You would have to be living in a hermetically sealed sensory deprivation tank these days to not be aware of the extreme angst in society all around the world. That angst has been fomenting for more than a decade but we appear to be nearing the apex of its extremity at present. And if this isn’t the apex of social disquiet, I shudder to think where we will go from here!

See Also: 10 Most Extreme And Terrifying Protests

Divisions of opinion over the election and governance of President Trump, climate change, globalization, and even the right to free speech is causing social anxiety to rise to levels bordering those of mass hysteria. And with those rising levels we see an escalation in both the number and extreme nature of public protest.

Note: the final image on this list may not be safe for work.

10 Peanut Butter On Cars

While passing what she thought was a pro-Trump meeting in Wisconsin, Christina Ferguson came up with a brilliant idea: smear peanut butter on the cars of the evil Trump fans. Most likely drunk, she initially entered the premises and yelled abuse at the meeting-goers before spreading low-salt smooth peanut butter on around 30 cars in the parking lot. But it turned out that the meeting was actually for a local environmental conservation club and they were none-too-pleased at the act of political vandalism even if it was intended for other people. Police caught up with Miss Ferguson who, whilst furiously licking her fingers, denied involvement. When it was pointed out that the group were not pro-Trump, she confessed and admitted she did it because of “how much she loved Hillary Clinton and hated Donald Trump”.^[1]

9 Palestinian Blue People

In an attempt to bring fresh attention to their disagreement over the Palestinian / Israeli border wall, Palestinians took to wearing blueface and donning the clothes of the Na’vi from the film Avatar. They believe that the barrier is a land-grab by Israel and that their own plight matches that of the fictional race. In response, the Israelis gassed the protesters with tear gas. Needless to say, there was no positive outcome for the men in blue. The film Avatar was released in 2009 and quickly surpassed even Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time.^[2]

8 Barnyard Protests

In 2009, to protest falling prices of dairy products and increases on quota limits by the European Union, farmers drove their farm equipment into Brussels and protested. In addition to bombarding the police with eggs and other farm products, the farmers burnt hay and tires. But perhaps the most bizarre element of all was milk cannons. Prior to arriving in the city, millions of liters of milk were also spilled into fields. It is not the first time that farmers have protested so violently in the city and is not likely to be the last, at least not until Brussels finally shuts its doors as the last member state departs from the union.^[3]

7 Scrotum Protest

There is no good way to describe this so let’s just get it out: Pyotr Pavlensky, a Russian performance “artist” decided to nail his testicles to the cobblestones in Moscow’s Red Square to protest a government crackdown on political dissidents. Pavlensky has also sewn his lips shut and wrapped himself, naked, in a cocoon of barbed wire. His protestations have, not surprisingly, fallen on deaf ears. In a bizarre twist, fast food and political activist company Burger King decided to make two burgers in his honor: one which has a burnt bun (representing an arson attempt Pavlensky made) and one with an egg and spike through it.^[4]

6 #TrumpCup

Where would we be without the intellectual giants of the twittersphere giving us their vital opinions every day? One group of supporters of president Trump decided to start a protest in his favor using two beloved pop culture icons: Twitter and Starbucks. The plan arose after a Starbucks staff member refused to serve a Trump supporter. To participate in the protest you simply had to go to Starbucks, say your name was “Trump” (forcing the staff to write the name on a cup) and wait. If you were refused, video it and tweet it with #TrumpCup. Ironically the protest did more for Starbucks as protesters obviously had to pay for their coffees. #Oops.^[5]

5 Thailand Blood Protest

In Thailand, protestors in support of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2010 decided upon a rather gruesome protest: they were going to dump 264 gallons (1,000 litres) of human blood outside government house. Lines of nurses drew a few teaspoons of blood each from the protestors and the extractions were combined in large bottles. These were then dumped onto the ground in what was not just horrific to look at but also incredibly risky from a health perspective. The protest ultimately garnered a protest of its own in the form of the Red Cross which said it was unhygienic and incredibly wasteful when the blood could have been put to good use. Specialist medical workers were needed to perform the cleanup operation and disinfecting of the area.^[6]

4 Extinction Rebellion Red

Looking like something straight from a scene in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut crossed with The Handmaid’s Tale, Extinction rebellion is a protest group of mostly middle-aged people founded in 2018 by two British environmental and animal rights activists with the main purpose being civil disobedience to compel governments to implement their plans to halt changes to the Earth’s climate, to end consumerism and, perhaps ironically, to avoid the risk of social collapse. The group has a frighteningly fascist-like logo which is meant to symbolize a circled hourglass representing the fact that the end is nigh.

