Cleaning up in Tokyo
Britain has cleaned up at the first ever World Cup with a UK team bagging it in just 45 minutes in Japan. Alexander Winship, Jonathan Winship and Sarah Parry, who competed under the team name “The North Will Rise Again,” beat 20 countries in the Spogomi World Cup, held in Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya district today. The trio managed to blow the other competitors out of the water, winning by nearly 3,000 points after bagging 61 pounds more rubbish than their closest rival, Japan, which came in second place. Ms. Parry, 28, told The Times: “It’s such a good sport. It’s so strategic and intense; physically, psychologically. It involves real teamwork, it’s absolutely exhausting. You only get a certain number of bags. You have to decide what type of litter you’re going to pick up depending on how many points each category is worth.” The competitors, including teams from the US, Australia, and France, collected a total of 1208 pounds of litter, according to organizers. Britain’s team, “The North Will Rise Again” beat the host Japanese trio into second place by earning 9,046 points for collecting (126.26 lbs) of rubbish.
Spogomi, invented in 2008 to encourage people to pick up litter in public places, it has grown in popularity to the extent that some 230 contests have been held in Japan this year. Kenichi Mamitsuka organized his first competition 15 years ago, taking the title from the words ‘sport’ and ‘gomi’ – Japanese for rubbish. He started to pick up litter on his morning runs and realized that setting targets could turn it into a fun activity. He said watching the event’s maiden world championship was ‘like a dream’, but he optimistically believes it can grow to an even bigger scale. “If you form national spogomi associations, my ambition is that it could become an Olympic demonstration event.” Competitors armed with gloves, metal tongs and plastic rubbish bags have to collect as much litter as possible in a tiny 1.9-square-mile area of Shibuya, known for housing two of the busiest railway stations in the world, in just 45 minutes. They then have 20 minutes to sort out their litter and are awarded points based on the type and amount of rubbish collected. Each team is followed closely by a referee to make sure they do not break the strict rules. Competitors are not allowed to run through the streets, nor are they allowed to pick through rubbish bins or shadow other teams.
Ms. Parry, a doctor, managed to make it to the finals in Japan by winning the London qualifiers, held in Hackney Downs, east London, after her brother won the heats in Brazil. She and her partner Alexander, along with his brother Jonathan, managed to beat the 25 other teams competing against them in London, after becoming ‘heavily invested’ within five minutes of starting. “A lot of the other teams maybe were more ecological, and less sport, and we’re probably the opposite, but we’ve taken so much away about how much we need to clean up our oceans and reduce litter,” team captain Sarah Parry said after collecting the trophy on Wednesday. “It’s been a really good experience.” The second World Cup is scheduled to be held in Tokyo in 2025.
Rubbish Jokes
Instead of cleaning my house, I watch an episode of Hoarders and think,
“Wow. My house looks GREAT.”
Both of us can’t look good at the same time. It’s me or the house!
Why do women have cleaner minds than men?
Because they change theirs more often.
Why is the forest floor covered in leaf litter?
Because nature abhors a vacuum.
A witch was flying on her broom when she noticed that all the witches she passed were flying on vacuum cleaners. She thought to herself,
“Am I the only one who still drives a stick?”
December 1st Birthdays
1989 – Zoe Kravitz, 1945 – Bette Midler, 1960 – Carol Alt, 1996 – Emma Corin
1940 – Richard Pryor, 1987 – Desean Jackson, 1933 – Lou Rawls, 1939 – Lee Trevino