WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SNAIL RACES

It was a holiday weekend, at least in the U.S., so you might have missed the World Championship Snail Races in Congham, UK. Crowds gathered despite the rain to watch the finest gastropod athletes compete, with over 150 snails taking part in the championships, which have been running since the 1960s. The snails are all placed inside an inner circle, and the first one to cross the 13-and-a- half-inch course and touch the outer black ring wins the race. A snail named Jeff was crowned victor, making it through several afternoon heats, gaining a spot in the grand final, and winning with a time of 4 minutes and 3 seconds. Simon Lilley, Jeff the snail’s owner, says Jeff has a rigorous training program and he loves to eat green leaves.
* He also prefers soft rock music, collects World War 1 memorabilia, and his favorite Marvel character is Wolverine.
* Way to go, slugger!
* Winner gets a prize, the losers get a nice butter sauce on top of linguini.
* This actually sounds more exciting than NBC’s coverage of the Olympics, where your have to sit through 10 minutes of backstory to get to a 2 minute event.
* Perfect story for a slow news day.