Last Thursday I went to watch the annual bed races out on the mall.  They always draw a large crowd.  To quickly explain, the pledges of each fraternity race in a team around the whole mall with a mattress.  The mattress is typically carried by some sort of cart (shopping carts seemed to be the preferred method).  However, each cart/mattress must also have a rider.  Two teams race against each other at a time.  That’s about it though…except for the ugliness of it all.  That’s why there’s always a huge crowd running in circles around the mall to catch a glimpse of the action.  You can see in one of the pictures here that the mattress is full of readied eggs to be used as ammunition against opponents.  Don’t forget the Tabasco-sauce-filled water balloons.  Some designs are safe, and some aren’t so safe.  It’s all for the enjoyment though as we get to watch the teams duke it out on the pavement with their carts.  I think there are about four to six on a team at a time and while some are helping push the cart, others just seem to “get in the way” of the opponents cart.  I’d say it’s easy for most of these freshmen to have flaring tempers considering the conditions at times, but all the spectators do a good job at keeping the competitors in check.  It is a fun tradition, but I hope you don’t get any ideas and try filling your water balloons with something other than water this summer.