Gurning contest

Each year on the Saturday closest to Sept. 18 (in 2009, that’s Sept. 19), the town of Egremont, England, celebrates the crab apple with a day of unique events. Foremost is the World Gurning Championships; putting one’s head in a horse collar, contestants vie for the award by making the funniest and most contorted faces.

In 1267, the local lord began to give crab apples to the poor. The contest is said to have originated with the faces the citizens made after biting into the tart apples. Contact Cumbria Tourism (phone +44 0 1539825020, www.cumbria.uk/cumbria/fun/gurner.htm).