1986 Balloonfest

Cleveland's record-setting Balloonfest

[@quinnscarbrough5474]

Shout out to all the people watching this because of today’s episode of Distractible

[@justinhise9666]

Only after watching the whale blow up 😂

[@ryanallredwritesfiction13]

oh yeah, same here bro

[@quintintried5357]

💀

[@The_Irish_Rover]

Whale

[@starrynightsky7426]

Mark was right it does looks like a horrifying amorphous blob

[@prestonbyrd8443]

Bob was right, it just engulfs that building. I wonder what that looked like from inside. Probably like a fun house nightmare.

[@rickyricardo9710]

why did they choose to do it right next to a tall building lol? this was poorly thought out on many fronts but that's just asking for the release to be unviewable from certain angles and the balloons to fly unevenly.

[@Gibbowr]

Anybody here, after listening Distractible? 😅

[@realredman7253]

I was literally saying I bet some of the comments are gonna be anyone here From distractible

[@PatrickRob82]

Aliens were so confused that day...

[@mrirresistiblecs]

Lol

[@manfail7469]

PatrickRob82 Hey, at least they stayed away.

[@J_PhD]

Imagine being a city pigeon and seeing this shit...

[@pizzacatt9113]

I needed this comment

[@bigboipapi3389]

Lmfao

[@jamesbursey9462]

this resulted in two deaths, millions in lawsuits, and a devastating environmental impact.

[@theseeker2360]

Dont forget it wasted lots of helium

[@calliegardner3402]

The two deaths were from people being in the lake during a storm the day before

[@sickbars4lyfe900]

Worth the sight

[@mikewazowskiii]

@@sickbars4lyfe900 😂🤦🏼

[@butwithpotatoes795]

Also two injured horses

[@wolfyboy]

Distractible is the reason i looked this up. And is also probably the reason why the first result for Cleveland is Cleveland balloon disaster.

[@realredman7253]

100% accurate.

[@exogenesus6841]

Distractible is the reason why I RE-looked this up after first hearing about it ten years ago

[@RUP...]

same here

[@flaxco]

didnt ask

[@SayItAintTso]

The whimsical side of me thinks this is awesome and wishes I could have been there, but the practical side of me realizes how incomprehensibly stupid this was. As much as I love whimsical spectacles, how could anyone possibly expect releasing 1.5 million balloons to not be disastrous???

[@mummyjohn]

Why's it so diastrous?

[@SayItAintTso]

mummyjohn balloon remains were scattered everywhere and polluted the environment. And 2 people died.

[@isays]

mummyjohn you can find about it on Wikipedia. it didn't directly kill two people, it just hampered search and rescue efforts of two people who were found dead.

[@conureking7748]

Ya, I think filling a warehouse with balloons then running through it would have been fun lol

[@SayItAintTso]

@Teja my new favorite kink is reading passive/aggressive replies to comments I don’t remember making on videos I don’t remember watching 😩😂

[@starwarsfan7726]

thanks distractable for bringing me here

[@blorf6167]

Wow what a fun, noble, and definitely not disastrous event. wish I was there!!

[@chemicalx3951]

Goblok

[@Monkey_Luffy01]

Yeah

[@okty8372]

Surely nobody died because those balloons, surely

[@iamnotsomeonehidinginyourc7875]

Surely two fishermen won’t die because of these colored balloons landing in the water, making it harder to find them!

[@NoNameEst1992]

Surely much of our evolutionary development on this planet won't cease to exist due to the depletion of helium because we used it all up making balloons fly.... Oh wait

[@leaf9530]

Still amazes me how this was allowed to take place. Nobody thought this was a bad idea?

[@anayansib.1245]

The wickedness of man shorten his existence.

[@raccoon0413]

Imagine all the popped balloons land on the oceans and float everywhere... What a disaster

[@luckyshow98]

true

[@Rin-wo6lj]

Raccoon That happened in Lake Erie, actually. It made rescue attempts and searches impossible.

[@nepalihercules]

Raccoon 2 people died

[@Lonech]

***** They were lost the day before the balloons were sent away. It just made it harder to confirm their deaths considering the amount of balloons that deflated into the Lake.

[@marcsomerhausen1926]

Thomas Kim The rescue helicopter couldn't fly thanks to the balloons

[@skisail]

This is the closest we could get to a cloud of plastic. And I don't think a plastic cloud is anything good...

[@darc9925]

It's a good thing that it is latex. That biodegrates in 4-6 months

[@marvinraile7951]

It's also a good thing to do your research and learn that these balloons didnt degrade until over a year later and caused many environmental casualties and a couple human lives lost

[@frankgonzalezofficial3010]

Latex just as bad

[@AlphaZaius67]

@@marvinraile7951 those guys were dead already. they were missing for 24 hours already when the balloons were released.

