The annual event annually attracts more than a million people to downtown Manhattan to see balloons on floats, but with four fatal crashes in recent decades, there are no friends to share stories
The most infamous balloon mishaps from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
1693: April 30th, King William I
Timed for 4.45pm for a 6.30pm start, 2 miles away from New York City, Britain’s 3rd monarch died the same day of influenza.
1930: 3 December, Santa Claus
Suffering from a concussion, Santa Claus stayed upright until the end.
21 November, Dick Clark
Off to New York, Dick Clark’s stunt ended when he was struck in the chest by a speedy balloon.
18 April, Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown, the Peanuts character, darted forward. He hit a large plush balloon that had been split from his friend Snoopy.
7 November, Charlie Brown
Attacked by a large inflated TV figure of Timmy, a character from the TV cartoon, Charlie Brown hit by rubberized balloon. The 13-year-old’s stitches were, however, able to foil a lot of the red, white and blue hammers.
$19,000 [arrested in 1968] after that horrifying incident.