BOATING TIPS -- MAY 1994
Answer to the Boating Tips riddle

Joe Coons

The balloon goes to the back of the car. Think of the air in the car as a liquid, like Coke in a bottle. Think of the helium as a gas, lighter than the heavier air, like the air bubble on the top of the Coke. The heavier air rushes forward, displacing the lighter helium which floats out of the way along the top of the car to the farthest point: the back end.

If you want to test this idea, try it with a Coke bottle held sideways, move it steadily horizontally, then stop short, and watch the air bubble.

(But do wait a while before you open the cap on the shaken-up bottle!)

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