The Weird History of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:05] Speaker B: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Weird World Adventures, the podcast. I'm your host, Mallory. [00:00:10] Speaker A: And I'm your host, Michael. [00:00:11] Speaker B: And we're here to show you just how weird this world of ours really is. In celebration of Thanksgiving this week, AKA Turkey Day, I thought it would be a great idea. Yeah, it's Turkey Day. I always called it Turkey Day as a kid because I was a rebellious jerk that refused to call it Thanksgiving. [00:00:29] Speaker A: Wow. What a badass rebel. [00:00:32] Speaker B: Yeah, Turkey Day. [00:00:33] Speaker A: Turkey Day. [00:00:35] Speaker B: Now my favorite festivity on Thanksgiving is the dog show. I love the dog show. Gotta root for those dogs. [00:00:46] Speaker A: What do you mean, root for them? [00:00:47] Speaker B: They're in competition against favorite. Yeah, yeah, you're rooting for a dog. [00:00:51] Speaker A: And the rest you want to. [00:00:53] Speaker B: I like the Bedlington terriers. King Charles Spaniels are okay. [00:00:59] Speaker A: It's just such a freak show. Yeah, trot those guys out. I'm just like, what is that monstrosity? [00:01:08] Speaker B: The more monstrous it looks, the better it does too. [00:01:11] Speaker A: Oh, definitely, definitely. [00:01:13] Speaker B: Yeah, they have the pomsky. I'm like, oh, look at the pomsky Kumi. And I'm like, they're so cute. They never make it. [00:01:18] Speaker A: I've been, like, quite allergic to dogs my whole life, so I've never had dogs. I've never been really around dogs. I know absolutely nothing about dogs. But I know that some of those freaks that win are not dogs. [00:01:34] Speaker B: They're questionably dogs. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. But the other festivity that we have to watch on Thanksgiving is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. [00:01:45] Speaker A: Okay, well, I'm 0 for 2 here because I just watch it. It was never. I mean, I'm sure it's been on, but I've never made any particular effort to watch it. [00:01:55] Speaker B: Well, that's way less fun now, because I'm gonna. I'm gonna ask you to do something. [00:01:59] Speaker A: You're gonna hate me. Okay. [00:02:00] Speaker B: What year do you think the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was created? First year it happened. [00:02:07] Speaker A: Ooh. All right, so I feel like it's a trick because it's gonna be older than I think it is. So let me think. Okay, mine was Macy's. 19. 38. [00:02:29] Speaker B: You're close, but it's older than that. [00:02:31] Speaker A: Oh, I should have gone. I was like, why did I pick the Depression? That was dumb. [00:02:35] Speaker B: 1924. [00:02:36] Speaker A: Oh, I almost picked the 20s. I almost picked 28. [00:02:39] Speaker B: And I was like, no, you're really close there. I want you to come up with an origin story for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. How do you think it started? [00:02:47] Speaker A: It's something ridiculous. I feel like I have heard this and I'm not gonna come up with it at all. But it's something, like, banal, isn't it? Like, just, like a completely ridiculous reason for it. Kind of existing, kind of an origin story. God, I'm not gonna really come up with something, like, clever here. [00:03:19] Speaker B: I'm surprised you just didn't go with capitalism. [00:03:23] Speaker A: Well, yeah. I mean, of course. It's just they're trying to sell stuff, but. [00:03:25] Speaker B: But it actually wasn't capitalism. [00:03:27] Speaker A: Oh, I'll give you that hint. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:30] Speaker A: Oh, I don't know, then. [00:03:31] Speaker B: Okay. So the parade began in 1924, not as the polished spectacle we know today. [00:03:38] Speaker A: The polished spectacle. [00:03:39] Speaker B: Polished spectacle. [00:03:41] Speaker A: Is that what it is now? [00:03:41] Speaker B: Yes, it is. It's. It's a crazy spectacle, but as a celebration by Macy's immigrant employees who wanted to commemorate their new American home. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Oh, no, I didn't know this then. [00:03:52] Speaker B: Yeah, they. The first procession featured live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo, including elephants, camels and bears. [00:04:00] Speaker A: Oh, what could go wrong there? [00:04:02] Speaker B: Department store employees marched alongside professional entertainers and fleet floats. And they went all the way from Herald Square to 145th Street. And 250,000 spectators stopped to watch. And then it became so successful from that that, like, we're gonna do this again next year, right? What an origin story. [00:04:21] Speaker A: That was not the origin story. I was thinking. Well, I wasn't thinking anything, but that's a better reason than what I was thinking. I'll be honest. I think the extent of my knowledge is the parade in the Seinfeld episode where he pops Woody Woodpecker. The Woody Woodpecker. [00:04:37] Speaker B: He pops Woody Woodpecker. Oh, man. [00:04:39] Speaker A: Yeah, by accident. [00:04:40] Speaker B: Oh, that's unfortunate. That's a pretty big thing to pop. [00:04:44] Speaker A: He knocks a. What's he knocks? Like a trophy or something out of a guy's window from, like a Pops them. [00:04:55] Speaker B: That's really funny. [00:04:56] Speaker A: Pop. Woody Woodpecker. Good episode. [00:04:59] Speaker B: Funny things. Yeah. Yeah. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Okay. [00:05:01] Speaker B: Your favorite? [00:05:01] Speaker A: Yeah, it's my favorite. [00:05:02] Speaker B: Those giant balloons. The Woody Woodpecker. The giant balloons. They didn't appear until 1927. The early balloons were filled with regular air rather than helium. [00:05:12] Speaker A: I'm surprised they're that early. [00:05:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Originally, regular air rather than helium and were held by handlers walking alongside them. So it was just like people holding up balloons. [00:05:21] Speaker A: What do you mean, regular air? [00:05:24] Speaker B: It wasn't with helium. They just breathed into them and blew up some balloons like that. It was like balloons. Not gigantic, like helium filled. I'm reading The. [00:05:35] Speaker A: But I mean, if you. Okay, but you also blow up a pool float with regular, quote unquote, regular air, and they don't take off magic. I mean, something's not right there. What do you mean? I mean. You mean just oxygen? Like. [00:05:48] Speaker B: Yeah, just oxygen. They were just like balloons. You can blow up balloons and then. [00:05:54] Speaker A: On a string, but it's not. [00:05:55] Speaker B: And walk alongside them. [00:05:58] Speaker A: Can you? They don't just. [00:05:59] Speaker B: No, they don't float well. That's my point. [00:06:02] Speaker A: Okay, so they didn't float well. [00:06:03] Speaker B: No. Yeah, they just, like, dragged them with them. Okay, hold on. [00:06:10] Speaker A: So they basically blew up a bunch of giant pool floats and just drag these things down the street? [00:06:15] Speaker B: Yes. [00:06:16] Speaker A: So they didn't float at all. [00:06:17] Speaker B: Right. This is in the 1920s. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Because they wouldn't float without. [00:06:21] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:22] Speaker A: Something that's less dense than air, and you're breathing air. So they wouldn't float at all. [00:06:28] Speaker B: And then the following year, because they. [00:06:29] Speaker A: Still have to weigh, like, a few. They weigh hundreds of pounds. Right. They're giant. [00:06:33] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:34] Speaker A: So, yeah, they're not gonna float. [00:06:35] Speaker B: No. And in 1928, the organizers switched to helium. [00:06:39] Speaker A: Do they have pictures of these people just dragging, like, floats around? [00:06:43] Speaker B: I tried to find pictures. 1928, they actually used helium and were held by handlers to walk alongside them and attempted something spectacularly ill advised. They released the balloons into the sky at the parade's conclusion with return address labels to attach, offering rewards to anyone who found them. This is in 1928. The Felix the Cat balloon soared for days until it wrapped around a telephone wire while other balloons traveled as far as the Atlantic Oceans. This was a great. [00:07:17] Speaker A: Wow. I didn't know any of this. [00:07:19] Speaker B: The practice list discontinued after a few years. Like, they did it for a few years. [00:07:28] Speaker A: What are the odds Felix will get wrapped around another telephone hole? [00:07:32] Speaker B: Right. You said the practice was discontinued after it became clear that giant helium balloons could careening unpredictably across the northeastern United States, pose safety concerns. [00:07:43] Speaker A: Yeah. You don't say. [00:07:46] Speaker B: The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944. During World War II, the helium was needed for military blimps. [00:07:56] Speaker A: Oh, is. Is that why it was suspended? Yeah, it's like more rationing. [00:08:00] Speaker B: Yeah, like war rationing. Interesting. And the £650 of rubber from the deflated balloons were donated for the war effort. [00:08:09] Speaker A: Interesting. [00:08:10] Speaker B: When the parade returned in 1945, it was greeted with even greater enthusiasm. And do you know the movie that was created from that? [00:08:18] Speaker A: From the return of It? There's a movie about the returning. [00:08:21] Speaker B: You don't know there's a movie about the Thanksgiving. It's a Christmas movie about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's a huge part of it. [00:08:29] Speaker A: God, I don't know anything about this. [00:08:31] Speaker B: You don't? [00:08:32] Speaker A: It's Wonderful Life. No, that's just always the answer. So is the old people answer to that? No, I don't know. [00:08:39] Speaker B: Miracle on 34th Street. [00:08:40] Speaker A: I never saw it. [00:08:41] Speaker B: You didn't know that, though? I mean, I feel like I couldn't tell you what happens in the movie, but I know the movie is about the Macy's. [00:08:46] Speaker A: I also couldn't tell you what happened in the movie, and I couldn't even tell you it's about that. [00:08:51] Speaker B: Okay, then. [00:08:56] Speaker A: All right, what else you got? [00:08:57] Speaker B: What else I got? So there's stranger moments of the parade. What do you think some of the horrifying things that happened in the parade were? [00:09:05] Speaker A: Well, Felix getting wrapped around a telephone while it was pretty wild. [00:09:09] Speaker B: Releasing the balloons is pretty aggressive. [00:09:11] Speaker A: It's pretty aggressive. Were they just. Are they giant just like they are now? [00:09:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:15] Speaker A: So they just released these giant floats? [00:09:17] Speaker B: Yep. They thought it was magical. It was a good idea. [00:09:22] Speaker A: I like that. It took a few years to figure it out. [00:09:24] Speaker B: And they put return addresses on them, like, oh, return them here if we find them. [00:09:28] Speaker A: Who was going to. Like, how would you even do that? [00:09:32] Speaker B: The 20s were a simpler time. [00:09:35] Speaker A: But that doesn't make dragging a giant Felix float easier. I mean, if this thing ended up in your, like, field, how are you gonna get it? Well, even if you. Even if you were so inclined to return it, what are you doing? [00:09:49] Speaker B: You have to have a truck. [00:09:52] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, like a massive truck, right? [00:09:54] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Although they used to. [00:09:57] Speaker A: I mean, are they smaller than I'm picturing? I have them pictured. [00:09:59] Speaker B: No, they're huge. So. [00:10:00] Speaker A: So how would that work? [00:10:01] Speaker B: I don't think it. I think that was the problem. They discontinued it for many reasons. I'm sure that's one of them. And, I mean, that was a wild time, too. Was it around the early 1900s? [00:10:11] Speaker A: That was a wild time. [00:10:12] Speaker B: But wasn't it around the early 1900s where people were shipping kids in the mail, that actually happened? [00:10:18] Speaker A: I know that did happen. That's pretty wild, too. [00:10:21] Speaker B: So in 1957, there was a catastrophe with Popeye. [00:10:27] Speaker A: Oh, boy. [00:10:29] Speaker B: Heavy winds caused havoc when Popeye's hat filled with water and dumped it on the crowd. The real chaos began in 1997. Oh, we just jumped a lot. During what meteorologist charitably described as inclement conditions. [00:10:46] Speaker A: 1997. Wow. Okay, so we were around for this one. [00:10:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Inclement conditions. Guess how powerful these winds were during this parade. [00:10:57] Speaker A: 60 miles an hour? [00:10:58] Speaker B: No, no, not that much. 43. [00:11:01] Speaker A: Okay. [00:11:02] Speaker B: 43 miles an hour. Turn the balloons into aerial battering rams. [00:11:06] Speaker A: Does anyone think, like, maybe this isn't like you think? [00:11:09] Speaker B: It can't be. [00:11:09] Speaker A: It's time to bring out giant inflatable floats that have very limited maneuverability. [00:11:15] Speaker B: I mean, I think they're just like, you know what? We want money. This gives us a lot of money. We put so much into this. People look forward to. [00:11:23] Speaker A: Can you do it without the floats? [00:11:26] Speaker B: You can. I mean, it's not as exciting, but whatever. Yeah. That was a mistake. [00:11:33] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. That's. [00:11:34] Speaker B: The Pink Panther injured a woman. [00:11:35] Speaker A: Footage of that. [00:11:36] Speaker B: I know. Well, I'm sure we can find it. The Pink Panther injured a woman. [00:11:40] Speaker A: Okay. [00:11:41] Speaker B: Struck a lamppost and sent debris flying on some people. [00:11:44] Speaker A: Son of a. [00:11:45] Speaker B: The Cat in the Hat balloon collided with the street light. This is a great, like, apocalypse. Then. The Cat in the Hat. [00:11:54] Speaker A: Yeah. I do like the specificity of the float. [00:11:57] Speaker B: Like, yeah. [00:11:57] Speaker A: Oh, fucking Popeye. Just dump that water on you. [00:12:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:02] Speaker A: Did you hear what the Cat in the Hat did? [00:12:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:04] Speaker A: Rat Bastard. [00:12:06] Speaker B: He caused metal arms to fall and fracture a woman's skull. Metal arms of a street light. [00:12:13] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:12:14] Speaker B: Metal arms of a street light. [00:12:16] Speaker A: The first mistake was putting metal arms on his flute. [00:12:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Fractured a woman's skull, leaving her in a coma for nearly a month. [00:12:25] Speaker A: One month. [00:12:26] Speaker B: A month. [00:12:27] Speaker A: Wow. The Cat in the Hat did this. [00:12:29] Speaker B: Yep. The Cat in the Hat, he's. He's the aggro here. [00:12:33] Speaker A: Yeah. You think he's just a child, you know, child book character. He's out there putting women in comas for a month. [00:12:42] Speaker B: And they thought that reducing the height of the balloons would help with the winds and did not. [00:12:48] Speaker A: Hmm. Wonder why. [00:12:52] Speaker B: In 1985. [00:12:56] Speaker A: The year of my birth. [00:12:57] Speaker B: The parade was briefly interrupted by gay rights activists protesting a case involving employment discrimination. [00:13:08] Speaker A: Is it a famous case? I haven't heard of that. [00:13:10] Speaker B: I don't know. I haven't heard of that either. And in 2010, man managed to climb onto the Eminem float and commandeer the vehicle. Oh, I guess it's a float. So it's not the. Like. It's not. It's not like, one of the balloons. [00:13:24] Speaker A: The balloons. [00:13:25] Speaker B: This is a float. [00:13:26] Speaker A: Okay. [00:13:26] Speaker B: So he climbed on the Eminem float, commandeered the vehicle, and erratically drove it before being tackled by police, all on camera. I would have loved to have seen that. [00:13:41] Speaker A: Man, your life has gone in an odd direction. [00:13:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:45] Speaker A: If that's what you're doing. [00:13:47] Speaker B: Who comes in, like, it's like, the people that streak at games, like, the baseball games. Right. Like, who comes in, like, I'm going to do this today. [00:13:54] Speaker A: That's also a Seinfeld episode. [00:13:56] Speaker B: No. [00:13:57] Speaker A: See that? Yeah. [00:13:59] Speaker B: Really? [00:14:00] Speaker A: Yeah. George tries is trying to get fired and fake streaks to a game, but he's, like, too shy, so he wears, like, a skin tone bodysuit. He looks like he's streaking when he's not actually naked. [00:14:10] Speaker B: Yeah. He doesn't get fired. [00:14:12] Speaker A: He doesn't get fired. Yeah, not for that. [00:14:15] Speaker B: I mean, I'm. I woke up today and I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do that Eminem float. [00:14:23] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm just wondering, like, where. What they're. [00:14:25] Speaker B: 15 minutes of fame, national TV. Now's my chance, I guess. [00:14:31] Speaker A: I wonder, like, do you think he, like, picked the M and M float on purpose? Like, I'm committed to doing this thing for my 15 minutes of fame, and