Their “Red” rebellion groups have partaken in a number of anti-capitalist or anti-consumerism protests, even as recently as this past Black Friday in which they carted a coffin through the streets of Vancouver, Canada to protest people buying things (other than red robes, black coffins, and the iPhones needed to tweet their protests, obviously). They also recently sprayed (from a firetruck) hundreds of gallons of fake blood at the UK treasury department in protest, presumably, of money.^[7]

3 Glued To Street

Here’s another from the Extinction Rebellion Group! Once again hoping to force politicians to implement policies created by the protest group to lower carbon emissions, members took to the streets of London and glued themselves to the roads and a variety of banks and trains. The purpose of the exercise is to block roads and bridges and cause as much disruption as possible. While it worked in the sense of causing trouble for the general populace, their protests were entirely ignored by those in power. One hundred and thirty five protesters were arrested in London for their trouble, and similar protests in New Zealand resulted in an additional thirty being arrested. None were charged so you can expect to see more of this behavior in the near future or until the protesters begin winning Darwin Awards, which has surprisingly not yet occurred.^[8]

2 Golden Showers

Heather Cassils is a female-to-male transgender performance artist and personal trainer from Canada who, upon hearing the news that President Trump was rescinding Obama’s trans-bathroom guidelines decided to start collecting all of the urine from his golden shower sexual activities in bottles to fill a 200 gallon tank at the Ronald Feldman Gallery. The act (as both art and protest) has received as many plaudits from the mainstream media as the artist has internationally recognized awards. It has been branded both “brave” and “powerful”. Heather sometimes collaborates with another group of artists called the Toxic Titties and also featured in Lady Gaga’s music video “Telephone”.^[9]

1 Laser Butt

A dance troupe going by the name of the Young Boy Dancing Group is “challenging gender and sexuality” by writhing around on the floor with laser lights in their buttholes. Honestly, I can’t believe I am typing that, but here we are: it’s 2019 and this is the world we live in. What the group aims to achieve is not entirely clear, but they are certainly giving it their best shot.

A reporter present at a performance described it thus: “[The] performance quickly became total mayhem, with group members flailing wildly, creating a mosh pit, and running amok to a pitched-down, jittery dance remix of Enya’s “Only Time. [. . . Y]ou haven’t lived until you’ve seen fluorescent laser light refracted in a million different directions off of a disco ball, the source of which is some dude’s asshole.”^[10]

History is filled with moments where citizens take to the streets to speak out against something they don’t agree with that impacts their lives. Of course, not every protest is powerful or consequential, but some have the power to change nations or even create them. Throughout the existence of civilizations, protests have been a way to provide a voice to the masses, challenge power, and change lives for the better. 

As with everything in history, it’s not always easy to overcome monumental problems. Some protests act as a catalyst for decades, if not centuries-long debates, while others affect change in mere months, if not days. What’s interesting about protests is that while some can fail in their implementation, they can still create change.  While not every protest can change the world, some of these did just that. 

10. The Iraq War Protests

The decision to invade Iraq had been in the making for some time in the Bush Administration. Members of the Bush administration had been seeking reasons to invade for years, and at the helm of this issue were Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. When 9/11 happened, the administration decided to use this to help justify their decisions through the ‘War on Terror’.  

The US had been providing numerous reasons to slowly preempt the forthcoming invasion, but the one that made the decision for them has been a stain on American foreign policy for decades. 

On February 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell was at the UN, delivering what would be a consequential speech providing reasons for the imminent invasion of Iraq. However, the problem with this speech was that many of the assertions turned out to be built on both weak and not credible intelligence. The Iraq War was built on the assertion that Saddam Hussein either possessed or was building weapons of mass destruction. This was all false.

