Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>You people think it is fun. It is not. In 1927, Felix the Cat became the first official parade balloon. Macy's filled the rubber animal with helium but didn't have a plan for deflating it when the parade was done, so Felix was just released into the air. He popped, of course, so the next year officials released balloons again, but incorporated release valves designed to let the helium leak out slowly over the course of a week. The balloons' release received much publicity; Macy's claimed that they would float hundreds of miles away from New York before landing softly in fields or people's yards. Stitched into balloons was a return address, and those who found one could return it to Macy's for a $100 reward. Unfortunately their flights weren't so peaceful. Out of five balloons, three landed in Long Island (one was torn to pieces by neighbors competing for the prize), one drifted into the East River, and one floated out to sea never to return. Stubbornly, Macy's tried the balloon release again, but in 1932 an errant balloon wrapped itself around a passing airplane's wing, sending it into a tailspin. The balloon release plan was abandoned in 1933, the same year that parade attendance hit one million.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1862565,00.htmlHeavy rain filled the brim of Donald Duck's hat in 1962, causing the character to tip over and dump 50 gallons of water on unamused onlookers. In 1971, rain fell so heavily that the balloon portion of the parade was cancelled. Sonic the Hedgehog broke an off-duty policeman's shoulder in 1993, but the worst accident came in 1997, when 43-mph winds blew The Cat in the Hat into a lamppost, causing the metal arm to fall off and hit 33-year-old Kathleen Caronna on the head. Caronna spent nearly a month in a coma, then sued Macy's and the city for $395 million. (The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 2001.) Nine years later, in a strange twist of "only in New York" fate, Yankee relief pitcher Cory Lidle crashed his private airplane into Caronna's highrise apartment. The 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade should be much more subdued — sunshine and very light winds are the current forecast — and the new regulations implemented by city officials in 1998 have minimized the possibility of a balloon rampage. Accidents are still possible, of course. Remember that crazed airborne M&M that tore apart a lamppost in 2005? Parade Balloon Hits Light Pole, Injuring TwoA giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, swinging out of control in sudden bursts of wind, struck a light pole in Times Square yesterday, injuring two spectators and scaring scores of others in a replay of a 1997 accident that had prompted changes in the handling of the balloons. Enlarge This Image Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times The M&M balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade before it knocked over a streetlight that injured two sisters. More Photos >The M&M balloon, 515 pounds of polyurethane filled with 13,335 cubic feet of helium, began to tip erratically as it entered Times Square about 11:40 a.m., witnesses said, before it hit the light pole near 43rd Street and was punctured. As the balloon collapsed, it pulled off a light fixture, which crashed to the ground amid a crowd of spectators. Police and emergency workers descended on the scene, and the victims - a 26-year-old woman who was using a wheelchair, and her 11-year-old sister - were taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where they were treated for cuts and bruises. The girl, Sarah Chamberlain of Albany, had a chipped tooth and was cut in the back of the head; she received nine stitches. Her older sister, Mary, with a bruised forehead, was given a CAT scan, officials said. Both were released several hours later. Their father, Stephen Chamberlain, said that he was relieved that his daughters were not seriously hurt and that "we plan to go back to the parade next year."The balloons had been sent afloat at 9 a.m. by city and parade officials confident that the day's winds were milder than had been feared. Witnesses in Times Square said that several balloons had veered and tilted as their handlers appeared to struggle through the open area of the square. A spectator said another balloon had bumped the same light pole earlier. As the M&M balloon moved down Broadway the wind sent it eastward into an office tower at 1500 Broadway, between 44th and 43rd Streets. As dozens of handlers tried to redirect it to its proper path, the balloon veered into the light pole, which was anchored on a traffic island. "It looked like it was happening in slow motion," said William Dowling, 35, a Manhattan native who had recently moved to Fredericksburg, Va. "It was like a frozen moment with everyone just looking up. It's amazing no one else was hurt." <br />Posted by jimglenn</DIV><br /><br />I remember their expressions from a pornographic movie I once saw...I mean the baloons expressions <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
Basic Error: The accelerating Universe conclusion - reason
SpaceX launches 21 Starlink internet satellites from Florida, lands rocket at sea (photos)
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram