
Cleveland’s Balloonfest ’86: A Disaster That Still Echoes Today
A 1986 Cleveland publicity stunt involving the release of nearly 1.5 million balloons turned disastrous, causing economic damage, environmental concerns, and even potentially contributing to deaths, serving as a cautionary tale that continues to resonate today. Cleveland’s “Balloonfest ’86,” intended to be a world record-breaking spectacle, quickly devolved into a catastrophe, underscoring the potential for…