Wednesday, Dec. 07, 2011

Facebook Birthday Party Invite Results in 1,500 Guests

You could call the movie "When Facebook Friends Go Wrong." Thessa, of Hamburg, Germany, was planning her 16th birthday party when she posted an invite on Facebook — meant only for her friends — and forgot to mark it "private." So since anyone could respond to the invite without that safeguard, the result was a virtual guest list that spiraled to 15,000, as the invitation went on to become an online sensation. Come birthday night, more than 1,500 guests arrived.

At some point during the evening, Thessa realized her mistake and her parents cancelled the party and alerted the cops, who quickly responded and arrested around a dozen for a variety of violations. Even if she didn't know many of the crashers, the strangers were ready to celebrate by her side. Some carried signs asking "Where Is Thessa?" while others even brought presents and cakes. No word on what she plans to do for her 21st.