The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924, and in that time it has become an American staple for the holiday season. The world’s largest parade, it has been broadcast on NBC since 1952 and includes giant balloons, floats, musical performances and marching bands.
The parade started with Macy’s employees marching to the store’s first location at Herald Square, dressed in costume and accompanied by floats, bands and live animals. This first parade also started the tradition of closing out the show with an appearance by Santa Claus, which continues to this day. It has taken place every year since 1924 except for 1942-44, when it was suspended due to the World War II need for helium and rubber.
Throughout the 95 years of the parade — it celebrates its 96th anniversary this year — there were bound to be some problems, and from balloon malfunctions to lip sync screw-ups, that has definitely been the case. Here are some of the parade’s most memorable mishaps.
The Mighty Mouse Crumbles to Ground
The Mighty Mouse balloon was no match for a street sign during the 1956 parade. After the balloon hits a street sign, it crumbled to the ground proving that the “mighty mouse” was no longer so mighty.
Popeye Pours Water on the Crowd
During the parade in 1957, Popeye either seemingly decided to get revenge on onlookers or was simply no match for the weather as it flew in the rain. The Sailor Man’s hat collected so much rainwater that once it met the wind, water ultimately ended up falling on parade-goers below.
Superman Loses an Arm
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i86rHAgiBjk]
Superman was one of the first parade balloons to meet an unfortunate end in 1985. One of his arms got caught on a tree branch, ripping it off and causing him to go limp on one side. Luckily, no one but the Man of Steel was harmed.
Kermit Suffers a Head Wound
During the 1991 parade, the Kermit balloon crashed into a tree, which caused the left side of its head to become deflated. Despite the blow and head leaning toward the ground, the balloon carried on with the parade journey. Commentators would go on to quip, “Today Kermit is just a little bit sad.” After the hit, the balloon wouldn’t return to the parade until 2002.
Rex the Dinosaur and Sonic the Hedgehog Crash Into NYC Lampposts
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_S5P-Zr4Qw?start=3]
The 1993 parade saw two balloons go down, both crashing into lampposts and immediately starting to deflate. Sonic collapsed on an off-duty police officer, causing minor injuries, and wouldn't return to the parade until 2011.
Cat in the Hat Puts Woman Into a Coma
Barney wasn’t the only one taken down in the winds of the 1997 parade. Another beloved character, Cat in the Hat, struck a lamppost, knocking it down into the crowd below. The post fractured the skull of one woman, sending her into a coma for a month and forcing Macy’s to implement new rules on how big balloons could be.
Barney Faces Brutal Death
The explosion of the Barney balloon in 1997 is definitely the most memorable of any Thanksgiving Day parade incident, and likely the most scarring to the purple dinosaur’s young fans. This year’s parade was held on a very windy day, with the balloon’s handlers clearly struggling to hold onto it. Eventually the wind overpowered and the Barney violently ripped apart, with crews immediately coming in to deflate and remove him.
M&Ms Accident Forces Someone to Get Stitches in Head
In 2005, two sisters wounded up injured after the M&Ms balloon was caught in the wind. After the balloon snagged a pole in Times Square, it hit a street light, resulting in parts of the broken light to fall. The pieces hit and injured two sisters, with one of them having to get stitches to the back of her head.
Scotty McCreery Misses His Cue
After winning season 10 of American Idol, McCreery appeared in the 2011 parade to sing his hit “The Trouble With Girls.” While most performers lip sync during the parade, the country singer made it very obvious he was not singing live by missing his cue and starting to “sing” after the song had already begun.
Spider-Man Wounded on Parade Route
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLIXn_qydQw]
The most recent of any of these balloon incidents, Spider-Man ran into a tree in 2013, ripping open his arm. Luckily the superhero was able to continue his journey through New York City without too much trouble.
American Authors Start Performing Mid-Song
Set to sing their song “Best Day of My Life” in the 2014 parade, band American Authors seemed unaware of when they were supposed to start performing. The song begins to play while band members wave to the crowd and are clearly not singing. The camera cuts away and then returns to American Authors a few seconds later, where the lead singer starts “singing” several lines into the song.
Nutcracker Knocks Over Woman
The strong winds got the best of another balloon during the 2019 parade. Despite handlers trying to stabilize the nutcracker balloon, the uncontrollable nutcracker hit a woman so hard that she was thrown onto the pavement. Luckily, the woman was unharmed.
Ronald McDonald's Leg Tears
Unfortunately the smile on Ronald McDonald’s face couldn’t prevent it from having a bad parade. During the 2019 parade, the clown’s foot was ripped open after it collided with a tree. Though it was a small rip, it grew as it continued to be confronted by the wind. The entire leg eventually deflated, with the balloon pulled from the march.
This story was originally published on Nov. 21, 2017.
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