Traditionally affiliated with a party or celebration, balloons are a beacon of festivity. Bright and colorful ones might even drum up childhood memories, some of which may involve a clown or entertainer hired to make creative designs for party guests or a birthday party. Back in the eighties, nobody was aware of the negative environmental impact of plastic balloons. This is the story of how in 1986, a million balloons were sent up into the sky in one go, leading to some immediate devastating consequences, and some that would occur later on.
Disaster Strikes As One Million Balloons Are Released On The Same Day
An Interesting Year
While the history books have a lot to say about most years, 1986 is a standout year for a few unique reasons. At the start of the year, the world watched on as the Challenger space shuttle ended in disaster. The return of Halley’s Comet is another notable event etched in the minds of the older generation today. The Guiness Book of Records also celebrated its 30th anniversary that year, which is significant as it links specifically to the balloon disaster that was to come later in 1986.
An Interesting Year
How The Guinness Book of Records Came To Be
First released in the UK in 1955, the Guinness Book of Records soon became a household name all over the world. While most people know the name, few will be aware that the Guinness in the title does indeed actually refer to the famous beer. Then managing director of Guinness Breweries actually commissioned two writers to draft a book of facts and after the first edition hit the shelves, the idea inspired thousands of people from around the world to go for both serious and slightly wacky records.
How The Guinness Book Of Records Came To Be
The Original Copy
The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records was nearly 200 pages long and first hit the shelves in August of 1955. That Christmas, it was one of the best-selling books in the entire country. Soon after, it launched in the United States, where it sold a staggering 70,000 copies. Seeing that global success was a possibility, the team behind the book decided that there should be a yearly publication, and in no time, it became the record setting authority all around the world.
The Original Copy
30 Years Later
As the 30th anniversary of the book loomed, enthusiastic record-breakers around the world did whatever they could to be able to make it into such a special anniversary edition of the book. This was before social media was around, which meant that one of the few ways you could get attention was to break a record or to get your name in the paper somehow. The city of Cleveland wanted to get noticed and solidify its name in the history books, so they came up with an idea.
30 Years Later
More About Cleveland
An affluent city in the mid-1980s, Cleveland was trying to establish itself alongside the likes of Chicago, New York and Boston, each of which has been a more popular tourist destination thanks to their prevalence in popular culture. They wanted an image change, and the timing was perfect to try and set a world record. This was their best opportunity to get into the 30th edition of the Guinness World Records, and they were willing to go the extra mile in order to get there.
More About Cleveland
A Partnership With United Way
An international organization that helps poor communities and fights social injustices, United Way, was the perfect partner for such an event. It was to be dubbed as a charity event that could raise some capital, but also act as an opportunity for the city to chase one of the most incredible world records in history. Although they didn’t know it at the time, this attempt would set the stage for one of the largest environmental disasters ever.
A Partnership With United Way
A Famous Balloon Artist
The city reached out to a renowned balloon artist Treb Heining, who worked out of Los Angeles in the United States. Treb had a history of creating incredible balloon art, even lending his talents to supersized events like the Superbowl earlier in his career. Cleveland wanted him to help them break a world record that would not only get the media talking but would solidify his name in the history books as well.
A Famous Balloon Artist
The Idea Takes Shape
The city wanted to challenge a record that had been set for releasing the biggest amount of balloons at the same time. Needless to say, this would be a massive operation, as they would need the collaboration of government officials, public servants, volunteers and more. It would become a mass operation by the city that had never been undertaken before, and it also presented a possibility of failing miserably if everything didn’t go exactly according to plan.
The Idea Takes Shape
The Record To Break
If you’re thinking that they were about to release a few thousand balloons at the same time, you would be wrong. One of the previous records had been set by Disney at the end of 1985, and the number to beat was a staggering one million! Disney had done this on the opening of Disneyland and it had turned into a major PR event for them, a major PR event which now lives on in infamy as we’re more aware of the impact this had on the environment all these decades later.
The Record To Break
Raising Funds To Break The Record
Footing the bill for an event with a million balloons would be no simple feat. United Way realized early on that the team was going to need to do what they could to be able to raise the cash needed to be able to cover their expenses. School kids went door-to-door selling subscriptions and asking for donations. By parting with a single dollar, the donor would receive two balloons and the thrill of taking part in something that was surely going to have tongues wagging for years to come.
