Readers Cameraphone: The Continuing Saga Of The World’s Largest Piñata
this is from last sunday when carnival cruises attempted to break the world record for smashing the largest pinata ever this past sunday in south philly. they ended up not smashing it due to a “technical difficulty” but really i think the prospect of free candy and wrecking ball carnage made the crowd get too crazy so they refused to smash it. I think it was supposed to get smashed yesterday? not really sure.
As far as we can tell, nobody was in any condition to get smashed yesterday, and our Googling seems to reveal that PiñataFail 2008 is still in a state of delicious, fail-y limbo. Which is perhaps as it should be. In the meantime, though, let’s just relish this shot of Philly’s Finest guarding their most cherished possession. Oh, Philadelphia: Some days it just feels like it’s impossible to love you enough.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
The pinata is on the lot that used to be the home of a really gorgeous old warehouse that was knocked down probably 12 years ago. Now the Cirque de Soleil parks there whenever it’s in town, otherwise the lot is empty and ugly, except for, apparently, giant P.R. fiascos. Yes, we love Philly, but sometimes it seems a little like Philly smacks us around, apologizes, and then begs us to come back because, baby, it loves us so much and we are the only one for it.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
My fave comment on this is the one I read saying it was filled with Mexican soldiers.
The mechanical failure a cop told me about, makes sense. No one would seriously swing a wrecking ball in any proximity of a crowd at real wrecking ball force. The ball was supposed to basically “tap” the pinata, triggering a mechanical belly door that would dump the candy (though I don’t know if that would technically win a pinata record). The trigger circuit failed, which given Carvinal Cruise Line’s (and pretty much all cruise lines’) penchant for mechanical failure, is not all surprising.
I was there from 1-3 outside the fence. From what I saw the event and tech staff were talking more with each other and a couple of teams inspecting the pinata than they were with the police who were on the scene. Whole thing looked pretty safe, but still a massive bummer.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I hear the wrecking ball was paper mache. But when I saw it it looked like metal to me.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
PCC, have you ever seen a wrecking ball used? They can be used with some finesse. It was a real wrecking ball, but they were never going to operate it at full swing. You can, in fact, through the miracle of modern technology (actually wrecking balls are not exactly cutting edge), tap something with a wrecking ball in a manner that would trip a circuit triggering a device, in this case a mechanical door. It’s very Rube Goldberg, but entirely doable, provided your “Pinata” is wired properly.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
It wasn’t a real wrecking ball. It was paper mache over a wood frame. I checked out it while I was there and I could move it with one hand.