5 Fun Facts About the , Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1, The parade was originally
held during Christmas.
Employees organized the parade
in 1924 to celebrate becoming
the "world's largest store.".
Three years later, it was
held during Thanksgiving.
2, They used to let the
balloons float away.
Those who found released balloons
got a gift certificate from Macy's.
3, The parade was originally broadcast on the radio.
The first radio broadcast of the
parade was in 1932. The celebration was
not broadcast on television until 1946.
4. , The parade route hasn't
always been the same.
The route was first changed in 2009
due to new pedestrian plazas. It has
changed a few more times since then.
5. , The parade hasn't always
gone off without a hitch.
The worst incident was possibly
in 1997, when winds reached speeds
of more than 40 miles per hour.
Four people were injured by rogue balloons, leaving one woman in a coma for a month.
The balloon was caught on top of me and my daughter. We thought it was going
to smother us, Joyce Reis, via 'The New York Times'