Every last Wednesday of August, the townspeople of Buñol, Spain have a huge food fight (this was yesterday). For one hour, tons and tons of rotten tomatoes are flung at strangers across the streets. The melée begins once a ham is retrieved from atop a greased pole and a gun shot signals Go Time. The rules insist that you smash the tomato before you throw it so it doesnt hurt your opponents. The festival began back in ’45 when a musician or politician insulted the laymen who retaliated with a deluge of rotten tomatoes. The origins are not totally clear.

For the environmentally concerned, they use old, overripe tomatoes for this festival, not harming or wasting any good fruits. They clean the streets from an aqueduct, not from the town’s drinking wah wah. So, everything is kosher.

I guess this is the “Running Of The Bulls” alternative for pussies looking to cause a ruckus in the quaint streets of a small Spanish town. Here’s a pic of some dudes greasing the pole…