When it comes to hobbies, there is a vast number which takes up people’s time and money on a regular basis. Apart from the usual hobbies such as fishing, cycling, or collecting coins, there are others that might seem a little more unusual. If you have been searching for something different to do with your spare time, then take a look at some of these more alternative ideas from around the world.
Toy Voyaging
Toy voyaging is something that you can do from the comfort of your sofa. In fact, it’s your toys that seem to have most of the fun. There are a couple of websites that let you choose a location somewhere in the world, and you send your toys to that country to stay with a host family. While they are there, you can write to them, and they can send you pictures. If you start to miss your little friend, you can ask for them to be sent back, ready for their next adventure.
Extreme Ironing
The sport of extreme ironing began in Leicester, the UK in 1997. Since then, it has continued to go from strength to strength. In fact, there is now an Extreme Ironing World Championships that take place all over Europe. Some of the places that people have done extreme ironing are mountains, helicopters and during a mid-air skydive. In a recent championship heat, there was even ironing done on a river. Although ironing might not be everyone’s favorite pastime, perhaps an extreme version might be better?
Competitive Dog Grooming
You might have thought that dog grooming was a calm and placid service given to pampered pooches. However, in China, in particular, dog grooming has taken on a whole new level. Competitive dog grooming involves several competitors all trying to create the most eccentric looking dog they can. As you can imagine, this hobby can take a long time to do, but for competitions, the winner can win up to 30,000 dollars.
Mooing
How are you at making animal noises? If you think that you are pretty good, then you might stand a chance at the Mooing competition in the USA. The competition involves competitors trying to create their best impression of a cow. Previous winners have included a 10-year old boy who won 1,000 dollars, a golden cowbell, and a cow print jacket. It seems as though this event only takes place in the US, so you will need to take a trip if you want to have a go.
Train Surfing
Some hobbies that have caught on have been more dangerous than others. Train surfing as you can imagine is one of those. Starting in Germany in the 1980’s, train surfing involves jumping onto the outside of a passenger train and hitching a ride. As you can imagine, this has led to a lot of accidents over the year, with over 40 people dying in 2008 alone. Unlike the other pastimes, this is not something endorsed by the police.
Tattooing Vehicles
You might think that the younger person creates most unusual hobbies. However, this isn’t always the case. Vehicle tattooing was originally started by a pensioner in Taiwan who would tattoo words from Buddhist texts into cars. His grandson has now said that he is hoping to buy his grandfather a bus so that he can make the most of his hobby. Although some might see it as graffiti, it is apparently just a hobby.
News Photobombing
Sometimes a hobby can be born from the most serious of reasons. That is what news photobombing is for one man in the UK. He has made it his mission to find locations where live news reports are being broadcast and try to appear in the background while they are filming. The man has claimed that there is a serious reason behind this, and this reason is that he believes broadcasters only want attractive people in their shot.
Collecting Navel Fluff
An Australian man has what many might consider to be the most unusual hobby of all. Since 1984, he has been collecting his own navel fluff. Even he isn’t sure why he started this collection, but it now weighs a healthy 22.1 grams. The fluff from navels is usually a collection of the fibers from the clothes you have been wearing. For some people, the collection of navel fluff is worse than others, with some suggesting it depends on the type of navel you have.
Reenactments
If you have ever been to a festival that has a Viking or medieval theme, you will probably see people wearing period clothing making swords and taking part in mock battles. These people are usually part of a reenactment group who travel around the country doing events. Their equipment is usually made using the same techniques as those of the period, such as Viking Shields. The people who are members of these groups have studied the period in detail and take pride in their authentic look.
Collecting In-Flight Sick Bags
Called ‘Baggists’ these collectors have been around for a long time. Their obsession is with the collection of the sick bags you find on commercial flights. They are usually branded by the airline, and some have been collected as far back as the 1960’s. One of the original ‘Baggists’ now has a large collection of 388 bags from 186 different airlines.
Soap Carving
Soap carving has recently become a huge hit on YouTube due to it being satisfying to watch. The actual hobby is a little different though, as people carve intricate flowers and animals into the bar of soap. The YouTube videos are people just carving slices or chunks out of the bars while recording it. For those that are particularly good at the hobby, they can sell their creations as souvenirs.
Technically, anything is collectible, so that means there are probably many other unusual hobbies out there! Whatever hobby you chose to do, there are often many others that you can share your hobby with and create a new group of friends.
