Helium running out?

Lincoln Russell 14 Jan, 2008 at 4:17pm ET Article published in Tech

Comments

1. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 4:39pm primesuspect I think it's time to get some rifles, an airship, some cowboy hats and trenchcoats, and a pet squirrel, and become helium prospectors.
   
   fuck yes.
   
   We'll fend off helium pirates, we'll have air combat with rival prospectors, and we'll discover an underground city of helium-exhaling gelatinous beings whom we have shared the earth with for hundreds of thousands of years.
   
   It'll be fucking rad.
2. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 4:41pm BuddyJ I'm in!
   
   Icrontic Lighter-Than-Air World LAN Party Tour and Brewfest redux.
3. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 4:42pm primesuspect I could easily see snuffie's head as it appears in my avatar as our ship's logo.
   
   Hell, it'll be our flag.
4. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 4:44pm edcentric What is running out is that the US government isn't funding looking for wells with high He content and helping pay for the capture and processing.
5. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 4:45pm primesuspect WHO'S WITH ME?!?!? We'll have ADVENTURES.
   
   We'll have to deal with shady NASA reps, and they won't like dealing with gruff and bearded prospectors like us. We'll have dirty clothes and unkempt hair and our squirrels on our shoulders. We'll look very out of place in the shiny white halls of laboratories, and our dirty hoses will connect our ships to their tanks as we accept payment in nothing other than gold bullion.
6. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 5:02pm Harudath

   primesuspect wrote:

   I think it's time to get some rifles, an airship, some cowboy hats and trenchcoats, and a pet squirrel, and become helium prospectors.
   
   **** yes.
   
   We'll fend off helium pirates, we'll have air combat with rival prospectors, and we'll discover an underground city of helium-exhaling gelatinous beings whom we have shared the earth with for hundreds of thousands of years.
   
   It'll be ****ing rad.

   
   How long have you been inhaling that stuff for?
7. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 5:14pm QCH My facility is one of the largest producers of Helium. We have Central Helium Liquidifier that condenses the helium in the air and extracts it. We use it to cool our research projects. There's plenty.... Continue sucking it out of your party balloons!!!
8. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 5:22pm Harudath Lol :P I hate how the media makes us think we're all doomed repeatedly. "Global warming!" "Nuke alert!" "Armageddon?" "St. Blair pronounced pope!". When in actual fact "Too many cars" "Someone farted into a nuclear substance test" "a rock 400 bagillion years away has been spotted" "Tony blair tries peace". Myeh >.<
9. 
   14 Jan 2008 ~ 5:51pm CB Meh. I'll just become a barber, and cut the prospector's hair for free, on the condition that I get to keep all the helium I find in the clippings. I won't be rich, but I also wont have to fight air pirates which, frankly, are the worst kind.
10. 
    14 Jan 2008 ~ 6:26pm primesuspect They're not AIR PIRATES. They're HELIUM PIRATES. They come from below with their HELIUM BALLOONSHIPS and drill into your storage tanks. Then they siphon the helium using hand-pumped bellows into their shoddy tanks quickly, leaving you in a lurch. The problems are twofold: You lost your treasurelode, AND you lose the buoyancy boost that comes from the added helium. Return trips are always FASTER because of the helium, you see.
    
    So, lightened with their new load of fresh helium, they jet off faster than you - it's a constant battle!
11. 
    14 Jan 2008 ~ 6:28pm the_technocrat

    primesuspect wrote:

    They're not AIR PIRATES. They're HELIUM PIRATES. They come from below with their HELIUM BALLOONSHIPS and drill into your storage tanks. Then they siphon the helium using hand-pumped bellows into their shoddy tanks quickly, leaving you in a lurch. The problems are twofold: You lost your treasurelode, AND you lose the buoyancy boost that comes from the added helium. Return trips are always FASTER because of the helium, you see.
    
    So, lightened with their new load of fresh helium, they jet off faster than you - it's a constant battle!

    
    yar, they be piratin' with an air of indifference
12. 
    14 Jan 2008 ~ 7:34pm CB I move to have tt's post stricken from the record.
13. 
    14 Jan 2008 ~ 8:10pm Leonardo

    underground city of helium-exhaling gelatinous beings whom we have shared the earth

    Oh, you mean MySpace? Anyone can join, right?
14. 
    18 Jan 2008 ~ 11:40am the_technocrat

    CB Droege wrote:

    I move to have tt's post stricken from the record.

