The Forklift Driving World Championship Is a Surprisingly Exciting Event
Every year, Germany hosts the Stapler Cup, a competitive event that sees hundreds of forklift drivers from around the world going head to head in a series of difficult challenges for the title of world’s best forklift operator. Competitive forklift driving probably doesn’t sound like the most exciting competitive event in the world, but that’s […]
Devotees Allow Themselves to Be Trampled by Cattle in Bizarre Ritual
As part of a post-Diwali celebration in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhidavad village, brave men lie on the ground and allow themselves to be trampled by dozens of cattle in the name of religion. The festival of Diwali is marked with various rituals and traditions across India, but none quite as bizarre as the custom of one […]
Giant Shoulder Callouses – The Proud Mark of Carrying a God on Your Shoulders
Japanese men who carry mobile shrines known as mikoshi every year as part of important Shinto festivals are left with giant callouses on their shoulders that they display as badges of honor. Carrying mikoshi shrines is considered a great honor among Japanese Shintoists, and while some may do it just once in their lives, the […]
The Dutch Headwind Cycling Championship Are No Joke
The Dutch Headwind Time Trial Championship is only 8.5 kilometers long, but it is considered one of the hardest cycling challenges in the world. If you’ve ever ridden a bike against a reasonably strong wind, you know just how difficult dealing with the extra drag can be. Now imagine doing it in winds of well […]
Man Runs 425 Miles in Four Days, Sets New World Record
Australia’s Phil Gore recently set a new world record at the 2023 Dead Cow Gully Backyard Masters Ultramarathon by running a whopping 425 miles (685 kilometers) in four days. The Dead Cow Gully Backyard Masters is billed as a ‘race with no finish line’ by its organizers, and that makes sense because the format requires […]
The Speed Project – The World’s Most Mysterious Ultramarathon
The Speed Project is a relay-style ultramarathon unlike any other. It is an unofficial race for which runners have to receive an invitation, and it has but one rule – no running on freeways. You’ve probably never heard of it, but within the ultramarathon community, participating in The Speed Project is somewhat of a Holy […]
Bodi, the African Tribe Where Men Compete in a Fattening Contest
The Bodi tribe of southern Ethiopia holds a yearly festival in which the man with the biggest belly is honored and celebrated. To prepare for this big event, the men go on a grueling six-month fattening journey. Obesity and big bellies are usually seen as banes of modern life that not only have a negative […]
Suction Cup Tug of War – A Bald Man’s Sport
The Japanese town of Tsuruta is famous for hosting a unique annual competition – a popular game of tug of war in which bald men attach suction cups to their heads and pull in opposite directions. The Covid-19 pandemic threw a wrench in all aspects of Japanese society, but it’s fair to say that social […]
Peru’s Controversial Bull Vs. Bird Battle
The small village of Coyllurqui is famous for a controversial “blood festival”, the highlight of which is a symbolic battle between a condor and a bull. The Peruvian Blood Festival known as the Yawar Fiesta is a big deal in Coyllurqui, a small mountain village a nine-hour bus ride away from the city of Cusco. […]
Michigan Oils Slick Turns Out to Be Record-Setting Duck Gathering
What looked like a growing oil spill in Michigan’s Mackinac Straits area turned out to be a massive gathering of tens of thousands of ducks and other aquatic birds. On December 21 of last year, the Mackinac Bridge Authority started receiving calls from concerned divers regarding a possible oil spill in the area. With each […]
No One Does Giant Float Festivals Quite Like Japan
Float festivals take place all around the world, but you’ll have a hard time finding intricate, illuminated works of art quite like the ones paraded in Japan. When it comes to designing and creating colorful, eye-catching floats that illuminate the night sky, no one does it better than the Japanese. The sheer size of these […]
Man Wins Lying Down Championship by Lying Down for 60 Hours Straight
In a competition where the goal is to do nothing but lie down for as long as possible, one man emerged victorious after spending 60 hours laying flat on the ground. The village of Brezna, in Montenegro, recently held the 12th annual edition of its “Lying Down Championship”, an unusual competition where the end goal […]
Mysterious Geyser in Japan Has Been Gushing Out Water for Two Weeks
A mysterious geyser that erupted in the middle of a forest on the Japanese island of Hokkaido has been shooting up columns of water up to 40-meters-high for the past couple of weeks. Every year, on August 9, the small Japanese town of Oshamambe holds an annual summer festival complete with a traditional procession at […]
International Team Creates Paper Plane Able to Glide Over 77 Meters
A trio of origami and paper plane building enthusiasts recently obliterated the world record for the farthest paper plane flight by achieving a jaw-dropping distance of 77.134 m (252 ft 7 in). On April 16, 2022, at an indoor sports venue in Daegu, South Korea, Kim Kyu Tae managed to shatter the world record for […]
New Contact Sport Promises the Most Exciting Part of Hockey Minus the Hockey
If you’re of the opinion that fights are the most exciting part of ice hockey, you’re probably going to love Ice Wars, a new combat sports league that pits ice hockey enforcers against each other. Take away the sticks, the puck and the nets, and you’re left with hockey players with nothing better to do […]