An enormous yellow balloon character sporting a rainbow hat, a purple top, and yellow pants gently floats into the nighttime sky above neon-lit skyscrapers with soft background music playing. Crowds gathered at an outdoor event watch intently into the sky with some holding umbrellas as the shaky camera captures the balloon character’s mysterious path into the darkness. The video uploaded to X by @Rainmaker1973 on July 17, 2026, has received over 1.3 million views and 38k likes, with many users laughing and noting that it could be considered a UAP someday by the U.S. government.
Social media platforms like X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Threads have been all agog about the video. Those who have seen the video consider it to be a new thing, while in actuality, it happened almost four years back.
The original event took place on December 17, 2022, during the “OPEN Big Balloon! Dream World” parade and concert in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Strong winds from a cold wave snapped the tethers on the enormous helium-filled OPEN-chan balloon, sending it soaring over the city.
“Strong winds took the large balloon on a 13 km journey over the city,” reported Taiwan News at the time. The mascot flipped over department stores, changed direction in upper air currents, and reportedly entered restricted airspace near the airport before bursting at high altitude. Its remains landed safely in Daliao District on grass, with no injuries or major property damage.
OPEN-chan serves as the official mascot of 7-Eleven Taiwan, operated by President Chain Store Corporation (Uni-President). Designed by Japan’s Dentsu, the alien-like dog character from the fictional “OPEN Planet” debuted in 2005 and appears on merchandise, themed stores, and promotions across Taiwan’s extensive 7-Eleven network.
Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration reviewed the incident due to the airspace breach. Organizers potentially faced fines up to NT$1.5 million (about US$50,000), while the balloon itself reportedly cost around NT$300,000 (US$10,000) to create.
This parade had 17 giant character balloons such as Hello Kitty and Snoopy, but the OPEN-chan really stole the show or rather flew away with it. Clips often gain extra whimsy through added pleasant background music, transforming a promotional mishap into dreamlike meme material that feels almost cinematic.
