Cherry Pits, Crickets Feed Spitting Competitions

July 7, 2012

PHOTO: Brian Krause from Jackson, Mich., wins the 35th Annual Cherry Pit Spitting Championship, July 5, 2008 at Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire, Mich.

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Don't look now, but a saliva-coated cherry pit might be headed your way. That's because the 39th annual International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship is scheduled for today at the Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire, Mich. Not fond of cherries? Well, rest assured, because there's plenty of variation when it comes to ammunition. So, ready, set, spit!

Things We Spit for Sport

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Crickets

Cricket spitting is part of the annual Bug Bowl at Purdue University in Indiana. The record is 32½ feet, which has stood since 1998, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Well, at least they're dead, although slightly thawed after frozen.

Things We Spit for Sport

PHOTO: A man spits an olive core on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001 during the VII Olive Core Spitting Championship held in Cieza, in which more than a hundred people took part.

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Olive Pits

Israel recently 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.

Things We Spit for Sport

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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.

Things We Spit for Sport

PHOTO: Morgan Krause, 5, from Diamond Dale, Mich., launches a cherry pit 15 feet, 11 inches, to win the youth five and under division, July 4, 2009, during the International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship held at Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire, Mi

Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium/AP Photo

Cherry Pits

"It's Spit-tacular!!" organizers for the 39th annual International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship trumpet on their website. It's also impressive, with last year's winner spitting 66 feet, 1½ inches. The youth age 5 and younger winner reached 9 feet, 1 inch.

Things We Spit for Sport

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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.