Balloonart By Treb: Balloonfest '86

Unfiltered Banter And No Editing

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Hey there.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Hey there. I'm Bradley. I'm Kate. This is the history of buffoons.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Boom.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

What was that intro? Oh, hey there. That was weird.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

How are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:32

I am well. How are you today?

SPEAKER_00 0:33

I'm doing. I'm kicking. As the young kids say.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

I don't think any kid says that.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Are you sure?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

I'm almost positive. They might go tell you to kick rocks, but I don't think they're gonna say, I'm kicking.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

I'm kicking.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

It's like, I'm chilling, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

I'm chilling.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

But not kicking.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

I'm chilling like villain on penicillin.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Oh my god, stop.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Up to the ceiling.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

What? I'd like to apologize in advance for the words that come out of her mouth. Because I don't even understand them.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Speaking of the words that come out of my mouth.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

We try not to edit a ton.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

The only time I think I actually edit like something out is if we completely fuck it up. Oh yeah. Which happens. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Sometimes I get my time long timeline wrong, and I'm like, wait a minute, we gotta redo that.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Or you're like, shit, hold on, I gotta find this and then I'll I'll edit the gap of timeout. Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Or we have to go to the bathroom. We edit the timeout. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yeah, the bathroom is the the big thing. But no, we don't yeah, we keep it as is because, well, we're buffoons, whereas you just said, we're unpolished, unpolished and raw, and I'm good with that.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

I like that about us. And sorry, I might gotta itch my nose. And see, we could have edited that out, but why? Everybody's got a nose that itches.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

You know what's really funny is I might edit that out, but keep what you just said in. So people are gonna be like, What?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

What?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

I'm kidding, I'm not gonna do that. No, I agree. I like that we're more just kind of just relaxing, being ourselves, being goofy. We come up with stupid shit to say about yeah things, and like I told you before, you might flub up a word. I'm not making fun of you, I'm just laughing because I find it humorous.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

So I get tongue-tied.

Podcast Beers And Podloft Return

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Tongue twister. So, anyways, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

So what do we got today?

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Well, actually, what do we got today? And then we'll okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

We're gonna talk about the balloon fest of 1986 in Cleveland, Ohio.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Oh, that's a classic.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

You know of it?

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Not at all. Great, okay. So, um, we went to the store. I hadn't been we went to the store. I hadn't been in this particular store in um, well, over two years now, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Yeah. Because I used to sell beer there.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

So we went to go look for some podcast beers. I found, and this is from what is the name of the brewery? Oh, it's just called Low Daily Beer. Yeah. Brewed and can at Low Daily Beer. Okay, so it's by Low. It's called Cowboy Cowboy. It's a hazy IPA. I don't know. Nice. It's got a cowboy on it. It says giddy up at the top. Gotta love that. But it's from uh very close to where I live, which again, we're in the podloft. We haven't been in the podloft. Oh dear, I just hit that microphone. We haven't been in the podloft in a bit. It just worked out where it was easier to we kept I kept coming up to your place to record. Um, but yeah, so it's nice to be back in the podloft where it all began. No, just not really, but um, anyways, this is from Burlington, Wisconsin, just down the road. Uh some IPAs are all hat and no cattle. But this one bumps like a bronco at sunset. Double dry hopped with citra mosaic and El Dorado hops for plenty of gide up.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

I can't wait to get into it.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

I have a founder's grapefruit session hazy Greatfoot Grapefruit IPA, not Greatfoot.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

Which you are a fan of the Founders All Day IPA. Um, you've had that actually a couple times on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yeah, they like grapefruit.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Yeah, like the paloma and all that. So cheers.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

That's different.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Like good different, or I don't know yet. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

I don't know yet. It's different.

United Way Plans Balloonfest 1986

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Well, you got six of them. Better better figure it out by the end of the sixth one. This is really good. It's not like super hazy, but it's got a nice finish to it. Good. Oh, this is I've never heard of them before I saw this. Um, seven percent, not too bad. All right, all right, let's get into this. So balloon fest 1986.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

In the mid-1980s, the United Way of Cleveland, okay, um, like many regional United Way chapters across the United States, relied heavily on annual fundraising campaigns. Sure makes sense to support a wide network of local charities. Right. So these campaigns were the primary source for funding dozens of partner organizations that depended on United Way um allocations to operate. Sure. Right. So United Way's model at the time um uh focused on pooling donations from individuals and businesses and then redistributing those funds to programs that addressed community needs, such as food access, housing assistance, youth programs, health services, and support for families in crisis.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Sure, lots of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Okay, lots of great stuff.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

The organization functioned um as a central hub, meaning that if fundraising efforts underperformed, right, the impact would extend beyond the organization.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Okay, right? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Um, so by the mid-1980s, there was an increasing pressure. That was quick.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Yeah. Oh, and by the way, I've I've gotten a request from a listener to release the burp track because he he, I believe it was a he said something along the lines of uh we need to see your burps or whatever. I'm like, funnily enough, I have an actual burp track. He's like, release it. So I said I might actually go back through and create a better one. And I actually even asked Corey, my brother, who wrote the music for our podcast, to help me write a song based off of your burps. Wonderful. So I'm I don't know if I'll get it out for the hundredth, but I'm gonna damn well try.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Jesus Christ. Okay, here we go. Here we go. Sorry, continue.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Okay, here we go. She's embarrassed now.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Okay, so there was increasing pressure on nonprofit organization to compete for attention.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Okay. Traditional funding, um, fundraising methods, workplace donation drives, direct mail campaigns, corporate giving, um, were still in use, but they did not always generate the level of public engagement needed to significantly expand donor participation.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

So organizations began looking for ways to create events that would stand out, draw media coverage, and bring in new donors rather than relying only on existing contributors.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Well, yeah, you gotta expand the pot, basically. So more people can put more money in that pot.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

So for United Way of Cleveland, this created a practical problem. Okay, they needed a fundraising approach that could do three things at once raise money, yes, increase visibility, check, and involve the community.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Well, I mean, you would that's what it's about. Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

So enter their brilliant idea of a mass balloon release.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Not too far from where I live here in Waterford, they always have a uh balloon fest where they they launch hot air balloons. My mom loves hot air balloons.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Hot air balloons are different than the balloons that we're talking about today.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

I know, just saying hot air balloons. All right.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

You know, just mentioning other types of balloons.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

It's a balloon. You didn't say we had to only talk about non-other balloon, not wait, what words? What kind of balloons are they?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

They're they were um latex balloons.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Not mylar? No, damn.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Nope, they were latex.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

I love me a mylar balloon. It is the nicest kind of balloon.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Is that like foil?

