It is said that everyone should have a hobby. According to psychological studies, hobbies help us cope with stress, make new acquaintances, and find a balance between work and leisure. Sometimes hobbies even help us look more attractive in the eyes of others or liven up a boring resume.
Originally, hobbies existed solely to have fun. But when people really excel at something, even if that means damn weird hobbies, they want to compete with other enthusiasts. So before you know it, a new world championship is born.
While it takes thousands of hours of training to win a world championship in running or jumping, some hobbies require not so much talent as tenacity. And sometimes, all you need is just to be a little weird.
20. Swamp Soccer
It sounds strange, of course, but it really is. A standard soccer game, only the field is not the classic one, with a green lawn and markings, but a huge mud puddle. So instead, players choose an area with natural swampy terrain and enjoy running around, almost floating on the “field.”
Special standard swampy fields are created for championships (yes, yes, championships!). Oddly enough, the game’s rules are also there and somewhat different from classic soccer. First of all, players fight in cleats. Throughout the game, which consists of two halves of 13 minutes each, it is forbidden to change shoes. If a player fighting in cleats loses a cleat, he leaves the field.
The pros of this hobby:
- If, as a child, you dreamed of climbing into the biggest puddle of mud and wallowing in it properly, but your mother wouldn’t let you, you can make up for it;
- a chance to work out your whole body;
- It’s one of those weird hobbies, and it’s incredibly fun.
19. Pancake tossing
Here, too, the name corresponds to reality. The pancakes used are the most real ones – made from eggs and flour.
Such a hobby requires a lot of effort and stamina. Just look at the rules of participation in the world championship, which takes place in Britain! Only 25 housewives dressed in traditional costumes can take part. The participants run for almost 400 meters, and the moment they cross the finish line, they have to toss and flip a pancake.
If you suddenly realize that you can not live without flipping pancakes, go to the town of Olney in the United States and show your power to an appreciative audience. Remember that you will have to live in Olney for at least three months before the competition begins. The rules are tough, but it’s no big deal for the true devotees of weird hobbies.
18. Turning Dogs into Other Animals
This unusual hobby consists of shearing and dyeing dogs’ fur. You don’t know what you’re up to (we had time to get up to speed before we figured out what’s what).
The standard haircut dog depends on his breed. Still, the hobby of turning the animal into a whole new representative of fauna (and not only) is a special kind of grooming. Dogs are turned into dragons, giraffes, movie characters, and many other incredible creatures. Of course, this unusual hobby has found many followers. Therefore, it is not surprising that competitions are held in Pennsylvania. The jury evaluates the creativity of the image, the safety of wool dyes, and the quality of the haircut.
If your weekends have become boring and your puppy is too active, now you know what to do. Perhaps your four-legged friend will not appreciate the effort. Still, he will notice the increased attention to his fluffy person.
17. Throwing cell phones
Hammer, discus, and kettlebell throwing competitions are a thing of the past. Throwing cell phones is one of the new and weird hobbies. This uncomplicated sport, like wading soccer, was invented in Finland. They must have a trained person specializing in inventing leisure activities for bored citizens.
The annual championship takes place in the town of Savonlinna in Finland. Participants use special phones donated for throwing. It is allowed to choose any device, but using your own gadget is strictly prohibited.
Phones are thrown in the distance, competing, whose device will fly farther. But, of course, you wonder what the distance of the record throw is – 110.42 meters. Can you do the same?
16. Riding a bicycle through a swamp with a snorkel
Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? For this hobby, you will need the following:
- A deep trench.
- Muddy water with a characteristic swampy smell in the volume needed to fill the trench.
- A bicycle.
- Mask and snorkel.
- Free time and some effort.
The hobby first appeared in Wales. After getting on a bicycle, a person rides along the bottom of a specially dug trench about 50 meters long. The trick is that the trench is dug right in a swampy area rich in peat.
The bike is additionally weighted with metal to ride on the bottom of the bog, and the driver wears a wetsuit to keep warm. Then, all you have to do is get from one end of the trench to the other.
