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  • - [Voiceover] They dance, they flail, they're a big wacky

  • and awkward way to get your attention.

  • But did you know these Tall Boys debuted

  • at the 1996 Olympics, as art?

  • (lighthearted Caribbean music)

  • Meet Peter Minshall, a prominent Caribbean artist.

  • Known in Trinidad as the creator of larger than life

  • dancing puppets created for Carnival.

  • His work made its way to a book called

  • Caribbean Festival Arts.

  • And that book made its way to a man.

  • A man on the steering committee of the Olympics.

  • Peter was commissioned to help create an unforgettable

  • opening for the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.

  • In a moment nothing short of pure genius,

  • Peter returned to his roots by sketching

  • a puppet-like structure

  • but this time he turned it into an inflatable air-man

  • that would move and dance just like his manned-puppets.

  • For this he had to call in another artist,

  • Doron Gazit, an engineer who happened to be obsessed

  • with anything inflatable.

  • Between both men they were able to accomplish

  • the seemingly impossible:

  • 60 foot inflatable two-legged dancing men.

  • The Tall Boys were nothing short of a success.

  • After they graced the Olympics, Gazit got a patent

  • and licensed the design to various advertisers.

  • Now they're everywhere.

  • Used car lots, cropped fields, shopping centers,

  • you name it.

  • So the next time you see a big ridiculous inflated Tall Boy

  • waving at you in the distance,

  • just imagine you're in the Caribbean

  • dancing along to the drum beat.

  • (lighthearted Caribbean music)

- [Voiceover] They dance, they flail, they're a big wacky

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