Check Out These Thanksgiving Parade Balloon Mishaps

When I heard the news that strong winds might ground the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons this year, I was pretty bummed.  But then I found these horror stories from past parades...

Luckily, balloon mishaps don't occur often; but still, I'm glad they're erring on the side of caution in the face of possible high winds.  Here's an example of accidents in the past:

• In 1957, the Popeye balloon's hat filled with rain water, veered off course, and drenched the crowd in hundreds of gallons of freezing water.
• In 1986, the Superman balloon's left arm was ripped off by a tree.  The Man of Steel spent the red of the parade lopsided and armless.
• In 1997, the Cat in the Hat balloon ran into a lamp post, scattering debris into the crowd.  One woman's skull was fractured, and she spent a month in a coma.
• In 2005, the M&M balloon hit a street light.  Two sisters were injured and hospitalized.
• In 2008, a balloon modeled after an art piece by artist Keith Haring called "Figure With Heart," crashed into the NBC television booth, knocking the station's coverage off the air.

So yeah...if parade officials are worried about high winds, I would rather see a parade without balloons instead of a balloon catastrophe!