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Yeah, yeah. It's those ones you see at stores, and yeah, you go and buy Vespera mini mouse, you know, mylar balloon or something or whatever. But anyway, sorry. I'm just being stupid.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Let's not edit that out because we don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Okay, let that go. We got it. We we got we got there before.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

So releasing a bunch of balloons, relatively simple in concept. So what they put like a note on it? A note?

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Like, why did why would you just release balloons?

SPEAKER_00 9:24

For the um balloon fest, yeah. It's it's a community event, and they're they wanted donors.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

So they just released balloons into the air?

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Mm-hmm. So each balloon could be tied symbolically to a contribution, reinforcing the connection between participation and fundraising.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Wait, they didn't actually like tie money to these balloons, did they? No, because he said a contribution symbolically, okay. Thank God. I must have glossed over that symbolic word.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

The larger the the number of balloons, the greater the perceived success of the event, both in terms of donation and community involvement.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Did these balloons take a plane down? No, thank god.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

So I'll get I'll get I'll get to that. So I I will say this balloon fest 86 was called a disaster.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

100%.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

So I will I will get to that.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

So when I said oh yeah, it's a great one or whatever, you're like, you know about it. I think I've heard of this. I know nothing about it though.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Yeah, so so there was also an additional incentive.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Okay. Setting a world record of how many balloons were released into the air. Yes, yeah, I think I have heard of this.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

So achieving a record would increase the likelihood of national attention and extending the reach beyond Cleveland. Well, of course, right? So the focus was on scale, visibility, participation, with the assumption that a large coordinated public event would generate a stronger response than traditional methods alone. How much helium do they use? You know, I didn't look into how much, but it gonna be lots. Gonna be lots.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

The greater Cleveland areas on a fucking helium. Get over to Cincinnati and pick us them up. What the fuck?

SPEAKER_00 11:25

So uh before Balloon Fest 86 was organized in Cleveland, yeah, large-scale balloon releases had already been done successfully elsewhere.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Oh, okay, sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

One of the most influential examples came from the Walt Disney Company.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Okay, what did they do?

SPEAKER_00 11:45

They had almost well, I don't know if it was weekly mass balloon releases, but it was Oh really? Yeah, they were events like at their parks. At their parks, yeah, they would have um mass balloon releases.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Okay. So were they like shaped like the characters?

SPEAKER_00 12:04

No, I think they were um maybe 50 to 100 in a bag that each person would hold, and then each person would essentially like open the bag and they would all float out, float up. So each individual person had a ton of balloons. Right. This situation they're doing it different.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Uh clearly. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

So timing, weather conditions, and controlled environment played a significant role in making this successful.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Right, yeah.

Meet Treb And The Big Net

SPEAKER_00 12:33

The company most directly connected to these large-scale releases, and the one that becomes important for Cleveland, was a Los Angeles-based promotional firm called Balloon Art by Treb. And it was founded by Treb Heining. What's his last name? Heining. H-E-I-N-I-N-G.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Heining. Heining.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Treb Heining. That is a fucking weird name. Treb? I like it though. Like, hey man, where's Bass? I don't know. Treb's over there. Right. Bass in Trouble. I don't know if you got that. Yeah, I got that. Thank you. I'm surprised. Did you really get that? What I was referring to? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Yes. The Trouble.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

There's a really good Star Trek episode from the original series called The T The Trouble with Tribbles. Anyways, let's carry on. Please.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

So Heining had built a reputation for organizing large balloon events, including the Disney productions and other high profile.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Oh, so he was he's kind of he's he's the go-to guy, yes, if you will. Yes. In balloon releasing. Yes. What a fucking weird job. It is. It is. Hey man, I really want to release some balloons. I know a guy. Treb. We're calling Treb. What the fuck? Wow.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

So his experience made him one of only a few people in the country who had managed these mass-scale releases. So you want to know why? That mattered because while the concept of releasing balloons is simple, doing it with hundreds or thousands or millions of balloons increases logistical challenges.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Most organizations have never worked with.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Well, of course, because why were they trying to go for the Guinness Book of World Records in this too?

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

That was the added incentive. Right. World record.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Um I I mean, I'm not one for liking to litter on the earth, but I feel like that's what they did.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

They didn't have the same mindset. Mindset about the earth and littering as we do today. Um, so we'll just have to take that into account of what year it is. And what uh what month was this? This was done in September of 1986.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Okay, so we're almost at the 40-year anniversary of the tragic balloon release. Okay, nice.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

So they brought in balloon art by trep to handle the technical and logistical side of the release.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

I think that might be our title. Balloon art by Treb.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yes. So this included designing the containment structure that would hold all the balloons prior to release.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Okay, planning the inflation and loading process, coordinating the timing for the release, and advising on execution based on previous events.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Do you think Treub got pissed because some kid left let his balloons go too early?

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Um, balloons did escape.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Oh, of course. But no. With with the amount that they're trying to do, I assume, because you haven't even said the amount yet. So no, I haven't. But I'm pretty sure it's please don't do that ever again. Um, or I'll show you a picture of a clown. Anyways. Rude. Um, see, fucking derailed me there. This beer is really good.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Um, you were talking about Trev being upset about children releasing balloons too early.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

I said that, and then we were talking about something else after that.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

The number of balloons.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Let's continue. Let's let's move on because balloon art by Trev. I'm gonna laugh every fucking time you say that.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Provided the operational framework, but the final outcome still dependent on some external factors, aka the weather.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Well, of course, weather's obviously a huge factor into this because if it's windy, rainy, whatever, you know, so yeah, that's that's a huge, huge thing.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

So along hiring balloon art by Treb to oversee the balloon logistics, they also relied on architectural and engineering experts to create what became known as the balloon containment structure.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

So this was a large netted enclosure built in public square, which is their downtown.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Oh, I was gonna I was wondering, like, do they do this out in a field, which I felt like would have been a better idea than doing it downtown?

