Baskets of Shit (Ultima)

Baskets of Shit refers to a now-banned-but-still-conducted annual event in which people from God Tere Norld living in villages situated on the Windhelm River and people from the Granish Federation who live on the Red River float down containers filled with excrement towards the other nation.

History
Since time immemorial, inhabitants of the Windhelm River sent gifts downstream (southward) in baskets. The rule was that the next village would collect the gifts sent from upstream, and then send their own gifts in turn. In exchange for not getting any gifts, the northernmost village would receive a sort of "reparation" in the spring thaw. This event was called the Basketfloat by locals.

When the people of God Tere Norld learned about this tradition, their hatred of the Granish obligated them to respond. One fateful year, several Norldians snuck past the Granish border and intercepted the first batch of gifts, replacing them with baskets full of ferihund excrement. The ensuing uproar led to the Norldian deception being discovered. As revenge, Granishmen living on the northward Red River began to play the same trick. Year after year, these "Baskets of Shit" became a routine occurence. After border guards were posted, Norldians could no longer steal the gifts. However, they nevertheless continued to float the baskets down every fall, and the Granish too, kept up the tradition, with both sides floating down so many baskets that intercepting them all was an impossibility.

In 1841, both nations mutually agreed to ban the practice, citing disease risks. However, the event still continues to this day, albeit without government sanctioning.

Famous Incidents
In 1924, a Norldian naval destroyer that was scheduled to be scrapped, named Kadit De Grot, was stolen from the shipbreaking yard by a retired naval captain and his two sons. The thieves piloted the vessel down the deepest sections of the Windhelm before mooring it at a ferihund ranch. After quickly filling up the ship with animal feces, the captain's sons dragged it by tugboat and set it loose over the Granish border. Hours later, the northernmost Granish villages were greeted with the sight of a massive warship leaking waste into their waters. The Kadit later sank, having traveled some 70 kilometers into the Federation.

Possible Disease Outbreaks
Due to the consistent exposure of leaking fecal matter into the water, the Baskets of Shit have been blamed for numerous cholera outbreaks. In 1841, both Norld and the Federation banned the practice of floating containers of excrement down the rivers, although the practice still persists in a limited form.