Two gender reveal parties, one causing a cringe-worthy injury and another involving the tallest building in the world, have gone viral as a similar affair has been blamed for a California wildfire.
The popularity of the videos shows the different methods expectant parents are using to provide an exciting and “Instagramable” or “YouTubeable” experience for their guests and followers.
At a party in Massachusetts an expectant father fired an explosive canister of blue powder into his crotch — on accident — and a pair of influencers in Dubai lit-up the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, to show that they are having a boy.
“I am trying my best to give content that no one has ever seen before,” Asala Marwah a YouTube influencer, who posts videos under as the “Anasala Family,” says to the camera at one point.
The over-the-top nature of some gender reveals have been put into focus because the El Dorado fire in California was sparked by a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device for a gender reveal party. The fire was only 7% contained as of Tuesday.
It’s at least the second wildfire to be sparked by gender reveal pyrotechnics.
In 2018, a gender reveal gone wrong was blamed for sparking a 45,000-acre wildfire in Arizona and causing $8 million in damage.
The latest disaster in California has led to the party creator to speak out against them.
“Stop it. Stop having these stupid parties,” Jenna Karvunidis of Pasadena California wrote Monday on Facebook. “For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid’s penis. No one cares but you.”
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Nevertheless, people continue to have the parties even with the risk of injury.
On Aug. 30, the gender reveal party in East Longmeadow, Mass., in which the Tom Cressotti was blasted below the belt with blue powder after his wife, Kristin, handed him the flare pointed in the wrong direction has been a hit with internet viewers.
The flare was set to either shoot out blue or pink power, depending on the sex of the baby and when it shot Tom Cressotti straight into his crotch he fell to the ground writhing in agony covered in blue dust while his some of his guests laughed at him.
According to Kristin Cressotti, the instructions for the flares were unclear.
“When used correctly the powder should be dispersed 20-30 feet into the air. Since Tom’s cannon was unknowingly pointing right at his genitals, he was directly blasted,” she said to Kennedy News and Media, noting no one was seriously injured by the blast.
And those who watched the now-viral video online also found the accident funny.
“This would have won America’s Funniest Home Videos for sure!” one person wrote.
“That best one gender reveal!! Lol,” another wrote.
“It’ll probably be his last. LOL,” one joked.
In Dubai, there was a gender reveal that also went viral for its opulence by two YouTube influencers, Anas and Asala Marwah, known as “Anasala Family” on their account.
In the video, the YouTubers are seen preparing for the reveal, which is eventually shown via a giant light show on the side of Burj Khalifa
The 15-minute video, which was uploaded Tuesday, has received more than 16 million views as of Friday afternoon.