now I'm gonna pick the best float. [00:14:43] Speaker B: I feel like I could go one of two ways. [00:14:45] Speaker A: It's either you just give no shits and I'm just gonna jump on the first float I see. [00:14:49] Speaker B: It's either I analyze every float that's in this parade. I've been on that website. This is the one I want. It's gonna be at this place I'm going to go. [00:15:00] Speaker A: So I'm definitely getting, like, if I was gonna do it, knowing I'm going, I'm definitely getting rested for this. I'm picking my float. [00:15:07] Speaker B: Right. [00:15:07] Speaker A: I'm not just picking any. I'm not just grabbing the first float that comes my way. [00:15:10] Speaker B: It's either that or it's just, like, completely sporadic. I need to do this. [00:15:16] Speaker A: The guy was just like, I go to the Maisie's Day Parade every year to look and cheer it on. You know what? I'm just gonna get on this fucking. [00:15:23] Speaker B: Float and take off. You think it was that one or the other? I think he was. [00:15:27] Speaker A: Oh, you think he just, like, was, like, having a great time in his Macy's Day Parade routine. And, like, you know what? This. Yeah, I'm gonna go. Yeah, commandeer this. [00:15:35] Speaker B: No. You know, maybe there's a backstory. Maybe he was supposed to drive the Eminem float and, like, someone screwed him over and he was like, no, no, no, Screw this. This is my job. I'm taking it over. [00:15:45] Speaker A: That is kind of the crux of the story in the seinfeld. [00:15:51] Speaker B: Really? [00:15:51] Speaker A: I mean, what's part of it? Elaine's boss wants to be one of the float handlers or the balloon handlers. And, like, so he, like, wins a contest to be able to hold the thing. And he's like an old guy. He's like, I. You know, I came from a very strict family, and, you know, the Macy's Day Parade was off limits. [00:16:13] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:16:14] Speaker A: Anyways, he was. He's, like, very committed to being like, I need to be handling the thing. And then he's handling the one that Jerry ends up popping in. It's a whole thing. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Oh, my God. What? Bastard. [00:16:24] Speaker A: That's enough. Enough. Neff Seinfeld. [00:16:31] Speaker B: So fast forward. This is. Is this the same year? No, that was 2010. 2005. There was another Eminem float catastrophe. Man, why the M and M float? [00:16:42] Speaker A: 2005. [00:16:43] Speaker B: 2005. The M& M's Chocolate Candies float hit a streetlight and deflated. [00:16:51] Speaker A: I guess I'm getting mixed up. Are the floats the driving car? [00:16:54] Speaker B: No, it's like. It's like the big giant. Like, they're like big platforms. [00:16:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:59] Speaker B: Like, they have to be driven, but they're like these elaborate. [00:17:02] Speaker A: But they're not the balloons. [00:17:04] Speaker B: No, the balloons are the things that float that people hold. [00:17:06] Speaker A: But that's a float. That's what I'm saying. I'm getting confused, because we're calling them floats, and the balloons are the things. [00:17:11] Speaker B: That are floating in the air. I understand that a float is, like a contraption that drives, but it's not a car here. [00:17:19] Speaker A: I know. I know what you're talking about. [00:17:20] Speaker B: Okay. That's what it's. So it deflated, I guess it was like. It had, like, inflatable parts. Like, they have, like. [00:17:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:27] Speaker B: Inflatable snow globes on them and crazy stuff. And it deflated. [00:17:31] Speaker A: Got it. [00:17:33] Speaker B: In 2019, strong winds again. They struck again. [00:17:37] Speaker A: Didn't learn their lesson. [00:17:38] Speaker B: Forced handlers to wrangle the balloons so close to the ground, they appeared to be attacking their own handlers in rebellion. [00:17:46] Speaker A: That's. That's kind of weak. [00:17:47] Speaker B: That's lame. That was a lame one. [00:17:48] Speaker A: I know it appeared to be something, but it was inf. [00:17:51] Speaker B: Fact. [00:17:51] Speaker A: Not nothing at all. [00:17:54] Speaker B: The most inf. Do you know this? You like this? The most infamous incident was in 1993. It was a balloon. And it's a beloved video game character. [00:18:05] Speaker A: I wonder if you know who it is. [00:18:06] Speaker B: Yeah, it