Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake

The event take place every May in Gloucestershire, England. The tradition is at least two hundred years old and some claim may go back as far as roman times or beyond. The rules are simple - you arrive, someone throws a huge Double Gloucester cheese down the steepest hill you have ever seen and you then attempt to run down the hill after it (I say attempt because mostly people just fall or bounce after it), and the first one to the bottom the hill gets the cheese!

The Running of the Bull

The event takes place in Pamplona in Spain and is world famous and absolutely deadly. 15 people have been killed since 1910, most recently an American tourist in 1995. The event is simple; a herd of bulls are released into the narrow streets of the Pamplona while the competitors (given a head start) run for their lives. There is no winner as such, just those happy to still be alive.

Orange Throwing at the Ivrea Carnival

The event takes place in Ivrea in Turin, Italy. Dating to the middle of the 19th Century (before which people used to throw beans). Anybody can enter by joining one of the participating teams. Then it is simply a case of being pulled around in a large cart and being pummelled with oranges while you feebly attempt to throw some back.

Tar Barrel Carrying

Takes place in the village of Ottery St Mary in Devon, England. Always held on Guy Fawkes night (the 5th of November) and is believed to have first occurred in 1688. The event involves people carrying huge burning barrels of tar on their backs. They run with the burning barrel until the heat and weight become too much and then pass it on to someone else, this continues until the barrels break up.

Man Versus Horse

The event takes place in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales every year. The event dates from only 1980 when a local pub landlord overheard a boastful conversation about how a man could beat a horse over a long distance. Now every year a race takes place between a man and horse over 22 miles. In 2004 a man called Huw Lobb became the first ever man to beat the horse.

Royal Shrovetide Football

Takes place in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England. An ancient ball game, which is the ancestor of soccer and its derivatives, where the inhabitants of the town split into two teams, and then by any means get a ball into the opposing teams goal (the goals are three miles apart). The rules are - get the ball into the opponent's goal and knock the hell out of people on your way.

La Tomatina

Takes place in Bunol in Valencia, Spain and is basically a big tomato fight where more than 100 metric tons of tomatoes are thrown and anyone can join in. Why? Well why not!

Oktoberfest Festival

Ok maybe not that bizarre, but still very quirky in its way and well worth a mention. The well-known German beer festival takes place every year in Munich, Germany in late September. Turn up eat drink and be very very merry. Not much more to say really.

Batalla Del Vino

A good old-fashioned wine fight! Occurs annually on St Pedros Day (29th of June) in the Spanish Town of Haro. The event consists of the town folk walking to the chapel for a religious service carrying all the wine they can, once the mass is over the wine throwing begins. The aim is to cover everybody with as much wine as possible using buckets, water guns and any other implement you can think of to fire liquid around the place.

The Farther Ted Festival

Yes that's right a festival to celebrate the Irish TV sitcom Father Ted. Held in Inish Mor an island off Galway in the west of Ireland, which is supposed to be the official Craggy Island from the show. The festival goes on for a few days and involves a number of events linked to the show such as - the priests and nuns five a side soccer tournament, the Lovely Girls beauty pageant, a song for Europe and lots more ridiculous events reminiscent of the show.

Chocolate

During 18th century, chocolate was used as medicine. It was believed commonly that chocolate could cure stomach aches. Studies recently have suggested that cocoa (dark chocolate) may indeed possess certain beneficial effects on human health. With its high cocoa content, cocoa is thought to possess cardio protective properties. It also possesses a significant antioxidant action, protecting against LDL oxidation, perhaps more than other polyphenol antioxidant-rich foods and beverages.

Water

Water was used as a medicine in many ancient cultures. The ancient Mohawk people used a full plunge in the river as a medicine each day. There are numerous examples of water used as a medicine in traditional Mohawk stories. For instance, when a child doesn't mind his parents, is causing a fuss, or is misbehaving, parents will take that child to a sink or other running water source, and drench the child's face in order to teach a lesson. No wonder it worked. :)

Blood

It is widely believed that vampire stories and sucking blood in Eastern and central Africa had medical meanings. Many believed that human blood was used as medicine. Persian roots and its use in nineteenth-century Zanzibar, or the word mumiani in modern Swahili, meant a kind of medicine used externally for broken bones, melted and then drunk.