Visibility while driving is practically zero. It’s a good thing that a mask and breathing tube are provided. The depth of the trench is usually at least 2 meters. Adherents of such a hobby often arrange competitions between themselves on the ride’s speed. So this is one of those weird hobbies which is great for pumping your legs!
And since recently, in Wales, an annual world championship for this type of riding has been held. Participants dress up in masquerade costumes before the race to make it as spectacular as possible.
15. Cheese race
Racers compete in rolling cheese heads down the slope. The weight of the “projectile” is 3-4 kilograms, and the participant must accompany the flavorful traveler during the descent. You can train on your own, but the competition takes place in a specially designated place – in Gloucestershire, England.
The championship rules are simple: whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner. But before you choose this type of hobby as your favorite, let’s be clear: Running for cheese is dangerous. During the descent, the head of cheese picks up speeds of up to 110 km/h, so riders don’t keep up with it, and attempts often end in falls, sprains, and even fractures. Therefore, among other weird hobbies, this “sport” can be safely called extreme.
14. Jumping over children
In Spain, there is an annual festival dedicated to beating the devil. This activity looks as ridiculous as it sounds. All the attendant conditions of the “festival” are even more insane.
The wishing one disguises himself as the lord of hell and jumps over children lined up in rows. The babies born in the preceding year are not uncomfortable – they lie there and snooze. It sounds scary, but not a single baby has been hurt over the years. After the jumps, the kids are blessed and showered with rose petals, and the defeated devil disappears.
Another option for entertainment at the festival is running around in the devil costume between rows of people who try to hit the demon hardest with a rod. These are rather weird hobbies, both the first and the second.
13. Speed Wearing Wives
Such an unusual hobby will diversify couples’ family life in which the husband has considerable physical strength. It is necessary to carry the beloved on the way of 250 meters without dropping her once.
There are also competitions for this sport. And if you haven’t guessed yet, it was invented in Finland.
12. Dressing up in bees
It might seem that representatives of this hobby dress up in black and yellow insect costumes and go about their usual business. But it’s not that simple.
This strange hobby is easy to imagine but difficult to describe. A man walks up to hives or containers containing bees, and the insects land on his body, forming a costume. The spectacle is quite creepy, given that some bees sting the bold and slightly insane companion mercilessly.
Getting rid of such a “costume” is difficult: you must take an ice bath. Moreover, the “outfit” has to be worn for several hours. In addition, it has a considerable weight. For example, the record-breaker from China carried about 30 kilograms of bees for over 2 hours. At the same time, he was stung 2,000 times.
Weird hobbies such as this can be called dangerous, but it also has the right to exist.
11. Riding toy horses
Hello again from Finland. For those who are afraid of live horses, toy horseback riding is a great hobby. It’s one of those weird hobbies that adults and children enjoy. It’s cheap, fun, and safe, and you can participate in and win competitions with a little skill.
A toy horse is a long stick with a soft horse head on end. But, of course, it is a toy horse. Riders compete in showjumping, dressage, and posing, and a jury judges their skills.
10. House of Cards
There are simple, weird hobbies and then those that are not. Construction is a complicated business. Bricks, cement, and foam blocks are all too long and expensive. Building houses of cards – just the thing! It’s simple but time-consuming. One wrong move – and everything you have achieved collapses in the blink of an eye.
They build standard triangular structures and much more complex “buildings” from the cards. For example, a five-story mansion that consists entirely of playing cards. You will be surprised, but a five-year-old boy created this masterpiece. Such a hobby will help not only to occupy time but also to train the nervous system.
9. Extreme ironing
Extreme athletes worldwide are developing increasingly sophisticated ways to get their adrenaline pumping. Rock climbing, surfing giant waves, flying without a parachute – all these are a bygone era. Now there are such weird hobbies suitable for the true connoisseurs of the sense of dread. A good example is ironing laundry in extreme conditions.
Usually, the adherents of this hobby are lovers of parachuting. Those who do not suffer from a fear of heights and are not indifferent to the feeling of free fall.
