10 Odd Town Festivals

a feather. That's old. Yeah, kid me um So chunk do you remember when you started a podcast with punkin Chunking, punkin chunk and punkin Chunking. I do remember that. We've

been talking about that a lot. And uh, I don't know exactly when this podcast is coming out, but I imagine it's going to be right around the time that the show punkin Chunking and the Road to punkin Chunkin premiers on UM the Science Channel, which is the a that was formerly known as Thanksgiving until the Science Channel took it over with punkin Chunky Right now, it's punkin Chunking Day, right. Indeed, do you have a clue what

punkin Chunknness and I do. Well, let's talk about it. Well, let's talk about a lot of unusual town festivals, Josh. That's fine with me because I got a whole list of them. Right, let's to a podcast where you don't hear words like hippothalamus and hypocalamus and hippopotamus. Okay, let's do a fun one, okay, or Clovis police or Clovis police. I got in a Clovis argument with the guy the other day. By the way, did you really did you

decimate him? Yes? Sort of, and he was kind of like, oh no, but I thought people came over from the bearing Land Bridge, and I was like, oh, they did, but not before homeboy came up from South America exactly, idiot, did you pump his ear with your forefinger? So punkin chunkin Josh takes place in Sussex County, Delaware, right, am, I right? Yeah, Okay? Why why were you looking at me? Well, I don't know. You looked at me like I had it wrong. No, I just don't out for a second.

And I believe it's a benefit for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital there. Yeah, I didn't know that before, and I was glad to find that out, Sure, me too. And they've been doing this since yeah, and they've gotten pretty uh pretty serious about this actually yeah, so and I was staggered at how far these things go. Well, actually, the world record for a chunked punkin, right, yeah, is like eight hundred feet shy of a mile. Yeah, four thousand,

four dred and eighty three ft. Dude, can you imagine seeing a pumpkin going that far? You wouldn't go out of your field of vision like halfway there. I don't think you can see a punkin or a pumpkin go a mile. Well, if you're out in the the middle of the desert or something, you probably could. Maybe then there's some pretty plowed fields around there. Yeah, it depends on how big your punkin is, right, or what you're using. And there's actually I think seven different UM categories or

seven different contests in three different categories. There's um centrifuges, which spin around real fast and then release them. Uh. There is the catapult tried and true, and then there's the air cannons. And the air cannons are the ones that everybody shows up for, those the ones that win. You want to shoot a punkin a mile, you use an air cannon. Right. Have you seen these things to go under the DMC and take it out? I watched those pretty cool. Yeah, there there were some um that

are um what would that be called? Um vehicle based? So you drive these things up and they look like howitzers and they will shoot a punk in a mile. Wow. It's pretty cool because you think like, okay, well you know there's they're gonna shoot a punkin out of an air cannon and it's going to go a mile and then we'll all break for twenty minutes and go get a drink while the next guy loads up. Now, this year at Wheatley Farm they shot two thousand pumpkins, so

there's NonStop action I would imagine. Yeah, it's pretty cool. And as all kinds of other stuff they do, they're like pie making contests. Of course, in music, most of these festivals that we're gonna talk about have music and food ingestion as part of it. Yes, because what's a festival without music and food ingestion? I don't know, Um, we I don't know that we should um spoil who

won because we've got the we've got the results right here. Yeah, sure, we probably shouldn't know, so let's just not talk about that anymore. What was it they flung on? Did you used to watch Northern Exposure? Huh? What did they fling on that show? Poh, now they flunk? Oh a piano? Yeah, they used like a catapol or something, right, yeah, something like that. It was awesome. I forgot all about that. That one was almost as good as one where Chris

grabbed all the lamps in town. Yeah, strung him up downtown. He just lit the whole down. It was awesome. He's a great character. What what happened to that guy? He was it? Really he really could have gone overboard with it, but he didn't. Okay, So that's punk and chunk and it's held in early November every year right in Delaware. In Delaware, Right, let's go elsewhere, Chuck, where would you like to ago because we got a bunch of these.

