Sonic the Hedgehog is fucking awesome. Everyone knows this. Everyone who denies this is lying to themselves and I pity them for the inherent despair and hopelessness of their lives. This is where I share that truth.

Moments in Sonic History

Sonic's Thanksgiving Curse

In 1993, Sonic became the first video game character to appear in Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. His balloon, which was six stories tall and required a record amount of helium (18,900 cubic feet) also happens to be one of the most infamous balloons in the parade's history.
During his debut, a heavy gust of wind caused the balloon to collide with a lamp post, which minorly injured a young girl and an off-duty police officer. In 1995, he was pulled from the march after another strong gusts sent him flying into a tree, causing a tear on his 30ft tall head. In 1997, some of the strongest wind ever forecasted for the parade made Sonic struggle to even get off the ground, and he was once again pulled from the line up after suffering another massive head tear, with that year being the last that the orginal Sonic balloon appeared in the parade. Out of his five appearances, in only two of them did he make it to the end in one piece.
Sonic eventually returned with a new balloon that flew in the parade from 2011 to 2013, and appeared again in 2021. Thankfully, his curse seemingly died with his old balloon, as he's so far trimuphed in his decades long battle with the wind and made it through each of these years with ease. Maybe it's because of improved craftmanship and safety regulations, or maybe he just became the wind itself like all those people on the internet keep telling me. The world may never know.