The Cannonball run is celebrated annually on the Galle Face Green in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to commemorate a misfiring of a British Artillery cannon in 1840.
The 30-pound cannon had misfired during a practice session around the southern ramparts of the Colombo Fort.
It crashed through the roof and ceiling and fell into a drawing room, where landed on the "squared chunam and terra-cotta floor leaving a heavy dent where it rolled under a chair and remained".
The British Governor of Ceylon at that time Sir Colin Campbell on hearing of the incident rushed to the scene to view the "mischief" done by "the incredible Cannonball".
The event has been marked over the years by the run, which is organised by the Galle Face Hotel.