Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Viewer Spotted a Float That Hoda Kotb, Savannah Huthrie and Al Roker Skipped

One eagle-eyed Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade viewer saw a large float that NBC's broadcasters [...]

By Libby Birk

One eagle-eyed Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade viewer saw a large float that NBC's broadcasters completely skipped over while reading each balloon's description Thursday morning. The user noticed the float, which they described as "ice cream... something?" but wanted answers as to what it could be.

The balloon appeared the be the top of an ice cream cone, complete with red cherries. The float holders beneath it donned matching pink and green sweaters and beanies.

After a little online research, the Twitter user wrote that they had discovered the answers they were looking for: It was a strawberry pistachio ice cream cone float that returned to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time since 2011. Although the concept of the strawberry pistachio ice cream cone was not new, the design was, which explains why it stuck out to the parade viewer.

The ice cream cone has long been a float in the Macy's parade, originally appearing as a triple-scoop cone in 1945. It debuted as one of five new balloons created by Goodyear after WWII, according the Fandom, and featured three scoops of ice cream: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The balloon also appeared in 1946 in the film Miracle on 34th Street. In 1947, it was flipped upside down and refurbished as the goofy gnome.

Forty years later, a brand new ice cream cone appeared in the parade as a singular scoop of strawberry ice cream with chocolate drizzle. It made just two appearances before retiring in 1986, and in 1987 a larger ice cream balloon debuted as the pistachio and strawberry cone. It became a classic over the next few decades, making 15 appearances before retiring after the 2002 parade. The next year, a new cone debuted following obvious wear and tear to the original, and appeared in every parade until 2011.

The parade has since been without an ice cream balloon until this year, with a new, updated version of the strawberry pistachio cone.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade saw tons of reactions like this on social media, including one memorable moment when co-anchor Hoda Kotb struggled to pronounce a Dragon Ball Z character's name, then laughed at herself amid the live TV chaos.

Given the job of explaining the new video game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, and how it will give fans the chance to relive Goku's story in celebration of the anime's 30th anniversary, Kotb started laughing and was barely able to compose herself long enough to say that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot would be releasing on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January.

Fans took to Twitter to poke fun at Kotb, who worked before and during the parade, for her pronunciation and reaction.

"Hoda trying, failing, and laughing her way through pronouncing Dragon Ball Super: Kakarot at the parade this year just singlehandedly saved my Thanksgiving," one person wrote.

"This year I'm thankful for all of my family and friends, and for the opportunity to hear Hoda Kotb say 'Kakarot' out loud," another said.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade drew in 22.1 million viewers, keeping it ratings about even with last year's broadcast, which drew in 23.7 million.

Photo credit: NBC / Contributor / Getty

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