Spain's Great Tomato War
It is perhaps the largest food fight in the world.Every year in the tiny town of Buñol,Spain,locals and tourists engage in pitched battle using close to 150,000 kilograms of tomatoes.The tradition has been going on for over 60 years,but no one seems to know how or why it got its start.
It's one of those childish impulses most of us know well.Faced with a plate full of food in a room full of people,it's hard not to indulge in fantasies of throwing your dinner at those seated around you.Indeed,the good old school cafeteria food fight is high on the list of pleasant childhood memories for many.
As it happens,though,there are a number of places in Europe where you don't have to restrain yourself should the urge to throw some groceries come upon you.From Spain to Greece to Italy to Berlin,food fights have become something of an annual ritual,all in the name of tradition,of course.As part of our ongoing series on weird European traditions,SPIEGEL ONLINE plans to bring you up to date in the next month on the most outrageous of the continent's food fights.
The largest and best known,of course,is the vast tomato war fought in the tiny Spanish town of Buñol,located not far from València.Every year,on the last Wednesday in August,thousands of locals and tourists pile into the narrow town square,the Plaza del Pueblo,well before noon to wait for the first of the trucks laden with overripe tomatoes to arrive.Right at midday,a rocket marks the start of battle,the first load of juicy ammunition is poured into the square,and the sky turns dark with vegetal projectiles.