The Sea Serpent was a giant helium character balloon that appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1941.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Sea Serpent made its first and only appearance in the 1941 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Unlike many other balloons, this balloon did not use helium. Instead, it was filled with cold air, with the handlers lifting the balloon down the parade route.
After the United States became enlisted to World War II, Fiorello La Guardia plunged a knife to the serpent, signaling that the parade would go on hiatus during the war, and the balloons, alongside the serpent, would be recycled into the 650 pounds of rubber donated to the U.S. military.
Trivia[]
- This is the only balloon currently to have appeared in parades prior to appearing in the Macy's parade, making its debut in a Wisconsin parade in 1938.