Pillow fights are one of those innocent activities that are pretty much harmless when you’re a child. A few bumps here and there of course, but that competitive nasty streak hasn’t quite come home to roost.

A pillow fight between freshmen cadets at the United States Military Academy in New York is a different beast altogether, a tradition dating back to 1897 that ends the seven weeks of basic training.

It’s worth mentioning that for those seven weeks cadets are not supposed to talk to each other, meaning the pillow fight is the first time they can let that one douche in the class know just how hated they are. Here’s the BBC:

[The fight] left at least 30 soldiers injured.

At least 24 cadets were reported to have been left unconscious because pillows were stuffed with hard objects.

One cadet suffered a broken nose, while others had dislocated shoulders.

…this year’s event seems to have been a little over-exuberant, with pillow cases reported to have been stuffed with hard objects, thought to have been helmets.

Like most things in life it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, from which point on it apparently becomes even better. This below from Gawker:

“At first the body count, people were joking about it,” a female first-year cadet [said]. “My friends were really excited. And right after, when we learned how many people had gotten hurt, everyone felt totally hard-core. I know it looks weird from the outside, but it really bonds us.”

There’s plenty to be said for walloping someone who has been pissing on your parade for seven weeks, I will give them that. The idea of stuffing a helmet into a pillow case is however beyond me – to each their own I guess.

[sources:bbc&gawker]