Japan's first abalone race leaves spectators hungry and bored.

October 21 was an important day at the Awa Museum in Tateyama. That's because the first abalone race was held there that day. Several competitive abalone--including Awabi Impact, whose name is a parody of the champion racehorse Deep Impact--were given numbers and flags, then exposed to a sudden burst of light which would make them start racing to the opposite end of the 2-meter pool. Excited spectators--mostly grandmas, as you can see in the photo--gathered to witness, but the race was so frigging slow that most of them just got hungry. You can guess what they had for dinner that night. Full story here.