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Google Doodle Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Spain’s Tomatina Festival

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This sounds amazing. Once every year, for about an hour on the last Wednesday of August, thousands of people descend on the town of Buñol in eastern Spain to pelt each other with tomatoes as part of La Tomatina festival.
La Tomatina festival sees around 40,000 people pack the streets of the Spanish town of Buñol to hurl 40 TONNES of tomatoes at each other.
The event takes place every year on the last Wednesday of August and lasts for exactly one hour, from 10am to 11am.


There was a time when the Spanish government decided enough is enough. In the 50s, people were allowed to use the fruit in their cooking, and well, that's about it. However, Spanish civilians had other plans. In 1957, they mourned the death of the festival by carrying a huge coffin, inside which lay a large tomato. After this, the festival became official in Spain.
While the event begins at 11am local time, the official tomato throwing ceremony takes place once a participant climbs up a greasy pole and retrieves a slice of ham attached to it. Apart from this, tomatoes must be squashed before you throw them at others. And amid all the fun, you've got to make way for trucks, and finally, the revelry ends once the siren blares.


Many trucks haul the bounty of tomatoes into the center of the town, Plaza del Pueblo. The tomatoes come from Extremadura, where they are less expensive. The signal for the beginning of the fight is firing of the cannon, and the chaos begins. Once it begins, the battle is generally every man for himself. Those who partake in this event are strongly encouraged to wear protective safety goggles and gloves. In addition, they must squish the tomatoes before throwing for safety precautions. 
Another rule is that no one is allowed to bring into this fight anything that may provoke someone into a more serious brawl, such as a glass bottle. It is highly frowned upon to tear someone else’s clothing. Somewhere between an hour and two hours, the fighting ends and the cannon is fired once more to signal the end. At this point no more tomatoes can be thrown. The cleaning process involves the use of fire trucks to spray down the streets, with water provided from a Roman aqueduct. People find water to wash themselves, most likely at the Buñol River.

After an one hour the fighting ends. At this point, no more tomatoes can be thrown. The cleaning process involves the use of fire trucks to spray down the streets, with water provided from a Roman aqueduct. The authorities seem more concerned with cleaning the town than cleaning the visitors, so some people find water at the Bunol River to wash themselves, although some kind residents will hose passers-by down. Once the tomato pulp is flushed, the ground is clean due to the acidity of the tomato.


There is limited accommodation for people who come to La Tomatina, so many people take the easier option of staying in nearby Valencia just 38km to Bunol by bus or train. In preparation for the dirty mess that will ensue, shopkeepers use huge plastic covers on their storefronts in order to protect them from the carnage.

The Google Doodle, created by Nate Swinehart, features an animated depiction of the revelry that about 50,000 people are expected to engage in on Wednesday — including the ham hoisted on top of a pole that must traditionally be untied and brought down before a single tomato can be thrown.

The festival is considered the world's largest food fight, that too using tomatoes !! 

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