Spanish town blushes with annual tomato fight

BUNOL, Spain (AP) - August 28, 2008 Town hall says an estimated 40,000 people took part in the hour of messy fun in the village of Bunol near Valencia.

The ritual dates back to the 1940s.

Some warriors in Wednesday's battle wore swimming goggles to protect themselves from the acid sting of projectiles in the form of pear-shaped tomatoes. Others swatted them away with tennis rackets.

Afterward, many washed off in a nearby river while crews hosed down a town painted red.

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