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---
title: National Pickle Day: Photos From Celebration in 1949
description: See photos from National Pickle Week in 1949, including a shot of the man who floated in a vat filled with more than 200,000 pickles.
canonical: https://time.com/4103468/pickle-day/
author: Eliza Berman
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2015-11-13T14:00:24.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:50.240Z
og:title: Celebrate Pickle Day by Floating in a Giant Vat of Pickles
og:description: See photos from National Pickle Week in 1949, including a shot of the man who floated in a vat filled with more than 200,000 pickles.
og:url: https://time.com/4103468/pickle-day/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0222242ea33dcfa3/69886ffe0a4a22f6589c6ed1/151105-pickle-day-07.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 675
og:image:alt: National Pickle Week, 1949.
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Celebrate Pickle Day by Floating in a Giant Vat of Pickles
twitter:description: See photos from National Pickle Week in 1949, including a shot of the man who floated in a vat filled with more than 200,000 pickles.
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0222242ea33dcfa3/69886ffe0a4a22f6589c6ed1/151105-pickle-day-07.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0222242ea33dcfa3/69886ffe0a4a22f6589c6ed1/151105-pickle-day-07.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Celebrate Pickle Day by Floating in a Giant Vat of Pickles


![Eliza Berman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5d202c23ada34d0/698a0ab4b21a9c4d3f503362/200115_Time_Headshots_Day451119.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)


![Eliza Berman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5d202c23ada34d0/698a0ab4b21a9c4d3f503362/200115_Time_Headshots_Day451119.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Eliza Berman


Berman is a senior editor at TIME.

Nov 13, 2015 2:00 PM UTC

![National Pickle Week, 1949. With the Three Stooges.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0222242ea33dcfa3/69886ffe0a4a22f6589c6ed1/151105-pickle-day-07.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

The Pickle Queen poses with the Three Stooges during National Pickle Week, 1949.

The Pickle Queen poses with the Three Stooges during National Pickle Week, 1949.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![Eliza Berman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5d202c23ada34d0/698a0ab4b21a9c4d3f503362/200115_Time_Headshots_Day451119.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)


![Eliza Berman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5d202c23ada34d0/698a0ab4b21a9c4d3f503362/200115_Time_Headshots_Day451119.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Eliza Berman


Berman is a senior editor at TIME.

Nov 13, 2015 2:00 PM UTC

There are many ways to celebrate National Pickle Day on Nov. 14, the tastiest of which would be to enjoy a half-sour or a kosher dill. Another option? Floating in giant vat of pickles, as modeled by Mr. Dill Pickle, a fortuitously named resident of Mississippi, during the inaugural Pickle Week celebration in 1949.

In what may be the most alliterative article ever published in LIFE magazine—“Packers preach their product’s perfection with a peck of publicity,” reads the deck below the headline—an image of Mr. Pickle appears above a description of the activities organized by the National Pickle Packer’s Association:

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> “”

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From a business standpoint, the week was a success: Pickle sales increased by 22%. From a floating-in-a-vat-of-brined-cucumbers perspective: also a major win.

_Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._

![Mr. Dill Pickle of Mississippi reclines happily in a rubber boat amid 204,681 soggy pickles.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d42a61ba8a77f9a/69886ffc196cf40f92038dde/151105-pickle-day-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Caption from LIFE. Mr. Dill Pickle of Mississippi reclines happily in a rubber boat amid 204,681 soggy pickles. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4c6025a7bf60d8/69886ffc524fc0dce5df55d9/151105-pickle-day-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

A giant pickle adorns the front of a car for National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7f900a721aeb206/69886ffde20a8704aba8e15a/151105-pickle-day-03.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Men take a break after stacking barrels of pickles for National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![Man showing off pickles for National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8037e1f8ed861703/69886ffee20a871e10a8e15e/151105-pickle-day-04.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

A man delivers a presentation on pickles during National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00b9cacbc515ec5/69886ffde20a874b39a8e156/151105-pickle-day-05.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Drinking out of a pickle, National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images


![National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt227a8fb7fe1a571f/69886ffe8e0601738246335a/151105-pickle-day-06.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Putting finishing touches on a gigantic pickle, National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![National Pickle Week, 1949. With the Three Stooges.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0222242ea33dcfa3/69886ffe0a4a22f6589c6ed1/151105-pickle-day-07.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The Pickle Queen poses with the Three Stooges during National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19428bc53214760e/69886fffcf40a8399bc408b2/151105-pickle-day-08.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The Pickle Queen, National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images


![Models showing off pickles for National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5619c8207d8343d/69886fff0a4a2275a09c6ed5/151105-pickle-day-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Models show off pickles for National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

![National Pickle Week, 1949.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8404ccdae39d80fa/69886ffff887dc4a5ce93332/151105-pickle-day-10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Group shot with Pickle Queen, the Three Stooges and others during National Pickle Week, 1949. Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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