BARNEY'S VIOLENT DEATH: To really hammer home how important the wind speeds were yesterday to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, back in 1997 Barney was torn apart on 51st Street. Winds reached as high as 43 mph. Other balloons also succumbed to the wind. The Pink Panther fell at 42nd Street. Quik Bunny and the Cat in the Hat limped away at 36th Street. | Zach Covey

Barney met his dramatic demise during the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in 1997. They were halfway down Times Square when the hefty winds made the balloon “super-dee-duper” difficult to manage. (Sorry, I had to do it and now I immediately regret it.) The handlers had to lay down on the road to steady the balloon, but it didn’t save him. A wind gust hurled him into a lamppost, which tore his side. And down, down he went as onlookers screamed, scarring children everywhere, and bringing joy to his ene

Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade: The death of Barney, Thanksgiving 1997 | The Ghost of Queens Past