It’s International Carrot Day.
If you want to see a really unique carrot, take a trip to Melbourne, Australia.
They have a guy named Nathan who walks around town amusing locals and tourists alike with a very large papier mache carrot.
We don’t know a ton about Melbourne’s Carrot Man.
An artist who painted a tribute to him said Nathan is a shy person with a background in performing.
But instead of doing what most shy performers do (which is to start a podcast), Nathan wanted to be out in the community.
At a thrift shop one day, he came across a giant turnip and decided to bring it home.
He said the people who saw him heading home with a large root vegetable were all smiling.
After testing out several other giant objects, including an octopus and a squid, he found the thing that made people happiest was a giant carrot.
He makes these out of papier mache, wire and tape.
The retired ones get donated to hospitals, charities, thrift shops and, occasionally, fans.
And he really does have fans: Nathan has become a local celebrity in Melbourne.
People line up for photos with him when he’s out; there’s also an Instagram account called Where Is Carrot Man that tracks what he’s been up to.
One of the photos shows Nathan and his carrot standing with five people in carrot costumes, all of whom are beaming.
And Nathan has said that’s the only purpose behind him walking around with his carrot: it makes people smile.
Which is really refreshing, if you think about it.
Life can feel awfully complicated some days, but it doesn’t have to be, when you can just go walk around somewhere and show off a big orange carrot.
This weekend in Sebring, Florida, it’s the Sebring Soda Festival.
There will be over 200+ craft and specialty sodas to try, whether or not you’re in the soda drinking contests.
There’s supposed to be at least one soda-themed race as well!
‘There he goes with the carrot’: how walking the streets with a giant papier-mache vegetable made Nathan a Melbourne legend (The Guardian)
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