearing (or even thinking about hearing) balloon popping. Balloons have been, are now and will always be fun.