Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire? Not At This Competition!

If you are one of those people that just has a knack for telling tall tales and fooling people into believing them, then you are in luck - That's because there is finally a competition where your skills will be appreciated and even be honored with the prestigious title of - 'World's Biggest Liar'.

Held annually every November at the Santon Bridge Inn in Holmrook, Cumbria the contest is a revered local tradition and was started in honor of a 19th century local pub landlord by the name of Will Ritson who was known to enthrall his clients with his fun fibs that he insisted were 100% true!

The rules of the competition are simple. Each competitor is given five minutes to mesmerize the audience and the seven judges with an incredulous tale. Also, while the competition is open to residents from all over the world it is not open to lawyers, journalists and you guessed it . . . . . politicians!

Over the years, the fibs have become increasingly elaborate ranging from claims of local ferns being useful for constipation to fraudulent tales of flying with sea gulls, shooting pigs and even encounters with Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit!

This year was no different. On Thursday, November 15th, twelve fibbers kept the audience and judges entertained with their amazing tales ranging from sheep dogs that could round up fish, to the discovery of a web-footed tabby cat. To say the competition was tough was an understatement. That's because the entrants included previous title holder James Mason (claimed to be an Ambassador for the Big Society), last year's champion Glen Boylan (claimed that he had been in a snail race with Prince Charles who had advised him to take the shell off to make the it more aerodynamic) and the biggest liar of all - Seven time champion, Johnny 'Liar' Graham (see video below).

But in the end it was 25-year old rookie Jack Harvey that impressed the judges the most with his tall tale about how badgers were once upon a time so deadly that instead of sending Christians to cobras or crocodiles, the Romans sent them to the badgers! While disappointed Johnny 'Liar' Graham who came in third place, simply believes that after 25 years of fibbing, he maybe simply running out of lies! Though all the fibs are great, the most memorable winner of all was a Bishop who began by saying 'I have never told a lie'!

Resources: Independent.co.uk, huffpo.com, online.wsj.com,timesandstar.com