(Photo by Torbert Timson) Around this time every year, the small Finnish town of Savonlinna becomes the center of attention. Summer solstice? Nope. Exquisite views of the Aurora Borealis? Think again. More important than all of these is the annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships. Let's be honest, there are plenty of good reasons to hurl a misbehaving cell phone as far it can go. There are the people with "Who Let the Dogs Out?" as their ringtone. There's the fool who'll happily answer a call while sitting on the toilet. And of course, you can't beat the theater-goer whose blasted phone goes off during that really sensitive bit in the movie, despite the numerous warnings telling them to shut off their cell phone or face death by stoning. Do we sound bitter? Perhaps. But these folks in Finland seem to have a lot of fun. Last year, for example, Lassi Etelätalo threw one 89 meters (that's over 290 feet for the metrically impaired). To make things fair, Finnish consulting company Fennolingua supplies all the phones which apparently weigh-in between 220 grams and 400 grams. This August, as the competition enters its seventh year, and thousands of people descend on the town, we salute all the competitors and organizers who vent their frustrations on those ubiquitous devices we've learned to love to hate. Suggested Sites... Etela-Savon Maakunta - home county to Savonlinna. Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships - an official site, naturally. YouTube: Mobile Phone Throwing Videos - hundreds of 'em!

Directory categories: Cell Phones, Finland, Cell Phone Etiquette, Bizarre Humor, Phone Ringtones and Graphics

Archived under: Cell Phones, Communication, Contests, Events, Regional, Sports, Weird Stuff

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