What is a Flash Mob?

The first flash mob was organized in Manhattan in May 2003, by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine. The origins of the flash mobs were unknown until Wasik published an article about his creation in the March 2006 edition of Harper's. The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for people to gather. The first successful flash mob assembled in June 3, 2003 at Macy's department store. Wasik avoided such problems during the second flash mob by sending participants to preliminary staging areas—in four prearranged Manhattan bars—where they received further instructions about the ultimate event and location just before the event began.

More than one hundred people converged upon the ninth floor rug department of Macy's department store, gathering around one particular very expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant was advised to say that the gatherers lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a Love Rug, and that they made all their purchase decisions as a group. Following this flash mob, about 200 people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about fifteen seconds, and next a shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.

In the article Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to poke fun at hipsters, and highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and of wanting to be an insider or part of "the next big thing."



The first recorded use of the term "flash mob" was in 2003 in a blog entry posted in the aftermath of Wasik's event. Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English defines flash mob as “a group of people who organize on the Internet and then quickly assemble in a public place, do something bizarre, and disperse.



The world's largest reported flash mob occurred in the United Kingdom on 30 November 2006 at Paddington station. More than 3,500 people were in attendance, a record number that has yet to be surpassed.


the Paddington station flash mob in November 2006


in Newcastle


"We're not worthy!"