I know that you're gonna uh stone me for going straight to Neierland, Colorado, But why not talk about the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival is so weird? Yeah? Yeah, So this is an actual festival in March in Colorado. So it's already cold. Started in nineteen ninety four? Is that right. Oh, No, two thousand two is when the festival started, but its roots go back to nineteen well, actually goes back to nine eight nine when Grandpa Bredo more Stole died and Grandpa Bredo was a member of

a family that was very much proponents of cryogenics. So they shipped Grandpa off to California where he was um in tomb cryogenically for four years. Um, and he, I guess got a little homesick. His family got a little more confident that they could maintain him, and so they shipped him back in and he's been in a tough shed to u f F brand shed since yes, and now they have built the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival around him in his frozen body. It's been described as

cryonics Marty gras I frozen body. Yeah. Uh. And what goes on there, Josh? Besides um, clearly some drinking is probably happening. There is Grandpa's Blue Ball, which is the dance right that they have every every year if you will, right. They have um antique hearst shows. Yeah. They have coffin races that's kind of fun, which I take to be like toboggan races. Oh, is that what that is, I think So, I mean it's frozen, there's lots of snow. It's Colorado in early March. Sure, sure, so just throw

some blades on a coffin and go at it. Then they have some um, I guess non death uh events to like salmon tossing, although if you're a salmon it's a death event, and frozen beach volleyball too. Yeah. I'd like to see that. Yeah, it's just an all around odd Yeah. And they also do a polar plunge, which is if you're brave enough to jump in the the lake there, I am not. You don't do that, have you. I've done that before. I did a frozen lake jump when I was high school. That's insane. Yeah it was.

And you know, it's one of those deals where you jump in, you can't breathe, and you run back out and warm up and tell your friends about it for the next thirty years or I'm never gonna be one those polar bear guys. I don't want know. That's I just I don't get that now, Okay, so chuck, we're too Next, let's go to Montana. I like Montana. One of my best friends, Rad Smith, lives in Montana. Well, hey Brad Smith, Rad what rad is short for Radford? Okay,

hey Radford Smith. I think he listens to rad. Rad was the o G. He was my best friend when I was like, and we're back in touch again, which is nice Facebook. Uh yeah originally, but then we immediately when we found each other, we're like, let's just email like normal. Yeah. Yeah, emailing over Facebook. It's weird. I don't do that. So Chuck, we're in Montana, UM, and we're at the Rock Creek Lodge and Clinton, Montana. I think that's how you pronounced is it Clinton? I think

it's just Clinton. Okay, I was doing the kang and kotos pronouncing President Clinton. Um. And every year in September they hold the Testicle Festival. Yeah, Rocky Mountain Oysters is. Most people might know this by our or Montana Tender Groin that this is one of the punniest festivals I've ever heard of in my life. It is. Chris Palette probably goes every year. Um. Everyone knows that the Rocky Mountain Oyster is a nice way of saying that you

eat bulls testicles, And it's a real thing. It's really a menu when a lot of restaurants apparently came off of the trail off of the cattle drive trail where Um, I guess Cookie would take recently castrated bulls testicles and toss them in a fire. And I guess they're really easy to cook because they just pop open when they're read. Wow. Yeah, I just gotta chill. I have a confession to make. Let's you've had them, I have not. Okay, you really want to go? I am definitely go into this next year.

I want to try this. Plus Montana is awesome. Yeah, it looks like a great What else can you do there, Josh? I know you can have. Um there's music, of course, there is a a hairy chest contest, which is I'm not sure what that has to do with bulls testicles.

I guess they put hair in your chest. I guess that makes sense, Uh, A wet T shirt contest, which is always fun at, a bull testicle contest, and a blue bull chip throwing so I guess like a cow pie sometimes can flatten out and harden like a frisbee. I guess it's the same thing. We can only hope. So, um, it's a it's a big one. There's ten thousand people that eat about four thousand pounds of bowl testicles. Yeah, I'll be one of them next September. That's great. Um,

and uh, it's not the only one though. It's not the only Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival. There's an another one um in Texas, right. Uh it is, yeah, Throckmorton, rock Mornton, Texas. And they do that. They the same thing there, Josh, I know. They also the one in Throckmorton actually has a if you don't like bulls testicles, So if you're like of the human population, Uh, there there is a taste like chicken cook off competition, um, where you can

cook any weird thing you want. Yeah, but if you're not into bulls testicles, you're probably not gonna You're not gonna be in Throckmorton in May. Now you're not gonna be eating out of the taste like chicken line either, because I guarantee you any chicken. No, no, no, although that would be uh delightfully ironic if somebody cook chicken for the taste like chicken competences. It tastes like chicken, yes,

because it is, yeah, exactly what I would say. So that's the testicle festival in the World Championship Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival. I want to go overseas now to Spain. Okay, because this one is something that we podcasted on recently, The Near Death Experience. Yeah, yeah, there's actually a near the Festival of Near Death Experience, Yes, which is co crazy, um, Chuck. This one is held in f Santa Marta de Robarmente.

