There are not many parades that are as famous or exciting as the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is something lots of people look forward to watching every year. These days, the parade is extremely popular, but it was not always that way.

According to history.com, this even actually had a rather humble start. The story of how this parade came to be so well-known is very interesting.

The United States economy was doing quite well in the 1920s, and so did Macy’s. They decided to expand, which led to them having a parade on Thanksgiving, and the rest is history. But there have been some scandals involving this parade. Here are some of the wildest things that have happened during the annual parade.

20 Those Who Attended The Parade Were Covered In Glass In 1995

It seems that attending this parade can be rather dangerous. According to portablepress.com, there was a time when the guests were covered in broken glass. The Dudley the Dragon float was punctured at some point when it hit a lamppost, and that caused the glass on the lamppost to break.

19 One Of The Balloons Broke Someone’s Shoulder

In the early 1990s, Sonic The Hedgehog was a popular character, and he was featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1993. According to jeffdavislawfirm.com, this balloon crashed into something, and then it ended up landing on an officer. As a result, the officer left with a broken shoulder.

18 Two Sisters Were Injured

A couple of sisters had to deal with being hit by debris when something happened at the parade in 2005. According to nbcnews.com, everything was going fine until the M&M floats came into the picture. The youngest of the two girls had to have nine stitches put in her head.

17 One Handler Had To Go To The Hospital

One of the floats that were featured in the parade a few years ago actually ended up all the way in a river. According to jeffdavislawfirm.com, this was a Buzz Lightyear float, and the whole ordeal caused one of the people who was handling it to get an injury.

16 A Balloon Made One News Channel Go Off The Air

According to galeriemagazine.com, a float called a “Figure With Heart” was at the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is always televised, but there was part of this one that wasn’t. That’s because this float struck a broadcasting booth, which caused the program to go off of the air.

15 Barney Has Been Known To Be A Troublesome Balloon

According to jeffdavislawfirm.com, the float that is modeled after Barney (the purple dinosaur) has caused lots of trouble for those who work in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on multiple occasions. The float once broke free from everyone and went floating away. Law enforcement had to come in to help.

14 One Woman Sued The City After She Was Injured At The Parade In 1997

One lady was injured during a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in the 1990s, and she sued the city over it. According to deseret.com, the woman was hurt a bit when one of the balloons came into contact with a lamppost. This seems to happen a lot during this parade.

13 1986 Wasn’t A Great Year For The Parade

In 1986, the parade featured a Raggedy-Ann balloon, which did not end well at all. The balloon hit a lamppost, and then it was split in half. This ended up causing the lamppost to fall. Fortunately, there were no people standing around the object at that time, according to jeffdavislawfirm.com.

12 The Kermit The Frog Balloon Had Something Unfortunate Happen To It

In 1985, those who attended the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade got to see a rather interesting sight. They watched a huge, inflatable frog deflate and fall to the ground. This object was a Kermit The Frog float, and it was punctured by a tree during the parade, according to jeffdavisfirm.com.

11 Lots Of People Got Drenched At The Parade In The 1950s

On November 28, 1957, those who attended this parade got more than they bargained for. That year, the parade featured a float that was modeled after Popeye the Sailor, according to jeffdavislawfirm.com. There was water on the top of it, which came crashing onto the crown when he floated up.

10 One Balloon Hit A Lampost

The Cat In The Hat float once did a very good job of destroying itself. According to jeffdavislawfirm.com, the float was doing fine until it struck a lamppost. After that, the float was basically ruined, since the incident resulted in it having a hole, which would have made it deflate.

9 Things Didn’t Go Very Well For Felix The Cat

Felix the Cat was the first balloon to be featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. According to jeffdavislawfirm.com, this was also the first one that had some serious trouble. The float accidentally got entangled with a few wires, and the float caught on fire, which was probably very surprising.

8 The Company Doesn’t Allow Outsiders To Participate

Those who do not hold some type of position at Macy’s cannot participate in their parade unless they are sponsored by the company, according to loving-newyork.com. Being in a parade is not all fun and games, so they like to make sure that the people in their parade are reliable.

7 Carrying One Of The Balloons Is Much Harder Than It Looks

According to loving-newyork.com, part of the reason why being in this popular parade is such serious business is because of the fact that the balloons are difficult to handle. There are approximately 90 people who handle each of the balloons in the parade, and each balloon weighs about 400 pounds.

6 Each One Takes Over A Year To Plan

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is no small thing to be involved in. Anyone who has seen it before can probably tell that those who work on it put a lot of effort into the entire thing. According to loving-newyork.com, this famous parade is planned out well ahead of time.

5 The Route Is Not Always The Same

It might look like the parade is always taking the same exact route every year, but that’s not true. According to loving-newyork.com, the route of the parade has changed quite a bit since it started back in the 1920s. The current one is approximately two and a half miles long.

4 They Take No Shortcuts When It Comes To Safety

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade attracts a lot of people every year, so that means that it can be a rather dangerous place. But these days it is much safer than it used to be. According to loving-newyork.com, there are lots of officers present during the parade, which is good.

3 Some People Get A Peek At The Balloons Early

Lots of people have to wait until the parade gets started before they see the balloons, but that is not the case for everyone. According to loving-newyork.com, there are some people who get to see them the day before the parade happens. They are inflated in front of a museum.

2 One Balloon Has Been Altered More Than The Rest Of Them

According to loving-newyork.com, the float that is modeled after Snoopy has been changed a lot. A few of the other floats have been changed as well, but this one has actually been changed approximately seven times. Some of the different versions of this balloon include Aviator Snoopy and Astronaut Snoopy.

1 Participants Have To Go Through Training

Getting to be in this parade is hard, but the hard work doesn’t stop there. Once someone is chosen to be in the parade, they have to go through some training, according to loving-newyork.com. The application process isn’t easy, either. Macy’s is very particular when it comes to their parade.

References: History, Davis Law Firm, NBC News, Deseret News, Portable Press, Galerie, Loving New York