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Fun Facts: Unusual hobbies

by
2 July 2020
Kaplan social activities in Bournemouth - Eye

Everyone has different hobbies. It can be doing things, making things, collecting things or learning things. You are doing it to relax or to belong.

Some people like to dress up as anime characters while others collect coins. Some think a little bit outside the box and take up hobbies you might not even know existed. Here is a list of the most unusual hobbies we found:

 

1. Tree shaping

It’s a very cool hobby in which you train living trees and other woody plants into artistic shapes or useful structures. Think about growing your own chair! It might take a while though.

 

student in a tree
You will find many trees around our campus at Frankfurt-Lahntal

 

2. Beetle fighting

Choose different types of beetles to fight against each other. Beetle fighting enthusiasts sometimes breed different species of beetles for fighting. You can find videos about it online, but while some might find it interesting, others may think it's a bit gross!

 

3. Newsraiding

This consists of appearing as a bystander in the background of television shows.  Very few have the resolve, planning skills, and perfect star-alignment to call this a hobby and not just a mere pipe dream.  There has only been one truly great newsraider, Paul Yarrow, from the UK.  He has appeared in many many broadcasts. Check out a collection here!

 

4. Extreme Ironing

Yes, it’s a competitive sport, also known as “EI”.  Extreme ironing consists of ironing clothing in different, usually extreme, situations like while rock climbing, surfing, on a kayak…

 

5. Stone skipping

Yes it’s exactly that. You take a nice oval stone and you try to make it bounce on water as many times as possible. The current record holder managed a 51 bounce throw.

 

 

6. Geocaching

This is free real-world treasure hunting hobby using technology. There are hidden containers called geocaches with items inside these are located using a smart phone or GPS. This hobby good for exploring the world and sharing experiences with other members. If you're interested in getting started, check out the Geocaching website.

 

7. Suing

Ok, this belong more in the comedy category but it seems there was at least 1 person who made suing into an actual hobby.

Despite being incarcerated at a federal prison in Kentucky, Jonathan Lee Riches has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. He was named as the person who has filed the most lawsuits ever. So what did he do next? He filed a lawsuit against the folks at Guinness! He filed lawsuits against the New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former President George W. Bush, Somali pirates, Britney Spears and Martha Stewart. He's also filed lawsuits against Plato, Nostradamus, James Hoffa, “Various Buddhist Monks,” the Lincoln Memorial, the Eiffel Tower and Three Mile Island. In his latest court filing, Riches wrote about how he sued Black History Month, the president of Iran and butter substitute I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

 

8. Element Collecting

You collect elements from the periodic table. People do this in different ways and of different purities.  Heavy elements, poisonous and radioactive ones are not recommended to collect.

 

students going for a hike in Engelberg
Geodes can be really beautiful collectables. They can be collected whilst hiking in Engelberg (Switzerland), where we run our summer camps.

 

9. Competitive duck herding

Yes competitive duck herding is a hobby. You learn to herd duck like you would sheep. Apparently it has become popular for corporate days out... at least according to this article.

 

10. Toy Voyaging

Do you have a toy that needs a vacation? Some people create a travel log and profile for their traveling toy!  You can also include Life Missions for your toy, where you tell potential hosts what your toy wants to do while visiting.  Hosts and owners update the travel log and add pictures.

People taking part in these hobbies are no different than you or me, they just found something unique to put their interest into. Even among celebrities there are hobbies that you might have not even thought of. For example did you know that…

Claudia Schiffer is an insect collector?

John Travolta is a jumbo jet pilot?

Mike Tyson is a pigeon racer?

Or Tom Selleck is an avocado farmer?

 

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