The unofficial state bird, the black fly, may be morbidly celebrated in Maine – but Russia has its own bizarre appreciation for another buzzing pest.
For some godforsaken reason, the good people of Berezniki, Russia host a three-day festival that celebrates the mosquito — and women even compete to see who can get bitten the most.
This weekend’s annual event, held next to a city-owned lake in the Ural Mountains, features something called the “most delicious girl” contest, where women strip down to shorts and vests and get bitten by skeeters.
The “winner” is the one with the most bites. The 2013 champ had more than 100.
They’ve even got a doctor on hand as a judge.
“An expert panel of judges, including a doctor, will examine their bodies and the winner will be the one with the most bites,” organizer Natalya Paramonova told Interfax.
“Mosquitoes bite people … who eat well, don’t drink and don’t smoke,” she told another paper.
There’s also a competition to see who can catch the most live insects, as well as a mosquito parade.
Paramonova admitted it’s a “joke festival. … “We’re going to have absurd events for adults and children.”
But it’s three days long. How funny is it by day two?
