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Stinging Nettle Eating Competition

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Jun 19 2007

I’ve seen some pretty silly stuff by now, but entering a competition to eat as many stinging nettles as possible within an hour really takes the biscuit. Unfortunately for the contestants Hob Nobs and Rich Teas were not on the menu.

It will be no surprise to learn that this event takes place at a pub, The Bottle Inn, in Marshwood, Dorset. Its origins lie in an argument between two farmers about who had the tallest nettles on his land, which led to a competition. Three years on, Alex Williams, a local man, swore that if anyone could find a nettle longer than his (15ft 6in), he would eat it. A holidaying couple found a 16ft one and he kept his word.

Around 50 challengers from all over Europe come to take part, and are encouraged to eat more nettles than the current champion. Contestants are given 2ft long stalks of stinging nettles and have one hour to eat as many leaves as possible. The winner is the person with the most lengths of empty stalk.

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About this blog

The vast majority of posts in this blog are about quirky & eccentric competitions & festivals. I started it in 2006 in France with a competition I’ll never forget. Where contestants battle it out to become the World Champion Pig Squeeler, or ‘Cri du Cochon’. I had little knowledge back then of quite how far my pursuit of these kind of events would lead me. I’ve travelled all over Britain (and occasionally further afield) to capture our curiosities and quirks. There’s nothing uniquely eccentric about the British, you’ll find people all over the world up to all sorts of weird and wonderful activities, but we do have a remarkable capacity to embrace the madness. ‘A Brit Different’ is the book that was born from it, my labour of love! So what next? There’s always something interesting going on, so watch this space, only time will tell!

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