A brief history of politicians and the things people throw at them (Rob Ford and a glass of juice included)

A brief history of politicians and the things people throw at them (Rob Ford and a glass of juice included)

Game of ThrowsA silly woman threw a cup of juice on Rob Ford at a Little Italy street festival this weekend, sparking a slew of news articles, a predictably lame joke from brother Doug and the reluctant concession from the mayor that he may need a security detail. Of course, Ford is hardly the first public figure to be targeted by a riled up citizen with low impulse control. He’s now part of an elite club of political figures that have been ambushed by protestors with makeshift weapons, like Sarah Palin, George W. Bush and many more. A quick retrospective of the most awkward projectile-meets-politician incidents below.


Eggs: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnie barely seemed to notice when he was hit in the shoulder with an egg during his 2003 gubernatorial campaign in California. The Terminator star coolly shed his jacket and cracked a joke about wanting some bacon.


Shoes: George W. Bush

While George Bush was in Iraq in 2008, an Iraqi television journalist took off his shoes and chucked them at the president, who ducked with laudable quickness.


Green Custard: Lord Mandelson

In 2009, an environmental activist threw green-tinted custard on Peter Mandelson as he arrived to a low-carbon summit in London. The British business secretary later said, “She was so busy throwing what seemed like green soup or something in my face that she failed to tell me what the protest was about but, as you can see, thankfully is wasn’t paint and I’ve come through it intact.”


Tomatoes: Sarah Palin

During a 2009 book signing in a mall in Minnesota, a man threw a couple of tomatoes at the politican-turned-author, but missed her entirely, hitting a police commander instead. Palin didn’t even know about the incident until later.


Flour: François Hollande

Hollande, a presidential candidate in France’s 2012 election, expressed mild surprise after being hit with a bag of flour at a campaign appearance. He took a few minutes to shake out his hair, then resumed his speech.


Glitter: Mitt Romney

In February 2012, a protestor in Minnesota threw a shower of glitter on the then-presidential hopeful, who played it off like it was confetti. Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum were all also glitter-bombed during the race.

(Images: Sarah Palin, Pete Marovich/Getty Images News; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scott Barbour/Getty Images News)