From a European point of view, this has got to be the best pieces of Americana I've seen for a long time. The Economist has a great article on Punkin Chunkin, a "sport" in which one builds air-powered superguns to shoot pumpkins as far as possible.

Quote: "All in all, Punkin Chunkin is a symbol of what makes America great. Only in the richest country on earth could regular guys spend tens of thousands of dollars building a pumpkin gun. Only in a nation with such a fine tradition of inventiveness, not to mention martial prowess, would so many choose to. And only in a land of wide open spaces would they be able to practise their chunkin without killing their neighbours."