La Tomatina is an annual festival in a Spanish town where residents and tourists have a massive food fight with tomatoes, and then bathe afterwards in a river. 2015 is the festival’s 70^th anniversary. Phil Edwards looked into the history and logistics of the event:

• Buñol, the town that hosts the festival, has about 10,000 residents but 50,000 people show up for the world famous event.
• Tickets to take part in the event cost between $12 and $75.
• The town reserves 5,000 tickets for residents to ensure that the festival has a local vibe to it.
• The festival is a boon for local traders who sell tomato themed merchandise.
• Several imitators have sprung up across the world. There’s even a company called Tomato Battle that helps organize such events.
• New York had one in 2013, and Tide used it as an opportunity to distribute stain removal capsules.

Read more about where the tomatoes come from, the effect that the festival has on city infrastructure, and other details over here.

Source: Vox