In Tanganyika, African blood was taken to urban hospitals and converted into red capsules. These pills were taken on a regular basis by Europeans who needed this medicine (or felt like they needed it) to stay alive in Africa. In colonial Northern Rhodesia, it was believed that African blood was necessary to cure European diseases. In Kenya, it was thought that men were taken by the Nairobi Fire Brigade so that their blood could be used for “the treatment of Europeans with anemic diseases. It is believed that ancient Romans also used blood as medicine for some of the illnesses.

Coffee

Due to its mystical connections and assumed magical properties, coffee was used as a medicine and in religious ceremonies. In ancient India coffee was used as a medicine. It was carefully prepared by authorized practitioners only. Before coffee was ever roasted and brewed, the berries were fermented in water creating a wine. This coffee wine was used as a medicine.

Most of the scientific studies are contradictory as to whether coffee has any specific health benefits. The results are similarly conflicting regarding negative effects of coffee consumption. Coffee appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver, and gout. Some believe that the health effects are due to its caffeine content and some think that the antioxidants in coffee prevent free radicals from causing cell damage.

Marijuana

It is still used as a medicine in the Middle East and in India and Asia. Humans have been using Marijuana from prehistoric times, but 20th century saw a rise in its use for spiritual and medicinal purposes. The synthetic form of one chemical in marijuana is also a controversial treatment for medical use.

The American Marijuana Policy Project claims that it is an ideal therapeutic drug for cancer and AIDS patients who suffer from clinical depression, and from nausea and resulting weight loss due to chemotherapy and other life sapping treatments. A recent study by Italian scientists has also shown that a chemical found in marijuana inhibits growth of cancer cells in animals.

Ambergris

It is a waxy, flammable, solid substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. It was known to Arabs as "anbar" and was originally called amber in the West. It was used as a medicine for the heart and brain. During the time of the Black Death in Europe, lots of people believed that carrying a ball of ambergris would help prevent them from getting the plague because the fragrance covered the smell of the air which was believed to be the cause of plague.

This has also been used as a form of medical supplement. For example, the middle Easterners have used it to increase their strength and virility and to treat heart and brain diseases. People also considered ambergris as an aphrodisiac and during the Middle Ages Europeans had used ambergris as a medication for headaches, colds, epilepsy, and other disorders.

Monkey's Gall Bladder

The monkey's gall bladder was a common folk medicine in China often used for a wide range of disorders including eye diseases, stomach complaints and even a child's tantrums. Many ancient cultures used monkey blood for increasing the strength and stamina. It was also believed to have anti-aging effects. Over the centuries, people of various cultures have experimented with monkey blood and meat for anti-aging effects. Some even went to the extent of transplanting monkey gonads. In some of the places in Indonesia even until now, monkey brains are consumed as health remedies, impotency cures or as gourmet treats.

Pearl

Pearl is a gem of purity and modesty. It has been believed to be an agent of goodness and it is supposed to bring the wearer comfort in difficult times. They are also thought to improve the memory and to solidify friendships. The gem was even used as a medicine. The Persians even used it to cure insanity and other diseases, and it was given as an aid to increase longevity in ancient China. Even now, there are individuals who utilize pearls in drinking water to stabilize hormones or that wear them directly on the skin to alleviate headaches.

The Mummy Powder

This is one of the strangest of the lot. Ancient Egyptians are known for using various different strange things as cures for popular ailments. Powdered mummy was also used as a medicine! The word mummy comes from Arabic mumiyah, which meant bitumen. It was long believed that bitumen would conserve the mummies. Bitumen was even used directly as a cure. The Egyptians used the powdered mummy to make different potions and used it for longevity.

Urine

Urine is considered as a magic cure for diseases like diabetes, cancer, and tuberculosis as well as for those affecting the eyes, ears, teeth and skin. Urine therapy was practiced widely in the interior villages of India to the extent that old grandmothers gave children their own urine to drink to prevail over fever, loose bowels and many other ailments. In ancient Ayurvedic medicine texts, the mixture of cow urine and human urine was considered as an essential therapy for various ailments.

Three hundred years ago a French dentist advised to wash the teeth with urine many times daily, so that those suffering from teeth ailments could get relief. The knowledgeable scientists describe urine as a product of the body's excretory system but it also contains a chemical composition with minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride and many more, all of which are essential for the body's health. This proves that urine is a least used as a natural tonic.

Side note

I am sure others may have also come across various bizarre treatments or medicines. Feel free to list and discuss them in the comments section.