--- description: Flash mobs gather around the world to fight it out with cushy weapons title: Pillow Fighting Around the World image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # Pillow Fighting Around the World by [TIME](/author/time/) Apr 5, 2010 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Apr 5, 2010 4:00 AM CUT Flash mobs gather around the world to fight it out with cushy weapons ### Budapest  Over the weekend of April 3-4, 2010, crowds of people gathered in 150 cities worldwide to whack one another with pillows. Szilard Koszticsak / EPA ### Geneva  Participants reported that feathery pillows did not last long in the scrum. Martial Trezzini / EPA ### New York City  The events were organized through social networks. Daniel Barry / EPA ### Paris  Most of the fights lasted no more than a few minutes. The bout at the base of the Eiffel Tower was over in 15 minutes. Benoit Tessier / Reuters ### Lausanne, Switzerland  Two groups devoted to interactive public fun, the Urban Playground Movement and NewMindSpace, spearheaded the organization of the gatherings. Denis Balibouse / Reuters ### Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  A pillow warrior arrives in full gear. Syamsul Bahri Muhammad / Zumapress ### Washington, D.C.  The battle in the U.S. capital took place beneath the Washington Monument. Jay Westcott / Polaris ### Edinburgh, Scotland  Said one participant: "It's really funny, quite frankly. It's a great atmosphere. It's not violent — it's just to release your energy. It's great fun." PA / Landov ### Budapest  In some cities, only a few pillow fighters participated; in others, hundreds whacked it out. Szilard Koszticsak / EPA ### Rio de Janeiro  The event is held in early spring every year. To see a list of locations and times, go to www.pillowfightday.com. Xinhua / Landov Pillow Fighting Around the World - Photo Essays - TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7056095/pillow-fighting-around-the-world/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7056095/pillow-fighting-around-the-world/"},"headline":"Pillow Fighting Around the World","datePublished":"2010-04-05T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:45:26.805Z","description":"Flash mobs gather around the world to fight it out with cushy weapons","url":"https://time.com/archive/7056095/pillow-fighting-around-the-world/","keywords":["LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7056095/pillow-fighting-around-the-world/","name":"Pillow Fighting Around the World"}}]}] ```