vinism

In perhaps the greatest Christmas tradition since spiked egg nog, the city of Gayle, Sweden, erects a giant straw goat in the center of town to mark the holiday season. And every year for the last 40 years, vandals have tried -- with astonishing success -- to burn it down. Vandals, hooligans and an American tourist have managed destroy the goat 22 times since 1966. This year though, the town is fighting back. The goat is made of flame retardant straw that won't wash off -- apparently, the last time they tried this, the chemicals weren't water repellent and they washed off when it rained. But wait, it gets better. A Swedish rap group has put the goat's tale to song on YouTube. There's a web cam watching the goat. And as of yesterday, the goat was a heavy favorite at pinnaclesports.com to survive until Christmas -- that's right, you could be on it. The online sportsbook has pulled the odds down for now, but hopefully they'll resume taking action on this great Christmas tradition shortly.