From playing basketball to hiking, crocheting, or reading, people take on different hobbies to unwind, relax, and entertain themselves. However, other people think way out of the box and engage in hobbies that you may have never even heard of.
Here are the 7 most unusual hobbies we have ever seen:
1. News Bombing
Heard of Photobombing? Well, News Bombing, otherwise known as News Raiding, is quite similar. News bombers make sure that they appear in the background of a live news broadcast – usually happening somewhere in the city.
Some bombers will ensure they are in the shot for a few seconds before moving on, while others will stay the entire broadcast duration.
Paul Yarrow from the UK got more than his 15 minutes of fame and has made a name for himself as a serial news raider. He has appeared in several news reports, making it to BBC, ITV, and Al-Jazeera.
2. Chess Boxing
Checkmate or knockout? This hobby is a combination of mental and physical grit. A fight typically consists of 11 alternating rounds, 6 chess, and 5 boxing. A 4-minute chess round is followed by 3 minutes of boxing with a 1-minute break between rounds.
Competitors win by checkmate, knockout, judge’s decision, or their opponent exceeds the 12 minutes allotted for the chess game. Chess boxers wear soundproof headphones during the chess rounds to keep out noise from the audience.
3. Tree Shaping
Tree shaping is a form of art where living trees and other woody plants are grafted and pruned into functional and ornamental sculptures like garden seats, garden tables, and decorative tree shapes. The three methods used to achieve a unique tree shape include:
- Aeroponic root culture – you grow the roots in a nutrient-rich mix. When they grow to over 5 meters long and are flexible to be shaped without damage, you can plant the root tips.
- Gradual tree shaping – start with setting up a supporting framework into which growth pathways are built, then plant the seedlings.
- Instant tree shaping – using tree whips that are 2-3 meters long, bend and weave them into a design, then hold them together with metal bars.
4. Competitive Duck Herding
Ever heard of duck herding? This hilariously entertaining hobby is popular in UK communities, and most organizations use it as a team-building activity. It’s a combination of communication, patience, teamwork, and listening skills.
Professional duck herders typically work with highly trained sheepdogs in guiding a group of ducks through various obstacles on a field and eventually into a pen. If you don’t have a sheepdog, you’ll have to steer the ducks yourself. This activity is suitable for any age and is truly entertaining.
5. Extreme Ironing
This hobby is the combination of the excitement of extreme outdoor activity and the satisfaction of well-pressed laundry. The activity involves ironing laundry while engaging in an intense activity like sky diving, skiing, canoeing, or a mountainside.
All you need for this hobby is an iron (it should be charged and not need a socket), a portable ironing board, your laundry in a bag, and some water to fill the iron. If this hobby sounds like something you’d want to try, get the hang of the extreme sport first without the ironing.
6. Toy Voyaging
People need vacations to relax and enjoy new experiences and according to some hobbyists, so do toys. You can register your toys on a website to find someone who will host them on their travels. You can also offer to take in someone else’s toy as your guest.
Some toy owners tell the host what activities their toys like and where to take them. Each toy has a unique identification number with a message on its tag, encouraging whoever comes in contact with it to update its Travelog and photographs on the website.
7. People Watching
Unlike other hobbies that may require your physical involvement, this one will engage only your mind. People-watching is a hobby where you sit comfortably in a well-populated area and watch people. It might be in a café, at the beach, or bookstore.
People watchers make sure they sit in a corner or a spot where they won’t call attention to themselves. They’ll observe people and overhear them having conversations or arguments. It might sound kind of creepy, but it’s a source of inspiration for novelists and screenplay writers.
Final Thoughts on Unusual Hobbies
These hobbies might be unusual, but if someone out there is doing them, you can try them out too. How far out of your comfort zone are you willing to go?
