Time To Paint Chicago Green!
It’s a St. Patrick’s Day tradition: the city of Chicago dyes their river green, as thousands of fans arrive to celebrate the big day Sunday!
Yes, you will see lots of green apparel as well as beverages as the town goes wild for the Irish!
The city of Chicago began the “painting” of the river green in 1962.
As wikipedia reports, the inspiration for the stunt came from pollution-control workers, who used various chemical dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges. Yep, they got the idea while looking for “sewage discharge!”
That first year, the city dumped 100 pounds of dye into the river, which left it green for an entire week!
Officials say they now se less than 25 pounds of dye, and it’s vegetable-based, so safe to everything in the water!
Here is a look at how they “paint” the river:
After the spray down, then smaller boats stir it all in…the entire ceremony takes a half hour, then it’s on to the next celebration – a parade – followed by a day long celebration that lasts well into the night…
Happy St. Patricks Day to everyone!