A cooler of frozen pancakes and skillets are laid out before the annual Pancake Races on Shrove Tuesday (more commonly known as Mardi Gras) at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Teams from the National Cathedral, St. Alban's parish church, and affiliated schools race each other, flipping pancakes all the way as they as they compete for the coveted Golden Skillet, the competitions top prize. Billed as the only event of its kind in Washington celebrating the British tradition of "Pancake Day, as Mardi Gras is often known there, to mark the last day before the beginning of Lent. In centuries past, cooking pancakes made good use of eggs, butter, and milk, all rich foods that are traditionally eschewed during the forty days of Lent. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)