The Macy's Day Parade was originally intended to be a huge advertising ploy for the store. However, since then, it has become an enormous spectacle, full of music, dancing, obscenely large balloons, and the occasional disaster.
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Honestly, dragging building-sized balloons down the narrow streets of New York City is a hell of a challenge. I don't think it's any surprise so many of them end in disaster, resulting in sad, deflated, mascots.
Grab A Baloon, Win A Prize, Or Die (1932)
In the earlier days of the Macy's Day Parade, they thought that releasing a ton of balloons into the sky would be a good idea. The plan was that, if you managed to grab one, you could turn it into Macy's for a prize. This seems like a good, if not environmentally devastating, idea.
However, student pilot Annette Gipson had the bright idea of trying to catch a balloon with her plane. Hitting the Tom Cat balloon with her wing, she sent her plane into a tailspin. Thankfully, her top gun-esque instructor recovered the plane, and they came safely down to earth.
That was the end of Macy's balloon-releasing ploy. The oceans around the world can breathe a sigh of relief.
Chocolates Are Bad For Your Health (2005)
High winds have always been the bain of the Macy's Day Parade. The huge, helium-filled monstrosities are at the mercy of gusts, blusters, and bursts of wind. In 2005 an M&Ms balloon got blown off course and snagged a lampost.
As the post shook, the acorn-shaped lamp on the top fell off, directly onto two young onlookers. An 11-year-old and 26-year-old girl were injured by the falling lamp and taken to hospital. They were released later in the day.
Macy's Day Parade Felix Fire (1927)
There is some debate as to what the first giant balloon to appear at the Macy's Day Parade was, but many refer to it as Felix The Cat. This was, apparently, the beginning of the inflatable obsession of the parade. But, it didn't exactly end well, leading me to wonder why they continued doing it in the first place.
The massive balloon got buffeted by winds, of course, and ended up crashing into power lines. The combination of balloon material and electricity turned the giant cat into an inferno. Somehow, the next year, they decided to do it all again.
Cat-Astrophie In The Hat (1997)
Once again, the wind caused carnage at this Macy's Day Parade. Among many other burstings, bumps, and deflations was the worst accident to happen at the parade.
While bumping along 72nd Street, the Cat in The Hat balloon caught on a light fixture. It pulled it down into the crowd, injuring four people. One woman suffered a fractured skull and was in a coma for a month. After the event, she sued Macy's for millions.
Due to this, there are now a lot more restrictions on balloon sizes, pilots, height, and others. The Cat in The Hat is still banned from the parade.
