7 Biggest Gender Reveal Party Disasters

Dec 05, 2023, 14:08 IST

Moohita Kaur Garg

Gender reveal parties are all the rage these days. During pregnancy, to-be parents hold elaborate parties to disclose the sex of their baby. Owing to the pressures of social media, these parties often end up being unnecessarily big, ending in disasters.

The 2017 Sawmill Fire in Arizona

In April 2017, the detonation of a target packed with Tannerite, a highly explosive substance, at a gender reveal party in the Coronado National Forest sparked the Sawmill Fire. The wildfire burned 46,991 acres. The cost of extinguishing the fire came up to $8.2 million.

The El Dorado Fire

The September to November 2020 El Dorado Fire which burned 22,744 acres of California forests and claimed the life of one firefighter was caused by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party. The fire burned for over 71 days and cost $42,269,660 to suppress.

Cutting Off Water Supply

In September 2022, a couple in Mato Grosso, Brazil, dyed a waterfall blue as part of a gender reveal party. The 59 ft tall waterfall, which is located on the Queima-Pé River, is the main source of fresh water for the city of Tangará da Serra.

Lethal Shrapnel

In October 2019, in Iowa, US, flying shrapnel from an improvised explosive device killed to-be grandmother Pamela Kreimeyer. The device, made of metal, packed with gunpowder and coloured powder, exploded with such force that the shrapnel fragment after killing the woman flew through the air another 144 yards.

Plane crash

In March 2021, two pilots were killed after their plane carrying the banner "It's a Girl" crashed.

Aforetime Explosion

In February 2021, Christopher Pekny, a 28-year-old expectant father, was killed after the device he was building for the gender reveal of his child exploded in the Catskills town of Liberty. His brother Michael Pekny was also injured in the explosion.

Novelty Cannon

In February 2021, in Michigan, Evan Thomas Silva, a 26-year-old man, died after a cannon packed with gunpowder exploded, sending shrapnel flying. Silva, as per NY Times, was an innocent bystander.

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