Every year, experienced liars from all over the globe gather in
Santon Bridge, a tiny village in Northwestern England, to compete for
the coveted title of world’s biggest liar. Before you make any
suggestions about who should participate in this wacky contest, you
should know politicians and lawyers are barred from entry, as they are
considered to have an unfair advantage.
The World’s Biggest Liar competition is held every year, in November,
in honor of of 19th-century Bridge Inn landlord Will Ritson, who was
famous for his incredible stories. He always claimed his tales were
true, although most of them sounded like this: the turnips in Wasdale (a
valley in Cumbria) are so big that after locals quarry into them for
their Sunday lunch, they can be used as sheds for their sheep. In honor
of this legendary liar, the Santon Bridge pub has been organizing a
competition to crown the world’s biggest liar. Competitors have just
five minutes to tell the biggest and most convincing lie they can think
of, without using any props or scripts, or telling jokes. Over the
years, people have won the contest with stories about World War II
German submarines invading England to capture digital television
decoders, or magical journeys to Scotland in trash cans that went under
the sea. It’s reported that one year, a bishop went on stage and won the
contest with a single line: “I have never told a lie in my life!”