Staring Contest Postcard

Portland, Oregon was the site of the first professional staring contests West of the Mississippi, in 1903. Pictured on our postcard are the reigning champions, Alice T Mundy and Baxter Burnside square off in a championship match to the death. In 1904, bloody rivalries erupted between the Southeast and the Southwest staring gangs that ended in numerous arrests, several deaths and countless strained eyes.