Party City, the brick-and-mortar retailer that's a one-stop-shop for single-use, brightly-colored plastic crap and other festive decorations, is closing 45 of its 900 stores across the country. Store profits are down due to the shortage of helium on the planet; Party City historically makes big money from filling balloons. From CNN:

The Earth holds pockets of helium buried under rock, but it's notoriously hard to capture because it, well, floats. When drilling or fracking for natural gas, energy companies capture some helium and sell it. But helium makes up a tiny percentage of the gasses trapped under rock formations. Over the past few years, some drillers have claimed to find troves of helium buried underground, but those haven't always panned out. Party City said it really started feeling the pinch in August 2018...

The good news for Party City is it signed an agreement with a new helium supplier. Party City believes the new supplier can help it return its balloon business back to normal starting in the summer, and it hopes the supplies will last for the next two-and-a-half years...

(Party City CEO) Harrison cautioned, however, that the additional helium wasn't a sure thing. Party City's new supplier might believe it is sitting on a lot of helium, but it can't know for sure until it bottles and sells it.

This year I missed the party, but as usual stellar photographer Star Foreman captured an amazing gallery of images! Read the rest

Nothing lets guests know what you expect from a party like a giant inflatable Fortnite Battle Bus.

My brother has bought his own bounce house, and his kids love him for it. I am not sure that buying this huge replica of the Battle Bus will work in the same way.

You can't bounce on it, you probably shouldn't jump on it, and you'll likely have more fun with a Llama Piñata, but...

Thats one huge inflatable Battle Bus.

Interestingly, the bus is cheaper via Amazon than Spirit direct.

Spirit Halloween Fortnite 17.5 Ft Battle Bus Inflatable via Amazon Read the rest

An inebriated gentleman at a party in West Virginia thought he was ordering an Uber to take him to West Virginia University's campus. But in his drunken state he messed up his order, blacked out in the Uber, and ended up at his house in Gloucester County, N.J. The fare came to a mere $1,635.93.

According to USA Today:

The report states that [Kenny] Bachman woke up two hours into the trip, but didn't want to just be dropped off in the middle of no where, so he stuck it out all the way home. 300 miles from where he was partying and staying.

"Afterwards I had it fully sink in," Bachman told NJ Advance Media. "Once the ride ended and I saw how much it was when I was like 'Alright, this is insane, that's just crazy.'"

Uber confirmed the ride occurred, the report states, and the driver took Bachman to the destination he requested.

Let's hope the party was fun.

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CropLife America (pesticide lobbyists); the Financial Services Roundtable (lobbyists for Citigroup, Jpmorgan, etc) and Lockheed Martin (largest arms-dealer in the world) are just some of the entities throwing lavish parties for Congresscritters, Senators, administration officials and their staffers this Christmas. Read the rest

After careful examination of several practically-identical products and a thorough delve into reader reviews, I can finally make my long-awaited recommendation for a strap-on unicorn horn: the YanJie Shiny (~$10, Amazon).

Aside from the critical rainbow model, it comes in various colors, is adjustable, and has the all-important strap so it doesn't come off your head when under extended or vigorous use.

It is five inches long, made of polyester, and a buck or two more expensive than the competition. For an item so important, though, it's worth splurging.

"I am an 'average sized' adult and I wore this for a party," writes D.T. "it fit perfectly."

"Using for cosplay and cosplay only," reports Queen of the Succubi. "It is legit enough."

"We love it, dog hates it," cautions Daniel. "What more can I say."

If you know of a superior shiny rainbow strap-on unicorn horn, tell us about it in the comments!

YanJie Shiny Unicorn Horn [Amazon]

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(NSFW) Len Enders writes, "(On December 8, 1989), a friend and I threw a party at our house to celebrate our 19th birthday. We rented a video camera for the occasion and this is a short edit of the remaining footage from that night." (via r/ObscureMedia, thanks, UPSO!)

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Some partygoers were looking forward to their evening treats, but sadly it was not to be. (Insert Samsung Galaxy joke here...) [via]

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Police responding to reports of a unicorn on the loose chased down the mythological beast to find a suitably-augmented pony that had escaped from a children's birthday party.

"She was kind of running amok in some orchards with some white blooms," said Sandra Boos, whose family owns the horse named Juliette. "So, she kind of blended in with the scenery.

"She turned out to be stealthier than we would have imagined."

Juliette, who belongs to 5-year-old Tatum Boos, was finally found in an orchard, wrangled back into custody and returned to her Madera County stable in a fairy-tale ending.

"I was afraid," Tatum said. "She got in a timeout because she was being a bad pony."