In honour of St. Patrick's Day, Chicago River traditionally painted green. Fascinating video
On Saturday (March 16), the river in Chicago was traditionally painted green in honour of St. Patrick's Day.
This year, St. Patrick's Day falls on Sunday, but the Windy City starts celebrating it a day earlier, Yahoo reports.
The tradition dates back to 1962 when Richard J. Daley was mayor of Chicago, but the idea itself came from a local plumbers' union.
The green dye was originally used to identify how sewage was getting into the water and showed where there were leaky pipes.
In the festive spirit, the local plumbers' union decided to dump 100 pounds of dye into the river for St. Patrick's Day, and it lasted for a week.
Now, about 40 pounds of plant-based dye is used every year. The river stays green for only a few hours.
The dye is harmless to wildlife.
The process is carried out by two boats. One boat dumps the powdered dye, while the other stirs it into the water.
As reported by TravelWise, Midway in Chicago has been recognized as the best US airport for business travel.