Original photo by Photoshopped/ iStock
Anyone who’s ever had a french fry stolen at the beach can personally relate to humans’ contentious relationship with seagulls. Gulls are scavengers, and yet despite their peskiness, there’s something endearing about them too. It’s in this spirit that Belgium launched a new tradition in honor of the birds: a seagull screeching contest.
To impress the panel of five judges, entrants must perform their best impression of the seabirds by not only imitating their distinctive vocalization but also dressing up accordingly. Each judge can award as many as 20 points — 15 for screeching and five for behavior — for a maximum of 100 per contestant.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factThe Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars on June 18, 1815. Part of the Netherlands at the time, Waterloo has been located in Belgium since 1830.
The contest is divided into three categories: one for adults, one for juniors 16 and under, and one for “colonies” (groups). The event was created by educator and comedian Claude Willaert, who wanted not only to ease what he described to The New York Times as the “friction” between gulls and humans in Belgium, but also to “make seagulls sexy again” because they “really deserve to have a positive image.”
To get a sense of what it takes to win, look no further than Anna Brynald, who won the adult category in 2025, apparently impressing judges with her white-and-yellow face paint, white feather boa, and winglike cape.
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Belgium contains more ______ per square meter than any other country.
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Belgium contains more castles per square meter than any other country.
Belgium once went 652 days without a government.
No one ever said federal constitutional monarchies are easy, especially when they’re divided among three levels: the federal government, three language-based communities (French, Flemish, and German), and three regions (Flanders, Brussels-Capital, and Wallonia). With that in mind, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that Belgium once went 652 days without a fully functioning government — a record that surpassed the previous mark also set by the northwestern European country.
This administrative gap began in December 2018, when the existing federal government collapsed and was replaced by an interim government that was meant to last until May of the following year. (The regional and communal governments were unaffected.) Because the situation took longer to resolve than expected, the interim government remained in place until October 2020. Alexander De Croo became the country’s prime minister, a position he held until February 2025.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
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