international Archives - Page 13 of 15 - Worldwide Weird Holidays

International Pillow Fight Day

April 2, 2016/2 Comments/in April

Today is the ninth annual International Pillow Fight Day, a holiday that encourages us to play like children on a grand scale. The event has gained momentum since its inception in 2008 and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world. It always takes place on the first Saturday of April.

International Pillow Fight Day is part of what’s known as the urban playground movement. The founders explain:

One of our goals is to make these unique happenings in public space become a significant part of popular culture, partially replacing passive, non-social consumption experiences like watching television, and consciously celebrating public spaces in our cities as our ‘urban living rooms.’ The result, we hope, will be a global community of participants in a world where people are constantly organizing and attending these happenings in every major city in the world.

If you’re in the Western hemisphere, you’re in luck. Many pillow fights take place in the afternoon. (In New York City and Toronto, for example, the fights start at 3 pm. Check pillowfightday.com for a fight near you.)

We thought it might whet your appetite to see the festivities that have already taken place today.

Amsterdam 2016

Athens 2016

London 2016

Taipei 2016

Check out this theta360 spherical image taken in a London park:

International Fanny Pack Day

March 12, 2016/0 Comments/in March

Yates and friends on IFPD in 2011

March 12, 2016, is International Fanny Pack Day. Nick Yates, who founded the holiday in 2007, drew inspiration from an experience he’d had a few years earlier.

Yates had received a fanny pack and fruitcake as gag gifts at a Christmas party in Portland, Oregon. Lured by its practicality and convenience, he strapped on the pack and stuffed the foil-wrapped cake inside when he left.

While walking to the bus stop, he encountered a homeless man who said, “Nice fanny pack, chief.” Yates replied, “Thanks,” unzipped the bag, handed him the food and continued on his way.

As Yates recalls, he was half a block away when the man unwrapped the foil and shouted, “A f***ing fruitcake?”

Although many would consider this just one more harsh (and humorous) critique of fruitcake, Yates made a connection between the fanny pack and helping the hungry. He began to give out food—but no more fruitcake—while wearing the pack.

He continued the tradition after moving to Boise, Idaho, coordinating efforts with friends and local food banks. In 2007, he declared the second Saturday of March to be International Fanny Pack Day. Since then, the holiday has been observed in seven countries.

Dig that fanny pack out of the back of your closet and wear it with pride while you help those in need. Or go totally upscale with British designer Tess Van Ghert’s $1,000 python “valet bag.”

Be the first one on your block—or outside the carnival—to wrap a snake around your middle.

But if you wear it in England, be sure to call it a “hip pack,” “bum bag” or anything else. There, “fanny” is slang for a woman’s privates.

If you require more convincing that this is a fine sartorial option, check out this awesome song by Koo Koo Kanga Roo!

Happy International Fanny Pack Day!

International Festival of Owls

March 4, 2016/1 Comment/in March

Alice

The International Festival of Owls takes place during the first full weekend of March at the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota. It celebrates the approximate “hatch-day” in 1997 of Alice, a Great Horned Owl rescued as a fledgling after falling from her nest. She now helps teach visitors to the Houston Nature Center about owls and their behaviors.

Today’s events include live shows featuring Ruby the Great Horned Owl and Uhu the Eurasian Eagle Owl. A discussion of the complexities of renesting young owls will include appearances by Barred Owls, red and gray Eastern Screech-Owls and a Barn Owl. There is also a special live owl program just for children.

Tonight three buses, each with an expert owl caller onboard, will embark on an Owl Prowl. Calling stresses the owls: they respond out of alarm that there is an intruder nearby. To minimize ill effects, each group must travel to a different remote location where the birds are unlikely to be bothered again during the year. Of course, there is no guarantee that passengers will hear wild owls, in which case they’ve just endured a bus ride to listen to a grown person make strange noises.

Two of the buses are family-friendly; the other is reserved for adults. (Perhaps there will be potty talk about mating rituals that the kids shouldn’t hear?) Those who don’t want to make the trip can stay behind and look at the live owls on display, peruse the gift shop, cast votes in the photography contest, visit owl merchandise vendors and eat owl-themed foods.

Saturday’s Kid’s Hooting Contest is no joke. The International Owl Center lists the best species to mimic and links to audio files via Owlpages.com to help competitors perfect their hoots. Also recommended is Owling.com, which accompanies accompanying audio with streaming video, photo galleries and field notes.

Did you know that owls vomit up the parts of their prey—bones, feathers, fur—that they can’t digest?This daily activity causes the resulting “pellets” to accumulate on the ground below their nests, where they are retrieved by festival staff for the Owl Pellet Dissection sessions, scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.

Pellets cost $5.00 each; parents can economize by assigning more than one child per pellet. Under no circumstance is anyone allowed to BYOP (Bring Your Own Pellet). Management is not responsible for emotional scarring that may occur to children who connect the dots between beloved characters Ratatouille and Mickey Mouse and the rodent bones they have just fished out of a nugget of owl barf.

Have a happy International Festival of Owls!

World Sword Swallower’s Day

February 27, 2016/0 Comments/in February

February 27, 2016, marks the ninth annual World Sword Swallower’s Day, observed on the last Saturday of the month with performances at Ripley’s Believe it or Not locations across the U.S., Australia, Denmark, England and Malaysia.

Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) president Dan Meyer explains the genesis of World Sword Swallowers Day:

“I established World Sword Swallower’s Day in 2007 to promote this ancient art, still carried on by a few dozen surviving performers, to celebrate the courageous and daring performers who risk their lives to entertain audiences, to honor veteran performers, to raise awareness of the medical contributions sword swallowers have made in the fields of medicine and science, and to raise funds for esophageal cancer research and the Injured Sword Swallowers’ Relief Fund. “

Meyer is a 39-time world record holding sword swallower and motivational speaker who has given TEDx Talks around the globe, performed and lectured at events in 35 countries. He is available for corporate team building retreats, medical conferences and high school assemblies through his company, Cutting Edge Innertainment. While you’re there, check out this disturbing gallery of X-ray fluoroscopes tracking the sword or swords as they enter and leave his esophagus.

SSAI is a non-profit organization accepting donations to enable website maintenance, historical research and bookings. It also supports charities that study esophageal cancer, dysphagia, and other swallowing disorders. SSAI explains the need for its Injured Sword Swallowers’ Relief Fund:

There are on average from 4 to 6 serious sword swallowing injuries per year that require hospitalization, with costs of treatment running from $50,000 to $75,000 USD per injury. Any donations submitted will be sent directly to SSAI members who are struggling to pay off staggering medical bills that are the result of sword swallowing injuries.

If you’re near any of these Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditoriums at 1:45 pm (local time), prepare to be amazed as sword swallowers demonstrate their craft. The free show will culminate in the simultaneous “Big Swallow” at 2:27:16 pm on 2/27/16. We guarantee that the next time you get a tickle in your throat, it won’t seem so bad. Funny thing, perspective.

Happy World Sword Swallower’s Day!

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