The dyed Chicago River doubles as a perfect green screen in this hilarious video

If you've ever wanted to see a river of lava flowing through downtown Chicago, here's your chance.
By Harry Hill  on 

The Chicago River was dyed green for St. Patrick's day. And for the memes.

Every year, Tom Rowan dyes the Chicago River in honor of St. Patrick's day. It's a tradition that started in the 1960s when the mayor decided he wanted to do something festive for the holiday. The vivid color is the result of 40 pounds of orange "Leprechaun Dust" that turns electric green upon hitting the water.

It just so happens to be the same green hue used for green screen purposes.

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Twitter user Donnacha Kenny decided to see what kind of special effects magic he could whip up by turning the river itself into a green screen. Kenny transformed real footage of the river into several different scenes including flowing hot lava and a clip from Star Wars.

Watch the clip to see just how versatile the Windy City's namesake river can really be.

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Harry Hill

Harry is a fellow on the Culture Team. He loves memes and Taylor Swift (no, like, actually.) He'd like to thank his parents for always believing in him. This will be his first broadway production. Oh, wait, he thought this was a Playbill bio...


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