What happened to the Cottonball Cannon?

For the Austin Maker Faire in 2008, Griffin made a Cottonball Cannon. It was very simple, consisting of a fan for an air mattress and a vacuum wand. Mom really liked it because it was a safe way for kids to see a demonstration of air power. Griffin also experimented at home with foam rockets and the shop vac.

For the 2013 Mini Maker Faire, Griffin re-created the Cottonball Cannon. He decorated it with colored tape and added a switch and a light. He mounted it inside a large cardboard box to hide the wires. It worked great and kids had fun shooting cotton balls at their parents. But after a few hours, something went wrong. The motor hummed, but the fan stopped spinning. Griffin was upset but he decided to recycle the box and take the fan home to take apart. He had Mom pry open the cover because there weren't any screws holding it on. Once it was open, the problem was obvious. The fan blades broke and got stuck. We're not sure if it can be fixed.