I had a science teacher that did this in class, then taped a match on the end of a yardstick and held it under the balloon. They made quite a bang. I wouldn't want to be right next to it when it went off.

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triceratops 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Yeah I've seen that demonstration in school too. But if the teacher was willing to do it in school, with kids, how dangerous was it really?

	▲	Neywiny an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Along with the other commenter, I'll add that a classroom is usually a lot bigger than a home dining room or other domestic party locations. That size also helps things dissipate instead of reflect. Not sure by how much but I'm sure it does something.
	▲	cyberax an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You can get permanent hearing damage from that demonstration if you stand right next to that balloon.