It's been a white since we've tested a large beach ball, so we thought that would be a good assignment for Nadia. She knows that these vinyl inflatables do not explode like a balloon or hot water bottle, and can even be challenging to determine when they to rip a seam or otherwise spring a leak. She also knows that a 42-inch beach ball can hold a *lot* of air, so even with her above-average lung capacity, she decided to get it to size with the foot pumps, then blow during the critical phase when it might fail. She is wearing a very comfortable pair of sandals that let her toes flex as she m...

It's been a white since we've tested a large beach ball, so we thought that would be a good assignment for Nadia. She knows that these vinyl inflatables do not explode like a balloon or hot water bottle, and can even be challenging to determine when they to rip a seam or otherwise spring a leak. She also knows that a 42-inch beach ball can hold a *lot* of air, so even with her above-average lung capacity, she decided to get it to size with the foot pumps, then blow during the critical phase when it might fail. She is wearing a very comfortable pair of sandals that let her toes flex as she mashes the pedals to their limits, and gets a good leg workout inflating the ball to size. She then attaches a rubber tube with a tuba mouthpiece, takes a big breath, and puffs hard. She does this again and again, filling her cheeks to capacity, until she experiences some discomfort near her jaw and ear. Finally, she switches to the air compressor, and watches the pressure recorder to try to detect a leak. When it happens, it's quite clear - about an inch-long rip. She covers it with tape, and watches again to see where the next failure will be. This time, its an even bigger tear. She decides that she has determined the pressure at which these rips typically occur, and calls the experiment complete.