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Video of giant ball pit in downtown Orlando attracts 700K views

Aspiring comedian Mark Gagnon says he wanted to get people to take a break

ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando college student has created a video that is going viral.

Aspiring comedian Mark Gagnon said he came up with the idea to create a giant ball pit in the middle of downtown in order to get people to take a break from their busy day.

"I actually turned my dorm room into a ball pit," Gagnon said. "I felt the relaxing nature of it and I was like, 'I know who needs this. The people of Orlando.'"

On Nov. 2, Gagnon set up the ball pit at the corner of Pine Street and Orange Avenue.

"I wanted to see if people in the city were too busy to take a moment for themselves," Gagnon is heard saying in the video.

The video has been seen almost 700,000 times on Gagnon's Facebook page in just a couple days.

"We loaded all the balls into the truck (and) I got an above-ground pool off Craigslist, like, super cheap," Gagnon said.

In the video, working men with their suits and ties take Gagnon up on the offer. An attorney in the video even shined light on work-related stress.

"In that last year alone, I've heard of four attorneys who, during their lunch break, they just dropped dead," the lawyer said. "I mean, that's serious stuff. That's why I don't take lunch breaks."

Gagnon said that he's inspired by the smiles and seeing the similarities with one another.

"People were a little hesitant at first -- not really sure what was going on," he said. "(They were) not really sure if it was legal, and then at first, one person jumped in. And then more and more people (were) like, 'You know what? I'm going to take a break and I'm going to jump in.'"

Gagnon has plans for more videos in the future, but is keeping quiet on the details.


About the Author
Troy Campbell headshot

Troy graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. He has reported on Mexican drug cartel violence on the El Paso/ Juarez border, nuclear testing facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and severe Winter weather in Michigan.

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