When will we ever learn? Gender reveals are always a bad idea (namely because you can’t predict a person’s gender, only their assigned sex), but as this cheesy pregnancy tradition becomes more and more popular and widespread, the ways parents-to-be feel the need to announce what genitals their child will have get whackier and whackier.
In fact, gender reveals have become downright dangerous in recent years, causing injury, property damage, and mortifying humiliation. But don’t let our opinion influence yours; just look at the litany of gender reveals-gone-wrong that populate the news. We’ve rounded up 8 of the most disastrous gender reveals and ranked them for your vicarious delight. (We will admit: it’s a long more fun reading about these horrific parties than having to attend them.)
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Gender Reveals Ranked
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8. Dueling Babies
Rather than use a balloon, confetti popper, pyrotechnic device, or any other asinine methods of revealing a baby’s sex, a pregnant woman in Jacksonville had her cousin and nephew dress in giant inflatable infant costumes – one male, one female. The big babies duked it out on the front lawn as 90 guests watched. Spoiler alert: the boy won.
Photo: Facebook
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7. The Jaws of Life
Professional alligator wrangler Mike Kliebert, also known as “T-Mike, The Gator King,” put his balls on display for his baby-to-be’s gender reveal party in Louisiana. As his pregnant wife looked on, he pried open the jaws of a gator and placed a melon inside. When the alligator chomped down, blue Jell-O burst from the melon. That’s one (very dangerous way) to say, “It’s a boy!”
Photo: Facebook
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6. Ankle-Biter
A dad in Somerset, New Jersey, broke his ankle while kicking a paint-filled football. The pain of his injury probably paled in comparison with his disappointment at the pink paint that exploded from within.
Photo: YouTube
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5. Heads Up
We don’t know when baseballs got involved in gender reveal parties, but they really don’t mix with bystanders. In a viral Twitter video, a grandpa got hit in the face with an exploding baseball that revealed he'd soon have a grandson. Maybe he can teach him to pitch properly.
Photo: @clariceguido (Twitter)
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4. Foul Ball
At this gender reveal party that went viral on YouTube, a mom-to-be took a baseball to the face. We still don’t know if a baby boy or girl was to blame.
Photo: YouTube
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3. Applebee's Brawl
An Ohio Applebee’s turned into a war zone after a gender reveal party unleashed confetti poppers outside the restaurant, littering the sidewalk and customers’ cars with blue confetti. When the manager asked the partygoers to clean up the litter, they screamed obscenities and threw menus at employees, prompting a call to police.
Photo: Wundervisuals (Getty Images)
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2. Kaboom
A gender reveal party in Iowa turned deadly when a box used to reveal the baby's gender was opened and the debris inside exploded, striking a woman and killing her.
Photo: Mccallk69 (Getty Images)
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1. Up in Flames
In San Bernardino County, California, a “smoke generating pyrotechnic device” used at a gender reveal party caused what is now known as the El Dorado Fire. The blaze began at the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa and spread north to Yucaipa Ridge. It torched over 22,000 acres and killed one firefighter.
Photo: JOSH EDELSON / Contributor (Getty Images)
