Winds reached 45 miles per hour the day of the 1997 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which made controlling the balloons extra-hard for handlers. Poor Barney suffered a tear, deflated dramatically and according to Esquire actually had to be removed about 15 blocks before hitting the grandstand.
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The 1989 parade stepped off in a snowstorm, wreaking havoc on several of the balloons, including Bugs Bunny, who took a tear to his side.
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At the time, Thanksgiving 1985 was one of the rainiest on record, according to The Weather Channel. That was bad news for Kermit the Frog, who careened into a tree and ripped.
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Al Roker, Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer got quite the unpleasant surprise in 2008 when a Keith Haring balloon took a wide turn and crashed right into their broadcast booth, temporarily taking them off the air.
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According to TIME, Mighty Mouse “failed to save the day” in 1956, crashing into a street sign and promptly collapsing.
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During the rainy 1957 parade, Popeye’s iconic hat filled up with water — and on one tight turn, dumped the chilly liquid onto some unpleasantly surprised spectators.
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The year 1993 was a tough one for balloons: Rex the Dinosaur and Sonic the Hedgehog both hit street lamps, deflating almost immediately.
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Not so super? The year 1986, when Superman’s arm ripped right off mid-parade after getting tangled in a tree.
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Felix the Cat was the parade’s first-ever balloon, debuting in 1927. But there wasn’t a plan on how to deflate him after the event, according to TIME, so handlers released him — and he promptly popped.
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