Weeks after the speech by Powell at the UN and a month before the invasion began, millions worldwide began protesting the War in Iraq before it had even begun. In New York City, 200,000 people protested the war, and in Europe, some cities saw millions of people. In total, 600 cities worldwide participated in the protest. Unfortunately, the wheels were in motion, and the powers were determined to see the mission through. The Iraq War began on March 19, 2003, and lasted nearly a decade, ending on December 15, 2011. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found.

9. The Orange Revolution

It was 2004 when an election in Ukraine brought the country to its knees. As hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens flooded Kyiv’s main square, protests against the election results began. So, how did it get to this?

The 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections expected to see then-president Leonid Kuchma was expected to run for a third term which the Constitutional Court had recently permitted. However, he surprised everyone when he endorsed Viktor Yanukovych, who had friendly ties and the support of Vladimir Putin. While running for office, a challenger emerged with a strong chance of beating Yanukovych: Viktor Yushchenko. 

The campaign was brutal, but Yushchenko was becoming a thorn in Yanukovych’s side. By September, something changed, Yushchenko became ill, and it was later found that he’d been poisoned with dioxin. When the election came around, the first few rounds were won by both Yanukovych and Yushchenko, and ultimately, Yanukovych won the election. However, most Ukrainians didn’t believe the results to be true, and thus the protests began. 

For 12 days, demonstrations were carried out in Kyiv before the Supreme Court ruled the election was invalid on December 3 and ordered a new runoff for December 26. Yushchenko won the election. While in power, his presidency lost substantial support and was less successful than people had hoped. Regardless, the Orange Revolution put him in power, defeating corruption and providing a win for democracy.

8. The Protestant Reformation

When it comes to the Protestant Reformation, it’s interesting because this protest all started with a very important invention, the printing press. At the center of the protestant reformation is Gutenberg and his printing press.

The Protestant Reformation occurred in Europe during the 1500s and resulted in a new branch of Christianity known as Protestantism. The term Protestantism referred to all religious groups that had separated themselves from the Roman Catholic Church. The primary reason for this separation was a difference in doctrine, and this all began in Wittenberg, Germany, when Martin Luther published his ‘Dispute on the Power of Indulgences’ document on October 31, 1517. 

Luther’s document was also known as the ‘95 Theses.’ In the document, 95 ideas around Christianity challenged what everyone knew based on the Catholic Church’s teachings and opened up the possibility for debate. As you might assume, the Catholic Church wasn’t too pleased with this blatant descent and attempted to snuff out the movement that was sweeping throughout Europe. However, it was too late, religion and the Church’s power were being challenged in numerous ways, and it was all thanks to Martin Luthor, a monk and a teacher who questioned the influence the Catholic Church had. 

This protest started with simply nailing a document to a door and then distributing pamphlets. The reformation would result in significant changes to the Church’s power on the state, with one such example being Henry VIII’s dismantling of religious influence in England, getting the bible into the hands of the people, and dissolving monasteries and their wealth. 

7. Gandhi’s Salt March

India was under British rule from 1858 to 1947, and they set out a new law known as Britain’s Salt Act of 1882. This law stipulated that Indians were prohibited from collecting and selling salt. As a result of this law, Indians had to buy salt from British rulers who had a monopoly on the vital mineral and its sale. Even worse, they charged a hefty salt tax. Leading many in India to suffer, as salt was a staple in their diet. 

The Salt March started on March 12, 1930, but was announced 10 days prior, on March 2, by Gandhi, who sent the Viceroy Lord Irwin a letter. The protest lasted 24 days, starting with Gandhi and dozens of followers traveling to Dandi.

On April 5, they reached the coastal town of Dandi with a crowd now amassing tens of thousands of protestors. Early the following morning, they walked to the Arabian Sea to make salt. The British, having already known about his plans thanks to Gandhi’s letter, had destroyed salt flats on the beach. Gandhi, undeterred, picked up small clumps of natural salt from the mud and officially defied the British Salt Law. This spread along coastal cities and towns across India. 

The Salt March eventually resulted in increasing civil disobedience and unrest across India. Eventually, 60,000 people were arrested; among them was Gandhi, who was arrested on May 5. However, this didn’t stop the protests.

