Record-Breaking PR Stunt Ends in Citywide Chaos

Day of the Launch

Of the 2,500 Balloonfest volunteers, most were students. In preparation for the event, they spent the entire morning of September 27, 1986 pumping helium into balloons. The media swarmed Public Square, interviewing organizers, participants, and observers alike. In only a few short hours, catastrophe would strike.

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The More You Know

  • The first TV commercial didn't air until the 1940s.
  • Yosemite means "those who kill."
  • The last movie ever rented at a corporate Blockbuster was "This Is The End" at a store in Hawaii.
  • A species of squid has been observed to leap from the ocean by using pressurized water jets to achieve flight, going as far as 98 feet!
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