SPEAKER_00 17:05

They did it downtown. That's crazy. Um, and it was designed specifically to hold two million inflated balloons before release.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

That is a lot of fucking balloons.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

A lot of balloons.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

What again? How much helium? Seriously, that's oh my god, two million balloons. Yeah. Do we have like some like a schematic of the balloon? Do we have some dimensions and stuff for these?

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Or no, it's a traditional looking balloon.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Just literally uh bold very traditional. Okay, yep, yep, nothing crazy. No, no meaning.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Um, as part of their structure, they did have very, very large weather balloons that held down one part of the netting, and those would be released to release the net.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Oh if that makes sense. Okay, so you basically you have a net across, let's say four corners, weather balloons. All right, weather balloons up, yeah. And then I feel like that was a dumb way to do it. Well do I know? I'm not Treb.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

We're not Treb, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

So the fucking baby is just crazy.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

It needed to keep the balloons contained despite the constant upward pressure created by the volume of the helium. Sure. It had to remain stable while thousands of balloons were added over hours of preparation.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

I have to sneeze, I apologize. You can keep going.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

And it had to allow for a there it is.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

Oh, excuse me.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Just the one?

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Bless me. No, I'm not like you, I don't do it twice.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Oh, goes in type.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

It had to also allow for a control to release so that when the moment came, the entire mass could be let go at once.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Well, yeah. I mean, they have again, they have to coordinate this whole thing so it's not like a trickle. Right. Right?

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Like, oh, there's three.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Hey. Oh, there's five more. It's kind of like it's kind of like they wanted to get to the grand finale of a fireworks display. Yeah. Right away. Right. And not just be like, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

So volunteers working around it and within it, feeding balloons into the closure, packing them tightly together until the space was filled with a compressed, shifting mass of color. There were also multiple layers of planning in place, specialized event coordinators, a purpose-built containment center system, and a large volunteer workforce, all working towards the same moment. The expectation was that once released, the balloons would rise, disperse, and move away from the city. The structure did its job. Yeah. It held the balloons and allowed them to release it all at once. What it could not do was account for what would happen after that release. Of course. When control shifted from the design of the event to the weather conditions outside the event.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

So I wish we could play a song without getting dinged for like whatever. Because I would totally play 99 Red Balloons in the background by Nina. Do you know their German?

SPEAKER_00 20:09

German, yeah, because that it came out in in the German language first.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

First, and then they translated it or whatever into Luft Balloons. There's is it was it Goldfinger? Yeah, I think it's Goldfinger. They're a ska band from like the 90s or whatever. They have an awesome version of that song. It's very underrated, if in my world, at least. I don't know about the rest of the world, but anyways.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

So in Public Square in Cleveland, the containment system took the form of a large rectangular framework made of scaffolding and support poles rising several stories high. Over that time, nope, over that frame, a wide netting was stretched and secured, creating a fully enclosed space that could hold the balloons without letting them escape prematurely. From the outside, it resembled a giant mesh box or cage with the netting pulled tight enough to contain movement, but still flexible enough to shift slightly under pressure.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Inside, as more balloons were added, the net would begin to bulge outward in places.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

I'm sorry, I have to say something real quick. Because you said premature, all I can think of is premature balloon balloon. I can't even say it now because I'm fumbling up my words. It's yeah, let's move on.

unknown 21:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Premature. Yeah. Inhalation.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

The balloons were packed densely, filling the enclosure from the bottom up until it became a compressed mass pressing against every side.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Sure. The top of the So did they have like the netting? Like was it almost kind of like domed?

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

No. How many yellow balloons did they have? Did they have how many do you know the colors of the balloons?

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yellow was a part of one.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Part of one?

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Red. Purple. I mean the regular balloons, Bradley.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Chartreuse?

SPEAKER_00 22:18

On at the top of the structure.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

I felt like that was a decent question.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Sections of the netting were designed to be released on Q.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Okay. With the weather balloons to raise, right? Okay.

Storm Risks And Overnight Repairs

SPEAKER_00 22:30

The system was set up that when the release mechanism was triggered, large portions of the net would give away at once. Okay. Allowing the balloons to escape upward in a single coordinated surge. Jesus. We're gonna go backwards a little bit on September 26th, which is a day before the event.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

This was right around my birthday.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Do you know when my birthday is?

SPEAKER_00 22:55

September 25th.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Okay. So this was on Patrick's birthday? That the day it happened? Nice. I like it. Anyway, so Patrick's a buddy. Shout out Pat. Okay. We went to Germany together.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

On September 26th, 1986, two men, Bernard Bernard Sulzer and Raymond Broderick. Okay. Set out to fish on Lake Erie near Cleveland. Yeah. Who doesn't? There was nothing unusual about this decision. They were both experienced with the lake. They were both experienced fishermen. Okay. Fishing trips were routine, and the conditions that morning did not appear extreme. Um, weather reports for that day did indicate a cold front moving into the region.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Um, that typically brings shifting winds, cooler air, rain. Sure. None of these conditions were ideal, but it was also not uncommon for fishermen on Lake Erie to experience this. Yeah, no, that makes sense. Yeah. So people just need good judgment how quickly the weather changes and how prepared they are when it does. Okay. At some point, Solzer and Broderick launched their bolt, boat, headed out onto the lake. There was no record of like their exact route or anything.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

After they left shore, conditions on the lake began to deteriorate. Oh dear. Wind increased. Wind increased first, creating rougher water and more difficult navigation. Oh, I can imagine. As the front continued to move in, rain and reduced visibility followed. Okay. On Lake Erie, these changes can happen pretty quickly, and the lake is known for short, steep waves that can become hazardous in a relatively short amount of time.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Have you ever been on Lake Erie in your life? I never have myself.

