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Bill Williams, The Unusual Adventurer Who Pushed A Peanut 22 Miles Up A Mountain With Only His Nose
In 1929, a Texas man scaled Pikes Peak with a peanut and his proboscis
Humans continue to prove that the limits of our abilities have not yet been capped. Thousands of years into our history, we are still coming up with new and sometimes weird ways to demonstrate our resiliency and capabilities. Showing that nothing is truly outside our grasp, nearly a century ago, a Texas man gained widespread notoriety after pushing a peanut up a mountain by using his nose.
In 1929, Bill Williams of Rio Hondo, Texas gained the kind of attention one can only assume they would never dream of. He bet a group of his neighbors $500 (more than $9,000 in modern value) that he could guide a peanut up the 14,115 foot Pikes Peak, located in Manitou, Colorado, by only using his nose.
Williams was allowed 22 days to complete the 22-mile hike/push. He was known as a bit of a braggart and stuntman, having already made a splash the year before after pushing a peanut 11 miles along roads to pay up after he lost a wager on the outcome of the presidential election after he backed Al Smith for the highest office in the land.
Telling anyone who would listen that he could “push a peanut anywhere,” he arranged his new bet by allowing his gambling partners to choose the location. Planning to complete one mile a day, Williams fastened what was called a “long pusher” to his face. The contraption was strapped around his head with a thin handle protruding to push the peanut, appearing much like the shaft of a golf club sticking out from the area of his nose.
Wearing knee pads, the daily progress of Williams up the mountain was tortuous. His knees were scraped and blistered, and he had to battle snow and ice at times. He also had to carry a small sack of peanuts with him to ensure he had enough to survive the rough terrain.
Newspapers had a field day with such frivolity. Zingers appeared regularly, poking fun at the odd spectacle, such as, “Bill had better be careful. The squirrels are said to be following his bag of nuts. Maybe it’s Bill they’re after.”
