Ferret legging

Ferret legging is a fictional sport allegedly practiced in Yorkshire, England, UK. It was first brought to light by Donald Katz, in an article entitled "King of the Ferret Leggers", in the October 1987 issue of "Outside" magazine.

The imaginary sport involves putting two ferrets inside one's trousers, having first tied one's trouser cuffs firmly to one's ankles, lest the ferrets escape. The competitor then cinches his belt tightly, and the clock is started. Competitors cannot be drunk or drugged, nor can the ferrets be drugged. In addition, competitors cannot wear underpants beneath their trousers, and the ferrets' teeth cannot be filed or otherwise blunted. Competitors can touch the ferrets, but only from the outside of the trousers.

The record-holder at the time of Katz' article was the fictional Reg Mellor, a 72-year-old retired miner from Barnsley in Yorkshire. In Katz's comic masterpiece, Mellor's winning time was five hours and twenty-six minutes of "keepin' 'em down." He did this on July 5, 1981 at the Annual Pennine Show at Holmfirth, Yorkshire. [cite book
last = Gould
first = Philip J.
coauthors = Ralf Laue
title = Book of Alternative Records
publisher = Metro Publishing Ltd.
year = 2004
id = ISBN 1-84358-126-4 ] It was Mellor who instituted the practice of wearing white trousers in ferret-legging matches "to better show the blood."

External links

* [http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679647027&view=excerpt Entire story as presented in anthology The King of the Ferret Leggers and other True Stories by Donald Katz.]

ee also

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References