Between a new animated children’s show on Max and a new documentary podcast series, Barney is definitely back in the public consciousness, fueling fond memories as well as ironic nostalgia. But as Thanksgiving approaches, millennials who grew up watching the big purple dinosaur are recalling a much more darkly funny moment in the character’s history.
This week, the TikTok account @onlyninetieskidsknow posted an old video of the 1997 Macy’s Day Parade Barney balloon careening out of control over Sixth Avenue in Manhattan before a nearby light pole blew a huge hole in its side.
The video goes on to show balloon hunters and NYPD officers wrestling the giant inflatable to the ground amid strong winds, stomping on it to deflate it even more.
Hosts with Barney’s Balloon at the 1997 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
NBCU/Getty Photo Bank
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“Somebody else think back to the time we watched Barney get high.” [sic] on national television?” the text above the clip reads.
The video is simply titled, “Emotional Damage.”
Barney’s incident was just one of several at the 1997 parade. The New York Times reported the next day that winds reached 43 miles per hour on November 27, 1997, leaving operators struggling to maintain control of their tall balloon figures. In what is believed to be the worst accident in the parade’s 100-year history, the six-story-tall Cat in the Hat balloon crashed into a light pole at 72nd Street and Central Park West. Several bystanders were injured, and one reportedly suffered a near-fatal skull fracture that left her in a coma for 24 days.
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The Cat in the Hat Balloon in the 1997 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Evy Mages/NY Daily News Archive/Getty
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The amateur video of the Barney incident included in the @onlyninetieskidsknow post shows the handlers losing control of their tracks while others cling on for dear life. A crowd gathered along Sixth Avenue can be heard yelling and screaming as the balloon veers first to the left, then to the right, before being smashed by a light pole, leaving a gaping hole on the right side of the smiling figure.
A mix of cheers and boos can be heard from the crowd – indicating extremely mixed feelings about the character, even on his best days – as NYPD officers stomp and allegedly hurt Barney’s balloon to deflate it. The Associated Press reported that one child could be heard saying “Barney’s dead! He’s dead! THAT!”
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Commenters on the @onlyninetiskidsknow post recalled the incident with similar gallows humor.
“When my therapist asks me where it all started, I ask her if she knows about the 1997 Macys Day Parade,” wrote one.
“The beginning of a thousand-year trauma that continues to this day,” commented another user.
“This was TRAUMATIZING and my family STILL makes fun of me for crying during this,” wrote another.
The original home video of the incident appears to have been uploaded to YouTube back in 2013 and has resurfaced every Thanksgiving since.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education