The town board of Huntington, Long Island voted to ban the sale of Silly String within 1,500 feet of parade routes because the stuff stains the finish on their fire trucks.But at our Parade, Silly String is a time-honored tradition. After all, our floats are biodegradable. What can a little bit of polyisobutyl-methacrylate and sorbitan trioleate hurt? I'm askin' 'cause I don't know.
You ought to read the Wikipedia article. Silly String has some interesting uses. And did you know it's banned in Hollywood on Halloween? It takes a lot to get banned in Hollywood on Halloween.
Well, shoot. I was going to go dressed as a Rose Parade attendee this year.
Update as of 12:04PM:
Pasadena's Public Information Officer, Ann Erdman, corrects me even on weekends! (And I'm grateful.) She says:
"Silly String is actually illegal along the Rose Parade route, and at other special events in the public right of way, but enforcement is difficult because officers can't be at all places at all times and they often have bigger fish to fry.
Title 3, Chapter 3.22.020 (Interference with Special Event Prohibited) of the Pasadena Municipal Code reads, in part: "To drop, roll, throw, toss, squirt or propel any gaseous, liquid, semisolid or solid substance or object toward or among the participants, vehicles or animals in the special event."
Read tortillas, marshallows, Silly String, etc."
29 comments:
I got just a little bit on my car - luckily.
Hopefully, know one from Pasadena we no wood participate in such a silly act! If we knew somebody who did, well, I'll leave it up to you PDP to determine the sentence.
I see why it's banned in Hollywood ~ it can stain inflatable structures. {My wv is fackst. Perhaps Silly String should be, too?}
It could be silly but looks good in pink :)) Happy New Year Petrea..
It's amazing stuff! How did it weave itself through that fence all by itself? It looks as though someone spent ages doing it by hand.
PS Glad Pristine Windows remained pristine.
Can you believe I never heard of Silly String?
Wow. In Hollywood you can go to jail for possession of silly string?
Among other things.
The Wikipedia article says it's been around since the early 1970s. Dina, I do remember it in the Midwest, but you had already moved to Israel by then, hadn't you?
It's relatively innocent stuff, but it does stain. Michael, don't worry, you'd probably just get a ticket.
That shot looks like Colorado Blvd. circa 1982, before the gentrification.
Some things ought to be taken in stride. Remember when the LA council wanted to ban mylar balloons because one in a million get stuck in power lines?
Sierra Madre has a quaint little 4th of July parade. The entrants used to throw candy to the crowd, but they have banned that. Kinda silly.
At least if the Silly String stains the chain link it won't be too noticeable. I'd love to see the patent application for Silly String; I wonder if the art for that showed it being sprayed at a parade?
The morning after......
The night before
I captured this for you and AH
if it's unrecognizable take note of the title
I don't believe I have ever had the pleasure of Silly Stringing anyone. Must add this to my To Do List in 2010. If it's banned in Hollywood that's good enough for me!
Is there any birthday cake and champagne left?
V
Silly String is actually illegal along the Rose Parade route, and at other special events in the public right of way, but enforcement is difficult because officers can't be at all places at all times and they often have bigger fish to fry.
Title 3, Chapter 3.22.020 (Interference with Special Event Prohibited) of the Pasadena Municipal Code reads, in part: "To drop, roll, throw, toss, squirt or propel any gaseous, liquid, semisolid or solid substance or object toward or among the participants, vehicles or animals in the special event."
Read tortillas, marshallows, Silly String, etc.
Colorado at Michigan, Greg, circa 2010. Day after the Parade so things look tired.
That chain link comes down, Katie. Next time you're in town, notice the holes in the sidewalk along certain stretches of Colorado Blvd., up close to the storefronts. It's for the fencing, to keep the crowds from pushing against the windows and breaking them.
Thank you, PA. Big Dogs in the Dark!
Cali: see the PIO's note below. Banned in Pasadena, too (at certain events).
Virginia, I didn't get any cake but I'm all for it.
Ann, thank you. I updated the post with your info. Don't tell me you're working today. Or do you have this in your head?
I'm working today! So many projects, so little time.
Congratulations on being one of seven finalists for the Story of the Year at the Rose City Sisters site!
Thanks for reminding me, Ann. Must put up my finalist banner!
Oh man, I guess I was committing a felony! Yikes.
Ben, I doubt you'll end up in Sing Sing for your Silly String escapade. Just cool it with the marshmallows.
I actually remember when the news started reporting about "the great silly string debate" in regards to Halloween in Hollywood. I always thought that was a funny way of putting it: The Great Silly String Debate.
Aww, but I was really looking forward to throwing tortillas at the Rose Bowl parade next year! Darnit!
Ann, seems to me the ordinance only criminalizes shooting silly string toward or among "participants" in the special event. Doesn't seem to apply to exchanges among spectators or to actions taken before or after the special event. What do you think?
Plus, not to rat anyone out, but I think silly string is sold along the parade route by city-registered vendors. I know that's where my kids got their cans of the stuff.
Nice to know your blog is being read, isn't it?
Silly, indeed! Watch out for those pesky marshmallows and the flying taffy -:)
Mazal tov, finalist!
Yep, I shipped out in 1968, before the era of Silly String. Just one more piece of Americana I'm missing out on.
Maybe we're having another Great Silly String Debate here. Or at least a Great Marshmallow Debate. I thought this stuff was thrown only at the DooDah Parade, but I was wrong.
Michael makes an interesting point about the city-registered vendors. Maybe the cans should read: "Squirt only at spectators!"
And people wonder why I don't go to the parade.
Yes, Chuck, it's very nice to know.
Dina, come visit. We'll get a can of Silly String and take turns spraying it in my back yard, then we'll go for a hike in the hills.
Illegal, eh? I was driving down Colorado Blvd about 11:30pm on Thursday night and my car was bombarded with silly string and 'tortillas'. Let's see, over 1000 cops on the street and no enforcement? Hmmmm.
And don't get me started about the Rose Bowl 'shuffle' aka 'shuttle' which had an hour wait coming and going! It was really sad to see a lot of frustrated out of towners decide NOT to stay and spend money in Pasadena that night after standing in line so long to get a bus (including my daughter who lives in Ventura County).
A tempting invitation.
You can re-educate me on all things American.
Arroyo Lover, that's good/bad. Good because there was a good turn-out, bad because public transportation apparently wasn't prepared for it. Was this the first year of the shuttle? Hopefully next year they'll do a better job.
Dina, I'm no pop culture expert. I don't have TV. But we can figure it out.
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