Lost your job? Feeling frustrated, depressed or just need to vent? Then be sure to enter this year's Unemployment Olympics (if you're still unemployed, because a 'pink slip' is required to enter).
Jobless participants gathered at Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan's East Village for the first annual event, created by recently laid-off computer software worker Nick Goddard, on March 31, 2009.
Events include Pin The Blame On The Boss, Office Phone Skee-Ball, Office Phone Pinata, and the "You're Fired!" race to the cardboard Unemployment Office.
High heel race is an unusual event, which is held in many cities, such as Sydney, Paris, Moscow and Amsterdam.
But the citizens of Milan were lucky most of all – not every day the winner of such race gets a couple of delicious, lust luxury open-toe sandals from Manolo Blahnik.
Up to 300 girls took part at this competition who must overcome a distance of 80 m running on high heels. The heels should be a minimum 7 cm height and 1.5 cm in diameter. All these fashion sacrifices make only with the aim to get a pair of sandals from the shoe master Manolo Blanik. The winner in the Milan race was not single, but three that means that these three lucky women became the owner of the most elegant heels in the world.
Egg Throwing has been a sport enjoyed by millions of people since early humans discovered the delight of watching a failure of another to catch a tossed egg. Nowadays egg throwing is a serious sport played all over the world. The World Egg Throwing Competition is held annually in Swaton, England since 2006. The contest features four disciplines besides the egg trebuchet, including the "throw and catch", in which teams of two players try to propel and safely gather an egg over the greatest distance. Teams of 11 players can enter the "egg-static relay" and attempt to move 12 eggs 100 metres by throwing them between themselves as they stand along the route. And "egg Russian roulette" – which echoes a dramatic sequence from the film The Deer Hunter – involves contenders wearing bandannas selecting eggs one at a time and smashing them against their foreheads. The loser is the first to pick the single raw egg among the six otherwise hardboiled ones on offer.
Takanakuy - Peru Annual Fighting Festival - Peru I know, I know, you are all wondering what's so 'weird' about this event. Not much other than the fact that this Annual Fighting Festival is for everyone - that includes women and children! Members of the Chumbilbilca community near Cusco in Peru mark Christmas Day annually by taking part in a series of public bare-knuckled fights to settle scores ahead of the New Year. The annual tradition, known as Takanakuy, aims to air pent-up grievances and apparently strengthens community relationships. The event is mediated by refererees and, it is claimed, rarely results in serious injuries. Hard feelings set aside, the day is wrapped up with a celebratory dance.
La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in which participants throw tomatoes at each other. It is held the last Wednesday in August, during the week of festivities of Buñol.
Origin
Tomatina in 2006 pic by Wiki user Lobo
In 1944, during a parade of gigantes y cabezudos, young men who wanted to participate in the event staged a brawl. Since there was a vegetable stand nearby, they picked up tomatoes and used them as weapons. The police had to intervene to break up the fight, and forced those responsible to pay the damages incurred.
The following year the young people repeated the fight, only this time brought their own tomatoes from home. They were again dispersed by the police. After repeating this in subsequent years, the party was, albeit unofficially, established.
The Bottle Inn hosts the annual World Nettle Eating Championships as part of a charity beer festival. Competitors are served 2-foot (0.61 m) long stalks of stinging nettles from which they pluck and eat the leaves. After an hour the bare stalks are measured and the winner is the competitor with the greatest accumulated length of nettles.
Stinging Nettle
The contest began in the late 1980s when two farmers argued over who had the longest stinging nettles in their field and evolved into the World Nettle Eating Championships when one of the farmers promised to eat any nettle which was longer than his.
The championship has separate men’s and women’s sections and attracts competitors from as far afield as Canada and Australia.
In June 2010 Sam Cunningham, a fishmonger from Somerset won the contest, after eating 74 feet of nettles.
What's the big deal you say? Well try eating just one of these leaves never mind an entire branch! The plant has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles that inject histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals.
