This is one recent event I’m sorry to have missed: The annual Punkin Chunkin contest. In a nutshell this seems to involve flinging pumpkins as far as possible down a muddy November field. However even a cursory glance at The Rules shows that this is far from that simple. For a start there are a bewildering number of categories, such as Adult Centrifugal , Adult Human Power, Theatrical, Youth Trebuchet. Hilariously the goal of the “theatrical class” is not distance, rather ” to ham it up as much as possible” as long as you clean up after yourself.
Still, you think, it is probably just a bunch of geeks in a field with some catapults. Well yes, that’s almost certainly true, but the striking thing is the sheer scale of the contraptions. Judging by the photos, there are trebuchets the size of oil derricks out there, not to mention what appear to be surface air missiles!
The rules are astonishingly comprehensive. I’ll admit I only managed to read the first couple of pages (of how many? I shudder to think…). These went into rather a lot of detail about illegal pumpkin tampering (I don’t know either? Maybe you soak them in vinegar and bake in the over as you might to create an illegal but champion conker), also it excludes the use of gasses such as nitrogen, helium and hydrogen. Eeek – presumably to prevent people from making actual pumpkin bombs. On second thoughts – maybe I’ll just wait to see if it is televised next year.