Cubs parade was 7th largest gathering in human history

With over five million in attendance, the Chicago Cubs parade on Friday afternoon was the seventh largest gathering in human history.

The Chicago Cubs have been around for less than 150 years. The human race has been around for several thousand years. By all accounts, there have been quite a few gatherings of human beings since 3000 B.C. With an estimated five million in attendance, the World Series parade for the Cubs on Friday afternoon tops almost all of them.

According to historians, the Cubs parade ranks seventh in history. The crowd was also the largest ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. The parade is also the biggest non-religious gathering in human history, although some would be more than ready to make the argument that seeing the Cubs win was a religious experience.

What a sight and what a day as masses of Cubs fans painted the city blue and white to celebrate the first World Series title for the North Siders since 1908.

Everything came together to make for one of the truly special days in American sports history — perfect weather, a beautiful city, great personalities, and a curse broken.

Here is the list of the top-10 biggest gatherings that the Cubs and the city of Chicago have joined:

1. Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, India, 2013 — 30 million
2. Arbaeen Festival, Iraq, 2014 — 17 million
3. Funeral of CN Annaduri, India, 1969 — 15 million
4. Funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran, 1989 — 10 million
5. Papal gathering in the Philippines, 2015 — 6 million
6. World Youth Day, Philippines, 1995 — 5 million
7. Chicago Cubs World Series parade, USA, 2016 — 5 million
8. Funeral of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt, 1970 — 5 million
9. Rod Stewart concert, Brazil, 1994 — 3.5 million
10. Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 2012 — 3 million

The Cubs parade really stands out on this list for several reasons. Many of the events also took place in highly oppressive countries where religion rules, so most in attendance probably did not have much choice. With a metro population of only 9.9 million, Chicago is also much smaller than the locations of every other event on the list.

Next: 50 Best Teams Never To Win The World Series

Productivity in Chicago has no doubt taken a hit since Wednesday night, but after 108 empty years, more than a few beers were certainly due. Party on, Cubs Nation, you’ve earned it.