Nice one, Chuck, thank you, which also translates to as Chuck said, actually doesn't translate to it, but you can call it the Festival of Near Death Experiences, um. The way Chuck said, it would be the Festival of St. Martha of Rebar Tamy rebar Tamy. Actually I think I pronounced it wrong, but you got it right. Yeah, Rebar Tamy so in July July twenty nine. And St. Martha is actually the Saint of Death, right yeah. And this festival is actually four people specifically who have had near

death experiences. This one is um. I'm glad we talked about the Frozen Dead guy days. It's not like that. Although the people who are I guess the celebrants or the center of this fest of all the people who've had near death experiences, are carried into the main church in the town. Um what is it las nivis uh? And in coffins. Yeah, they're carried in coffins to a service, a church service from what I gather, where they get up and they tell their stories to everyone, right, which

apparently also sound very much alike. There's that light at the end of the tunnel, all that stuff that we talked about in the Near Death Experience podcast. Um, but I guess if you want to go meet a bunch of people who have died and come back, yeah, this is this is your chance. I think if I went to as a impostor, which I'm known to do, I would be one of the whatever small percentage of the people were that had the hell fire experience. Just to spice things up. I think that's a good idea. Was

according to that eighty two gallop pole. Yeah, because everyone's like, oh yeah, white light, white light. Now, I would get up there and say, I saw fire. You get up there and you don't want to die, You're all doomed, and get me out of this coffin. Right. So that is the what's it called save it Again? Chuck. The Fiesta de Santa Manita de robotem nice, thank you? Was that Italian or Spanish accent? It's they're close. Where do you want to go next, dude? Uh, well, we can't

not talk about wife carrying. This is a lot like the Healthcare Um podcast, the last one where we went all over the world, but this one's far less informative and educational in nature. Yeah, let's talk about wife carrying. So that would put us in a squarely in Finland, specifically sonca arv Finland. Yeah, they have letters that don't even look like letters. They have letters that don't even exist. Uh. And it is exactly as it sounds. There's no weird

play on words here. It is. Actually there are races where a man picks up his wife and carries her in whatever way you choose, whatever way you think is the best way to get across the finish line. Yeah, the quickest and uh, the one that's held in Finland's the World Championships. But these have popped up elsewhere, including in the United States. But the one in Finland, dude,

people attend this thing. No, it's like the one like people who win in the United States or Hong Kong or Australia go to Finland to compete for the champs the championships. Um, so you would think the finish are the best at this. And actually, um, a couple did win the two thousand nine but I am want to point out they were not married. As far as I know, they weren't married. Um, the two thousand nine winners were I'm about to butcher this Tysto, Mick t Any so sorry,

Tisto and Christina Happening. She's one happening girl, so no different last names. And it said they're cities, two different cities. Ob see. There aren't many rules to this, but there are a couple in. One is that she must be over seventeen uh over one hundred and eight pounds, meaning that she qualifies in the weight weight class. And if she doesn't weigh that much, they actually tie things to her to make her way that much. To your wife comes in at a hundred pounds, will put a eight

pound weight around her waist. She's got like a set of silverware around her or something. And let's talk about the methods. Actually, as I was saying that you would think the finish are the best, the Estonians are so good that they have their own method of carrying after the Estonian method. Yeah, and I've seen pictures. You've ever seen pictures of this? It looks like clearly the way to go, because you can do the piggyback, but everyone

knows that's not the way to go. No, because the center of gravity is lower, the weight is towards the your back, the carriers back. Um, the Estonian method is upside down like that, right, Well, yeah, it's um, your wife would put her legs around your head upside down, so her face is kind of around where your lower back is, and then she'll wrap her arms around your waist, right, so the bulk of her weight like the trunk, and um, the bottom are up on your shoulders. It's like a

human backpack. Yes, and that's clearly the way to go, because I believe wasn't that the method used when they broke the world record? I believe so. So Estonian is definitely the style you should if you're intend on winning, and you should intend on winning because this one actually has a nice little prize attached it does you get your wife's weight and beer? I love it. I love it too, uh huh. I would love to drink that

much beer. And I imagine if she weighs less than the hundred and eight pounds, they don't give you the weight of the silver ware that she had around her waist if she weighed eighty pounds, and probably give you eighty pounds of beer. But if I were in Finland, I would beef up my wife to a cool like to twenty and see if I could win and get two pounds of beer. I'd ask if I could trade the beer for an equal amount of vodka instead. They might do that. Maybe that's a lot of vodka. Chuck.

