If you wish to study a granfalloon,

Just remove the skin of a toy balloon.

--Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut coined the term 'granfalloon' in his novel Cat's Cradle. He described a granfalloon as a 'false karass'; or 'a seeming team that is meaningless in terms of the ways God gets things done'; and 'a proud and meaningless association of human beings.'

Some examples of granfalloons are:

• The Communist Party.
• The Daughters of the American Revolution.
• The General Electric Company.
• The International Order of Odd Fellows.
• And any nation, anytime, anywhere.

Members of a granfalloon feel loyalty to each other, and often claim that God is on their side, or God supports their team. This is a false impression, however, and is said to be 'foma,' or a harmless untruth.