“El Colacho” Baby Jumping Festival

Since 1620, men in Castrillo do Murcia, Spain, have dressed up in stupid clothes and taken it in turns to leap over a bunch of babies lying in the street. What could possibly go wrong…


Simon’s Hill Cheese-Rolling Race

For over 200 years, maniacs have been gathering  atop Simon’s Hill near Gloucester to chase a giant block of cheese down an absurdly-steep hill. Unfortunately, the 2010 edition of the race for cancelled because of “safety concerns.” Bah! Thankfully, the race is planning to return next year.


Boryeong Mud Festival

A decade ago the residents of Boryeong, South Korea decided to transform their farmland into a gigantic mudpit for people to roll around in. Apparently, the town has attracted over two million tourists since the Mud Festival began and the local economy is booming.


La Tomatina!

For exactly one hour on the last Wednesday of August each year, the Spanish town of Bunol is transformed into tomato-flavoured anarchy. 50,000 tourists flood to the city each year to belt 150,000 tonnes of tomatoes at each other as hard as they possibly can. Nobody’s exactly sure how the festival began but it seems to be a tribute to the town’s patron-saint.




In this bizarre Japanese festival 9,000 men dressed only in a loin-cloth chase a nude man, called the “Shin-otoka.” According to Shinto religion, touching the naked man cleanses you of every bad thing you’ve ever done.  Unfortunately, the nude man himself ends up with bruises, broken bones and is then send out of the town.


Ivrea Orange Festival

In the 12th Century, a local tyrant tried to have his way with a girl from the tiny Italian town of Ivera. Things didn’t turn out quite the way the tyrant expected: the young girl decapitated him and the townsfolk burnt down his palace. To celebrate this event, the people of Ivrea chuck 265,000 kilograms worth of tomatoes at a cart full of twenty poor saps who symbolize the tyrant and his allies. Nobody’s really sure why they use oranges in the festival – they don’t even grow near Ivrea.


Testicle Festival

The 28th-annual Testicle Festival was held this year in Rock Creek Lodge, Montana. A large part of the festival involves eating bull’s testicles but there’s also a healthy dose of nudity, oil wrestling and wet t-shirt contests.


The Redneck Games

In the lead-up towards the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, critics worried that it would become the “Redneck Games.” Actual rednecks thought this sounded like a pretty good idea and decided to start up their own sporting festival. Events include:  armpit serenades, bobbing for pigs’ trotters and toilet seat throwing.


The Festival of the Steel Phallus

What better way is there to guarantee prosperity and marital bliss than parading a gigantic 2.5 meter pink penis throughout the streets? Well, that’s exactly what the locals in Kawasaki do every spring. You can also buy penis-shaped sweets, penis-shaped dumplings and penis-shaped vegetables.  The festival is located near a penis-worshipping shrine that’s often visited by local prostitutes who pray for protection against STDs.



Holi – The Festival of Colours

When Spring arrives in India, so does the ancient festival of Holi. Gigantic groups of people gather to gulp down canabis-based cocktails and pelt each other with colourful powders. Then everyobdy has a shower. Hopefully.