Giant Inflatable Moon Cannot Be Stopped as It Rolls Away

In a turn of events Monty PythonOpens in a new tab could’ve written, a giant, inflatable Moon recently tore loose from a Mid-Autumn Festival in China’s Henan province. It flew down a city street as officials chased it. The GuardianOpens in a new tab has a glimpse of the hilarious getaway in the video below, which seems to have been wholly harmless. Although if the incident looks familiar, that’s because it’s happened before.

DesignTaxiOpens in a new tab picked up on news of the Moon escape. It’s unclear how the Moon broke free. But, we’re guessing there were some issues with the cables holding it down. That, or some kind of supervillain decided to steal it to demonstrate their massive powers.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important festival in China, according to China HighlightsOpens in a new tab. The festival traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. And people celebrate it by gathering for dinners, lighting lanterns, and honoring the Moon.

Guardian News

Unfortunately, it’s unclear how officials were able to wrangle the loose MoonOpens in a new tab. The video The Guardian released ends with the Moon still in mid-roll. We couldn’t find any other clips of the incident online. What is clear, however, is that yet another inflatable Moon from this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival ended up in a river in Hong Kong.

In the video immediately below The South China Morning PostOpens in a new tab tweeted out, we glimpse another errant inflatable. In this instanceOpens in a new tab, officials confirmed the problem occurred when they were taking it down from its holding position on a tugboat. Apparently, one of the cables holding the faux Moon in place snapped allowing the wind to throw it into the river.

Thankfully, officials have been able to retrieve the inflatable Moon from the river. However! These are now—at least—the second and third incidents of giant, inflatable Moons running free from the Mid-Autumn Festival, as the same thing happenedOpens in a new tab back in 2016. The Moon really just wants to be a part of the party!