Cow Chip Tossing (Chip Chucking)

cow-chip-throwing-contestOkay, so this one might seem a little on the icky side (literally), but that doesn’t mean that it’s not fun and highly entertaining to watch. In this event, participants are required to throw a hardened, disc-shaped piece of cow poop as far as they can. Contestants select two chips and the rules state that they must be longer than 6 inches in diameter. The person who throws the farthest wins, and if it breaks in mid-flight, the piece that travels farthest is counted. This might seem easy, but it actually takes quite a bit of skill to fling your chip the farthest. Most throw overhanded with the flick of their wrist, instead of throwing the chip “frisbee style.” Two of the biggest competitions are the World Championship Cow Chip Throwing Contest in Beaver, Oklahoma and the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw and Festival in Sauk City, Wisconsin. If you wonder how this sport came to be, you should know that the cow chips were used by early pioneers and settlers to heat their homes during the winter and even cook their food (when dry, the chips are odorless and burn clean and efficiently).