The world’s first flash mob was organized in Manhattan in May 2003 by a man named Bill Wasik. It was a flop because the retail store was tipped off.
Wasik organized the second attempt on June 3, 2003. About 200 people showed up at a Macy’s Department Store in New York and began clapping in unison for about 15 seconds.
| — Scott McCabe |
Now flash mobs pop up all over the place. Sometimes people will appear out of nowhere to suddenly cluck like chickens, strip down to their underwear or sing a cappella.
Typically they are organized by email and social media like Twitter and Facebook. And the phenomenon has evolved; it has been used during the riots in England and street protests in the Middle East.
Locally, flash mobs are fairly common in the District. In 2009, a flash mob gathering made national news when a D.C. police officer drew his gun after his sport utility vehicle was pelted during a giant snowball fight on U Street.
It was a flash mob that gathered outside the White House in May to celebrate Osama bin Laden’s death. – Scott McCabe
