"" Writer's Wanderings: This is for all you spitters. . .

Friday, April 20, 2012

This is for all you spitters. . .


It is time to get in shape for the annual spitting contests coming up this summer. Whether it be pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, cherry pits, or crickets. Crickets?! You heard me. In Wisconsin, there is actually a cricket spitting contest. The crickets are dead--frozen in fact, and is an annual event at the Jefferson County Fair.

The contest was won in 2010 by Mike Morateck who offered this advice to future contestants: “Pick a big cricket – the heavier the cricket, the further it goes. Put the cricket in your mouth, feet first on its back with the head pointing out because you don’t want the legs dragging on the way out. Then take a big breath through the nose – otherwise you eat the cricket – and let it fly.” By the way, his distance shot was 21 feet 2 inches.

If crickets aren't your cup of spit then you might want to try something a little more conventional like seeds. The International Cherry Pit-Spit will be held July 7, 2012, in Eau Clair, MI.

Perhaps a bit more aerodynamic are watermelon seeds. In Luling, TX, the annual Watermelon Thump takes place each June and people come from all over for a chance to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records and take home a prize of $1000.

In the Fall, pumpkin seed spitting becomes popular. Maybe it's because of all the pumpkin shell spitting that goes on in the MLB dugouts during the summer. The ball players eat the seed and spit the shells but in the contest that takes place each September in Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada, at their Pumpkinfest, the whole seed gets propelled. Last year's winner was Captain Jack Sparrow.

Don't despair if you feel you don't quite have a competition level spit. There's plenty of time to practice and there are even how to win a seed spitting contest tips at eHow. Let me know how you do!

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