This protest was incredibly impactful for India as it brought global recognition to British policy in India and paved the way forward to India’s independence which was achieved in 1947. While the challenges in India were far from over, the Salt March remains one of the most important events in forming an independent India.

6. The Boston Tea Party

The British Empire was in extreme dept in the 1760s and most of the 16th century. So, to aid their financial problems, they looked to their colonies in America. The British began taxing just about anything and everything they could, starting with the 1765 Stamp Act. This act taxed all forms of paper documents in the colonies. They took this a major step forward with the 1767 Townshend Acts, which taxed essential items like glass, paper, lead, paint, and tea. 

The British believed the taxes were fair as most of their financial troubles came from fighting wars on the colonist’s behalf. However, the colonists didn’t agree and were furious about being taxed without representation. These two taxation acts would be the starting point of significant civil unrest in the 13 colonies. 

The first major altercation was the deadly riot known now as the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. This riot energized an anti-British sentiment. At the time of this conflict, back in Britain, the Prime Minister requested the Townshend Acts to be repealed, which they were except for the tax on tea, which generated among the highest revenue.

The 1773 Tea Act was crafted to help the floundering East India Company. This act allowed the EIC, a significant driver in the British economy, to monopolize the importation and sale of tea in the Colonies. The Sons of Liberty, a group of colonial merchants and tradesmen, rallied against the East India Company ships from arriving at Griffin’s Wharf. Despite this, they arrived on December 16, 1773. That night, a group of nearly 100 men disguised as Native Americans boarded the ships and unloaded 342 chests containing 45 tons of tea into the Boston Harbor in just three hours. 

Of course, this event had its consequences on the colonist, but it was a significant point in American history, and their quest for independence, which they’d later achieve in 1776 through the American Revolution. 

5. Berlin Wall Protests

Post-WW2 Germany was a mess. There’s no better depiction of that than the Berlin Wall. As a result of WW2, the country was divided into four ‘allied occupation zones’ and given to various allies from the War. So, Eastern Germany was given to the USSR, and the Western Part was split between the US, Great Britain, and France. 

Tensions between the West and the USSR began deteriorating relatively soon after WW2. The Berlin Wall’s construction is one of many examples in the Cold War of the worsening relations between the various nations. On August 12, 1961, the border in East Germany was closed for good, and construction began on the Berlin Wall. The makeshift wall was completed within two weeks, and thus getting in and out of East Germany became near-impossible. 

The primary reasoning behind the wall, at least according to the Soviets, was to keep Western fascists out. However, the real reason for the Berlin Wall was the harsh reality of mass defections from East Germany to West Germany. 

For nearly three decades, the Berlin Wall existed. Come 1989, tensions were high in East Germany due to economic problems, food shortages, and fears of the communist bloc falling to pieces following Chornobyl. On November 4, half a million East Germans began a mass protest in Alexanderplatz, in East Berlin.

On November 9, a news conference was held by Günter Schabowski, a senior East German Communist official. He was to announce new rules for traveling between East and West Germany in hopes of quelling the protests. But he didn’t even have time to read the new rules before attending the press conference. When he announced the relaxed border rules, he revealed that the order was effective immediately. However, it was actually only meant to go into effect the next day. That day, thousands of people flowed through the border between East and West Germany. Crowds of Germans began to dismantle the wall, therefore, ending a nearly three-decade separation. 

4. South Africa’s Defiance Campaign

In 1948, South Africa began what would be a near-half-century oppression campaign known as Apartheid. Apartheid was a means to govern relations between South Africa’s minority white and majority black population. The law sanctioned segregation, discrimination, and criminalization against the black population. 

It was four years later, on June 26, 1952, that the Defiance Campaign was launched by leaders — including of the African National Congress (among them Nelson Mandela), the Franchise Action Council, and the South African Indian Congress. It’s important to understand that during apartheid, these factions had no political representation in any form of the Afrikaans government. The protest was intended to be peaceful, but the punishment for such crimes was notably harsh and sometimes even deadly. 

This protest saw thousands of black South Africans blatantly defying unjust laws, striking, and creating general civil disobedience. The early years of this protest saw roughly 8,000 people getting arrested. This campaign led to some extreme moves by the Afrikaans government, including new laws and raiding political offices. Ultimately, this campaign was unsuccessful. It achieved its objective of causing chaos but not change. Instead, laws became stricter, fines higher, and sentences longer. The Defiance Campaign was the first major multicultural demonstration against apartheid; one South Africa doesn’t forget.

