Why does a balloon stick to the wall after rubbing it on your hair?

Rub a balloon on your hair and press it to the wall. It stays there like magic. The magic is called static electricity.

Everything is made of tiny atoms, and atoms carry tiny bits of electricity: positive and negative. Normally they are balanced.

When you rub the balloon on your hair, some negative bits jump from your hair onto the balloon. Now the balloon has extra negative charge, and your hair has lost some — which is why your hair stands up and reaches for the balloon.

The wall is balanced, but the negative balloon pushes the wall’s negative bits away and pulls its positive bits close. Opposite charges attract, so the balloon sticks. On a humid Kerala day the trick works badly — water in the air carries the charge away.