Last Wednesday, a number of bald men gathered at a hot spring facility in Tsuruta City, Japan, for a unique game of tug-of-war. They stuck a suction cup, attached to a single rope, to their heads and then attempted to pull the cup off their opponent’s head.
The men were a part of the city’s Bald Men Club which organizes this event held every year on the 22nd of February so as to encourage people to, “to “view baldness in a positive manner, to have fun, and to brighten the world with our shiny heads”.
Think this is weird? Well, here’s a list of some other unusual festivals across the world.
Cheese Rolling Festival
This popular festival is held in the UK where hundreds of contestants chase a wheel of cheese across the steep and muddy Coopers Hill (Gloucestershire).
Wife Carrying World Championships
This is a special sport in Finland where husbands are required to carry their wives along a 253.5 metre long course and there’s also a website which features an essential guide called How To Become A Master In Wife Carrying. Of course, this championship also includes a number of obstacles and one of them includes carrying your wife through an icy pool.
Noche De Rabanos
Also known as the Night of the Radishes, this festival in Mexico began when radishes were brought into the Americas after which vegetable sellers started making radish sculptures. This custom is celebrated in Oaxaca on December 23rd every year where the best sculptor is awarded a cash prize.
Monkey Buffet Festival
This festival is celebrated in Thailand where large quantities of fruits, sweets and bakery items are laid out for monkeys residing near the country’s temples and streets. The celebration also includes monkey costumes, music, dancing and other forms of merriment.
Hadaka Matsuri
This is another Japanese festival, held in Okayama, where participants are supposed to wear minimum clothing (a loincloth, to be precise). A Shinto priest then throws a pair of sticks at midnight and the men must fight it out until a clear winner emerges who is in possession of the sticks. According to their tradition, if the man puts those sticks into a wooden box with rice, it’ll bring about happiness for him throughout the year.