[@fpsquire2440]

Looked cool tho

[@nholife]

i imagine there's a small island floating in the pacific somewhere that is made up completely of these balloons.

[@GanyaK]

in a certain way..yes..... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch

[@abbeycollings7795]

Indeed there is👆🏻👆🏻

[@Ultimate_Dadzawa]

it is the base of the garbage patch 😂

[@deontaeavila3514]

Arousing

[@Alyssa82]

Dear god... all that garbage... how many animals were killed and how much garbage ended up in the lakes and environment, never recovered?
Who could have thought this was a good idea?

[@GoldenLacunatic]

Well latex baloons are pretty biodegradable but yes it caused a lot of problems

[@YOTSUBA_desu]

Alyssa Mohino who cares about some stupid animals

[@willingegg5187]

Ness Lucas *edgy*

[@tatianadashkova2143]

Alyssa Mohino and two people died because the balloons didn’t helped the helicopters that were trying to help them.

[@itsarin2166]

@@YOTSUBA_desu HOW DARE YOU USE GYRO PFP AND DOESNT CARE ABOUT ANIMALS

[@AnthonyMurice97]

Mark was right that is horrifying to see

[@Haraxordie]

how did anyone think this was a good idea?

[@kikkasluca]

Americans

[@Fleecast]

Mexicans

[@itzpro5951]

Ohioans

[@itzpro5951]

Luca Caldari serilously
Ohioans are not Americans fool

[@absolutecynicalstreams5370]

oh wow ok

[@MidnightMoses69]

Cleveland - when they're not setting rivers on fire, they're flooding them with deadly balloons

[@Dahlia22273]

Alex Harvey they used balloons made of biodegradable material. Still a dumbass idea.

[@JarvisBaileyVA]

They set what????

[@alexpapatonis978]

Y’all ready know

[@alexpapatonis978]

We got a national park outta it tho bitch boi 😤😤😤

[@Panzer-535]

@@JarvisBaileyVA yes, the river caught fire....several times in fact. The Cuyahoga was one of the most polluted rivers in North America and the stuff that got dumped into it was flammable. an oil fire in 1969 was the final wake up call and atleast to my understanding Cleveland/State of Ohio had done a lot to clean up the river

[@superzilla784]

I heard several people died during this event because there was so many balloons in the sky that rescue helicopters were unable to take off. 2 fishermen drowned when their boat flipped over and there bodies weren't found for hours because they were floating amongst thousands of balloons that landed in the water.

[@somewhat.random]

Their boat capsized the day BEFORE the balloon launch. They had already drowned, the Coast Guard was searching for bodies.

[@Ancel4]

In 1986, Cleveland released 1.5 million balloons into the hair.
Now, in 2013, we have a shortage of helium and a horribly polluted environment.
THANKS, CLEVELAND!

[@andre-li7qo]

Into the hair

[@mycelium9629]

You're welcome.

[@justs_]

Ah yes. The horribly polluted environment we have today is totally the fault of these balloons and totally nothing else. And obviously, the entire city is totally the one to be blamed and totally not the company who orchestrated the event. Your logic is flawless.

[@wheresjuan]

*into the hair*

[@justs_]

@ThrashFan04
But still, blaming the whole city is a bit absurd, don’t you think?

[@MrShestko]

here because of distractible 🎉

[@d3genr3gen26]

Same

[@tristintorkelson5758]

Anybody else here from Distractible?

[@youtubeuser849]

Yeah

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Clear portrait of the 80's wasteful generation

[@chubchub1307]

Pls kil meh

[@garfoofian8507]

@@boofydoo4458 people born in the 80s are millennials too

[@DudeWhoLikesCock]

ok boomers

[@chubchub1307]

@@DudeWhoLikesCock Zoomer

[@chubchub1307]

@@DudeWhoLikesCock im a tuumer

[@Jontman42]

RIP helium

[@oscarkim7]

...and today we have an international shortage of helium and highly toxic seafood contaminated by marine debris...smdh.

[@thepanda414]

A bit late but these balloons were bio-degradable.

[@tothegrave]

a bit late, but thanks for this late info

[@jkgasdf5363]

SWI a bit late but they could still be eaten by fish.

[@thepanda414]

Meh
Possibly, but the whole purpose of bio-degradable material is that it will dissolve quickly in a natural environment if not dissolve within the acids of a fish's digestive system.

[@sallysmith7664]

SWI it can take up to 4 years to ‘biodegrade’ and it can cause harm during this period. There are no ‘eco friendly’ balloons.

[@Gatekeeper0880]

Imagine treading water for hours and as you see a boat near, you just get covered up in balloons

[@oakster15]

Aaaaaaaaand this is why we have a helium shortage today... Lol

[@bigsus1610]

Helium is very abundant?

[@mycelium9629]

@@bigsus1610 In the universe, it is. On Earth, not so much.

