Father’s Day is this Sunday, and we’re using our #throwbackthrusday post this week to celebrate the father of HI-FLOAT: Donald Burchett. Don was working as a research chemical engineer when his wife, Marjorie, asked him to invent a product to make balloons float longer. He went to work in his basement, developing a barrier coating that would slow the escape of helium. After several months, he came upon the basic formula for the first version of HI-FLOAT. It made balloons float about 5 times longer. During the day, he continued work as a chemical engineer, but at night, he made HI-FLOAT in his one-car garage. The business grew and grew until it reached the point that Don could no longer work both jobs. In Don’s words: “It took a lot of courage, but I walked away from a career I had been working at for 25 years to strike out on my own with Marjorie. It was the best decision I ever made.” Over the years, Don continued to improve the product. Now, HI-FLOAT makes balloons float up to...