For far too long the Philippines have languished in a void of cultural irrelevance, known primarily for their women becoming nurses or mail order brides. But that’s all about to change, as the country’s protagonists of enrichment are going to put themselves on the map for something truly important – pillow fighting.

The owners of the Hotel Sogo, which boasts 20 locations throughout the Philippines, are urging their fellow countrymen to join them as “United Pillow Fighters”, which can bring in a completely different crowd if written poorly, as part of Pillow Fight Manila 2001 and an attempt at breaking the world pillow fighting record.

“We will call on our kababayans (fellowmen) to help us break the world record for the largest number of people participating in a pillow fight,” Gus Corpus, Hotel Sogo’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Hotel Sogo said a wave of pillow fights will run in colleges and universities starting this month to encourage people ages 16 and above to register as “United Pillow Fighters.”

Among these schools are the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where over 100 students took part in a pillow fight last Friday, July 1. (Via ABS-CBN News)

The current record is held by a group in England that gathered 3,706 participants in 2008 to benefit the BBC’s Children in Need event. Corpus wants at least 5,000 Filipinos to join him at his event, which doesn’t have an official venue or date yet, but who cares about silly little details like that?

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One of the best things about living in New York is that there are all sorts of cool, offbeat things going on here that you end up hearing about after they happen. Or you hear about them but they're going on in another borough or you already have plans to get drunk with friends. That kind of stuff.

One such event was Saturday's mass pillow fight in Union Square. There's endless footage of the feathers flying on YouTube, but here's one of the videos.

I would have participated, but I got a lifetime ban after some ugliness last year. It's bullshit, actually. Like I'm the only person who uses a sackful of nickels as a pillow.

…And I use the term "sexy" loosely. This video would have gotten "New Favorite Sport" status were it not for two things: (1) this seems to be more "pillow-wrestling" than "pillow-fighting," and as a pillow-fighting purist, I'm disappointed; and (2) a chick dressed in lederhosen is simply not sexy. Well, unless you're a lesbian.

But I've become such a proponent of sexy female sports like bikini bullriding and Jell-O wrestling that I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't show you this. (Warning: you get some be-thonged female ass here, so if you're at work, you might want to turn the monitor away from your cubicle's entrance.)

I must say, though: I'm glad to see the short skirt and thong defeat lederhosen. It's a little something I like to call "sexy justice." It's a term I coined when I started crimefighting.

(More info about the pillow-fighting league and the world championships in Toronto are available at Gridskipper.)