Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. NGDC Origami Balloon Finally -- Hold it by the edges and blow sharply into the hole. The balloon will inflate. 1 Start with a square of paper face-down Crease it diagonally 2 Crease it along the other diagonal and the midline 3 Squash it into a flat triangle 4 Fold one point up 5 Fold all four points this way 6 Fold one of the free corners to meet the center 7 Fold all four free corners this way 8 Fold down one of the free points 9 Open up the pocket on the left; curl the point into the pocket 10 Fold and tuck all four points this way 11 Open up the shape and find the open end 12 Origami Balloon Projection and instructions courtesy Flaming Pear Software http://www.flamingpear.com The curiously-shattered image of the globe (left) can be folded into an origami balloon (some assembly required -- see below) that reassembles the map. The image is a composite from ETOPO2 topography and bathymetry overlaid with nighttime lights from DMSP. Print this page as big as you can, cut out the entire map square, and strike a blow for world pieces. U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A D E P A R T M E N T O F C O M M E R C E N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N U . S . D E P A R T M E N T O F C O M M E R C E NOAA Satellite and Information Services National Geophysical Data Center see more at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/