SPEAKER_00 24:51

No, no. I've been on the really small one, Lake St. St. Clair? Lake St. Clair.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Is that a Great Lake? Yeah, it's a small one.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

I guess I'm unfamiliar.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

Have you ever been on Lake Superior?

SPEAKER_00 25:07

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Which I believe is the biggest.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

It is the biggest.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

I used to swim in there all the time and it was so cold. It was so fucking amazing. I've never been I've never been to Lake Erie, though. Um very unfamiliar. Well, I mean, the first time I was in Ohio is last year. So I'm just I would like to go there, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. I'd like to go to all the Great Lakes. I just wasn't I didn't know if you've ever been on it or not. So I've I've never have, so I'd like to go there.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Good.

unknown 25:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

So well while Broderick and Sulzer were out on Lake Erie, those same conditions were affecting the shoreline in the city of Cleveland. Sure. Oh, it makes sense. So at the same time, they were still planning this huge balloon re uh release. The large containment structure built to hold two million balloons had been assembled and secured with netting and protective tarps, right? Yep. Sometime after midnight. Early, early morning hours of the 27th.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Um, the storm activity intensified. Oh no. And the balut site was checked.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

And the what site was checked?

SPEAKER_00 26:17

Balloon site.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Oh, balloon site.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

Yeah, after midnight.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

All right.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Reports indicate that section of the protective tarps had been torn down by the wind. Okay. Um, even those like um metal newspaper holders. You know, when you went to go buy like a newspaper, you'd have to like pull down the glass and go with it.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

I just love the fact that you called them metal newspaper holders.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

That was torn down.

SPEAKER_01 26:44

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

So there was visible damage to the netting itself, including several tears.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Did you ever buy a newspaper from one of those? No. I'm old enough that I have.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

This damage showed that the structure had been exposed to significant stress from overnight weather.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Despite this, the containment center remained standing and real relatively functional. That's surprising. The damage became part of the assessment heading into the morning of the 27th when organizers decided what they needed to do to proceed.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

So did they just had to like assess like everything's a-okay, let's go ahead or they had to assess the damage.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

There was damage. There was damage. There was netting torn and some of the tarps were torn.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

Out on the lake, there was no system safety system in place. No.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Why would there be?

SPEAKER_00 27:36

If Broderick and Solzer entered encountered mechanical issues, were forced to respond to worsening conditions during the night, their situation would have depended entirely on their ability to manage the boat and remain on board during rough water. Right. There are no confirmed records of their accounts during this overnight period. Okay. No distress calls were documented. No verified sightings placed them at a specific point.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

What is known is that the by the morning of September 27th, they had not returned to their families.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Oh no. Did they they never did?

SPEAKER_00 28:14

They never did.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Oh wow. Really?

SPEAKER_00 28:16

By the time Daylight turned returned to um Cleveland, two situations were happening in parallel. On land, we were they were trying to figure out if this balloon release was going to happen on the lake. This fishing trip turned into a missing person's. Oh, that's sad.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

That's really too bad.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

So the entire event depended on this structure.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

If the net failed, obviously the balloons could escape prematurely, ending the event before it would even start. So volunteers and organizers were brought back during the night at like one in the morning.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

It's like, dude, I'm sleeping. What do you need? Yeah, so holy shit.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

So they either had to repair the structure and continue with the plan, or they had to accept that the event might not happen.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

I say abandon. Yeah. Abandon the event, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Okay. The frame itself remained intact. So the main issue was just the outer layers, the netting and the tarps, that were responsible for that containment.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Repairs focused on reinforcing those weak points. Okay. Torn sections of netting were secured or patched, and damaged tarps were either reattached or adjusted to restore coverage. Sure. So coordination, even at that bright and early hour.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Yeah, I mean, but it's the day of that's it's supposed to happen. So they're just trying to get all their uh ducks in a row and make sure it's it's gonna work, slash everything's safe or whatever, I guess. But this is crazy that they had to go through all that with the storm. They're worried about balloons and two fucking people are missing.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

They didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

I get that, but yeah, I it's just I understand they didn't know that, but at the same time, and like now that you and I do retrospect.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

So the families didn't even know that they were missing.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Oh, like they were supposed to have come home that night.

SPEAKER_01 30:14

But they're like, maybe they stayed out on the boat, something like that.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Or yeah, so they didn't report them as missing until like the morning hours of the 27th.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

God damn. Yeah. So but it just again, I get that. They didn't know the families, apparently didn't even fully know yet. Yeah, it's just it's funny thinking about that. Like, man, we gotta figure out these balloons. People are literally missing, and again, I know they didn't know, but it's like that's just fucking weird to think about. Yeah. Balloons.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

What? So volunteers worked around and along the structure, stabilizing it. By the time the storm had passed, the morning approached, the structure had been repaired to a functional state. Okay, okay, gotcha. So groups, hundreds of volunteers. We're talking high school students.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Hundreds of high school students are all arriving by bus around 3 a.m. on the 27th. Holy buzz. They are the volunteers that are blowing up the balloons. Blowing up the wait, so the balloons aren't even blown up yet? Not some were, but no. This was like the mass coordinated effects started at like 3 a.m.

SPEAKER_01 31:26

Oh my god. Those are some go-getter high schoolers. Because I would not have done that in high school.

Two Million Balloons Becomes 1.5

SPEAKER_00 31:33

So the morning as the balloons were being blown up and released into the net, the amount of pressure gave way to a hole in the net at the very tippy top that was missed during the repair stage. Oh balloons were starting to be released. You're like, stop it. So the organizers had a cherry picker with them, but it didn't go as high as they needed it to go.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Well, of course, because I feel in my mind, I just pictured like this fucking net way.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

It's way up there.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

One of the organizers literally had the private phone number of the fire chief, and he called him.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Chief, we need you.

SPEAKER_00 32:13

And the fire department brought out their largest cherry picker, and they were able to repair the tent.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

So they brought out a cherry picker, not a ladder?

SPEAKER_00 32:24

The ladder would do nothing. It had to be up in the air, a bucket up in the air.

