"record" news and stories

Ok, imagine you saw an event on Facebook that was so cool you couldn't possibly pass it up. Well apparently that's what happened in East Sussex, England. There was to be a movie style pie fight, in which participants were encouraged to dress up and hit each other with whipped cream filled pie pans. The brains behind the operation were out to break the British record for pie fighting, which is currently at 70 people.

Unfortunately, it was so cool that too many people wanted in on the action. Over 1200 people indicated that they would be there for the pie fight. The local police were worried that they'd be unable to control the crowd if things went wrong, and they wouldn't be able to prevent non-participants from being hit.

The East Sussex police do have a sense of humor though. They told the original planners that a properly organized pie fight would be fine, so it's back to the drawing board for now. I know there's a record for everything, but pie fighting sounds like fun. I know I'd sign up if I saw it on Facebook. What would you do?

[Via Telegraph Online]

Tiny Uruguay has made off with the world record for the biggest barbecue, grilling 26,400 pounds of beef in a Montevideo sports field. 1,250 cooks in chefs' white hats and aprons went through 6 tons of charcoal, using 1,500 metal barbecue stands. The barbecue was so big the fire department was called to light the grills and make sure the flames stayed under control. At least 20,000 hungry citizens paid the $3 entry fee to help eat the finished product. The April 14 barbecue, held to promote the Uruguayan beef industry, beat the previous record of 17,600 pounds, set in Mexico in 2006.

If Uruguayan beef is anything like Argentinean, then I'm sorry I couldn't have been there.

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Retail lobster prices have hit an all time record high of around $15 or more a pound. In Maine, due to a combination of weather, water temperature, and the timing of fishing seasons have all come together to make it all but impossible for lobster men to fish for the lobsters. The high winds make it difficult to work the waters, and the cold water temperatures make the lobsters less hungry. This means that the lobsters don't go into the traps. Now, if the high price per pound was getting back to the lobster men that would be great, but since they are catching hardly any lobsters this translates to an exceptionally hard winter for them financially.

Thankfully now that spring is here and warmer weather is around the corner, the lobster catch should improve. The warmer water will make the lobsters come out of their winter slump and they develop an appetite. Also the Canadian lobster season is about to open which means more lobster will be available, helping to lower prices.

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A Mexican man, Manuel Quiroz, loves chilies with a passion. Perhaps disturbingly so. Not only can he "down dozens of Mexico's spiciest chilies," but he can "rub them on his skin and even squeeze their juice into his eyes without so much as blinking." Why on earth anyone would want to do that on a regular basis - or how they came up with such a bizarre idea in the first place - remains to be seen, but Manuel to showcase his unusual... talents. He believes that he can eat more chilies than any person on the planet and wants to prove his claim with a title. Unfortunately, there are no contests to crown the "World Chili-eating Champion" just yet, so Manuel will have to wait. With the popularity of eating contests, however, he many not have to wait long. The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFCoE) seems like they are always keen to add new events and if they can get any of their current champs to agree to participate, you can bet that they'd be willing to sponsor such a contest.

Kobayashi vs. Quiroz, anyone?

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Chef Domenico Crolla has cooked up what could turn out to be the world's most expensive pizza, and is probably already the priciest for its size. The 12-inch pizza is worth about $2,800. Dubbed the Pizza Royale 007, it has an organic crust with a sunblush tomato pizza sauce, smoked salmon, venison medallions, cognac-marinated lobster and champagne-soaked caviar. The whole pie is topped with 24-karat edible gold.

Crolla, who is from Glasgow, worked with the British Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association and will auction off the pizza to raise money for the Australian Fred Hollow's Foundation, a nonprofit group that works to "prevent curable blindness in developing countries." It will be sold on eBay, where both Crolla and the BPPIFA hope that it will make at least $3,800, which would apparently break the world's record for most expensive pizza, currently held by the white truffle pizza at Gordon Ramsay's Maze Restaurant in London. Whoever wins the auction can either have the pizza prepared in one of Crolla's restaurants or have it prepared in their home.

[via Slice]

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