Talk:Hands Across America

Noble Failure?
The linked ABC piece really illustrates a point that's missing from this article: that the event was a failure. Not just because exceptions had to be made here and there for missing people, but because of the costs involved and the shortfall vis a vis the amount the organizers intended to raise. Something should be said about the legacy of the event, which is that it's kind of looked on as a noble failure.

Also, the block quote at the beginning of the article needs citation.

PacificBoy 17:32, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, it's not a completely workable idea, and maybe pointless. But an important piece of history nonetheless.  And to me, a hallmark of the 80's.  Mcavic (talk) 04:51, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

A notable failure... Hank9172 (talk) 00:30, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Hands Across America 2?
Let's do it again, on September 11, 2011. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.67.35.112 (talk) 18:12, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm up for it. Mcavic (talk) 05:54, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Terrorism and electric I think will be the reason it'll never happen again.--Dana60Cummins (talk) 03:35, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

If you're looking to fix this article, here's a few places to start.
These notes are as much for my reference as anyone else. As I come across the infromation, I will add it to the article as appropriate. It looks like whoever wrote this got the feel-good happy out of the way. It was a public spectacle blah blah did a lot to raise awareness about hunger blah blah. But we can't ignore the important stuff, like where the money came from and where the money went.

In the first section, there is a section in quotations. Who is being quoted and when was it said?

Where did the totals for the number of participants come from? This article claims that 5.5 million people participated, whereas the official website claims that over 7 million people participated.

What were the exact routes, and participants and distances involved, in the separate chains? If we do not have these numbers, then how was it determined that the total distance was enough to cross the continental United States?
 * "...enough people participated to form an unbroken chain across the 48 contiguous states if the path had been a straight line" was arrived from a simple calculation. Dividing the reported length of the route (even if it wasn't a straight line) by more conservative number of participants (5.5 million) yields 4 feet per person, which is a reasonable human armspan.  I have been working on a map (with cited sources) of the the route of Hands Across America down to the street level ever since the 25th anniversary, which might answer some of these questions, though citing it would be considered original research. GUllman (talk) 20:41, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Ribbon was used in place of participants for major sections of the chains. How much ribbon was used, who made it, who paid for it, and what sections did it cover?

Estimates from the ABC website listed in the article claim that this event cost $17 million to produce. What sorts of costs were involved and who paid them? Kragan claims that 400 people worked publicizing the event... what were their salaries and who paid them?

In the ABC article, it says that Kenny Rogers "went to bat, schmoozing insurance companies to underwrite a policy to cover the event." What, exactly, was "insured" about the event, who paid for the policy, what conditions were required for a pay-out, and who would have received that pay-out if the conditions were met?

Where did the total for donations come from, and what charities actually received how much money? Who was responsible for accounting for that money and who determined that there were fewer donations than participants?

The official website for the event says that Coca-Cola and Citibank donated $8 million, was that included in the totals? More than 700 other companies "sponsored" the event... what were their donations, were they made as cash or as advertising or other services? Who paid for the McDonald's placemats, ect? Were those donations accounted for in the totals?

Most importantly, as far as I'm concerned, was all that money independently audited to ensure that it wasn't fraud that reduced the "take"? Or must we simply assume that the event sponsors were "honest" about it?

71.182.136.214 (talk) 01:12, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Who leads which song during HAA?
Toto leads- “Hands Across America”

Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie lead- “We are The World”

Barbara Streisand leads- “America The Beautiful” Hank9172 (talk) 00:24, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Long Beach/San Bernardino on map
The map shows Long Beach and San Bernardino (both near Los Angeles, California) with the text of Long Beach over the San Bernardino dot, and vice versa. It would make sense to switch the text locations around so that they correspond to the right location, but I don't know how to do this 96.39.237.4 (talk) 18:01, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

Dubious
the lead section alleges 'a continuous human chain across the continental US', but the human chain was not continuous. across the less populated parts of the USA, there were large swaths that did not have enough participants to make the chain continuous. the news reports of the time did mention this but i have no way to access the material from that time. i propose removing the claim that the chain was "continuous", perhaps still mentioning that this was an unmet goal. .usarnamechoice (talk) 00:18, 26 August 2022 (UTC)

Seconded. Changing it now, if there are any objections please voice them here. Drevolt (talk) 03:06, 15 October 2022 (UTC)