The Weirdest St. Paddy's Customs

Including a 32-mile walk and the world's shortest parade

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 17, 2011 1:24 PM CDT

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America's Weirdest St. Patrick's Day Customs — Visitors from Fribourg, Switzerland, watch as participants march up Fifth Avenue during New York's annual St. Patrick's Day parade, Thursday, March 17, 2011. (AP Photo)

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t just about beer drinking and snake exterminating: there are a wealth of other odd traditions surrounding the holiday. AOL News reports on a few:

For 35 years now, a Toronto man has walked to a town 32 miles away for a drink, honoring a tradition that dates back to Prohibition. Back then, it was the only place around that served beer.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Maryville, Mo., boasts the world’s shortest parade: It covers just 99.9 feet.
A Las Vegas seafood restaurant celebrates “St Cabby’s Day,” at which cab drivers get a breakfast of green eggs and ham and Lucky Charms. Some 500 drivers were expected.
In Massachusetts, a hospital hosts an annual celebration of “Paddy O’Carousel”—its high-tech pill dispenser. The gadget gives patients their meds at appointed times, freeing up the staff to do other jobs.

(More St. Patrick's Day stories.)

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