Balloonfest '86. releasing 1.5mil balloons. The consequences were catastrophic.

[scootro]

[Cobraman]

Ignore it, and you could die

[scootro]

the video had a horror movie vibe to it! i've been watching too much mystery science theater 3000 on netflix haha

[CyaNide]

Funny how that ended with the baloons going to Canada and not posing a threat.

CN

[scootro]

On September 27, 1986 the city of Cleveland tried to set a world record. Not for the number of hugs in an hour or the highest human pyramid. No, they decided to set the world record for the largest number of balloons released, to the tune of 1.5 million balloons.
People gathered in Cleveland's Public Square to see Balloonfest '86 and the releasing of the 1.5 million balloons. The $500,000 stunt began as a fundraiser for United Way of Cleveland but ended up being a colossal headache that disrupted everyday life and, perhaps, even deadly.

The balloon release was scheduled at 1:50 p.m. on a rainy, windy Saturday. It was nowhere near the ideal weather conditions to release helium balloons as the northern winds blew the balloons in that direction and the rain pushed them down.

As the balloons descended sooner rather than later due to the weather and they did so in force. So much so that they shut down a runway at the Burke Lakefront Airport, blanketed Lake Erie and coated the northern shores with deflated balloons. The balloons spooked horses and interrupted a Coast Guard search and rescue of two missing boaters.

Balloons were still an issue long after the spectacle. In November, P. Allen Woodliffe of Morpeth, Ontario complained about the aftermath to The Plain Dealer editor.

The United Way Services of Cleveland also saw legal problems pertaining to the event. They were sued in 1987 by Louise Nowakowski who claimed that her Arabian horses suffered injuries after being spooked by balloons. Additionally, a year later, Gail Broderick sued the United Way for $3.2 million because she affirms that the balloon release hampered the Coast Guard search for her husband. Because it was raining that day, the weather forced balloons down on Lake Erie and made it impossible to decipher between a balloon and a person. Her husband, along with his fellow boater, was later found drowned.

While the sight of 1.5 million balloons being released must have been a sight to behold, the outcome was far from pleasant. In their quest to set a world balloon record, the organizers forgot the most important scientific law of all -- what goes up must come down.

[Shaggin Wagon]

I don't see how anyone thought that was a great idea...oh that's right cocaine.....

[4king]

Cleveland sucks so hard even balloons can't escape

[CJ]

Oh they went to Canada? end of story.

[scootro]

Cleveland sucks so hard even balloons can't escape

why does it suck?

[1carcrazyguy]

World record for largest littering convention?