Record-Breaking PR Stunt Ends in Citywide Chaos

Biodegradable... Sort Of

The balloons were technically biodegradable, but that didn't make clean-up much easier. It took several months for the balloons to break down. A man from Ontario, Canada complained about the environmental nuisance, stating, "These balloons, being made of plastic, are not readily biodegradable and, thus, will create an eyesore for some time to come, or else be an unnecessary and time-consuming expense for someone to clean up."

Balloonfest Made History

The city of Cleveland garnered plenty of attention from their publicity stunt—for all the wrong reasons. Balloonfest did succeed in breaking the record, and the event was featured in 1988's Guinness Book of World Records. However, in 1994, the record was broken once again when 1.7 million balloons were released in Hillshire, England, meaning that Cleveland's grand gesture was all for naught. Cleveland wasn't the only city to cause a manmade environmental disaster...

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The More You Know

  • J is the only letter that doesn’t appear on the periodic table.
  • When a piece of bread is toasted, it's called the "Maillard reaction."
  • In 1923, jockey Frank Hayes won a race at Belmont Park in New York despite being dead — he suffered a heart attack mid-race but his body stayed in the saddle until his horse crossed the line for a 20–1 outsider victory.
  • The woolly mammoth survived until Egyptian times.
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Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.