The World’s Most Dangerous Cultural Traditions

Coopers Hill Cheese-Rolling

Photo Credit: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

The Cooper’s Hill-Cheese-Roll is an annual event during the spring break holiday at the ultra-steep Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, England. A nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled down the hill, and the participants run after it, tumbling their way down. The person who gets down the hill first gets the cheese and is named the winner.

The tradition is believed to be over 250 years old and came about for two possible reasons. The first was that it involved grazing rights, and the second was that it comes from the Pagan custom of rollings objects down the hill before a harvest. Today, the tradition has become a world-famous event with winners hailing from all over the world.

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