Blaine teen attempts balloon record: blows them up with nose

Determination, perseverance and a strong nasal cavity — that's what a local teen needed during his attempt to get his name in the record books Friday afternoon.

Andrew Dahl, 13, of Blaine blew up 213 balloons with his nose in an hour. If Guinness World Records certifies the results, Andrew will own the record for the feat.

Andrew sat in a chair in the Blaine Public Library, flanked by his father, Doug, who was in charge of measuring the balloons to ensure they met the minimum diameter of 20 centimeters, and mother, Wendy, who kept a tally.

One after another, Andrew, an eighth-grader at Blaine Middle School, brought the balloons to his nose, plugged one side of it, exhaled through the open nostril and quickly tied off the inflated balloons.

"Does this count as practicing my trumpet?" Andrew asked his parents.

"Only if you can play that with your nose," his mother replied.

Andrew, who has played in the school band for three years, credited the instrument for the lung endurance needed for the record.

Andrew said he was 7 years old when he first used his nose to blow up a balloon.

"When we had barbecues or get-togethers I'd do it just to show that I could," he said.

Andrew sent a videotape of himself doing 184 of the balloons to Guinness in February but got a letter back saying that the attempt was not official because he handed the balloons to his father instead of tying them himself.

The family made Friday's event more official, with multiple cameras and a handful of friends and family members on hand to serve as witnesses. The family expects to hear back from Guinness in a few weeks about whether Andrew has set the record.

Andrew said tying 213 balloons was just as tough as inflating them. He had to stop momentarily while his father put a Band-Aid on his finger, which was bleeding slightly from tying so many balloons.

Andrew said the family plans to keep some of the balloons but will throw away the rest. He said popping the balloons can be a bit dangerous, because many contain a bit of what had inhabited his sinuses before an hour's worth of nose blowing.