3. The Storming of the Bastille

The end of the 18th century saw France on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to involvement in the American Revolution and the spending habits of King Louis XVI. This compounded with the reality that the country was experiencing several years of terrible harvests, a drought, skyrocketing bread prices, and livestock disease. This all resulted in a rise in civil unrest across the country. The French Revolution began informally in 1787 against the King of France and what we now refer to as the ancien régime (old order), which was a classist political system dividing citizens into the three estates: clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and everyone else (Third Estate). 

In response to the unrest, efforts to moderately change France began by drawing up a constitution. However, these talks broke down as the three estates reached an impasse, leading the third estate to break away from the Traditional Assembly. The newly formed National Assembly members took an oath, now famously known as the Tennis Court Oath, to draw up a constitution, becoming a powerful act of defiance against the king.

Fears grew that King Louis XVI would send the army to crush the unofficial gathering of the National Assembly. As a result, French Citizens took to the streets heading to the center of Paris to defend the rights of the people. On July 14, 1789, the crowd armed with swords, muskets, and various other weapons- some even makeshift- gathered around the Bastille prison. The protestors stormed the Bastille, capturing and killing the military governor, seizing 250 barrels of gunpowder, and taking control of the Bastille. 

This moment is significant as it marked the formal start of the French Revolution and gave incredible momentum in what would become a decades-long fight. This moment in history showcased the power of the people and helped to shape the ideas upon which modern democracies were built. The Bastille symbolized the monarchy’s dictatorial rule, and with its fall, so did the rule of law and the monarchy’s power. By 1792, the monarchy was formally abolished with the beheading of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. 

2. Tiananmen Square

If we look at China, we know it not to be a nation of protests, and that’s for good reasons. For over a century, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been known for having a tremendous amount of power and influence over its people. It’s a very complex country, known for many things, both good and bad, but it’s not known for its protests or uprising because they rarely occur. 

During the 1980s, China was changing. The CCP was becoming more receptive to private companies and foreign investment and was slowly beginning to open up to the world, albeit in a limited capacity. These changes were brought about by Deng Xiaoping, who served as the Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China. This created some problems, though. 

Civil unrest in China began due to several factors, including limits on political freedom, ongoing economic troubles, lack of jobs, increased poverty, and inadequate education, not preparing students for a Chinese economy with elements of free market capitalism. This is what led to the student protests beginning on May 13, 1989. 

On May 20, martial law was enacted, 250,000 troops went to Beijing, and by the end of May, the protest had grown to roughly a million protestors. The marches were relatively peaceful until June 4. The CCP hoped that military presence would be enough to quell the protests, but they were wrong. So, in the early hours of the morning on June 4, soldiers and tanks descended on the square, firing live rounds into the crowd and setting off what became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. 

The exact number of how many people died or were arrested that day is, and will remain, unclear. Western journalists on the scene stated they’d estimate hundred to thousands of deaths being primarily protestors. By June 5, they’d secured the square and shown the people of China what descent can bring. 

1. March On Washington

America’s history is fraught with civil unrest and protests. Many of these protests and conflicts stem from a similar place: race relations. Slavery ended in the 19th century, 1865, to be more specific, but that didn’t mean The US was where it needed to be with equality. Segregation existed in many forms across the country in the form of Jim Crow laws. These laws were designed to separate white and black Americans through discrimination in African Americans’ ability to vote, get an education, hold jobs, etc. Defiance of these laws resulted, for the most part, in incarceration, fines, violence, and even death. 

Throughout America’s history, there have been many occasions where race relations have been challenged. However, on August 28, 1963, one of the most famous examples of such a demonstration occurred. Led by famed civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr., A. Phillip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis, more than 250,000 people of various races gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in the National Mall to demand equal justice for all citizens under US law. 

In July of 1963, President Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act. While initially hesitant in 1961, when he began his term as president, protests across the country- primarily in the South- were causing the issue to become far harder to ignore. The March on Washington gave existence to one of the most famous speeches in the world, Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.

