The "skewer through balloon" trick

As a child, i have always watched science programmes and magic shows on television that commonly always show the trick where people would put a funny liquid on the balloon, then poking a stick that seemed like a wooden chopstick through the balloon without bursting it at the same time. Up till now, I still do not understand the science theory behind this weird trick. So now, here is my research on the trick and sharing something new and interesting i have learnt.

Just how does it actually work?
The secret is to uncover the portion of the balloon where the latex molecules are under the least amount of stress or strain. After drawing on the balloon with the Sharpie marker, you probably noticed that the dots on either end of the balloon were relatively small. You’ve just uncovered the area of least stress... the ends of the balloon. When the point of the skewer is positioned at the ends of the balloon, the solid object passes through the inflated balloon without popping it.

If you could see the rubber that makes up a balloon on a microscopic level, you would see many long strands or chains of molecules. These long strands of molecules are called polymers, and the elasticity of these polymer chains causes rubber to stretch. Blowing up the balloon stretches these strands of polymer chains. Even before drawing the dots on the balloon, you probably noticed that the middle of the balloon stretches more than either end. You wisely chose to pierce the balloon at a point where the polymer molecules were stretched out the least. The long strands of molecules stretched around the skewer and kept the air inside the balloon from rushing out. It’s easy to accidentally tear the rubber if you use a dull skewer or forget to coat the end of the skewer with vegetable oil. When you remove the skewer, you feel the air leaking out through the holes where the polymer strands were pushed apart. Eventually the balloon deflates… but it never pops.

Oh, just to prove your point, try pushing the skewer through the middle part of an inflated balloon. Well, at least you went out with a bang!

This facts and experiments' success is all thanks to the properties of POLYMER!!!