Pillow fight

A pillow fight is a common game mostly played by young children (but also by teens and adults) in which they engage in mock physical conflict, using pillows as weapons.

For the 2016 song by Galantis, see Pillow Fight (song).
Pillow fight at an English country fair, 1971
A public pillow fight in Bologna, Italy
A pillow fight flashmob in Berlin, Germany

Pillow fights often occur during children's sleepovers. Since pillows are usually soft, injuries rarely occur. The heft of a pillow can still knock a young person off balance, especially on a soft surface such as a bed, which is a common venue. In earlier eras, pillows would often break, shedding feathers throughout a room. Modern pillows tend to be stronger and are often filled with a solid block of artificial filling, so breakage occurs far less frequently.

Organized pillow fights

Pillow fighting has become a part of flash mob culture, with pillow fight flash mobs popping up in cities around the world. Social media is frequently used to initiate and advertise public pillow fight events.[1]

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), occasionally staged "pillow fight matches" between female wrestlers, then known as Divas, during the early 2000's.[2] These were often booked as Lingerie Pillow Fights, in which women "compete" in lingerie or pajamas, with little or no actual wrestling taking place. The final match of this type was held in 2008.[2]

In January 2007, Reuters reported on a Pillow Fight League that was operating in bars in Toronto.[3] Pre-selected female "fighters" with stage personalities were paid small amounts to stage regular, unscripted fights. The rules called for "no lewd behavior, and moves such as leg drops or tickling or submission holds are allowed as long as a pillow is used." The league ceased operations in 2011, and a crowdfunding campaign created to facilitate its return was unsuccessful.[4]

March 22, 2008, was the first World Pillow Fight Day, a day organized in the United States by Newmindspace, a group created by two University of Toronto students.[1] The Wall Street Journal estimated that 5,000 people participated in a New York event coinciding with the day.[1]

The Guinness World Record for the largest pillow fight was set in July 2015 at a St. Paul Saints baseball game, where 6,261 participated in an event sponsored by local manufacturer My Pillow.[5] The record was later broken in May 2018 at an evangelical Christian concert. 7,861 people participated in the Minneapolis, Minnesota event, which was also sponsored by My Pillow.[6]

In Japan

In Makura-Nage, a Japanese pillow fight variation, players throw pillows instead of swinging them.

Further information: Makura-Nage

In film

Pillow fights were a popular theme in early cinematography.[7] 1897 saw the release of A Pillow Fight by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company followed by Pillow Fight from Edison Studios.[7] In the same year Siegmund Lubin released New Pillow Fight.[7] Lubin returned to the subject in 1903 with the film Pillow Fight, Reversed.[7]

Other films to portray pillow fights include Animal House, Annie, and The Room.[8]

References
  1. Athavaley, Anjali. "Students Unleash A Pillow Fight On Manhattan". Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  2. "10 Most Unique WWE Divas Gimmick Matches Ever". WhatCulture. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  3. No softies in Canada's campy Pillow Fight League Archived 2007-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, Jan 16 2007
  4. "Help bring back the Pillow Fight League". Indiegogo. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  5. "Saint Paul Saints hold world's largest pillow fight". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  6. "Largest pillow fight". Guinness World Records. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  7. Lebeau, Vicky (2008). Childhood and Cinema. Reaktion Books. pp. 23–25. ISBN 1861893523.
  8. Hough, Q.V. "Top 10 Movie Pillow Fights". WatchMojo. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
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