As we know from history, Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963, leaving the Civil Rights Act in the newly sworn-in Lyndon B. Johnson’s hands, and was signed into law in 1964. The March on Washington was one of countless protests that occurred across the nation in an attempt to solidify equality for all, a fight that continues to this day.

The writer Mike Sasso said, “Originality is the best form of rebellion.” He was surely right because a protest with an unexpected twist stands out from the rest. Adding a touch of originality, perhaps humor can make a protest newsworthy and, if done well, makes the message memorable.

People protest because they believe something is wrong and feel that a protest may make others listen. Hopefully, the protest reaches those in authority, but the ability to protest shows that democracy is alive and well. Here are ten bizarre protests you didn’t know about.

Related: Top 10 Bizarre Recent Protests

10 It’s Laundry Day

Alberto Fujimori, a Peruvian of Japanese origin, became president of Peru in 1990. He was always a controversial figure—left-wingers described him as a dictator—but many ordinary citizens supported him even when evidence that he was corrupt started to surface.

In 2000, Fujimori stood for re-election, but a group of Peruvian women was not impressed. They were convinced that the president was guilty of abuse of power and crushing opposition through violence. For months, they gathered on Lima’s main square and repeatedly laundered the Peruvian flag—a symbolic gesture that showed that the system needed a thorough cleaning.

After Fujimori wasn’t re-elected, he fled to Japan in November 2000. On an ill-advised visit to Chile in 2005, authorities arrested him and extradited him to Peru. He faced four trials over the next few years. The court found him guilty of various crimes ranging from corruption to murder. He received a 250year sentenced, but In March 2022, the Constitutional Court of Peru approved his release. However, that decision was reversed just two weeks later. As of today, he is still in prison.

9 Showin’ Some Skin

Highway 32 links Leader to the nearest city of Swift Current in Saskatchewan, Canada. Leader has a population under 900, and Swift Current boasts around 17,000 people. Yet, this is no excuse for neglecting 100 miles of pavement. One cheap solution that officials tried was to gravel the entire surface. In the rain, vehicles sank into the gravel and got stuck.

Sick and tired of potholes that damaged cars and made even ambulance drivers reluctant to use the road, residents in Leader hit on a novel way to get the authorities to take notice. In 2006, local residents posed semi-naked next to their favorite pothole, took photos, and designed a calendar. An international success, the funds raised from the sale went toward a new community center in Leader, and the Highway Department re-paved the entire road.

8 Mooning Royalty

Te Ringa Mangu Mihaka is better known as Dun Mihaka. A lifelong and still active defender of Maori rights and traditions in New Zealand, Mihaka is a writer and political candidate. Perhaps his most famous protest occurred when Prince Charles and Princess Diana were on a six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983.

For Mihaka, these representatives of the British Crown were potent symbols of oppression and disregard for Maori First Nation rights. One of the main reasons for Diana’s popularity was that she seemed to bring a human touch to the stilted ceremonial world of the British royal family. Mihaka took this informality a little further.

Mihaka surprised Charles and Diana by performing the ritual act of whakapohane as they were passing by—mooning, in other words. He also did the same when the Queen and Prince Philip visited in 1986. Mihaka’s insult showed just what he thought of their status; this action is still used today to model your distaste for others.

7 Streaking for Change

With his trademark charm, David Niven was presenting the Oscars at the 1974 ceremony. Niven was about to present the award for Best Picture when Robert Opel streaked across the stage. Opel was completely naked and flashed a peace sign. NBC broadcasted the entire episode live. Niven commented that this was bound to happen—streaking was in its heyday.

Opel wasn’t arrested, but he was asked to explain himself. Although he was a gay rights activist, he claimed that his streak was a more general protest against a society that was too conformist. This view of society was echoed in Opel’s other persona, Mr. Penis—a costumed crusader well-known in San Francisco.

In San Francisco, Opel ran an art gallery that showcased homoerotic art. In 1979, intruders burst into his gallery and demanded drugs and money. Opel refused, and the burglars shot and killed him.

6 Love Your Lobster

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, commonly known as PETA, is a group with a talent for imaginative activism. Founded in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1980, PETA now has an international presence and fights against any abuse of animals. Animals have rights, PETA says, and should never be used in medical experiments, as food, or as entertainment.

