Dwarf tossing
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Dwarf-tossing, which probably originated in either the United States or Australia,[citation needed] is a bar attraction (some consider it a sport; some consider it barbaric) where dwarfs wearing special padded clothing are thrown onto mattresses by patrons who compete to throw the dwarf the farthest. The term "dwarf throwing" is sometimes used.
One special form of dwarf tossing is midget tossing. This is a speciality toss that only the strongest and most talented tossers should participate in. The tosser holds the dwarf by the ankles and spins around at least 3 times before releasing the dwarf. It can be incredibly dangerous and, at times, has caused head trauma to both the dwarf and the tosser.
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[edit] 1986 World Dwarf-throwing Championships
In 1986, the World Dwarf-throwing Championships were held in Australia. The USA was not represented, which may weaken the claim that the sport originated in the United States. The undisputed world champions who still currently hold the record were Team GB from London, England Danny Blue, Roy Merrin and Lenny The Giant.
The current world record for the longest throw is held by a man known only as Cuddles, a member of the group referred to as The Oddballs. The throw was 12 feet 9 inches held by William Henderson Ladner age 16 from Minnetonka, Minnesota.
[edit] Challenges to the legality of dwarf tossing
Dwarf-tossing is widely considered to be offensive to the dignity of dwarfs. Many dwarfs are grossly disfigured as a result of tossing mishaps. As a consequence, various legislators have considered banning it. Such moves have attracted criticism from proponents of the sport and some who think that these prohibitions deny a possible source of income for dwarfs.
[edit] United States
In 1989, Robert and Angela Van Ettan of Florida, USA, members of the Little People of America, convinced Florida's legislators that dwarf-tossing should be illegal. The measure banning dwarf-tossing was passed with a wide margin, and New York also later banned dwarf-tossing.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by Dave Flood, who appears on a morning radio talk show as "Dave the Dwarf," names Governor Jeb Bush and the head of the state agency which enforces the 1989 law which allows the state to revoke the liquor license or fine a bar that allows dwarf-tossing, an activity that was popular in some Florida bars in the late 1980s.
[edit] France
In France, the mayor of a small town (Morsang-sur-Orge) prohibited a spectacle of dwarf tossing. The case went all the way up the appeal chain of administrative courts to the Conseil d'État, which found that an administrative authority could legally prohibit dwarf tossing on grounds that this activity did not respect human dignity and was thus contrary to public order. The question raised deep legal questions as to what was admissible as a motive for an administrative authority to ban an activity for motives of public order, especially since the Council did not want to include "public morality" in public order. The ruling was taken by the full assembly and not by a smaller panel - proof of the difficulty of the question. The Conseil ruled similarly in another case, between an entertainment company and the city of Aix-en-Provence.
The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights judged on September 27, 2002, that this decision was not discriminatory with respect to dwarfs, ruling that the ban on dwarf-tossing was not abusive but necessary in order to protect public order, including considerations of human dignity.
It is, however, somewhat hasty to consider that as a result of this legal action, dwarf tossing is prohibited in France. The Conseil d'État decided that a public authority could use gross infringement on human dignity as a motive of public order to cancel a spectacle and that dwarf tossing constituted such a gross infringement. However, it is up to individual authorities to make specific decisions regarding prohibition. It remains to be seen whether an administration's refusal, should a local administration refuse to take action against dwarf tossing, could be litigated against.
[edit] Canada
In Ontario, Canada, the Dwarf Tossing Ban Act, 2003 (Bill 97 2003) tabled by Windsor MPP Sandra Pupatello was enacted, with penalties of a fine of not more than $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. This was in response to a dwarf tossing contest that was held at Leopard's Lounge in Windsor Ontario featuring a performer by the name of "Tripod". Interestingly, the Act does not define the terms "dwarf" or "dwarf tossing". As a result, some normal-sized people have entered into dwarf-tossing contests, calling themselves a "dwarf" despite 6-foot-plus statures (Amigo's in Ottawa, Chilly Willy in Toronto).
[edit] Popular culture references to dwarf tossing
References to dwarf-tossing feature in the films of The Lord of the Rings, at the broken bridge in the Mines of Moria, where Gimli tells Aragorn "Nobody tosses a dwarf!" and at the Battle of Helm's Deep, where (with a promise that Legolas will not be told) Gimli agrees to allow Aragorn to throw him over a narrow defile in order to attack Saruman's armies hand-to-hand. The director's commentary in the special extended DVD edition of the Fellowship of the Ring debates whether the sport originated in the United Kingdom or in Australia.
Author Hugh Cook includes a dwarf-tossing scene in his 1992 fantasy novel The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster.
In the 2004 comedic film Dodgeball, a magazine titled Obscure Sports Quarterly features midget tossing.
Featured prominently in an episode of The Oblongs.
