NEW YORK - An attempt to erect the world's largest popsicle in a city square ended with a scene straight out of a disaster film — but much stickier.
The 25-foot-tall, 17 1/2-ton treat of frozen Snapple juice melted faster than expected Tuesday, flooding Union Square in downtown Manhattan with kiwi-strawberry-flavored fluid that sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground.
Firefighters closed off several streets and used hoses to wash away the sugary goo.
Snapple had been trying to promote a new line of frozen treats by setting a record for the world's largest popsicle, but called off the stunt before the it was pulled fully upright by a construction crane. Authorities said they were worried the thing would collapse in the 80-degree, first-day-of-summer heat.
"What was unsettling was that the fluid just kept coming," Stuart Claxton of the Guinness Book of World Records told the Daily News. "It was quite a lot of fluid. On a hot day like this, you have to move fast."
Snapple official Lauren Radcliffe said the company was unlikely to make a second attempt to break the record, set by a 21-foot ice pop in Holland in 1997.
The giant ice pop was supposed to have been able to withstand the heat for some time, and organizers weren't sure why it didn't. It had been made in Edison, N.J., and hauled to New York by freezer truck in the morning.
(did someone hack into the yahoo news server or is this true?)
― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)
its true. i saw some tv news footage of it last night. it seemed to come out of the truck melted. didnt look that bad from the angle they had.
― sunny successor (standing in the light of my own musical power) (katharine), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)
South Korea's baseball players have been banned from putting frozen cabbage leaves under their caps to beat the summer heat.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) took action after Doosan Bears pitcher Park Myung-hwan's cap fell off during a game last weekend, revealing his secret cooling agent.
After an emergency meeting, KBO officials ruled that cabbage leaves are a distraction and cannot be considered part of the baseball uniform.
"Park has been using frozen cabbage to cool down since last summer, but we didn't know until now," KBO chief of referees Heo Koo-youn told Reuters Wednesday.
"We had to act because imagine if it happened in the World Series. If something drops out of the pitcher's cap, it could put the batter off. Does the umpire call strike or ball?"
Park, who twice dropped leaves on the mound during last Sunday's game with the Hanhwa Eagles, said he was disappointed with the ruling but would not appeal.
"I'm sensitive to the heat and my wife recommended I put frozen cabbage leaves under my cap to cool my head," he said.
"I will respect the KBO's decision. Even without the cabbage, my pitching won't be affected."
― dahlin (dahlin), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 18:40 (twenty years ago)
The ants in Union Square must be in HEAVEN. Not to mention the sugar-freaked squirrels.
― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)
twelve years pass...
Weed World Candies is the funniest, dumbest company. Thinking about them and their giant, weed-advertising van brings me sincere joy.
― treeship 2, Friday, 2 February 2018 23:53 (eight years ago)