[@GwynethFaeleneThatOneWierdo]

@@bigsus1610 Helium is a finite resource. Once we use all of it, there is no more left. You cannot make helium.

[@livinglifeform7974]

@@GwynethFaeleneThatOneWierdo
Well you definitely can make it but we can't do it yet.

[@crocop6873]

Global warming

[@marternyorak1]

great idea for environment disaster....

[@Hard.AfobaNaoBb.Phant0M]

Lolololol comic but s tragic

[@Andrew-eh7oh]

This actually killed two people because helicopters were unable to reach the boat of two fisherman who were in trouble :P

[@Daedalus4]

+Karl Franz Unlikely. The coast guard spotted their boat anchored and empty on the day of the event. The boat had overturned and the men in it tried to swim to land, which most likely had happened the previous day. The coast guard were just looking for bodies at that point. It only hampered their search for said bodies, as many of the balloons had landed on the lake and made it impossible to see most of its surface.

[@ALacount]

:(

[@jacie9799]

insane that 2 lives were lost over something SO stupid...tragic.

[@towely]

insane that you believe something just because some random person posted it in a comment on UA-cam.

[@jacie9799]

N C good one....you got me. 😒

[@jaolmu]

Who else is here from distractible?

[@burbusburbus8782]

Thank you didtractible

[@Varanamous]

Distractible brought me here

[@coba-cobatv]

2020 who is still watching it

[@crisfilms8165]

Cleveland's biggest bruh moment

[@roastedrat7113]

Who is here because of distractable

[@ThatoneguyYoYo]

The fact I managed to come here from the death of cliff burton just because it was the same date is crazy

[@Daedalus4]

1:36 Princess Diana was not amused.

[@MentalParadox]

Daedalus. Finally we found you. You will not escape our grasp again. You will be assimilated.

[@Samuel-ku1qb]

I mean what did they expect? Honestly, even kids know helium in lasts so long before the balloon sinks and what if it all had sunken onto freeways and such? The amount of death could’ve been cataclysmic!

[@Space_Debris]

The '86 Cleveland Balloonfest Charity (was) a prime example in a loss of mental buoyancy, inside and out.

[@madison4364]

Based on this video you would think it was a total success

[@ohjoshua67]

This was more bizarre than the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in '97, The 1997 Parade was nicknamed "The Great Balloon Massacre of 1997" Because so many Balloons were destroyed due to the high levels of the Wind, List of Balloons were removed due to this, "Pink Panther" "Barney the Dinosaur" Even, Sonic the Hedgehog was removed and Retired, The Cat in the hat balloon was banned from the Parade. Because, He knocked down so much lampposts.

[@williamdarulla4112]

Who else is here because of distractible

[@indayteray8647]

This is why aliens dont want to visit us

[@itsmevarnami]

this is why the world is running out of helium

[@DudeWhoLikesCock]

damn imagine predicting this back then and buying up all the helium to sell today

[@aronthedev3074]

Who else is here because of Distractable?

[@bmhrulezable]

I’m here because of distractable 😂

[@xplsv13]

This looks absolutely horrifying wtf especially the part where the balloons almost completely engulf that building like It was a scene from a monster b movie.

[@joseph7988]

So beautiful! What a fun time the '80s were.

[@alison-wynnealino9904]

came from Zane and Heath: UNFILTERED

[@scotch2865]

Who else came here from the new Distractible episode?

[@girabbit]

1:36 "Thaaaat was not worth my time."

[@peterjamesfoote3964]

“As God as my witness I thought 1.5 million helium balloons would fly!”

[@jetmr_5043]

I’m here from the markiplier podcast, and good lord this isn’t what I expected

[@cmiller9800]

I wonder what that looked like from inside terminal tower?

[@domdubz7037]

It looks like Cleveland has a long bright future ahead of it.

[@islandblader]

It took 30 years to become a titletown again after all epic failures.

[@xRipeh]

So this is why I keep finding balloons at the beach :/

[@rerumusic9621]

This is the most Cleveland thing I've ever seen

[@youdismissed9542]

Thiz is not "cool" this was also a tragic day for two boaters

[@S.h-comma.to.the.top-Dynasty]

Someone really needs to make a low budget b horror film about balloonfest

[@anrato3866]

grüße an alle, die auch von toomanytabs hier gelandet sind.

[@donney-]

Looks like the building is so fire 🔥

[@jpatrick1967]

This is why Cleveland has only has ONE thing to cheer about in the last 30 years.

[@rickonami]

The song's message was ok 28 years ago. Today ? Mmmmmm No thanks !

[@dayglowjoe]

your country would not exist without immigration. it is an immigrant country made entirely of immigrants apart from erased native population.

[@CAPMFilms]

dayglowjoe what does have to do with anything?

[@dayglowjoe]

***** my comment was a reply to someone saying that song's message was not welcome in america today… which makes no sense given what 'america' actually is...

