The first Durham Pun Championship, held July 9 at the Regulator Bookshop, Durham, N.C., drew 200 people and was "pure pundamonium," owner Tom Campbell said. The championship was also written up at punny length in Independent Weekly, which included a video in which George Gopen, a rhetoric professor at Duke and the main judge of the event, discussed the art of the pun.
Championship rules were based on the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships, held annually in Austin, Tex. In pairs, some 25 contestants were given a subject and had to come up with a relevant pun in 10 seconds--and on and on. The prize was a "claret jug," which Independent Weekly described as "a tarnished-yet-cherished silver pitcher engraved with 'Metropolis Country Club Tennis Championship 1934.' "
Campbell said that the idea for the contest came from The Pun Also Rises by John Pollack (Gotham), an April title that includes a description of a pun contest. And judging from the turnout and Independent Weekly story, the result was well pun!