SPEAKER_01 32:31

Let's move on.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

You're talking about actually cherry picking?

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Never mind.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

I'm not talking about either. I was just, in my mind, I just you said firefighter ladder. Oh. That's all. That's literally all I'm thinking in my brain.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

So, in the lead up to Balloon Fest 86 in Cleveland, the scale of the event depended on all of these volunteers. Oh, of course. The United Way of Cleveland had the concept and the goal. Balloon Art by Treb provided the framework. Sorry, I keep laughing at that. But the execution came down to thousands of volunteers moving through this repetitive process per hour. Okay. Okay. Many of the students were brought in through the organized participation. Like in the weeks leading up to this, the organizers went around to schools and say, okay, who can we who can we get to volunteer? Sure. So people were assigned uh roles, they worked in shifts, but I immediately what it was. I think I get to the numbers. I get to the numbers eventually. I don't need to jump the gap.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

Yeah, don't do that.

SPEAKER_00 33:38

Um, inflation began that began the day before a little bit, but it mostly started in the early hours of the 27th.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

3 a.m.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

Yes. So fill and load approximately two million helium balloons in the containment structure before the scheduled release that afternoon.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

That's crazy. Two million fucking balloons. That's so mean. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Volunteers stood at, or really, they sat at helium tanks fitted with nozzles, inflating balloons one after the other. Once filled, each balloon had to be tied off by hand. Oh dear.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

I suppose. I mean, it's 86. It's like medieval times.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

So the inflation step is not what dictated the pace, it was the tying off that dictated the pace.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

Have you ever tied off a balloon?

SPEAKER_00 34:28

Many times. It's hard. It can be hard.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

Myself, I'm terrible at it. Yeah. I remember uh Vesper got some. We I don't remember what the what the hell we got, but we got some balloons. Dad, will you tie will you blow me up a balloon? Sure. Here you go. Will you tie it off? I'm terrible at it. So I can see how that would basically slow them down, especially if they're doing it all by hand. Holy balls.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

Inflate, tie, release. How many inflate tie release?

SPEAKER_01 35:01

How many high school students do you think were sucking helium?

SPEAKER_00 35:05

Oh, I don't know. I think they were, you know, I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were because I'm good kids and they were they were excited to be there to help.

SPEAKER_01 35:14

There had to be one. So okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:17

Based on the total volume, yes, and the available time, yes, the operation required the equivalent of tens of thousands of balloons being released each hour.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 35:27

Broken down further, that meant well over a thousand a thousand balloons per minute moving through the system as a whole.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Wow, that's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:38

So they the organizer said two to three balloons per minute per person.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

You're slowing down there, Betsy. And it's like, what?

SPEAKER_00 35:51

I'm trying my best, uh I watched this uh YouTube video. Um, and you could see all these volunteers with massive tape around all their fingers just from blisters and stuff. Seriously?

SPEAKER_01 36:03

That's so funny. What did the I don't know if you came across this? What did they tie it off with? Is it just literally the end of the balloon, or did they have the end of the balloon? I wasn't sure because that's I meant to clarify when I said I'm terrible at it because that's what I'm bad at, like stretching around. I have big digits, so yeah, hard for me, but I wasn't sure if they were using other things. So, anyways.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

So by the early afternoon of September 27th, 1986, downtown Cleveland had turned into a full-scale public event. War estimates put the crowd at around a hundred thousand people that's a lot of people filling public square and the surrounding areas.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

Sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Wow. Part of that expectation for something bigger and better came from the fact that Guinness World Records officials were present.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

Of course. What is your best guess? I'm sure you probably didn't look this up. Wasn't part of your research. We haven't used that in a while. You gotta get back to that because it's so true. What is the population of Cleveland?

SPEAKER_00 37:04

That was not part of my my research.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

Okay. Let's move on. Guinness Book of World Records, am I right? Did you know that's actually created by the beer people? Yeah, that's where literally Guinness. The beer company from over there. Created that. Okay. So seemed to be really lackluster. Anyways.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Awesome! You don't like you don't drink Guinness.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

No, but I know beer.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

I mean, I'm gonna get the story wrong, so I'll make it short and wrong. Um it came out, if I'm not mistaken, and again, we'll have to actually look into this because I don't recall all the details. They basically did it to try and like promote Guinness, is what is more or less what it was. Again, we'll look into this for maybe a future episode or Origin Weird or something, but it it's literally that's what it was, is like promoting Guinness. And it became this Guinness Book of World Records thing, which has been around for a long time. I mean, I remember being a kid going to the library, like, we want to check out the next, you know, the most recent updated version of that book and whatever. It's like I don't care anymore.

SPEAKER_00 38:24

My sister got it every Christ every Christmas. Did she really?

SPEAKER_01 38:28

So she loved like your parents got her the updated version with the new records or new things added. That's funny. I never would have guessed that, but that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 38:38

So this was an official record attempt, and everything needed to happen um to be documented and confirmed, right?

SPEAKER_01 38:44

Precise and everything, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

At the same time, weather conditions were being monitored. They actually had like people from the National Weather Service on the phone. I would hope so. Yeah, I mean, it's junction. It's really hard to be super like prepared.

SPEAKER_01 38:57

Well, you have to be because you're literally dealing with balloons that can go any which way, yeah. And a storm comes through, it could fuck up their blah blah blah. We've already gone through that, but yeah, I would hope you have them on speed dial right now.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

Yeah, they did a good job.

SPEAKER_01 39:14

Did they have speed dial in 1986?

SPEAKER_00 39:16

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

The National Weather Service had indicated that additional storms were moving into the area. Oh shit. Yeah, they were not expected to be as severe as the overnight system, right? Right, right. But they were still strong enough to matter.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Um, there was a narrowing window to complete the release before conditions worsened.

SPEAKER_02 39:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:36

So originally the event had been planned for a slightly later release, closer to 2 p.m. Sure. Excuse me. Um as forecasts were being reassessed, organizers made a decision to move it up to 145.