[@CAPMFilms]

oh alright lol

[@TronciM]

***** The song has a message?? It doesn't have any singing... can you explain??

[@reiayanamifanclub3065]

100% convinced that this event is almost solely responsible for the amount of microplastics in the water today

[@destroyerthepro1101]

Everybody gangster till the MOABs start appearing

[@acanofwrens6715]

Ah yes man made horrors beyond my comprehension

[@DanmanJR]

I wonder how Bob's fridge is.

[@JackAnderson101]

My dad was 7 he was there

[@NayNay1991x]

Imagine that being captured in 4K Video 👀

[@LivePatrone]

1980's where no one gave a fuck about the environment. goodtimes.

[@simonixen0762]

Like, i know this resulted in deaths, cr crashes and all that... But...
It looked really cool...
If only ballons never fell down and flew into space...

[@BepTweBot]

there’s 1.5 million views on this and i think there was 1.5 million balloons released

[@terencem8795]

We treat our home like an amusement park.

[@Avcchand]

What a Pollution!

[@rezzygirl238]

Now THIS is American excellence! American culture! USA USA USA!

[@jackmilburn2001]

Leglos two people died

[@----.__]

Jack
His comment wasn't _that_ funny.

[@phucduong651]

Kip Kinkel You mean Ohioan?

[@thewholecircus]

What a great day for fishing.

[@mariaaguilar620]

Now, who in their right minds would think that sending 1.4 million balloons up into the atmosphere would just gradually come back down, and expect no massive destruction in the end? 😀

[@Darkfire889]

lol america just killed a million turtles.
Edit* We could change the video by using another song.

[@gizmonovack]

Darkfire889 we are the world

[@nopenope7766]

*Cleveland

[@OrionRing]

boomers: look at gen z's! they are soo nasty today
also boomers:

[@idriveajihad6709]

We need to do this again

[@jyotsnabaghel4781]

Never dude, we already have shortage of helium :/

[@indigomarine91]

Is this probably one of the best videos on UA-cam.

[@ashishavin8748]

The Dollop sent me here.

[@crudecod]

so all that plastic ended up in the ocean?

[@emelylucerne2175]

+crudecod The wind carried many of the balloons back to the city where they caused a lot of problems, sections of the city had to be closed down to clean them up, but they also ended in the water, and probably in a bunch of unfortunate bird's stomachs. A really stupid idea.

[@crumpchump]

the fact that people died because of the sheer quantity of balloons released is hilarious, tragic and terrifying

[@DKTeddyBear]

I love how it can be used as data to show the wind and how they spread, terrible idea, but cool to look at

[@diegoleprechaun]

'muricaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@Zanitat]

Although this caused a lot of damage I kinda wished I was there to see it

[@juanjoangoitia5197]

you're fucking Obi Wan Kenobi, you saw cooler things than that

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

What goes up, must come down.

[@mushafasa]

This is why aliens don't talk to us

[@MaryamYouyou]

9gag? Anyone?

[@chuchumanga7948]

What's the point when you couldn't even take a selfie?

[@andyolivella2208]

POLAROID

[@imnotcringe6163]

Bro i can’t imagine all the trash out that ended up in the streets and lakes I really can’t🫣

[@crabtrap]

'Why Cleveland is awesome' class 101!

[@AyoubHD]

Well that's a stupid idea...

[@user-hg5bt7pr6e]

The building seems to have exploded.💥🔥💨

[@goobiehoobie]

Wow so beautiful

[@FNAFPERSON]

DISTRACTABLE BABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[@familiarstranger9617]

Distractible.

[@JoeLikesTrains]

Rest in peace somebody died that day because of those balloons

[@libreriaycafeabc1446]

2 people died actualy

[@troutstreamdeanohio797]

I had a balloon in there - all Cleveland public schools was part of balloon fest. I went to Charles h lake

[@rashidaansari9153]

That is ssoooo cool

[@Rin-wo6lj]

Rashida Ansari It murdered a ton of people and caused hell to break loose across earth. I would not define it as "cool" and I would define it as "Hellish catastrophe".

[@Rin-wo6lj]

*****
It still caused millions in damages and became one of the worst marketing campaigns ever (next to Just for Shoes Super Bowl commercial), but it was still an awful idea and exaggerations are in place.

[@DONTworryIgotTHIS]

jtv9033 The two people on that boat drowned, its not exactly a harmless crime. While those are the only two reported deaths the balloons caused no small amount of trouble in the city and surrounding area. Burke Lakefront Airport had to shut down, forcing air traffic to be redirected and Cleveland experienced a huge spike in traffic accidents.

[@John-vm2zi]

+Sword Kirby As a black american, I don't give a f*ck.

[@pw8160]

+DONTworryIgotTHIS ur stupid they were already dead