The Hemp Olympix - (yes, there's an olympic for weed), is held every year as part of the annual Mardi Gras Festival in Nimbin, on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Events include joint rolling (speed and artistic), bong throwing, iron growers person event and the NEW Hemp Javelin.
Bong Throw and Yell Rules. Bong has to be released behind the throwing line. Maximum run up 10 steps. Yell must contain at least one sound.
Speed Joint Rolling Rules
Complete a 3 paper joint with cardboard filter as fast as possible. Contestants are allowed to mull up and pre roll their cardboard filter. Papers must remain in packet until starting whistle.
3 fastest progress to final.
Artistic Joint Rolling Rules
Roll the most orginal and beautiful, with as many papers as you like with-in 10 minutes.
A diver prepared to jump. Land diving is performed without safety equipment. pic by Wiki user Tbom824
Naghol or N’gol or land diving is a ritual performed by the men of the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. The precursor to bungee jumping, men jump off of wooden towers around 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft) high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Land diving is done without any safety equipment. The tradition has developed into a tourist attraction. According to the Guinness World Records, the g-force experienced by those at their lowest point in the dive is the greatest experienced in the non-industrialized world by humans.
The origin of naghol is described in a legend of a woman who was dissatisfied with her husband, Tamalie (or some variation of the name). It is sometimes claimed that the woman was upset that her husband was too vigorous regarding his sexual wants, so she ran away into the forest. Her husband followed her, so she climbed a banyan tree. Tamalie climbed after her, and so she tied lianas to her ankles and jumped and survived. Her husband jumped after her, but did not tie lianas to himself, which caused him to plummet and die. The men performed the original land diving so that they would not be tricked again.
The Ritual Though the majority of the islanders are Christian, they still adhere to the ancient beliefs. Before dawn on the day of the ceremony, the men undergo a ritual wash, anoint coconut oil on themselves, and decorate their bodies. The males wear boar tusks around their necks. The men wear traditional penis sheaths called namba, and the women wear traditional grass dresses and are bare-breasted. Only the men are allowed to dive, but the dancing women provide mental support. Around 10 to 20 men in a village will jump.
Land diving is a rite of
passage for boys. Boys jump at lower platforms.
pic by Wiki user TBom824
For boys, land diving is a rite of passage. After the boys are circumcised at the age of around seven to eight, the boys can participate in the ritual. When a boy is ready to become a man, he land dives in the presence of his elders. His mother holds a favourite childhood item, for example, a piece of cloth. After completing the dive, the item is thrown away, demonstrating that the boy has become a man.
"A very interesting event though I feel terrible for those young boys going into manhood... If I were a boy, I'd want to stay one like that forever if I'd have to go through circumcision and this, lol"
Canal Jumping - Netherlands Canal Jumping or Fierljeppen (lit. far-leaping) is a traditional sport of the Frisians and of the Dutch. Ljeppen is West Frisian for "to leap". It is a fine example of the close relationship between the Frisian and English languages.
The sport involves a long pole and a body of water. The pole is between 8 and 13 m long and has a flat round plate at the bottom to prevent it from sinking into the muddy river or canal bottom.
A jump consists of a sprint to the pole (polsstok), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to the top of the pole while trying to control its forward and lateral movements over a body of water, and finishing by landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point.
The sport is believed to have originated with farmers who used poles to leap over small water drainage channels to access different plots of land. In East Frisia this sport is known as Pultstock-Jumping. Today the sport is primarily practiced for fun or to entertain tourists, but there still is an official annual National Fierljepping Manifestation (NFM) in the Netherlands, and championships are contested in six leagues and numerous clubs.
...As the story goes the Story Bridge Hotel Cockroach Races were started when two old punters sat in the bar arguing over which suburb had the biggest and fastest roaches.
They decided to race some roaches the next day and history was made.
The races have now been held at the Story Bridge Hotel for over 28 years...
Racing is simple....the races are held in a circular track and roaches are then let go from an upturned bucket in the middle...first to the edge is a winner. Things are made a little more difficult in the steeplechase events where a circular fence (garden hose) is used to enhance the spectacle and test the roach talent.
