Inuit Ear Pulling

The ear pull is a traditional Inuit game that tests competitors' pain tolerance. Two competitors sit facing each other in the ear pull, their legs straddled and interlocked. A two-foot-long string loop, similar to thick, waxed dental floss, is looped behind their ears, connecting right ear to right ear or left ear to left ear. The competitors then pull on the opposing ear with their own ear until the cord snaps or one player gives up due to pain. Due to safety concerns and spectator squeamishness, the game has been omitted from some Arctic sports competitions; the event can cause bleeding, and competitors occasionally require stitches.

A related competition is the ear weight. The goal is to walk as far as possible while wearing lead weights (16 pounds) on your ears. Joshua Okpik, Jr., who went half a mile with weights, was the reigning champion for many years. As Okpik began his fifth circuit of the Big Dipper Arena in Fairbanks, the 2,000-person crowd began clapping. He padded around and around, his ear turning purple to black and his neck muscles straining like cables. Six, seven, eight circuits he went, his face contorted in pain, the audience now rocking and cheering. Okpik was starting his tenth lap when his twine loop slipped and the 16 pounds thudded to the floor. He had walked 1,813 feet and five inches, more than a third of a mile.

Location: Canada's Arctic