On this podcast, we explore fantastical thinking, moral panics, urban legends, conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and crazes, examine the forces that shape our culture, and tell the stories that create the realities we share, and sometimes the realities we don't.

I'm your host, Chelsea Weber Smith, and this is American Hysteria.

Trouble at the Macy's parade, high winds kick in, and one of the balloons goes out of control.

An accident has marred a holiday tradition once again at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

You could hear, oh my goodness, I can't believe it, it happened again.

As much as everyone loves seeing these big balloons, they take giddy delight in the prospect of seeing one of them pop.

It was an uncommonly wind prospect of seeing one of them pop.

It was an uncommonly windy Thursday in New York City as volunteers prepared to wrestle the giant balloons into their proper order, while more than 2.5 million children and adults waited on the sidewalks for the 1997

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to finally begin. Mixed in among the procession of 14 marching bands,

600 clowns, and 1,200 cheerleaders, all the favorite cartoon characters of the time were

floating enormous along the route, Barney the Dinosaur, the Cat in the Hat, the Pink Panther,

each ranging from six to seven stories tall. Early in the morning, weatherman Al Roker had declared that Gale

Force winds were hitting 40 miles an hour, but Macy's, known of course, for their specialty

in meteorology, said, no, the winds are slowing down, nothing to worry about, which is the same thing they told

the NYPD when confronted about possible safety concerns. Macy's was confident. They told the

handlers to hold on a little tighter this year to the many ropes that tentacled out from each beloved balloon character.

I love you, you love me, we're a happy family.

That day, the towering Barney the dinosaur was looking more like Godzilla as the winds, which did not slow down, caused the massive creature to sway violently at 51st Street, sweeping over the crowds on each side as they gasped and cried out, the handlers anchoring themselves

against the concrete, almost lifted off the ground themselves. Barney then cut sharply across

the street to the other side, and his stomach slammed into a lamp post and exploded, leaving the dinosaur all but disemboweled before

tens of thousands of people. The crowd then watched as a dozen police officers began stabbing

his still inflated legs, arms, and head, eventually stomping on the rubber and lying their bodies across the flattened

...