Just when you thought that “Wipeout” was the epitome of Crazy Summer Human Tricks, the running of the bulls in Pamplona has reminded us that other parts of the world don’t use artificial sets and padding to undertake potentially lethal activities in the name of entertainment and tradition.

The bull running is somewhat controversial these days from an animal rights standpoint, and this year the death of a vacationing runner has caused more scrutiny of what some consider the highlight of Pamplona’s age-old Festival of San Fermin.

One major point of contention with animal rights folks is that the “fighting bulls” are killed in the bullfighting ring after the run.  To protest this Pamplona tradition and that of bullfighting overall, PETA has an annual “running of the nudes” to raise awareness.  (We’d tie a PETA T-shirt in here, but given the activity it seems that PETA merch is superfluous… maybe a trucker hat would be a useful accessory, to help prevent sunburn…)

Despite this year’s human death and the usual hundreds of injury, Pamplona’s most famous extreme sport is not likely to fade away in the short term.  Like rodeos in America, bullfighting is deeply entrenched in Spanish culture.