Candle Auction

The old custom of “selling by candle” is still observed in scattered locations throughout England, among them the village of Tatworth in Somerset. Every year on the Tuesday following April 6, six acres of valuable watercress-growing land are leased to the highest bidder. The bidders gather behind locked doors in a room illuminated only by a candle stuck to a board. A pin is inserted into the candle an inch below the flame; as the candle burns, the melting wax eventually releases the pin. The person who got the last bid in before the pin dropped will be able to use the land in the year to come. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary