Party goers gather in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, June 3, 2011, after a German girl forgot to mark her birthday invitation as private on Facebook.
A German teenager trying to plan a small get-together for family and friends was in for a nasty surprise after she forgot to mark her invitation as “private” when she made the event on Facebook. Oh, the woes of social media!
Thessa, of Hamburg, Germany, only officially invited a handful of friends to her birthday party, but around 1,500 people showed up — a development that caused the 16-year-old to flee the premises and celebrate with her grandparents in a quieter location. Seems that someone has a few too many Facebook fans.
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The event invite was accessible to anyone on Facebook, and in the days leading up to the party the number of RSVPs skyrocketed to somewhere around 15,000. At least that gave Thessa’s family some idea of what was in store. Though they cancelled the party and notified the police, not even a public announcement could stop the most persistent party-goers.
On the night of Thessa’s birthday, crowds celebrated in her absence. The AP reports that over the course of the night, “eleven people were temporarily detained, one police officer was injured, dozens of girls wearing flip-flops cut their feet on broken glass and firefighters had to extinguish two small fires.” Guests came bearing presents, cake and alcohol and chanted, “Where is Thessa?!” throughout the night.
The police sent around 100 officers, 4 of them on horseback to try — perhaps in vain — to keep the party under control. Despite the chaos, those responsible for maintaining order could still laugh about the event. “It was sheer insanity but mostly peaceful,” Hamburg police spokesman Mirko Streiber told the AP. Will Thessa’s birthday become an unofficial national holiday? (via the AP)
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