Older homes such as mine, in addition to having cracks, leaks, creaks, non-level surfaces, and 100-year-old center beams, tend also to have higher ceilings than the current standard of 1 Yao.
Cleaning said ceilings can be difficult - they are too high to reach with all but the most aesthetically-pleasing (i.e. useless) vacuum cleaners, or with a Swiffer (or other brand name) static-cling sheet handle that you have oh-so-intelligently decided to hold upside down.
What's the fun in that?
I propose instead the use of a rubber balloon, filled with hydrogen gas obtained via your personal electrolysis rig (you DO have one, right?), and rubbed on your own head (or, if you're bald, your cat). These balloons would be shipped or otherwise packaged with swiffer-style dusting sheets, one side normal and the other side possessing double-stick tape. Inflate the balloon, rub it upon the appropriately electronegative surface, and then affix the dusting sheets.
Simply maneuver the balloon about your ceilings with a string. The swiffer-type sheets collect what dust they come across, and the balloon's static charge collects dust its ownself.
Cleanup, of course, is a blast.-- shapu, Mar 05 2009 works for me [+]... what's a "Yao" ?-- FlyingToaster, Mar 05 2009 I suppose it's a measure of length, roughly equal to the height of Yao Ming (7ft 6in, or 229 cm).-- Spacecoyote, Mar 05 2009 ahh <click>-- FlyingToaster, Mar 05 2009 What do you do if your cat's bald?-- nineteenthly, Mar 05 2009 chia pet pet ?-- FlyingToaster, Mar 05 2009 random, halfbakery