    
    You love it.
15. 
    6 May 2008 ~ 4:08pm _k I have the rifles, now all we need are the squirrels, ships, and trenchcoats. I have one question since sea pirates say YYYAAAAARRRRR or some variation what do the helium pirates say.
16. 
    6 May 2008 ~ 4:43pm Linc They say the same, just in a much higher-pitched voice.
17. 
    6 May 2008 ~ 4:46pm Thrax YYYYYYAAAAAAAIIIIIIR.
18. 
    6 May 2008 ~ 8:07pm primesuspect Excellent thread revival. This is the best thread on icrontic, for sure.
19. 
    7 May 2008 ~ 8:51am GHoosdum http://www.blastvalve.com/Interests/Airships/
    
    For only 1.46 million, this ship could be ours.
20. 
    24 Sep 2008 ~ 11:55am primesuspect I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thread again, for good measure.
    
    Also, this needs to be a part of the ever-evolving story:
    
    [12:37] {@primesuspect} HELIUM?
    [12:37] {@primesuspect} WHAR?
    [12:38] {@primesuspect} Sers, if thar be helium about, I'll be knowin' about it, aye, you can be sure.
    [12:38] {@primesuspect} And that thar wench, she not have helium
    [12:39] {@primesuspect} Aye, they say that helium ha' not a scent... But I say that be lies. I can smell a whiff o' helium from fifty paces.
    [12:39] {@primesuspect} Lass, were there any helium to be had, you can be sure that I'd be the one a'havin' it.
    [12:40] * +Gnome_Queenz steels teh heleeum
    [12:40] {+Gnome_Queenz} I HAZ HELEEUM!
    [12:40] {@primesuspect} damnable ninjas. They get tangled up in the riggin'. Aye, hop around like spider monkeys, they do.
    [12:41] {@primesuspect} We ere have to be coatin' the ropes with grease to make quick work o' the ninjas
    [12:41] {@primesuspect} that's only when we set sail for the eastern kingdoms, though.
    [12:41] * +Gnome_Queenz uses the heleeum to blow back up her bubble
    [12:41] {@primesuspect} Not much helium to be had out thar.
    [12:42] {@primesuspect} Although ol' Festerin' Faye an' her Smoke Dogs did strike a motherlode out there on that island Okinawa. Got away clean, too, she did.
    [12:43] {@primesuspect} Were that I were there to intercept. You betchya the Blue Oktober could outpace her Rancid Jackass any day the sun rises.
    [12:43] {@primesuspect} As it were, it were just Yellow Bill and his whoreson dogs, crew made up o' misfits and vagrants.
    [12:44] {@primesuspect} Couldn't catch a real pirate if their lives were dependin' on it
    [12:45] {@primesuspect} Ah Iraq, now THAR'S a land just waitin' ta be tapped. Rumor has it that thar be helium under that sand, aye.
    [12:45] {@primesuspect} One day the Blue Oktober will make her way to Babylon, the land o' the ancients, as it were... We'll get to the truth, you can be sure.
    [12:45] {+Gnome_Queenz} (how do we get him to shut up?)
    [12:47] {+tiberiuslazarus} (talk in parentheses, he can't read it )
    [12:47] {@primesuspect} Har! The wench tells Papa Prime ta be silent! I oughtta ha' ye roped and hung about the rigging fer good luck on our next voyage!
    [12:47] {@primesuspect} Course, yer no maiden
    [12:47] {@primesuspect} perhaps we'd better not. The Blooded Curse and all....
21. 
    24 Sep 2008 ~ 12:07pm Thrax Crack is wack.
22. 
    6 Nov 2009 ~ 7:48pm primesuspect Yarrr. The Cap'n an' his crew be droppin' by this Decemberween.....
23. 
    6 Nov 2009 ~ 9:24pm danball1976 It doesn't help that they closed the helium plant in Amarillo, TX and tore up the tracks that went to it. I was living there when they did that, back around the mid to late 90's. That plant had a debt to it from when it was first opened that was never paid, that ballooned to $1billion by the time they closed it.
    
    So... the only other place is Russia that is active in helium processing.
24. 
    6 Nov 2009 ~ 10:05pm primesuspect Yar, that be true... that be true...
25. 
    8 Nov 2009 ~ 9:37am drasnor

    primesuspect wrote:

    WHO'S WITH ME?!?!? We'll have ADVENTURES.
    
    We'll have to deal with shady NASA reps, and they won't like dealing with gruff and bearded prospectors like us. We'll have dirty clothes and unkempt hair and our flying squirrels on our shoulders. We'll look very out of place in the shiny white halls of laboratories, and our dirty hoses will connect our ships to their tanks as we accept payment in nothing other than gold bullion.

