Tomorrow morning is the annual Macys Day Thanksgiving Parade. When you pour yourself some coffee plop down on the couch and get your turkey day started by watching giant Balloons float down NYC streets. The mundane mystery today…. what happens to those balloons after the parade?
Back in the early 1920s when the parade first started Macys used to have a WILD competition. At the end of the parade they would release the balloons into the air and whoever brought them back would get a cash reward. Insane right? And seems very dangerous. Turns out it was. In the 1930s Felix The Cat got caught in a high wire and caught fire. Disaster. Then a few years later another balloon hit a small plane, almost causing the plane to crash. Luckily everyone was okay. After these two incidents Macy’s announced it would not award prize money anymore and decided to end the tradition of releasing the balloons. Probably the smart decision.
Now, the balloons are usually safely stored in a storage area until the following year or used at other events.
Enjoy the parade!