SPEAKER_01 39:52

Oh, so they pushed it forward. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:54

The total number of balloons had also been adjusted.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Oh, did they have to cut it back?

SPEAKER_00 39:59

They cut it back from 2 million to 1.5, which is still a record.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

100%. But that's the number that went in my brain pain when I when you said cut back. I'm like, it's gotta be 1.5. Yeah. I mean, could you imagine how much time they save by cutting off 500,000 fucking balloons? Jesus Christ.

The Release And Balloons Coming Down

SPEAKER_00 40:19

So the countdown begins. Countdown begins. At the end of the countdown, the mechanism is triggered.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

And does it work?

SPEAKER_00 40:28

The net, yes. The net opens in approximately 1.5 balloons, because I'm sure they didn't count.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

It's funny because you said 1.5 balloons.

SPEAKER_00 40:35

1.5 million balloons. There's one and a half.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

I'd like to see a half balloon. What the fuck, douche? Yeah, it did pretty much. Oh, that's awesome. 1.5 balloons.

SPEAKER_00 40:52

It unfolded exactly how it was planned to. Okay. Okay. But within minutes of the release, yes, con weather conditions began to shift.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Deteriorate?

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Yes. Rain started to fall, wind speeds increased, changing how the balloons behaved almost immediately after they had lifted. Right. Helium balloons depend on stable air and temperature to maintain lift.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

Oh, yeah, because I mean, I'm not an expert on helium, obviously, but you have you ever had a helium balloon where you're like, well, like I've gotten one for Vesper or whatever, where it's cold and it's like, yeah. You know, or whatever. You know, it shrinks down or it affects it.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

It's so weird how it does, but it's it's a gas, so it does get affected by heat and as the colder air moves in, the helium inside the balloons contracts, which reduces buoyancy.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

That's the word I'm looking for, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:50

At the same time, rate, nope, rain, added weight, yeah, to the surface of the balloons.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

Correct, because they're getting wet.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

So together, those two factors cause the balloons to lose altitude much sooner than planned. Yes. Instead of continuing to rise and disperse, large portions of the 1.5 million balloons began descending within a short time.

SPEAKER_01 42:18

Did it suffocate people and trap them when they were saying okay, good.

SPEAKER_00 42:22

Just thankfully, no. Some balloons remained intact and were carried back downwards by shifting wind. Okay. Others began to deflate as the latex stretched and cooled.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

At higher altitudes, a portion of the balloons likely expanded to lower air pressure and then ruptured, which is common.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Of course.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

Um, it's common for helium balloons if they rise too far to blow up, basically. So as the descent accelerated, visibility started to become an issue.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Well, yeah, because you're getting 1.5 million, whether even if it's a half a million balloons coming down and the other million are going up.

SPEAKER_00 43:07

Yeah. So on the ground, large clusters of balloons move through the air and settled across streets and sidewalks and open areas.

SPEAKER_02 43:16

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Drivers reported difficulty seen clearly as they were still trying to make their way to public square. So they're all lined up on the roads, and all of a sudden these balloons are coming down upon them.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

I I know this is a random question, and you're gonna probably hate me for this because you're like, what day of the week was this? Do you know? I don't was it was it a weekend? Do you would you guess?

SPEAKER_00 43:38

I I honestly had never read that.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

Okay. What day of the week it is? I can't look it up right now, but I'm curious because like if it was a Saturday, that's one thing. If it's like, hey man, I'm trying to get to work.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

I hope not.

SPEAKER_01 43:50

But God, you would you would think you would think not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

But so I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

I was born on a Tuesday in nineteen seventy nine. I could probably figure this out. No. Okay. Just listen. All right.

SPEAKER_00 44:03

So near the lakefront and surrounding infrastructure, the effect was a little bit more pronounced.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 44:11

Balloons landing in large numbers created a visual field that in some areas were compared to like a whiteout effect.

SPEAKER_01 44:19

Oh, no doubt. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:20

A color blast effect. Because of the volume of objects moving and settling at once, disrupting obviously the normal lens of sight. Of course, yes. So Burke Lakefront Airport, which is about a mile from Public Square on the shore.

SPEAKER_01 44:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 44:43

Operations were directly affected.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

No doubt.

SPEAKER_00 44:47

The organizers actually called the FAA before the event ever happened. Yeah. And got permission to release these balloons so close to an airport. And it was all okayed.

SPEAKER_01 45:02

And you said it was a mile?

SPEAKER_00 45:04

It was a mile.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

That's crazy. Which, I mean, how major of an airport is this?

SPEAKER_00 45:10

It's not like a it's um private only.

SPEAKER_01 45:13

Exactly. Private, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 45:15

But they still like went through the motions of contacting the appropriate people.

SPEAKER_01 45:19

Like they did the right thing because they should have done that. But it's not like, hey, we're gonna close down a major airport because of this.

SPEAKER_00 45:27

The airport issued like a no-fly zone during that time. Um, balloons entering the airspace and landing on or near the runways kind of did create a little bit of a hazard. Sure. Um, but um there were reports that flights were temporarily halted until conditions cleared the area.

SPEAKER_01 45:46

Sure, makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

I'll bring that up later.

SPEAKER_01 45:48

Oh dear. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

At the same time, balloons continued to descend onto Lake Erie. Oh no. Once upon the water, they remained visible on the surface, moving with wind and current.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

This created widespread coverage across parts of the lake, adding to the overall impact. Organizers had anticipated that relative a relatively small portion of balloons, like 10%, were gonna end up on the lake.

SPEAKER_01 46:16

It's 150,000.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

Estimates after the event said as much as 60% of the balloons landed on Lake Erie.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

So did they help find those two guys?

SPEAKER_00 46:31

I'll get to that.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

Oh no.

Lake Erie Search Story Takes Hold

SPEAKER_00 46:33

Because we have two mission missing fishermen.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_00 46:37

By the time search efforts began, the situation involving Ramon Broderick and Bernard Sulzer had already shifted from this routine outing to a missing person's case.

