High winds sometimes make the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade a hazard for volunteers as well as onlookers. Felix the Cat was the first giant balloon ever in the parade and one year he got tangled in telephone wires and caught on fire making him the first giant balloon accident as well, but not the last.
One year Barney was torn open on a lamppost causing him to rapidly deflate. In 2008, the Keith Haring ballon struck the NBC booth during the live broadcast, causing Al Roker, Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer to be cut off the air until it was removed. The whole idea is semi-funny until someone gets hurt. The most dramatic balloon accident, was with the Cat in the Hat, where someone was actually injured. The victim sued the city (for $395 million!) and settled for an undisclosed amount. But otherwise it just makes for a more exciting time than when all things go right.
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