Snail racing is a form of humorous entertainment that involves the racing of two or more air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. Usually the common garden snail species Helix aspersa is used. This species is native to Europe, but has been accidentally introduced to many countries all over the world.
There are numerous snail racing events that take place in different places around the world, though the majority take place in the United Kingdom.
Snail races usually take place on a circular track with the snails starting in the middle and racing to the perimeter. The track usually takes the form of a damp cloth atop a table. The radius is traditionally set at 13 or 14 inches. Racing numbers are painted on the shells or small stickers or tags are placed on them to distinguish each competitor.
Read more about Snail Racing: Competitions
Famous quotes containing the words snail and/or racing:
“The snail in his museum
wears his mother all day,
he hides his mysterious bottom
as if it were rotten fruit.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)