Girl's Birthday Party Goes Viral – 1,500 Facebook Users Show Up

In Berlin last Friday a girl only identified as “Thessa” accidentally held a party for her 16th birthday that brought 1,500 young people, over 100 policemen, firefighters, and two small fires. Police spokesman Mirko Streiber told the press on Sunday that the size of the party caused Thessa to go into hiding, but that it was nevertheless “a hit.”

How might one accidentally hold a gigantic party that draws policemen on horses, 11 injuries and international news coverage? Thessa unintentionally forgot to make her Facebook event invitation she had originally meant to send to only a few friends private. From here, how the invitation managed to go viral is unclear. Here’s Huffington Post’s version of the story:

Thessa had initially only wanted to ask some friends over to her home in Hamburg-Bramfeld when she posted her invitation on Facebook, but mistakenly she published it so that everyone on Facebook could see it.

The invitation quickly went viral, and some 15,000 people confirmed online they would come to the party – without even knowing the girl, weekly paper Bild am Sonntag reported.

Not so sure that Thessa’s invitation could be seen by “everyone” – all 250 million users – on Facebook, but whatever – what a funny practical joke! By the time Facebook showed that 16,000 people planned on attending her event, Thessa’s parents made her publicly cancel the party and call the police. They also hired a private security firm to guard their home on Friday night. But of course, the Germans – being, well, German – still found a way to party.

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image – Beatrice Murch
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