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Top 4th Of July Fails: What Went Wrong On Independence Day 2016

By Kirsten Silven
Published on: 08:07 PST, Jul 5, 2016

In celebration of the original Brexit 240 years ago, 4th of July 2016 was bound to come with its own unique set of fails, some of which were funny, some scary, and others were just plain sad.

All told, more than 214 million Americans celebrated the Independence Day holiday this year, spending upwards of $6.8 billion on food, including a whopping 150 million hot dogs and 890 million pounds of chicken and beef, according to Fox News San Antonio. In addition, professionals and revelers let off more than 285 million pounds of fireworks and attended 15,000 fireworks shows nationwide on Independence Day.

Here’s a rundown of the top 4th of July fails for 2016.

  • Bald Eagle Escapes At Dodger Stadium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnkPV0zdkL8

One of this year’s best Fourth of July fails happened when a trained bald eagle briefly escaped handlers during a pregame ceremony on Independence Day at Dodger Stadium, reported CBS Sports. After finishing its routine, the bald eagle reportedly did not return to its handler as it was trained to do, leading the crowd to cheer at the bird’s symbolic bid for freedom on the official birthday of the United States. The video shows the liberty-loving eagle passing up the planned landing and heading instead for open gates behind the centerfield wall where he quickly vanished.

“The eagle landed just behind the left field pavilion in an area known as the left field plaza,” reported NBC Los Angeles. “Handlers were able to retrieve the massive bird of prey and it is now safely back at the LA Zoo.”

  • PBS Fake Fireworks Footage

Another of the holiday’s top Independence Day fails involved PBS showing old July 4th footage from previous years during a live broadcast of the fireworks in Washington, D.C., USA Today reported. The decision to air the edited footage was made due to low-lying clouds in the area that obscured this year’s fireworks display, prompting some viewers to take to Twitter and accuse the broadcaster of deceiving audiences, while others joked about the sudden change in scenery.

After the program ended, PBS attempted to address what is amounting to one of the Fourth of July holiday’s most talked about fails, tweeting that producers thought it was “the patriotic thing to do,” which resulted in an even greater backlash on Twitter.

  • Fireworks Barge Catches Fire In Plymouth

Beachgoers in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, are still being asked to use caution the day after a major 4th of July fireworks fail happened Monday night, reported Boston-based ABC affiliate WCVB 5. A malfunction reportedly caused the barge to catch fire during an Independence Day celebration when witnesses began seeing random explosions on the barge about 15 minutes into the display and the remaining shells went off all at once. The 4th of July barge fire lasted for about 10 minutes and spread to a second barge, but no injuries have been reported.

“These incidents underscore just how unpredictable fireworks are, even for trained professionals,” said State Fire Marshall Peter J. Ostroskey.

Town officials are working hard to clean up any firework shells that wash up on the beach and are asking the public to call the local police or fire department if any are spotted.

  • Racist 4th Of July Parade Driver In Sheridan, Indiana

A pro-Trump 4th of July parade participant in Sheridan, Indiana, is receiving backlash after creating one of the holiday’s most memorable fails when he drove a golf cart decked out in what many onlookers felt were racist messages about President Obama, reported USA Today. The Independence Day parade entry had a cartoonish figure meant to represent the current President in a toilet, with the words “Royal Flush” and “Lying African” emblazoned below and “Trump” perched on top flanked by two American flags. Driver Don Christy, a 73-year-old resident of Sheridan, appeared to be wearing an orange jumpsuit and a blonde wig and told the Indianapolis Star that he did not fill out an official entry form for the July 4th parade, but instead simply lined up with everyone else when it started.

“I have my right to say things,” he said. “Isn’t that what the Fourth of July’s about? Freedom?”

Which, although true, is a sentiment Christy should remember goes both ways.

[Image via Deborah Kolb/Shutterstock]

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