    Fixed.
    
    -drasnor
26. 
    9 Dec 2011 ~ 5:30pm primesuspect Yarrr.. bompz
27. 
    9 Dec 2011 ~ 5:35pm GHoosdum Nearly four years after it began, I still knew exactly which thread this was when it showed up in my User CP today.
28. 
    2 Aug 2012 ~ 5:19pm GHoosdum All I can say is, the Blue Oktober had better offer inflight WiFi.
29. 
    2 Aug 2012 ~ 5:24pm BobbyDigi I figured with all the talk of Helium Wars that this thread would rise up
    
    
30. 
    2 Aug 2012 ~ 5:24pm Ivan /me walks by in the background dragging a helium tank.
31. 
    2 Aug 2012 ~ 5:26pm Straight_Man Heee.... High on too much Helium Wars?
32. 
    2 Aug 2012 ~ 5:26pm Ivan You kids don’t know a damned thing about the Helium Wars.
33. 
    2 Aug 2012 ~ 5:58pm Kwitko Helium gets you high.
34. 
    27 Sep 2012 ~ 12:23pm Linc

    https://twitter.com/Bill_nye_tho_II/status/250216334066069504
35. 
    27 Sep 2012 ~ 12:36pm Koreish My childhood is shattered knowing Bill Nye cusses like that. Also that he can't spell "I'll".
36. 
    27 Sep 2012 ~ 12:37pm Tushon Also ... that's a novelty account.
37. 
    27 Sep 2012 ~ 8:03pm Garg I just started experimenting with balloon mapping, and now I find out the stuff is like $90 a tank.
    
    BRB, googling DIY mini remote controlled hot air balloons.
38. 
    3 Oct 2012 ~ 12:52am GHoosdum A fascinating look at the current helium situation from NPR.
39. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 5:55pm Koreish In a related note we are also running out of Xenon, that cute little Noble Gas that helps with the creation of lasers.
40. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 6:13pm BobbyDigi The Helium Wars are lifted to new hights!
    
    
41. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 6:13pm System /me nervously looks up at the sky.
42. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 8:21pm Ilriyas Oh God Ivan's dead!
    
    CURSE YOU HELIUM WARS WHY'D YOU DO IT? WHY'D YOU HAVE TO KILL IVAN!
43. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 8:21pm System /me gasses up his dirigible.
44. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 8:41pm Canti All these jokes are over my head.
    
    

    because helium rises, get it? GET IT!? DO YOU GET IT!?
    

    I don't get it....:(
45. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 8:44pm BobbyDigi It's ok Canti, some jokes are just 2 deep. Happens to us all periodically.
    
    
46. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 9:15pm mertesn

    It's ok Canti, some jokes are just 2 deep. Happens to us all periodically.
    
    

    Unfortunately, due to the rising cost of the helium wars we can't bring him up to speed.
47. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 9:15pm System /me stares off into space, a look of terror growing on his face.
48. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 9:18pm Ilriyas All this talk about the Helium Wars really makes my blood Boyle
49. 
    11 Oct 2012 ~ 9:18pm System /me nervously looks up at the sky.
50. 
    12 Oct 2012 ~ 8:41am Linc 'System' doesn't know a damn thing about the helium wars, but I know who does...
51. 
    12 Oct 2012 ~ 8:41am Ivan /me walks by in the background dragging a helium tank.
52. 
    12 Oct 2012 ~ 9:24am mertesn That's about the best helium wars statement and response yet.
53. 
    12 Oct 2012 ~ 9:24am Ivan /me stares off into space, a look of terror growing on his face.
54. 
    12 Oct 2012 ~ 5:36pm midga We're being invaded by Reddit bots...
55. 
    14 Oct 2012 ~ 8:27pm ErrorNullTurnip More like they're taking over.
56. 
    16 Oct 2012 ~ 9:40am BuddyJ Can we talk about something more uplifting?
57. 
    16 Oct 2012 ~ 10:02am Linc I lost 20 pounds during the helium wars...
58. 
    16 Oct 2012 ~ 10:02am Ivan /me asks for directions to the nearest airfield.
59. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 8:51pm DocFrazier

    I think it's time to get some rifles, an airship, some cowboy hats and trenchcoats, and a pet squirrel, and become helium prospectors.
    
    **** yes.
    
    We'll fend off helium pirates, we'll have air combat with rival prospectors, and we'll discover an underground city of helium-exhaling gelatinous beings whom we have shared the earth with for hundreds of thousands of years.
    
    It'll be ****ing rad.

