<\/p>\n
Mar\u00eda Luisa Pa\u00fal<\/p>\n
These days, social media posts featuring pops of pink and blue are inescapable as some parents take on ever more lavish approaches to revealing the sex of their babies. <\/p>\n
But the past few years have shown that the over-the-top celebrations are prone to disaster \u2013 like, say, an accidental wildfire, a plane crash or a possible environmental crime.<\/p>\n
Take this week\u2019s gender-reveal party in Mato Grosso, a state in central Brazil. <\/p>\n
Like other such parties, the outdoor event on Sunday featured pink and blue balloons, a giant stork and trendy powder cannons that fired coloured plumes into the air. <\/p>\n
Things were taken a step further, however: according to Brazilian authorities, the party dyed an entire waterfall.<\/p>\n
It was a violation of Brazil\u2019s federal environmental law, a spokesperson for Mato Grosso\u2019s environment protection agency (Sema) told The Washington Post. <\/p>\n
While an investigation will determine which penalties and fees apply, the unnamed family member behind the stunt is being charged with harming the environment, Sema said.<\/p>\n
Known as Cachoeira Queima-P\u00e9, the 59-foot-tall (17.9m) waterfall is located in Tangar\u00e1 da Serra, an area with eco-tourism sites and copious waterfalls. <\/p>\n
According to Sema, the Queima-P\u00e9 feeds into a river with the same name that\u2019s an important fresh water source for the city \u2013which has been struggling with severe drought over the past few years.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the usually milky waterfall suddenly turned a bright, Listerine-like shade of blue. Videos show the couple lovingly embrace as other guests cheered \u2013 a boy! But in the digital realm, other Brazilians were less than impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many ways to do a gender-reveal party and they chose just the one that has an environmental impact,\u201d Vanessa Costa, a Brazilian forestry engineer and content creator, wrote on Twitter. <\/p>\n
In a follow-up video posted on Instagram, Costa dove into the possible harm caused by the stunt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe act of dyeing the water is pollution. You are polluting those waters, and that\u2019s an environmental impact,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
SEMA, which was promptly alerted about the party, agreed. On Monday, the agency sent a team of investigators to gather samples from the waterfall, which found \u201cno change in the water\u2019s physical parameters, such as colour and other, and no trace of local fish mortality,\u201d Sema said.<\/p>\n
The investigation, though, is still under way and aided by Mato Grosso\u2019s Public Ministry, the state-level law-enforcement agency told The Post.<\/p>\n
While the water\u2019s quality didn\u2019t immediately appear to have been altered, the agency said the act of dumping a substance into the water \u201cconstitutes an infraction\u201d. <\/p>\n
Under Brazilian law, \u201cthrowing solid, liquid or gaseous waste or debris, oils or oily substances\u201d into the environment is subject to fines ranging from R16 600 to R166K depending on human health effects, animal mortality and biodiversity destruction.<\/p>\n
The agency said one of the gender-reveal party\u2019s hosts told Sema they didn\u2019t know a chemical product would be used to dye the water \u2013 instead placing the blame on a family member, whom the agency has since identified and called in for charging.<\/p>\n
The party in Brazil is far from the first gender reveal gone awry. <\/p>\n
Last year, a Southern California couple was charged with manslaughter after the smoke bomb they used sparked a massive wildfire. Since becoming a trend in 2008, gender-reveal parties have triggered an explosion, caused a plane crash and led to death.<\/p>\n
Gender-reveal parties have proliferated \u201cin a cultural moment where events and rituals are often created to garner a share of the spotlight,\u201d Carly Gieseler, a professor at York College with the City University of New York, wrote in a study published in 2017. <\/p>\n
While some have featured more low-key stunts \u2013 like popping a balloon with coloured confetti inside \u2013 others have included duelling Power Rangers, smoking cars, fireworks and a whole lot of explosions. <\/p>\n
The trend\u2019s longevity points to \u201cour increased capacity for sharing, our competitive consumerism or our drive to permanently articulate moments so unfathomable or temporal,\u201d according to Gieseler.<\/p>\n
Yet even the creator of the gender reveal regrets starting the fad.<\/p>\n
\u201cCelebrate the baby,\u201d Jenna Karvunidis told NPR. <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 Let\u2019s just have a cake.\u201d<\/p>\n