Clown Funeral – Tragically Hilarious
Seemed like a catchy title, but there’s really nothing hilarious about it, just tragic and bizarre. These photos were taken at the Fairview Cemetery, in Springfield, where 79-year-old Norman Thompson, member of the Antioch Shrine Funster Clown Unit, was buried, on May 29. His clown-friends dressed up for the occasion and honored Norman, for the last time. It looks bizarre, I know, but I was reading about this on the web, and found out that this is a tradition for clowns and magicians. Apparently this is the way they show their respect to their fallen colleagues. via Springfield News Sun
Biggest Custard Pie Fight Ever
Everybody loves a good food fight. But there’s no food fight like a pie fight. 251 children gathered at the Kidz Stuff Festival, in Horsham, southern England, to stage the biggest custard pie fight ever. The event took place on May 31 2009 with the clear goal of setting a new record for the largest custard pie fight. The current record stands at 120, but it will surely fall once the Guinness Book of Records finishes its verification.
China’s Kung Fu Soccer Team
Chinese discover deadly combination: soccer and Kung Fu martial arts. The first thing that came into my mind, when I first saw these photos, was the movie Shaolin Soccer. Ok, so it wasn’t the best film ever made, but it had a pretty cool idea, mixing a popular sport like soccer with martial arts. Now the Chinese bring fantasy into real life with the women’s kung fu soccer team. The kung fu soccer team was founded in Tanggu, and the girls showcased their abilities for the first time on May 31, in Tianjin. From What I can see, these girls got game! via China.org.cn
Trekkies Party in Vulcan, Alberta
Why journey to Vulcan in a spaceship when you can just drive there? The Canadian town of Vulcan, Alberta has become a true pilgrimage site for Star-Trek fans because of its coincidental link to the sci-fi series. Vulcan received its name in 1915, from a surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway who named it after the Roman God of Fire. It has no connection to Mister Spock’s home planet, but dotrekkies care? Of course not, anything that relates to the Star-Trek universe, accidentally or not, is worth a visit. So the people of Vulcan decided to capitalize on this great tourism opportunity and built a 5-ton replica of the USS Enterprise. And it paid out. This year trekkies gathered in Vulcan, Alberta for a celebration called Spock Days. Photos show Klingons, Romulans, Tholians, Vulcans and even good old Captain Kirk had a great time in Vulcan this year. via Telegraph.co.uk
15-Year-Old National Texting Champ
‘Surprisingly’ the US Texting Champ is a 15-year-old girl. Kate Moore, a young girl from Des Moines, Iowa, took home the title of 2009 US Texting Champion and a prize of $50,000. But she had to work hard for every cent. LG, the contest organizer, made this year’s competition a very difficult one. Contestants had to type tough messages while blindfolded, text acronyms, run an obstacle-course and text at the same time, and even text tongue-twisters while being taunted by actors dressed as emoticons. Moore made it to the final tie-breaker with runner up Dynda Morgan, and won the championship by typing“Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy…MY oh MY, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine Comin’ my way….Zippitty Do Dah Zippity Aay! WondeRful Feeling Wonderful day!” faster than her opponent. 15-year-old Kate Moore stated she texts between 400-500 times a day and an average of 12,041 times a month. CNN via Switched
La Tomatina – Biggest Food Fight in Colombia
What started as La Tomatina of Bunol, Spain, is now also a popular celebration in Sutamarchan, Colombia and even Dongguan, China. On June 14, locals of Sutamarchan and many tourists gathered on an old football field to stage Colombia’s biggest food fight of the year. Around 15 tons of tomatoes were sacrificed in La Tomatina this year. The food fight, inspired by the much more famous Tomatina of Bunol, is part of a three day tomato celebration. A tomato-eating contest and a competition for the largest tomato, are also part of the celebration. via Telegraph.co.uk
Toe-tal Annihilation in England
Competitors went toe to toe last weekend, for the title of World Toe-Wrestling Champion. Who knew something as silly as toe-wrestling was an actual sport, right? Well, turns out it really is and people have been clashing their toes in the World Toe-Wrestling Championship for the last 14 years. This year’s competition was held in Ashbourne, England. The rules were pretty simple. After a basic check for foot hygiene, two competitors “toed-it-out”, trying to push each other off the “toedium”. Toe-wrestling has become more and more popular lately and, this year, the championship drew-in contestants from all around the world, including Australia and the US. The final toe-down was between two locals, last year’s champion Paul “Toeminator” Beech and Alan “Nasty” Nash. After a tough match, the judge decided “Nasty” had the stronger toes and awarded him his fifth World Toe-Wrestling Championship trophy. via People’s Daily