We are exiting Finland now, goodbye Finland. Let's go back to Spain. We probably should have just stayed in Spain while we were there, right, Yeah, but we're wracking up frequent flyer points here, so we're going to uh Latoma Tina in Bune y'al, Spain. Yeah. This is a cool province of Valencia a k a. You probably know it as the largest tomato fight in the world, and that's what it is. That's exactly what it is. Um. It

began in nineteen five and not everyone's entirely certain why. Yeah, there's different theories that, like these two friends got in a fight and escalated to a food fight, and then everyone around them said, this is kind of fun, let's food fight with them, and then that got escalated to the next town over. But that doesn't sound likely to me. Is in a fairly Brothers comedy, right exactly? Um, But however, whatever it's origin, it's been going on every year as

far as I know. Um, and for an hour on the last Wednesday of August, everybody grabs as many tomatoes as they can. Apparently a hundred and forty tons or trucked in these days. Um, and everybody just starts whipping tomatoes at one another. I want to do this one man. Oh yeah, I would turn on you like that. Oh are you kidding me? Before they said go you would have a tomato in my face? I would not. Or you would bring in your own rotten tomatoes. I would not, Yeah,

you would, I wouldn't. I would. Oh that's me. I was thinking that I would do that. And it sounds like a lot of fun. Well yeah, I mean it's a huge tomato fight the last an hour. So that is a lato matina which takes place wind Chuck the last Wednesday of August, right, uh, yeah, And it's pretty dang popular. Strong. It's a lot of tomatoes thrown. Yeah. Yeah, check our last stop. You could call a whistle stop. Yes, if you were a jerk who liked to make stupid jokes,

you would call it a whistle stop, wouldn't you. Yeah? Uh it's uh what is it? Laguna Niguel, California. Yeah, Laguna Niguel. It's in southern California. Well, not all of us have lived in California. I'm sorry, so Chuck. Ever since n once a year and I think it's in July, right, Yeah, I'm surprised I haven't heard of this. Once a year people line up along the road tracks, along the side, not actually on the road tracks, that would be hands

across America. Um, and they moon passing Amtrak trains. Yes. And for those of you who don't know what mooning is, that is a practice of pulling down your pants and showing somebody your butt, your bottom. It is a old tradition. I wonder where mooning started. I have no idea that's a um. But at one point or another, if you're growing up in high school, you probably mooned somebody at some point, pressed Ham, would you like to hear my mooning story? Not figured you had one. Yeah, yeah, let's

hear it. So in sixth grade, I was a crossing guard, as most sixth graders were, okay, And I was at one post board okay, and uh out the other in at the my flask was dry. At the other end of the block were a couple of girls, both of whom I was friends with and liked. And I was like Kelly, Joel and and they looked over and I mooned them. And they started screaming and pointing and telling everyone who would listen that I had just mooned them.

And I'm like, no, shut up, shut up. Yeah, mooning is private, long story, sure to end up in the principal's office. And I lose my right to go to Cedar Point as the sixth grade class trip that you know, you're kidding me. And I got kicked off the crossing guard, which is actually my point, because I was tired of being a crossing guard. You know what, that's a that's

a crappy punishment. The principle is a jerk. You should have just kicked you off the crossing guard, but to not let you go to Cedar Point, no, I agree, it seemed a little much. This is the same principle though, who was about to paddle me once? And um, as she was getting the pedal down, I was like, I think you might want to call my parents first. Yeah, and she was like what and called my parents and my mom was like, you do not hit my child

with the paddle. Yeah, you're a little you know. It was like, I'm ment old capital punishment was kind of on its way out when you were coming around she had the paddles. Yeah. Yeah, Well my dad was my principle, as you know, so I know, I'll bet he peddled you relentless. He paddled me one time in school as principal. Wow, yeah, I guess it kind of had to do that just

