The World’s Craziest Spitting Competitions

iStockphoto(EAU CLAIRE, Mich.) — Watch your step: A saliva-coated cherry pit might be underfoot. That’s because contestants are lining up once again for the annual International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship, held Saturday at the Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire, Mich.

Cherries not your projectile of choice? Not to worry, because ammunition comes in various forms. Here are some of the wildest spitting contests out there.

Crickets
Cricket-spitting is part of the annual Bug Bowl at Purdue University in Indiana. The record is 32 feet-1.25 inches, which has stood since 1998, according to the Purdue Exponent. Well, at least they’re dead, although slightly thawed after frozen.

Olive Pits
Israel last year staged its first olive-pit spitting contest, with hopes of breaking the world record of nearly 100 feet. The pit fell considerably short, at about 36 feet. But at least one resident was happy to see the pits put to good use.

Kudu Dung
Kudu dung, preferably dry, is not easy to come by, given the antelope’s limited habitat but these adventurers jumped at the chance to demonstrate a sport found in some parts of Africa. “There are many ways to spit the pellet, although all of them, of course, involve putting a piece of dung in your mouth,” according to the World Kudu Dung Spitting Championships website.

Cherry Pits
“It’s Spit-tacular!!” organizers for the annual International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship trumpet on their website. It’s also impressive, with last year’s men’s division winner, Ron Matt of Chicago, spitting 69 inches. The women’s division winner, Lisa Lynch of Cascade, Colo., reached 40 feet.

Champagne Corks
Ashrita Furman of Queens, N.Y., has held many Guinness World Records over the years, including juggling on a pogo stick for the longest distance. He added this one in January 2010: spitting a Champagne cork 22 feet on Anakena Beach, Easter Island, Chile.

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