Macy’s used to set the balloons free

A hippopotamus soared over the ocean. A cartoon character burst into flames after drifting into a hightension wire. And a 60-foot cat sent a plane and its two passengers plummeting.

These are just some of the fates met by the giant balloons that have glided through the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York over the years.

After a shortened, audience-free event in 2020 because of the pandemic, thousands of spectators are expected to line Manhattan’s streets today to watch the parade, and millions will view it on NBC. There will be floats, marching bands and clowns. But the enormous balloons remain one of the biggest draws.

Here is a closer look at the milestones and mishaps involving the helium-filled characters sailing overhead, and the curiosities of a nearly century-old holiday tradition.

Macy’s used to set the balloons free after the parade ended

The first Macy’s parade, in 1924, looked very different from today’s celebration. Animals from the Central Park Zoo, including elephants and tigers, joined the procession. The giant balloons that the parade is now known for did not show up until a few years later.

In the late 1920s, Macy’s began releasing its balloons into the sky after the festivities, with a monetary reward offered for their return.

The New York Times reported on the various places where the balloons landed. In 1928, a balloon called the Sky Tiger descended on a Long Island neighborhood where “a tug of war ensued for its possession.” Another balloon was found broken in half and floating in the East River, “pursued by two tugboats.”

In 1931, the balloons included a 287-foot-long dragon that was held by 29 men. Macy’s released it and about 16,000 other balloons, many of them much smaller. Some carried postcards that could be brought to Macy’s for a prize.

A blue hippopotamus balloon escaped the New York area, however, and was believed to be “soaring somewhere over the ocean.”

“Descriptions of the cruising beast have been broadcast,” the Times reported, and “the reward for its return has been multiplied by four.”

Felix the Cat, Macy’s first character balloon, met its demise after floating into a high-tension wire and catching fire.

Disaster in the skies narrowly avoided

Despite these difficulties, the balloons were released again in 1932. One hit a plane, sending it on a 5,000foot plunge. A 22-year-old woman had been piloting the plane over Jamaica, Queens, with her instructor when a 60-foot Tom Cat floated into view.

The Times reported: “The left wing of the plane smacked against the balloon fabric that was Tom’s hide.” The plane plummeted, and the woman nearly fell out, but catastrophe was avoided when the instructor took control and pieces of the balloon “fluttered away from the wing.”

The company also decided that the tradition of releasing the balloons had to end.

Mickey in demand

Mickey Mouse made his parade debut in 1934, attracting interest from other countries that, as the Times put it, “have helium and a desire to stage grotesque parades.”

The Big Bad Wolf balloon was also a draw, and Macy’s planned to sell them both to the highest bidders.

World War II hiatus

In 1942, the president of Macy’s, Jack Straus, announced the parade would be canceled because of the war. He deflated a green dragon balloon and gave the rubber to the military; the company eventually donated 650 pounds of balloon rubber. In 1945, when the war ended, the parade returned. Three years later the parade was televised for the first time nationally, on NBC, Macy’s said.

Improvisation

A helium shortage spurred rumors that balloons would not appear at the parade. After “a lot of calls” with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. before the 1958 parade, Macy’s figured out a way to fill three of its giant balloons with plain air and to support them using cranes.

Grounded, thanks to the wind

In 1971, for the first time in the parade’s history, wind gusts up to 40 mph and a severe downpour grounded every balloon.

NBC aired clips of balloons from the 1970 parade instead.

Cat in the Hat balloon nearly killed someone

The parade has had its share of accidents over the years, such as the time an M&M balloon struck a light pole and injured two people in 2005.

But one of the most shocking accidents occurred when a Cat in the Hat balloon hit a light pole and severely injured a woman in 1997. She was in a coma for 24 days afterward and finally reached a settlement with the department store, the city and a city contractor in 2001.

Snoopy has always been beloved

Snoopy is as popular today as in 1968, when he made his debut.

He has appeared in more than 40 parades — more than any other character — as an aviator, astronaut, skater and more.

When Snoopy was absent from the parade in 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to bring him back.