SPEAKER_01 46:49

That's sad.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Both men were in their 40s and experienced enough with the lake to make the decision to go out the day before. Yes. The United States Coast Guard located their boat during the search. Oh, really? It was found unattended on the water with no one on board. Indicates, or excuse me, records indicates that the vessel was not in normal operating state, and there were potential issues with the motor. I also read that there was no motor.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

So not sure which one was correct. So they had a it like varies from different reports. Yeah. Um, but the key detail was that there was no sign of the men.

SPEAKER_01 47:33

Maybe the motor just fell off. We don't know. Let's go to the bottom of Lake Erie and get to this.

SPEAKER_00 47:38

So, with that discovery, the operation then turned into a search and rescue.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 47:43

So rescue boats were deployed on the lake, working grid patterns across the area where the men were believed to have been.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Balloon.

SPEAKER_00 47:50

At the same time, a Coast Guard helicopter, which was in a nearby area creating like some kind of like promotional videos. Okay. Were was actually called over to help.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

Oh, so can you interrupt your commercial to help us? Okay. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 48:09

Um, they were brought in. So aerial search is absolutely crucial in situations like this. Yes. Um, at this point, there was no connection between the search teams and the balloons releasing in Cleveland.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 48:23

The search operation had already begun prior to the release. Right. And there was no indication that large numbers of balloons would be descending in the same area. As the balloons began to fall, condition on the lake changed. Oh dear. From the air, the surface of the water became increasingly difficult to read. Large numbers of balloons had landed and were floating across the lake, forming clusters. And this created a very small visual field. And they were also rounded objects that reflected some of the sunlight.

SPEAKER_01 48:59

So would you be okay to call it a clusterfuck?

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Kind of, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:05

That's too bad because it's just weird that these balloons could fuck up finding these people.

SPEAKER_00 49:11

From a distance from the helicopter, floating balloons resembled objects that could indicate a person in distress.

SPEAKER_01 49:19

Of course.

SPEAKER_00 49:20

Life jackets, debris.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

Ahead. Ahead.

SPEAKER_00 49:24

Yes. In a search operation, every potential visual target has to be treated as important until it's confirmed otherwise.

SPEAKER_01 49:32

Well, of course, yes. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 49:34

So the teams were forced to invest investigate multiple false leads.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

Well, I would hope they didn't like investigate the blue balloons.

SPEAKER_00 49:44

Why blue?

SPEAKER_01 49:46

Have you ever seen a blue person besides the blue man group? No.

SPEAKER_00 49:51

At the same time, the helicopter's ability to operate effectively was affected. Well, of course. With balloons occupying airspace and creating hazards near the surface, flight operations became complicated. Sure. Records indicate that at least one helicopter, if there was more than one, I don't know, but was it was forced to limit its activity and return due to the conditions created by the balloons.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

How do you think the balloons reacted to like the helicopter blades and everything? Because obviously that creates wind and updraft and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 50:23

I think it would depend on how close the helicopter was to the water.

SPEAKER_01 50:26

Of course, but could you imagine how that would fuck with them too? Yeah. Because whether it actually, again, like you said, distance is gonna affect that. But like they're moving the fucking balloons around too because they're just hovering over whatever.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:41

I I've never been on a helicopter, so I don't know the down draft and all that. Yeah, exactly. But it's like I can't imagine that fucking helped is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, that had to make it way harder.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

So rescue crews had to navigate through areas on the lake where balloons had accumulated. Okay. Despite continued efforts, neither man was located during the initial search. Oh, sad. Yeah. The bodies of Raymond Broderick and Bernard Sulzer were not found for several weeks.

SPEAKER_01 51:12

So they eventually did find them. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:15

Yes. Sad. In the aftermath, the focus shifted from what happened to who was responsible for what came next.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:24

The families of Raymond Broderick and Bernard Solzer filed legal action, arguing that the balloon release had interfered with search efforts at a critical time. Additional claims were brought forward related to property damage from the balloons and other impacts tied to the event. Sure. The lawsuits did not play out in public courtrooms.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

No.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

No, they were settled out of court. They were, okay. Bringing a legal end to the situation without a formal ruling.

SPEAKER_01 51:56

Trepp wasn't in court, was he?

SPEAKER_00 51:58

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 52:00

I think it was against United Way.

SPEAKER_01 52:02

It should be. Balloons by Trepp.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

Yes. So the release itself, approximately 1.5 million balloons in downtown Cleveland was recorded as a world record.

SPEAKER_01 52:12

Well, I mean, I'm not surprised.

SPEAKER_00 52:15

It appeared in the 1988 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, documenting the scale of what was accomplished.

SPEAKER_01 52:23

That was a good version of that.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

Between the New World Record and the Missing Men, both both became part of Balloon Fest of 86.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

Part of the lexicon of it, the tragedy or whatever you want to call it.

SPEAKER_00 52:37

So that's where I was gonna end the story.

Debunking The Disaster Narrative

SPEAKER_01 52:39

Oh dear, what did you find out?

SPEAKER_00 52:41

But with continued research, I found a lot of this was not true.

SPEAKER_01 52:46

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Yeah. I wrote all of that.

SPEAKER_01 52:50

Wait, what?

SPEAKER_00 52:52

I wrote all of that.

SPEAKER_01 52:54

I've been duped for the last 50 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 52:59

So there were claims that Balloon Fest caused the deaths of two fishermen. Okay, I did write in that that was not the case. Okay. Yes. They were um, they went out the night before, went missing the night before, and the families put in the missing persons report that morning.

SPEAKER_01 53:19

Which happened to be the day of balloon fest.

SPEAKER_00 53:22

Yes, but the Coast Guard was not affected whatsoever by the balloons on Lake Erie. I'm not surprised. So they made somehow, somewhere in the reports, it was made up. It was made up.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

That's it. Sounds like the family trying to fucking blame something.

SPEAKER_00 53:38

It wasn't. It was some kooky reporter from 2011 who made all these weird claims. And then everybody took that as fact and ran with it up until now.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

I want to find this kooky fucking reporter and punch him in the fucking face or her. I don't discriminate.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

So the balloons did not cause their death. The Coast Guard had no issues with the balloons.