There is no betting as such on the races . Instead punters pay $5 to buy a roach and $5 to enter it or their own in a race.....all roaches are numbered (not an easy job), with first second and third receiving prizes..First gets a pack from the race sponsor and a trophy, second and third get a cash prize. We do supply Cockroaches, we buy them and fly them up from Melbourne (true..believe it or not), but this is often not enough, so patrons are be encouraged to BYO roach.Rules:
Races are only open to entrants registered and weighed in by the stewards prior to event.
It is the job of the stewards to catch the first 3 cockies across the line. Their decision is final.
After each event, entrants may be re-entered in further events (if you can catch them). Best wishes and good luck to any of the entrants which evade capture.....we hope to see you next year.
Flying will not be tolerated, entrants thought to have gained an unfair air-born advantage will be disqualified. If disqualified entrants may be banned from competing in future events.
Ownership of entrants ceases after each race.
Only stewards are permitted on 'The Olde Canvasse'. Pitch invaders are liable to a $100,000,000.00 fine.
The cost of entering a 'Roach is $5.00. Prizes are as follows; 1st place - Sponsors Prize & Trophy. 2nd place - $25 Cash!!. 3rd place $15.00. Scientifically bred Cockroaches (of the highest calibre) can be purchased from the Stewards.
As outlined by the governing bodies, entrants may be tested for performance enhancing substances at any time. Penalties are severe! Owners are advised that stewards will also be scanning for so called "natural" enhancers e.g. coffee, white sugar, and red cordial to name a few.
The Cockroach Races are first and foremost a fun event. All funds raised in this event from the buying or entering of 'Roaches go to Variety. Therefore anyone who disagrees with the official rules, the running of the event or decisions made by the Stewards, will be considered to be "Wowsers of the highest order" and not very Australian at all.
Toe wrestling is a sport gaining popularity in the UK. World championships started in Wetton in the 1970s and are now held at the Bentley Brook Inn in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Top players include Paul "Toeminator" Beech and Alan "Nasty" Nash, who is the current world champion.
Rules:
Toe wrestling is similar to arm wrestling. To play, Players must take off their shoes and socks, as the game is played bare feet. It is common courtesy for each player to remove the other players shoes and socks. Players must link toes and each players feet must touch flat on the other person's feet. Typically, after a short starting chant which varies by region (for example, "one, two, three, four, I declare a toe war."), the opponents proceed to attempt to pin (capture or trap) their opponent's feet for three seconds, while avoiding the same. Pinning is accomplished by placing one foot on the same foot of the opponent (for example, 'Jack swings his foot right, trapping Harry's feet underneath for 3 seconds).
Oil wrestling (Turkish: yağlı güreş) is the Turkish national sport. It is known sometimes as grease wrestling because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. It is related to Uzbekkurash, Tuvankhuresh and Tatarköräş. The wrestlers, known as pehlivan (from Persian پهلوان or pehlevān, meaning "hero" or "champion") wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen called a kisbet (sometimes kispet), which are traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently have been made of calfskin.
Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win by this move is called paça kazık. Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days, until one man was able to establish superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the baspehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If no winner is determined, another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category—of wrestling ensues, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor.
In 2002, approximately 25 naked streakers ran through Pamplona’s winding streets to promote an alternative to the Running of the Bulls. Subsequent events saw a steady increase in the numbers of runners with an estimated 1000 nude or semi-nude runners taking part in the event in 2006.
The annual Running of the Nudes in Pamplona - 2007 by Wiki user Melissa Karpel
The Running of the Nudes, like the well-known Running of the Bulls, occurs two days before the Running of the Bulls, just before the start of the nine-day festival of San Fermín. The event is supported by animal welfare groups, including PETA, who object to the Running of the Bulls, claiming that the event is cruel and glorifies bullfighting, which the groups oppose. In the Running of the Nudes, naked humans, many wearing only plastic horns and red scarves, follow the same route taken by the Running of the Bulls, from the Santo Domingo corrals through the town’s streets, ending at the Plaza de Toros. The length of the run is some 800 meters (about half a mile) and the event takes about one hour.