In 2008, PETA bought an old prison in Maine to set up a Lobster Empathy Center. In their letter to state commissioners, the group wrote:

“A prison is the perfect setting to demonstrate how lobsters suffer when they are caught in traps or confined to cramped, filthy supermarket tanks. The center will teach visitors to have compassion for these interesting, sensitive animals while also commemorating the millions of lobsters who are ripped from their homes in the ocean off the coast of Maine each year before being boiled alive.”

Young visitors received a stuffed toy—a lobster, of course.

5 All in Class—Baa None!

Some protestors try to pull the wool over the eyes of authority. In France, this was taken almost literally. A school in Saint-Nazaire had one class that was one student less than the state minimum stipulated. The authorities closed the class. This annoyed students, teachers, and parents alike.

The parents occupied the school, and the teachers registered Vincent P. as a new student to bring numbers back up. Meanwhile, the students found a book bag for Vincent and made sure that he had enough to eat as the protest raged.

Vincent was a small, cute, black sheep. We don’t know how well he did academically, but the protest succeeded, and class resumed.

4 Angels in Anchorage

In the 1990s, many residents of Anchorage, Alaska, were thoroughly fed up with the local parking authority (APA). They were, it seemed, happily handing out tickets for offenses that had nothing to do with parking. Offenses include having snow tires fitted out of season, a cracked windshield, or having a license plate sticker on the wrong side of the plate. Caroline Pacillo got a ticket for the last-named infraction.

She and her sister decided it was time to wage war on the APA. The Pacillo sisters were formidable opponents. They collected donations and, dressed as sparkling fairies, went around downtown Anchorage, topping up meters that were about to expire. The APA patrolled on foot to beat them to the meters, but the Pacillo sisters motored around in a pink three-wheeler, beating them wherever they went. Highly visible and highly motivated, the sisters gained more and more public support.

The APA lost $100,000 in revenue in one year and disbanded after four years of campaigning.

3 Thriller, Thriller Night

We can’t know if Michael Jackson took any interest in the problems of the Chilean education system, but he was to play an important part in an attempt to reform it.

Students in Chile had long protested that the education system needed fixing and tuition fees were way too high. A wave of protests in 2011 involved banging pots and pans with protestors making a nuisance of themselves. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem to be getting very far despite months of effort.

So, in mid-2011, 3,000 protestors gathered in front of the presidential palace. They had loudspeakers and were dressed as zombies. On cue, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” blasted, and the protestors copied his dance moves in a well-practiced effort to make their protest stand out. It didn’t work, but it was memorable.

Chile is one of the most successful countries in South America, but protests continue regarding its education system.

2 Bring on the Clowns

The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) had its origins in a protest against President George W. Bush’s 2003 visit to London. From humble beginnings, the group has risen to become an international movement that stages protests all over the world.

CIRCA is not a group of people who dress up as clowns—they are clowns. Members study the craft with professional help; there are manuals and training programs. They feel deeply about the causes that they support but take their craft seriously.

A stated aim of the group is to combine non-violent, direct action with clowning. Obviously, the group is highly-visible and offers photographers the perfect shot when the police intervene. Highly effective, in other words.

1 Fight Back with Barry

Health authorities in New Zealand took a very hard line when it came to combatting coronavirus. The country isolated itself from the outside world and attempted to vaccinate the entire population. As in many other places, this did not go down well with some of the population. In many countries, similar protests became heated and sometimes violent. Not in New Zealand.

Protestors gathered on the lawns outside the parliament building. There were only a few hundred, but they made a lot of noise and got a lot of press coverage. Not willing to risk a violent confrontation, the authorities turned on the sprinklers. This had the opposite effect to that intended. Protestors dug trenches with drains, and a downpour made the measures irrelevant. More protestors turned up to enjoy the fun, bringing bales of straw to sit on and spending their time dancing and shouting. Soaked but happy, the protestors carried on.

The government fought back. They set up loudspeakers that broadcast messages, the catchy dance tune “Macarena,” and Barry Manilow songs on a constant loop. The protestors responded with their own songs. All had great fun until the protest petered out. Both sides dealt with a potentially highly charged confrontation with great good humor.