The Endurance Race So Hard That Only 14 People Have Completed It in 30 Years
The Barkley 100-Mile Marathon, held annually in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee, is considered to be one of most challenging ultra-marathons in the world. So tough, in fact, that only 14 people out of about 1,100 participants have ever managed to complete it since its inauguration in 1986! That’s just two more than the […]
Teapot Racing – The New Favorite Sport of New Zealand’s Steampunk Community
Last weekend, New Zealand’s capital hosted its first ever teapot racing event at CubaDupa – Wellington’s vibrant new street festival modeled on the lines of Cuba Street. The sport, a new favorite among Steampunk enthusiasts, involves navigating radio-controlled teapots through an obstacle course with tunnels, ramps and jumps. Organised by Capital! Steampunk, a Steampunk events community […]
Woodkopf – The Wacky Czech Sport You’ve Probably Never Heard of Before
Woodkopf is a crazy new sport invented in the Czech Republic that’s been gaining quite a lot of national media attention lately. The popular sport involves a pair of opponents wearing two-meter wooden boards on their heads and trying to knock the other’s board down without dropping their own. As strange as it sounds, a […]
Running Up 11,674 Steps in the World’s Longest Single-Staircase Race
The world’s longest staircase is located on the face of Mt. Niesen in Switzerland, nicknamed the ‘Swiss Pyramid’ for its triangular shape. The 3.4 km staircase goes up the side of the mountain with 11,674 steps, ranging from an altitude of 700 m at the bottom (from the side of the Kander river in Mülenen) […]
Chinese Contestants Stand on One Leg for Hours on End to Win Brand New BMW
Wu Deqi is the proud owner of a brand new swanky BMW. Nothing special so far, I know, but that’s because you don’t yet know how he got it. Instead of money, he had to pay for it with a lot of pain. In a promotional contest held last Sunday in the Shapingba District of […]
The Baikal Ice Marathon – The Ultimate Winter Endurance Race
The Baikal Ice Marathon is one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges. Over the years, the one-of-a-kind event has seen participants from over 50 countries. These are athletes with a heart of steel – they race across a 42 kilometer course across the completely frozen surface of Baikal, the oldest and deepest freshwater lake on […]
X-Alps – The World’s Most Amazing Adventure Race
For most people, the route from Salzburg to Monaco is by road. But who wants to go on a boring road trip, when you could climb mountains and paraglide across the Alps instead? Of course, to do that you’ve got to have a real taste for adventure. If you do, then the Red Bull X-Alps […]
Japanese 88-Member Pop Group Selects Lead Singers in Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament
Japanese music group AKB48 currently holds the Guinness record for the world’s largest pop group, with an impressive 88 female members split into various teams. But fitting all the girls on a single stage is tricky, so every time they launch a new single, AKB48 members hold a knockout rock-paper-scissors tournament to select a limited […]
Pucker Up and Sing – The World Whistling Championship
Every year, the world’s most passionate whistlers gather in Louisburg, North Carolina, to compete in the annual World Whistling Championship. Whistlers, young and old, are judged on resonance, intonation and stage presence as they interpret some of the most famous concertos and sonatas. In 1970, Allen De Hart, director of public affairs at Louisburg College, founded […]
England’s Shin-Kicking Championship Is a Painful Affair
Sometimes described as an English martial art, shin kicking is a centuries-old combat sport in which two participants kick each other in the shins until one of them falls down. Needless to say there is a lot of pain involved. The origins of shin kicking are lost in the mists of time, but some experts […]
Extreme Barbie Jeep Racing Is No Child’s Play
Every years since 2010, the guys at Busted Knuckle Films have engaged in one of the most fun-yet-dangerous off-road sports in the world – the Extreme Barbie Jeep Race. Don’t let the name fool you though, it’s serious business. The concept behind this unique extreme sport is pretty simple. All you need is one of […]
Making See-Through Wood at Japan’s Unique Planing Competition
Every year, wood planing experts from all over Japan meet up for a very unique competition in which everyone tries to shave off the thinnest piece of wood possible. I don’t know how skilled you are with a hand plane, but these guys can actually peel off see-through slices of wood that are measured in […]
Portland Dog Kissing Contest Will Leave a Bad Taste in Your Mouth
They say a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s but is that any reason to actually kiss your canine, even if it’s on Valentine’s Day? The answer is “YES”, at least according to participants at a dog kissing contest in Portland, Maine. The 9th Annual Valentine’s Day Dog Kissing Contest took place yesterday, at the […]
Liars Face Off in World’s Biggest Liar Competition
Every year, experienced liars from all over the globe gather in Santon Bridge, a tiny village in Northwestern England, to compete for the coveted title of world’s biggest liar. Before you make any suggestions about who should participate in this wacky contest, you should know politicians and lawyers are barred from entry, as they are considered […]
Dung Spitting Competition Will Leave a Bad Taste in Your Mouth
Kudu Dung Spitting is an African sport popular enough to have its own official competition, in which contestants have to put a kudu dung pellet in their mouth and spit it as far as possible. Some people use dung to make coffee taste better, but in some parts of Africa it’s used to fuel a […]