Sure, games and sports are fun. You get to meet new people, have an adrenalin rush, lose weight, and even win prizes while taking part in a sports event.
But turns out, for some people the commonly played sports wasn’t fun enough. So they ended up inventing these 11 weird sports which, unsurprisingly, only added to the fun quotient of the games!
1. Mobile phone throwing championship
The Finnish are quite finicky people, and they do like to get rid of this demon called ‘mobile phone’ in style. So much so that they started the sport of mobile phone throwing in 2004, which has now become an international sport.
2. Extreme ironing
What do you get when you put chores and extreme sports together? That’s right, extreme ironing! This sport is also considered to be a performance art, as people do the ironing while mountain climbing, skiing, or being engaged in one of the adventure sports. According to the Extreme Ironing Bureau, this sport “combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt.” And we can’t agree more!
3. Wife carrying
Another Finnish invention, in this sport, men carry a woman while taking part in a race. And guess the prize for this one? The female member’s weight in beer!
4. Mud Olympics in Germany
Started and held in Germany, this game includes common sports like football, sled racing, volleyball, played on a field full of black mud. Well, playing the sport is good after all, and ‘daag lagne sey agar kuch accha hota hai, toh daag acche hain’. 😀
5. Muggle quidditch
Just because we don’t have a firebolt or a nimbus 2000, doesn’t mean we won’t be playing quidditch! Us muggles are a creative lot after all. So keeping all the original rules of quidditch unchanged, except for flying (sadly!), this game is played around the world today. There is even a governing body for this sport called International Quidditch Association.
6. Worm charming championship
Imagine a competitive sport that involves people charming the hell out of earthworms, enough to make the tiny beasts crawl out of their holes and right into your hand. Oh, only don’t imagine, it actually exists. The international sport of worm charming titled the World Worm Charming Championships, have been taking place since 1980.
7. Zorbing competition
Zorbing, also known as orbing, is a sport where you enter a massive plastic bubble and run. Well, at least try to, because there’s nothing like ‘rolling in the deep’, eh?
8. Bossaball
Invented in Spain, this team sport is the lovechild of a trampoline and volleyball. Played on an inflatable court, this game has international fame and demand.
9. Toe wrestling
Say you don’t have any world champions from your country, so what do you do? According to the English, you invent a sport and declare a native champion. And that is exactly why 4 inebriated English men invented the sport of toe wrestling, which is quite similar to arm wrestling, but done with your feet!
10. Gurning contest
Gurning is putting on a distorted facial expression (what you and I call a funny face). And yes, there is a world gurning championship! Another essentially English invention (what else!), this sport dates back to the 13th century.
11. Bed racing
You take part in a race in fancy dresses while lying on your bed, could anything be better than that? Well, trust the English to invent such… ahem… sports. This is not as much fun for the team members who are dragging or pushing the wheeled bed, though, but hey, anything for the prize after all!
The things people do for fun…!