Raising Funds To Break The Record
Scouting a Location
Sourcing the funds to be able to host the event was one thing. Another major hurdle was finding an appropriate space where it would be possible to bring together thousands of spectators, and doing it in a way that was appealing to photographers and TV crews. The Cleveland public square soon came up as one of the most practical spaces for the record attempt, and not long after, preparations began to ensure that all the logistics required would be reasonable and practical.
Scouting A Location
The Gruelling Task of Organizing The Event
It wasn’t easy to get all the logistics taken care of ahead of trying to break this particular world record. It took half a year to get everyone off the ground, including doing a lot of technical research on the practicalities of pulling off such a massive event, as well as a lot of time spent dealing with red-tape related to getting the correct permits and approvals signed off and validated well ahead of time. Everybody wondered whether it would be possible to pull this off.
The Gruelling Task Of Organizing The Event
Volunteers Unite
Although thousands of dollars had come through in the form of donations, the idea of the record attempt was to actually raise a substantial amount of money for charity. The budget did not make room to pay for thousands of people to help out with blowing up a million balloons. A call was put out for volunteers, and over 2500 signed up to help out on the big day to make sure that the event itself would be realized.
Volunteers Unite
A Crucial Factor
Practical logistics aside, nothing could be done if the weather didn’t play along on the day. After speaking directly with meteorologists and doing what they could to predict the best possible day for the balloon release, Saturday 27 September was chosen. This was one area where organizers had little to no control and would have to wait to see if the day was going to turn out in the way that they had hoped it would.
A Crucial Factor
A Cloudy Start
As fate would have it, the morning of the balloon release started off very sunny, but it wasn’t long until ominous dark clouds emerged. The volunteers became fearful that it would be canceled and although thousands of balloons had already been filled up with air, everyone worried that this wasn’t to be the day. There was no chance for a do-over, even if it was pouring with rain, so the organizers stuck to their guns and proceeded hastily.
A Cloudy Start
Mathematics In-Play
The weather aside, there was a different consideration that had failed the organizers. Not keen to tempt fate and stick to only one million balloons, the team wanted to shatter the record and release as close to two million as possible. With 2,500 volunteers on the ground, this meant that they would have to finish 800 balloons each! As noon rolled around, a lot of the volunteers were exhausted and had blisters from trying to tie the balloons.
Mathematics In Play
The Moment of Launch
The weather was starting to look worse and worse, and the volunteers were showing signs of some serious fatigue. The time had come for a decision. Organizers agreed that canceling was no longer an option, and with nearly 1.5 million balloons filled, it was agreed that they would be launched into the atmosphere just after lunch, at 13:50. Everybody waited to see if the weather was going to hold up or not.
The Moment Of Launch
Three, Two, One, Go
In spite of the threat of rain, tens of thousands of people made their way to the square to watch the record-breaking attempt. Some even traveled from out of town, having heard about what the city was attempting. At exactly 13:50, a net was released and everybody cheered wildly. Nobody could have known what was to come still, and soon it would be evident that things were not going according to plan.
Three Two One Go
A Skyline of Color
As a million and a half balloons hit the air, it was a breathtaking sight. The balloons soon decorated the skyline and blew around in the wind, flying around buildings and illuminating what was an otherwise dark sky. It wouldn’t take long, however, for the organizers to realize that things were starting to go a little wrong. This was to be an event that would have a massive negative effect on the environment all over the world.
A Skyline Of Color
How Helium Floats
Although helium was used to fill the balloons so they could float, this only works because the gas itself is substantially less dense than the air around them. When a balloon filled with this gas is released into the air, it floats until this density matches the air around it. Usually, it pops before this happens, or it drops down to earth slowly, as the helium leaves the tiny crevice where it has been tied.
How Helium Floats
The Problem With These Balloons
As with the Disney launch, everyone in Cleveland expected the balloons to go straight up and linger around the city. This time, however, the weather had not been taken into account. An icy wind meant that the balloons stayed down low, and the rain certainly didn’t help the cause either. Expected to float in unison until they popped naturally, to the astonishment of onlookers, these balloons actually scattered separately. This was a disaster waiting to happen.
The Problem With These Balloons
Tumbling Down
Because of the conditions, around two-thirds of the released balloons rushed back down to the ground, littering a massive area. This closed a lot of major roads, waterways were clogged, and even the airports in the area had to be shut down. It became clear that the attempt at breaking a world record was fast becoming a massive disaster for the organizers, city officials, as well as for the residents themselves.
Tumbling Down
A Devastating Impact
Highways are known as being high accident zones, so it’s possible to imagine the fright that many people got as low flying balloons passed their cars while they were traveling at high speeds. Bouncing from the windshields of unsuspecting drivers, these balloons caused several accidents. Little did everyone know that this was only the beginning of what would go down in history as a major disaster and an attempt that had long-lasting effects on the city and the greater world.
