One of the messiest festivals can be found in Buñol, Spain, on the last Wednesday of August. La Tomatina — the world's largest tomato fight — is a weeklong celebration that includes music, parades and fireworks, but is highlighted by the tomato fight in the town square. The battle begins at high noon after more than 300,000 pounds of tomatoes are trucked in. For one hour, locals and tourists pelt and pummel each other, creating a memorable and mushy mess. The history of the festival is murky. It started in either 1944 or 1945, according to various theories, as either a food fight among friends, the bullying of a bad musician or a rally against dictator Francisco Franco. Regardless of its origins, this pulpy tradition is here to stay.
For an out-of-this-world festival, visit Roswell, N.M., in July. Each year the Roswell UFO Festival attracts UFO enthusiasts from around the world. There is an alien costume contest and fireworks, plus serious discussion among a panel of UFO experts. Roswell has been a beacon for UFO believers for decades. In 1947, debris from a "flying disc" was recovered at a crash site near Roswell. Since then, official statements from the military have changed, and conspiracy theories abound.
Sonkajärvi, Finland, is home to the annual Wife Carrying World Championship each July. The contest dates only to the 1990s, but locals joke it harks back to the days when men would steal women from neighboring villages to be their wives. Today the prize isn't a wife, but the woman's weight in beer. Men can carry their own wife, a neighbor's or any female companion. The methods for wife-carrying vary, with the technique pictured above being the most popular and successful. The world-record time to complete the 235.5-meter obstacle course is a speedy 55 seconds.
The San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain, is best known for the Running of the Bulls. On eight mornings of the nine-day festival, the narrow, cobblestoned streets of the village are barricaded. Participants — dressed in traditional white shirts and pants with red waistbands and neckerchiefs — gather to wait for a rocket blast that signals the herd has left the corral. The bulls are released into the streets to find their way to the bullring. The race lasts only a few minutes, during which time runners taunt the beasts by running in front of and alongside them while trying not to get attacked. Hundreds of injuries occur each year, however, and since 1910, 14 people have been killed.
In the small northern Italian town of Ivrea, the Battle of the Oranges Festival is held every year during a three-day carnival leading up to Lent. Nearly 3,000 people gather in the piazzas of this village of just under 25,000 people. Orange-throwing is said to represent the battle against an oppressive emperor in the 12th century. Participants gather in the streets awaiting the arrival of their volunteer enemies — dressed in protective padding and helmets — riding in carts and on truck beds. Spectators are advised to wear red hats or scarves, a sign that they are not combatants.
Funny festivals. 