Ok, so maybe some folks to the 'deep' south of us think hockey is weird, but check out some of these other 'weird' sports from around our world! Let's start off with one that I think is often talked about...
Wife-Carrying - Finland
Wife carrying is a sport in which male competitors race while each carrying a female teammate. The objective is for the male to carry the female through a special obstacle track in the fastest time. The sport was first introduced at Sonkajärvi, Finland.
Estonian-style wife-carrying pic by Wiki user WikedKentaur
Several types of carry may be practised: piggyback, fireman's carry (over the shoulder), or Estonian-style (the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband's shoulders, holding onto his waist).
Major wife-carrying competitions are held in Sonkajärvi, Finland (where the prize depends on the wife's weight in beer); Monona, Wisconsin; Minocqua, Wisconsin; and Marquette, Michigan.
The North American Wife Carrying Championships take place every year on Columbus Day Weekend in October at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine. The 8th Annual event took place on October 6, 2007, with 40 couples participating, an all-time high.
Rules:
The original course is a rough, rocky terrain with fences, and brooks, but has been altered to suit modern conditions. There is now sand instead of full rocks, fences are still on the course, and some kind of area filled with water,(a pool). These are the following rules set by the International Wife Carrying Competition Rules Committee:
The track has two dry obstacles and a water obstacle, about one meter deep
The wife to be carried may be your own, the neighbor's, or you may have found her further afield; she must, however, be over 17 years of age
The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49 kilograms. If she is less than 49 kg, the wife will be burdened with a rucksack containing additional weight such that the total load to be carried is no less than 49 kg.
All participants must have fun
The only equipment allowed is a belt worn by the carrier, the carried must wear a helmet.
The contestants run the race two at a time, so each heat is a contest in itself
Each contestant takes care of his/her safety and, if deemed necessary, insurance
The contestants have to pay attention to the instructions given by the organizers of the competition
There is only one category in the World Championships and the winner is the couple who completes the course in the shortest time
Also the most entertaining couple, the best costume and the strongest carrier will be awarded a special prize
The races have no greater aim than for individuals and teams to demonstrate their strength and fitness by racing whilst carrying a sack of wool – up and down a hill that reaches a gradient of 1 in 4.
It is thought that the races originated in the 17th Century by young drovers showing off to local women by running up the hill carrying a woolsack.
The woolsacks were custom built by the British Wool Federation and are 60lb for men’s races and 35lb for women’s. The original course of 280yds ran from The Royal Oak to The Crown, but since 1999 a shorter course of 240yds has been run.
Most competitors come from local rugby teams or the British Army; many of the course records are held by Tetbury Rugby Club. There are also appearances by the Norfolk Mountain Rescue Team, and a group who do the race on unicycles.
Street Luge - USA Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a streetluge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. Street luge is also known as land luge or road luge. Like skateboarding, street luge is often done for sport and for recreation. Other than the supine riding position and very high speeds (40-97 mph / 64-157 km/h), street luge has little relation to its winter namesake (luge). Street luge was born in Southern California as downhill skateboarders found they could reach faster speeds by lying down on their skateboards. This early form of the sport is now referred to as "classic style" or "butt boarding."
The boards used in this race varied from basic skateboards to complex skate cars in which the rider was completely enclosed by plastic or fiberglass. The sport was not commonly referred to as street luge at this time but the term luge was used to describe some participants riding position. Most contestants were standing up however an opening in the rules enabled riders to choose their own board position - including supine. By 1978, repeated injuries to both riders and spectators halted the races at Signal Hill.
Several riders from the Signal Hill races kept the sport alive by continuing to hold races in Southern California. Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, both underground and professional races continued to be held in Southern California by such organizations as the Underground Racers Association (URA), Federation of International Gravity Racing (FIGR) and Road Racers Association for International Luge (RAIL). Race organizers in the 1980s and 1990s started implementing many more equipment, safety and race regulations.
Jobless participants gathered at Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan's East Village for the first annual event, created by recently laid-off computer software worker Nick Goddard, on March 31, 2009.
