Clubs Day is an annual tradition at many high schools and universities around the world. While it's not hard to find an art club, journalism club, or improv team, one of the newest additions to the club roster is Lettuce Club. According to Buzzfeed, the trend started last year at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, and has now spread to dozens of schools and universities around the US.
What are the rules?
The first rule of Lettuce Club is: eat the lettuce.
Participants in Lettuce Club each get a head of lettuce and then compete to finish their head the fastest. The fastest person is crowned the leader of Lettuce Club and is tasked with organizing the next annual meeting. Some Lettuce Club chapters allow competitors to bring salad dressing, water, or eating utensils too.
How did this get so popular?
There are a couple of interesting reasons why Lettuce Club caught on to so many schools so quickly. The main reason is that it only requires easily acquirable materials: your mouth and a head of lettuce. This low barrier to entry made it easy for people to join.
As well, pretty much anyone can eat a head of lettuce (apart from obligate carnivores), so it's inclusive to the entire school community. It's also got the "weird and interesting" factor that makes photos and videos of the event to spread quickly through social media. Finally, in a world where students often feel pressured to join extracurriculars, Lettuce Club is the perfect commitment.
"My school doesn't have a Lettuce Club."
Here's your chance to start one! Not only will you become the de facto Lettuce Club leader, you'll be promoting healthy eating. Kind of.