We love our fun new balloon design: a vintage trolley! Especially perfect for a San Francisco
wedding (or New Orleans, Seattle, Memphis...), this
trolley can be customized on its front banners and side panels. We think this
design works beautifully for representing a new union: Trolleys have a rich
history; they have stood the test of time, and they symbolize both community
and the joy of new journeys.
In honor of our new design, here are seven fun facts about the American trolley!
1) San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national
monuments.
2) Each San Francisco cable car is a work of art:
taking 18 to 24 months to complete, and built with Alaskan Spruce, iron, steel,
and polished brass.
3) Cable cars take two people to operate them: a conductor, and a
gripman (who maneuvers a 365 pound device that grips the cable). No woman was
ever able to pass the gripman training course, until 1998, when Fannie Mae Barnes, aged
52, became the first.
4) In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson’s daughter was kicked off
a trolley for eating ice cream.
5) “Streetcars” did not come to be known as “trolleys” until
1888, when Richmond, Virginia made its streetcars electric. The name
“trolley” comes from the word “troller”—a device that allows an electronic
current to pass.
6) The classic musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” devotes an entire
number to the joys of riding a trolley. Songwriter Hugh Martin claimed he was
inspired to write "The Trolley Song" when he saw a caption in a book
about the history of St. Louis. The book had a page with a picture of a
turn-of-the-century trolley car, captioned "Clang! Clang! Clang! went the
jolly little trolley."
7) Judy Garland did the “Trolley Song” scene in one take.
Though she flubbed one of the lines, director Vincent Minnelli insisted they
keep it because Garland’s first effort was so magical.