SPEAKER_01 54:05

I never thought that the balloons did cause their death. I just I could believe it might have impaired the research FEO.

SPEAKER_00 54:13

The search effort.

SPEAKER_01 54:18

Yes. I could I could believe that, but okay, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_00 54:23

There was also um a a report saying that there was property damage.

SPEAKER_01 54:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:29

Um, the only confirmed payout mentioned was a small insurance settlement around five thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_01 54:37

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_00 54:38

Related to a horse farm.

SPEAKER_01 54:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 54:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

Did a horse eat a balloon?

SPEAKER_00 54:43

So horses were spooked. I don't even think they were damaged or hurt in any way. They were spooked. The farmers were upset about it, but it wasn't the balloons. There were pe this was debunk debunked later.

SPEAKER_01 55:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 55:00

There were kids that were going into this farmhouse area.

SPEAKER_01 55:07

The field and shit.

SPEAKER_00 55:08

The field where the horses were, and the kids were what spooked the animals.

SPEAKER_01 55:13

Yeah. Now the balloons. Kids spook a lot of things. My kids spook me all the time.

SPEAKER_00 55:19

Also, the environmental aspect of this was also blown to a huge into a huge issue as well, which I did not talk about because these balloons were actually biodegradable latex balloons.

SPEAKER_01 55:36

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 55:36

It could take up to two years, but they were biodegradable.

SPEAKER_01 55:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 55:43

There was also a report that said their Guinness Book of World Records was revoked because of the event. It was not. It was not.

SPEAKER_01 55:54

Twas the Tism, my lord.

SPEAKER_00 55:56

Twas the Tism.

SPEAKER_01 55:58

Well, yeah, because why okay.

SPEAKER_00 56:01

Mm-hmm. So there was a bunch of stuff that was in the news that was not true at all. It's very, very bizarre.

SPEAKER_01 56:10

That is strange.

SPEAKER_00 56:12

They called it the Balloon Fest Disaster of 86. There was no disaster.

SPEAKER_01 56:18

So they it sounds like they were literally just trying to create a what's the word I'm looking for? A disaster.

SPEAKER_00 56:29

False narrative.

SPEAKER_01 56:30

Out of nothing. Yeah. But you know what's funny? Do you know what news outlets do all the fucking time? Create false narratives. Yeah. You could go off of anything. And it's funny how certain people believe it. It's like.

SPEAKER_00 56:45

So I found a YouTube video. Yeah. It's called Balloon Fest 1986. What really happened? Oh. And it was put up by Cleveland.com. So they interview United Way organizers. Yes. They interview um the governor. They inter of the time. They interviewed balloon art by Treb. He's still alive. Oh, yeah. They um they interviewed some of the high schooler volunteers as they're adults.

SPEAKER_01 57:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:15

They're like, nothing happened. Even the rain. Blame it on the it wasn't even an issue. The weather wasn't even an issue. So it rained for like a couple minutes, very light. No one even got umbrellas out, and then it was gone.

SPEAKER_01 57:34

No one even got umbrella. So, what is the benefit of whoever created the narrative? No idea. Of it was such a disaster. Woe was me. People couldn't get saved because of balloons. It's like, fuck you, you pile of shit. What the fuck?

SPEAKER_00 57:54

Like, he just created this false narrative and everybody else just ran with it. And so Cleveland literally came out with this documentary being like, all that was wrong.

SPEAKER_01 58:03

Uh douchebag over there.

SPEAKER_00 58:05

Yeah, isn't that weird?

SPEAKER_01 58:06

He should have all of his credentials revoked.

SPEAKER_00 58:09

Yeah.

What They Raised And Closing Plugs

SPEAKER_01 58:09

He should be tied to tie as many balloons to him as possible and make him float the fuck away. Because fuck that guy. Yeah, not weird. So, yeah, it is weird. It's like, fuck you, dude. Why would you create this narrative? But that's what the fucking media does. They create false fucking narratives for fucking everything so it can devise people, divide people against each other, where it's like, especially politically, we all know that, and that's the major one, but even just other things. It's like, yeah, what did you gain from this besides some recognition in the time being? But now you're called an asshole by Bradley Acres because you're fucking asshole. And I know I don't mean dick, but fuck that guy.

SPEAKER_00 58:52

Okay, so let me end on this. Yes, the project, the whole event, yeah, was around$500,000 in 1986.$500,000, which is about five point$1.5 million now.

SPEAKER_01 59:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 59:04

Balloon Fest of 86 brought in a donation of a whopping$47 million back then.

SPEAKER_01 59:10

That's pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 59:12

$142 million today.

SPEAKER_01 59:15

That's well, they got their job done.

SPEAKER_00 59:17

Isn't that amazing?

SPEAKER_01 59:18

Balloons by Treba, am I right?

SPEAKER_00 59:19

Balloon Fest of 86 was not a disaster.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

It was a glorious stadium.

SPEAKER_00 59:23

Nor is Cleveland the mistake on the lake anymore.

SPEAKER_01 59:27

No. Do you know what the mistake on the lake is?

SPEAKER_00 59:29

Detroit?

SPEAKER_01 59:30

No, the Bears Stadium. Looks like the toilet bowl. I mean, it fuck the Bears.

SPEAKER_00 59:39

So how do you feel about your cowboy cowboy? It's fucking delicious. Good.

SPEAKER_01 59:43

I've been really hoping you would end this soon so I can get a third.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

I did not like my all-day grapefruit. I know. Really? Yeah, I don't like it.

SPEAKER_01 59:51

Well, you're gonna have to finish it. Well, choke it down.

SPEAKER_00 59:55

Alright. Well.

SPEAKER_01 59:59

Alright. Well, pose. Alright, buffoons. That's it for today's episode.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:06

Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time. Feeling hungry for more buffoonery? Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:17

Hit us up on social media. We're History Buffoons Podcast on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email us at history buffoonspodcast at gmail.com. We are Bradley and Kate, music by Corey Akers.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:31

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SPEAKER_01 1:00:36

Until next time, stay curious and don't forget to rate and review us.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:40

Remember, the buffoonery never stops.