Boy nearly chokes on balloon popped by orange

A boy got a sudden and unwelcome science lesson after nearly choking on a balloon in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province when an orange slice his grandmother was eating caused it to burst.

Passers-by helped remove the fragments lodged in the boy's throat on Thursday after droplets from his grandma's slice of orange landed on the balloon and corroded the latex.

The grandmother, who is in her 60s, was feasting on the fruit in a city square with her grandson when his newly-bought balloon popped.

The grandmother blamed the seller for poor quality of the balloon. The vendor argued that the orange was the culprit."Your grandson was holding the balloon and you were eating the orange. It's no wonder it would pop."

It turns out the seller had science on his side, as the organic compounds found in orange peels are known to deteriorate latex.

"Orange peels contain high concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons, which create a violent chemical reaction upon contact with latex," said a materials science professor.