was Sonic. [00:18:08] Speaker A: I do know something. I don't know what happened, but I do know that there was a Sonic Incident. [00:18:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:13] Speaker A: I'm not gonna be able to tell you what it was, but I. Yeah. [00:18:17] Speaker B: He got caught in a street light, and as handlers struggled to free him, he tore and rapidly deflated. Caesar Seinfeld episode. [00:18:26] Speaker A: Okay. [00:18:27] Speaker B: Causing a stampede of spectators and temporary temporarily blocking the parade route. So the sight of Sonic's face collapsing in on itself remains one of the parade's most memorable disasters. They pop Sonic a good image for some reason. Yep. [00:18:45] Speaker A: Yeah. It's Woody Woodpecker in the Seinfeld episode. [00:18:48] Speaker B: It's Woody Woodpecker. Yeah. I mean, there kind of some similarities there. [00:18:54] Speaker A: Do you know which one kind of had to be around the same time? 1993. [00:18:58] Speaker B: Yeah. That's what I'm saying. [00:18:59] Speaker A: Maybe it didn't. Yeah. They probably inspired it. [00:19:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:01] Speaker A: Okay. Well, there you go. [00:19:03] Speaker B: So we mentioned the first parade had 250,000 people that wound up spectating the event, Right? [00:19:11] Speaker A: The first one. [00:19:11] Speaker B: Yes. 250,000 people. When. When the immigrants ran through and did their, like, spontaneous parade. 250,000 spectators. [00:19:20] Speaker A: Wow. [00:19:21] Speaker B: Guess how many people go there in person to watch it today? [00:19:28] Speaker A: It's going to be more or less. It's got to be more. There's a lot more people there. Like, physically or physically there. There. 500, 000 people. [00:19:40] Speaker B: 3 million. 3 million. 3 million. It's long. It goes through all of New York City. [00:19:47] Speaker A: I mean, there's like, 10 million people in New York City. You're telling me a third of the population of the city turns out to. [00:19:52] Speaker B: I think people come from. [00:19:53] Speaker A: I'm sure they do. Yeah. [00:19:55] Speaker B: It has to be hell on earth to get in New York City. [00:19:58] Speaker A: It sounds off that. Look, you know my stance on New York City, but that sounds particularly egregious. [00:20:07] Speaker B: Yeah. And 50 million people watch worldwide. [00:20:12] Speaker A: Yeah. I would have guessed a very big number for watching on tv. [00:20:17] Speaker B: Guess how many people participate in it. [00:20:19] Speaker A: Including balloon handlers that are actually in the. [00:20:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:23] Speaker A: Parade. Uh, you said it's really long. 10,000 people. [00:20:29] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. 10,000. Over 10,000, but. Yeah. [00:20:33] Speaker A: Nailed it. [00:20:34] Speaker B: You nailed it. I'm impressed. You got that. That was good. It's a good guess. [00:20:41] Speaker A: I've done better than I thought I was gonna do. [00:20:43] Speaker B: Okay. What is the weight requirement for the balloon handlers? The mandatory amount that this person must weigh to hold a balloon. You watched the Seinfeld episode. I'm sure. You know, I don't. [00:20:58] Speaker A: I mean, they're adults. I guess you wouldn't want some kid getting taken off with the balloon, Right? Minimum. Like a minimum. [00:21:07] Speaker B: Minimum. [00:21:10] Speaker A: £80. [00:21:12] Speaker B: No, it's more than that. [00:21:14] Speaker A: Ooh, okay. £115. [00:21:18] Speaker B: It's more than that. [00:21:20] Speaker A: So you would have been on a lot for a while there as an adult. [00:21:23] Speaker B: 120 pounds. [00:21:25] Speaker A: Yikes. [00:21:26] Speaker B: When I'm at my thinnest, I could. [00:21:27] Speaker A: Not hold that balloon when I was in high school. I wouldn't have been able to hold that balloon as a full sized, like, adult. [00:21:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Just this past year. [00:21:37] Speaker A: Skinny little. Skinny little kid in high school. [00:21:39] Speaker B: Yeah. You were, like, anorexically skinny. [00:21:41] Speaker A: I know. I wasn't. I was. I was trying to put on weight. [00:21:44] Speaker B: You were freakishly tiny. [00:21:46] Speaker A: I know. [00:21:47] Speaker B: Freakishly tiny. [00:21:48] Speaker A: And then I did. I went to college and ate greasy pizza and very cheap beer. [00:21:52] Speaker