Eggs!

On World Egg Day,

it's only fitting that we travel to the annual World Egg Throwing Championships held in Swaton, England this past summer.

According to the World Egg Throwing Federation, yes, that really eggs-ists, egg throwing is a local tradition inspired by historic events that occurred in the 14th century. It’s believed that in 1322, the newly appointed Abbot who was assigned to the Parish of Swaton, found a rather ingenious way of increasing church attendance. As the only person in the settlement to own chickens, he provided one egg for each attendee to his sermons. But, when the waters of the River Eau flooded, cutting off the church from the village, monks began tossing the eggs to the waiting locals who were stranded across the flooded river. Legend has it that, when the river became too wide to toss the eggs, the monks used small trebuchets (a form of catapult) to get the eggs across the river!

Established in 2004, the World Egg Throwing Federation regulates competitions all over the globe involving egg smashing and egg throwing, culminating in the organization of the World Egg Throwing Championships. Each year, contestants from all over the world arrive in Swanton to take part in such extreme challenges as the Russian Egg Roulette, the Egg-Static Relay, or, the traditional, Egg Trebuchet. 

Feelin' lucky, Punk?

So, I guess we'd better get training for next year's eggs-itement!