to you know, say, I'm not above doing this. Crazy to think about now, though, the principle actually hitting your child with wood, it seems like something from the eighteenth century. And they even had like manufactured pedals with like the air holes drilled in it so that like there was less drag. That's what he had. Yeah, this is all taped up to what is wrong with the older generation and they're about to put a huge strain on our healthcare system. Thanks a lot for that. So back to

mooning um every year since nineteen eighty. They do that for some reason, and the police have good humor about it. They let it go as long as you don't um take it too far and you don't like expose other body parts. They say, you can moan the trains, and they moan every train that goes by. Is that right? Yes, um, as far as I know, And the cops are there

just to make sure it's peaceful. Well. In two thousand and eight, no, to make sure people don't show their genitals well, and make sure it's peaceful in two In two thousand and eight, the party got broken up because apparently people were like, it's not enough to bear my bottom, we just get naked. Yeah, And hey man, it's Niguel California that's stripping down to nothing but my Teva's Yeah. When was that two thousand eight that they said enough enough? Yeah?

And I like their website. Um, there's a series of questions like you know what, what, you know? When? Where? Why that kind of thing, And there's one that says who's in charge And the answer is no one, No one organizes are responsible for this annual event. You just show up and pull your pants down right. Yeah. Cool. Yeah, So if you happen to be there in Laguna Niguel, not to be confused with Gunna Niguel, it's sister city elsewhere. Um on July, you just ask where the Amtrak mooning

party is. Yes, yeah, so boy, this is a good one, so feel like it. We're all just a little smarter. I've got some places I want to go. Uh yeah, me too, Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival. And do you want to go? Uh no, I'll just drop me off in Lookna Niguel and I'll be mooning trains. Okay, I'm good. Um. So that is unusual town festivals. And actually if you type in festivals in the search bar at how stuff works dot com, it will bring up all manners stuff,

some pretty good stuff on there. And we're anticipating a million emails about your town's festival too, Yes we are, which you just saved me the ending. Um so, chuck, let's get just right into listening emails that way. Josh, I'm just gonna call this uh uh what am I gonna call this? I'm gonna call this uh boarding school email? And it made me laugh going wrong, No, going right. This is from Natalie in Massachusetts, and sometimes you just give these emails. It's just just kind of cute and

need to think. I'll just READI at back. Uh, guys, I'm a boarding high school student in Massachusetts. I sent an email a few months back about listening to podcasts at camp, and now I listen during silent study at my school. I have silent study from is this your

Natalie Impression? Yeah? Sure, from seven thirty nine thirty. And to make things interesting, I listened to your podcast and it is a highlight of my day, and currently listening to the podcast that came out today, and I feel so much cooler than my roommate who was listening to the Pussycat Dolls. Oh yeah, so, yeah, good for you. We are definitely cooler than the Pussycat Dolls. I assure you, you guys are way cooler than them. Yeah, said so.

I really enjoy your podcasts on science, history, and music, but the economy and politics are not my faith something that you seem to enjoy, Josh, why do you want to chew on babies? Sorry for the interjection there. He clearly doesn't really want to be It's just just that not like, yeah, that kind of thing or whatever. Now I supply my English teacher with extra credit questions with things I learned from the podcast, and I got the chance to teach the class and taught them about m

k Ultra. Awesome, pretty cool. Could you give me a shout out on the podcast so I can show the girls in my dorm how awesome I am. This is the shout out, Natalie. That would be the highlight of my life, which is kind of depressing. Other than the time I saw a ghost. I don't know. Yeah, I'm gonna tell my ghost story at some other point, but I did see a ghost once. I'm gonna say that one for our ghost podcast, all right. The Weekend Activity a few weeks ago was a ghost hunter who uncovered

a ghost, and the History Wing suggestion ghost hunters. She says, yeah, we're not gonna do ghost tonters. We'll do ghosts. I have a ghost story too, And then she just followed that by saying that was spontaneous. This girl's adorable. I do not know how that train of thought went. Thank you for reading my rambling. You have one twink points Natalie from Massachusetts. Nice Natalie. Natalie clearly has a firm

grasp on her stream of consciousness. She does. Yeah. Well, if you have a firm grasp on your stream of consciousness, or you've ever seen the film Drug Store Cowboy, you can send us an email to stuff podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics. Is that how stuff works dot com. Want more how stuff works, check out our blogs on the how stuff works dot com home page. Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you