    @primesuspect NOW YOU CAN!
    http://store.steampowered.com/app/209080/
60. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 8:59pm Ilriyas I am totally willing to go in on that if you guys are.
61. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 9:02pm drasnor I'll go in on a 4-pack.
62. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 9:05pm Garg In. That looks amazing.
63. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 9:11pm JBoogaloo That looks tits
64. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 9:27pm CB If it's anything like the original game, it's terrible.
65. 
    29 Oct 2012 ~ 11:09pm DocFrazier

    I'll go in on a 4-pack.

    In. That looks amazing.

    That looks tits

    If it's anything like the original game, it's terrible.

    Way to rain on that parade @CB
    
    
    
66. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 8:28am CB Just didn't want you guys to go blind into the helium wars.
67. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 8:28am Ivan /me asks for directions to the nearest airfield.
68. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 1:21pm csimon He awaits your noble gaseous knowledge.
69. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 1:30pm ardichoke Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to say helium wars.
    
    helium wars.
    
    You may carry on with your silliness.
70. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 1:30pm Ivan /me stares off into space, a look of terror growing on his face.
71. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 8:06pm Ryder My mother went to get a balloon bouquet for my youngest niece and she couldn't order another for the oldest niece for Thursday because the store was out of helium. There were unsure when they would get more.
72. 
    30 Oct 2012 ~ 10:22pm Garg IT BEGINS.
    
    /me puts on steampunk goggles.
73. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 12:14pm JBoogaloo I'm really half tempted to grab this game when I get home tonight...we'll see.
74. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 12:31pm Ilriyas Grab your goggles and trench-coats gentlemen...I have a feeling that the helium wars are finally on the rise.
75. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 12:31pm Ivan /me wonders when the next pun will... arise.
76. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 1:30pm Garg Let's keep it light in here.
77. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 2:31pm JBoogaloo I guess with the lack of helium prices will be ballooning.
    
78. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 2:55pm oni_dels Helium pirate. they're here.
    
79. 
    31 Oct 2012 ~ 3:49pm _k If ya'll need another for a 4-pack I can go in.
80. 
    10 Dec 2012 ~ 9:31pm RyanFodder This issue really blew up: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9732883/Ban-helium-balloons-this-Christmas-academic-warns.html
81. 
    11 Dec 2012 ~ 12:26am CB Man, that's pretty heavy.
82. 
    11 Dec 2012 ~ 1:55am primesuspect Guys, don't make light of this situation.
83. 
    11 Dec 2012 ~ 2:14am cola Drop helium use like sandbags? What then, Hydrogen?
84. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:16pm Linc Ivan, what happened in the Helium Wars anyway?
85. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:16pm Ivan /me slides his hand under his aviator jacket and eyes you cooly.
86. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:17pm Linc I guess you don't wanna talk about the Helium Wars, that's cool...
87. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:17pm Ivan /me stares off into space, a look of terror growing on his face.
88. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:26pm cola If I were to mention that I may have played a key role in deflating the cause of the Helium Wars, what would you do, Ivan?
89. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:26pm Ivan /me will never forget the first time he cast off anchor in the UDS Buoyant.
90. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:41pm Linc For the record: that's "United Dirigibles' Ship". So you know.
91. 
    20 Dec 2012 ~ 9:43pm Ryder FACEPALM
92. 
    21 Dec 2012 ~ 12:11am RyanFodder This thread is giving me a headache. They told me not to inhale too much helium...
93. 
    21 Dec 2012 ~ 1:17am ardichoke You guys have really overinflated the hype around the Helium Wars.
94. 
    21 Dec 2012 ~ 1:17am Ivan /me will never forgive those damned helium pirates.
95. 
    22 Dec 2012 ~ 2:39pm Garg I wonder if the muffin man had anything to do with the Helium Wars, or if it was the babe with the power?
96. 
    22 Dec 2012 ~ 2:39pm Ivan /me rushes off to check his helium reserves.
97. 
    24 Dec 2012 ~ 8:52pm Linc The hardest decision in the shwaipbot is deciding which key phrase gets priority in case of conflict
98. 
    25 Dec 2012 ~ 6:32am mertesn

    The hardest decision in the shwaipbot is deciding which key phrase gets priority in case of conflict

    Gotta catch 'em all
99. 
    31 Jan 2013 ~ 4:37pm BuddyJ Oh hey look an airship:
    http://jalopnik.com/5980630/new-colossal-airship-makes-successful-test-flight-and-reminds-us-how-much-we-love-airships
100. 
     2 Feb 2013 ~ 6:41pm BobbyDigi The Helium Wars are looming...