B: That was the trick. [00:21:53] Speaker A: Put on all the weight I wanted. [00:21:55] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Just. Just this past year. I wouldn't have been able to hold the balloon. I'm serious. [00:22:04] Speaker A: Well, something to aspire to someday, Mallory. [00:22:07] Speaker B: Wow. You know, it's true. And apparently it requires mandatory training sessions and intricate choreography. Choreography. You have to know how to appropriately turn around, like, so you don't, you know, get it stuck. [00:22:23] Speaker A: Does that count as choreography? Choreography. Choreography Seems like it's like a dance routine to me. [00:22:30] Speaker B: I think choreography is like a physical set of movement. Let's see. Choreography definition. This is just the sequence of steps or movements. [00:22:42] Speaker A: All right. I mean, sure. Oreos movement and graphy's something. [00:22:50] Speaker B: And you know, it's funny because this. This parade that started out with just a group of immigrants working at Macy's. Celebrating. [00:22:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:58] Speaker B: That. You know, being in the new world and getting to have this job, I like the origin story morphed into something completely iconic like a staple of the US On Thanksgiving. [00:23:09] Speaker A: Of Americana. [00:23:10] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. [00:23:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:12] Speaker B: I mean, I can't think of anything. There are few things more American to me than the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. [00:23:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:20] Speaker A: And there's few things more American than immigrants coming and defining the culture. [00:23:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:27] Speaker A: Of America. [00:23:28] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:23:29] Speaker A: The melting pot. [00:23:29] Speaker B: Right. The melting pot. [00:23:30] Speaker A: Right, right. [00:23:31] Speaker B: That's what everyone working towards. Yeah. It's perfect. [00:23:33] Speaker A: That's a good story. [00:23:34] Speaker B: I'm thankful for that. Me too. [00:23:36] Speaker A: And for Sonic's melting face as he gets ripped apart and deflates us. [00:23:41] Speaker B: I'm thankful for the Eminem car causing several debacles over the years to keep giving us entertainment through its failures. Yeah, definitely. [00:23:50] Speaker A: Cursed car. [00:23:51] Speaker B: Cursed car. Float. [00:23:53] Speaker A: Whatever. [00:23:54] Speaker B: Float. Yeah. Well, thank you guys so much for tuning in today, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday. [00:24:00] Speaker A: I do have to point out that last week I said we're still gonna be working on Weirdworld. And what are we doing, Mallory? [00:24:06] Speaker B: We're working on Weird World is almost done. I have the next five days off. If I can't finish this in five days, we're screwed. [00:24:13] Speaker A: And we'll tell you about it next week. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Nope. It'll be done. [00:24:16] Speaker A: Mm. All right. [00:24:17] Speaker B: It'll be done next week. [00:24:18] Speaker A: I will be thankful for that. [00:24:20] Speaker B: I'm also dying. [00:24:21] Speaker A: I know. [00:24:22] Speaker B: I had a lot happen this week. [00:24:23] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. [00:24:24] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. All right. [00:24:26] Speaker A: All right. [00:24:27] Speaker B: Thank you guys so much for tuning in. Happy holidays. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm here. [00:24:32] Speaker A: Hopefully no disasters in this year's Thanksgiving Day parade. [00:24:36] Speaker B: I'm going to be watching closely. [00:24:37] Speaker A: Or maybe. Maybe we want some action. [00:24:39] Speaker B: I'd like to see the Eminem car put up another. It's been. It's been some time now. We need to see that. [00:24:44] Speaker A: I don't need anyone to get hurt, but I wouldn't mind an Eminem car related debacle. [00:24:48] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely a fun one. Yeah. Yeah. [00:24:51] Speaker A: Okay. [00:24:52] Speaker B: All right. I'm your host, Mallory. [00:24:53] Speaker A: And I'm your host, Michael. [00:24:54] Speaker B: And until next time, everybody stay weird.