A Devastating Impact
The Effect on Wildlife
The low flying balloons reached as far as the farmlands and the forests, littering Cleveland in an astronomical way. Although experts speculated that it would affect the area in a similar way other environmental disasters do in the long run, the direct effect on the wildlife in the area was felt almost right away. It’s impossible to tell just how many animals died from choking on a plastic balloon, but experts speculate that the numbers are vast.
The Effect On Wildlife
Shutting Down Airports
Many of Cleveland’s airports had to be shut down for some time as the balloons were scattered across runways. Burke Lakefront airport had to redirect some of its planes, diverting them from landing in what was now considered to be a relatively unsafe area. It became impossible for planes to take off or land, so travelers were left stranded for hours. This had a knock-on effect on tourism and the local economy that nobody could have predicted.
Shutting Down Airports
Feeling The Wrath From International Media
In the weeks to follow, and as balloons started littering lakes and rivers in neighboring Canada, the international media started to grow more outraged. Citizens were up in arms about such a blatant pollution event and many experts suggested that the environmental effects would be felt on all corners of the world for many years to come. A lot of media outlets wondered how this event had been approved in the first place, knowing the risks.
Feeling The Wrath From International Media
Lawsuits Aplenty
The organizers faced lawsuits from all over the city after the event had taken place, one of which included grievances filed by Arabian racehorse owner Louise Nowakowski. Her prized stallions had been so frightened by the balloons that they were unable to compete in a competition the following day. This led to her losing income, and she sued United Way for $100 000 to compensate for this. There were many similar lawsuits that now landed on the desks of the organizers.
Lawsuits Aplenty
The Missing Fishermen
The day before the world record attempt, Raymond Broderick and Bernard Sulzer went fishing on Lake Erie. They were reported missing on the day of the balloon release, and search and rescue efforts were severely hampered by the balloons being scattered across the air and the water. What was meant to be a simple recovery mission, turned into a nightmare for the Coast Guard, who now had to deal with more than would usually be the case.
The Missing Fishermen
A Sad Outcome
What would usually happen in a sea rescue operation, is that the Coast Guard would deploy their choppers to see if they could spot any bright safety vests in the water. The array of multicolored balloons scattered across the water made it next to impossible for anything to be seen clearly, and the search was called off shortly after. Unfortunately, the bodies of the two missing people washed up on shore a couple of days later.
A Sad Outcome
The Family Goes To Court
The families involved placed a large share of blame on the city in the midst of their grief. One of the fisherman’s wife sued three of the organizations involved for over $3 million. This was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. An event meant to spread joy and bring positivity to the city of Cleveland had turned into a problem that would cost them millions and millions of dollars.
The Family Goes To Court
The Opposite of Sustainability
One of their key selling points of the events was that the balloons were not going to be harming the environment that much. They claimed that the balloons degraded at the same rate as an oak leaf. What they failed to tell people is that in certain conditions, this kind of leaf takes up to four years to degrade. We now know all about the challenges to sustainability efforts and the welfare of animals if this kind of plastic lingers in forests and oceans for years and years.
The Opposite Of Sustainability
Unforeseen Challenges
It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly how far and wide the environmental consequences of this particular event were. Ecosystems around the world suffered not only from plastic pollution, but from that amount of helium being released into the atmosphere. These balloons were meant to release helium gradually, as they rose up. They weren’t meant to be popped on the ground, in a bid to clean up a major mess at the time.
Unforeseen Challenges
Forever Remembered
Now called “Balloonfest ‘86”, the disaster was quickly splashed across all major newspapers in the United States. The story would spread to the rest of the world sooner rather than later. This led to public outcry and outrage from environmental groups, which still lingers to this very day. The city of Cleveland has never quite recovered from this event, and they do what they can to divert attention away from it, especially now that we know more about what excess plastic does to the sustainability of the planet.
Forever Remembered
Achieving Their Goal
The city wanted to get noticed, and this event certainly gave them that. It might not have been for the reasons they were thinking about, but nevertheless, the story spread. Cleveland did end up claiming the world record, which was recognised by Guinness, but the impact of the event itself is far more memorable than what was supposedly achieved on that dreadful day. While officially “successful”, this disaster will go down in infamy for being monumentally stupid, and a classic example of why it’s important to pull the plug on anything when multiple red flags emerge.
Achieving Their Goal