Climbers climb mountains, cling to sheer cliffs and start hard ironing things. Skydivers jump out of airplanes and wield irons while falling. Interestingly, they also take miniature electric generators with them.
8. Drawing on water
This mesmerizing and interesting activity relaxes you and lets your creativity flow. The process is simple: special paints are poured on the water’s surface in containers and mixed with chopsticks, forming fanciful patterns. After that, any object is lowered into the painted water, on the surface of which the water pattern remains.
This way, they create unique interior items, clothing, phone cases, and more. A great hobby that can be turned into a way to earn money.
7. Book carving
A very original hobby, which is equated with an art form, has recently appeared. People with such a passion turn old, unnecessary books into true masterpieces, charming, unique sculptures.
In Europe, such people are often called “book butchers.” The nickname is not accidental. Armed with scalpels, tweezers, blades, knives of various sizes and shapes, and other surgical tools, they skillfully cut book pages.
They cut so that the result is a work of art. Books appear in a completely new, unusual, but beautiful quality. They embody peculiar miniature worlds, different images, and plots.
6. Dirty car painting
All of us as kids loved to run our fingers over the dirty body of a car and write the popular “wash me.” Some went further and left entire messages, while others wrote nasty things.
Street artists are improving their skills by practicing a new hobby – painting dirty cars. For this, now use not only fingers but also brushes, rollers, and other tools. Particularly experienced and talented guys create real masterpieces on cars. For such a hobby, you just need to find the dirtiest body and then, as inspiration dictates.
5. Nail art
Drawing pictures is a complicated business. It takes talent. But what would you say about a hobby, the essence of which is artistic nailing? Well-known nail painter Marcus Levin has taken his hobby to a new level – he makes good money doing it.
Maybe you also hid a talent, so it is worth a try. Nailing in the shape of a drawing is not an easy process, but it’s a great way to spend your free time.
4. Shooting in the background
We will talk about a specific person, although this hobby has not been uncommon for a long time. Paul Yarrow became a real star of British television thanks to his love of getting in the background of reports. Viewers remember the man for his constant image – a beige sweater and an unconcerned look.
Imagine how much trouble a “TV star” has: keeping track of filming locations, dressing the same, and fending off fans. Paul must have a lot of free time. If you have enough of it, try it. Maybe you’ll become a backdrop star, too.
3. Zorbing
Risk, adrenaline, danger, the feeling of falling – without this, avid zorbonauts can’t live a day. But, unfortunately, adherents in such extremely weird hobbies lack these sensations in everyday life.
Being inside an inflatable transparent balloon, a person descends from the slope of any elevation (mountain, hill, slope). Sometimes a person chooses an almost gentle descent. However, the terrain may be flat or rugged (with natural or artificial tracks).
The degree of slope of the path on which the ball rolls affects the rate of descent. The higher the slope, the higher the speed. Some people confuse a zorb with a water balloon. They look similar but actually have significant differences.
2. Dirt polishing
The homeland of this hobby is Japan. The essence of the hobby boils down to forming graceful balls of dirt. After collecting, the dirt is sifted, separating it from stones and other foreign objects. Using water, mold small mud balls. Then new layers are gradually added to them.
This is done by moistening the balls with water and sprinkling them with a thin stream of fine soil. To get a perfectly smooth ball, you will need many such layers.
After the layering process, the balls are placed in an airtight bag for half an hour to dry. Then the balls are carefully polished with a rag. This process is detailed and not quick. The final stage is sanding with a soft sponge.
1. Collecting bellybutton lint
Not just unusual but a completely ridiculous hobby that causes many people to smile perplexedly. If there is nothing strange about collecting antiques or luxury items, collecting lint from the umbilical opening seems useless and ridiculous. For some, even the thought of such weird hobbies causes nausea and disgust.
Adherents of such a hobby collect umbilical lint, store it in special containers, and then measure the weight and volume of their collection. They even organize competitions.
So, in 2010, the record holder in this type of hobby was Graham Barker from Australia. At that time, his collection weighed 22 grams.
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