1. Toe Wrestling World Championships
While we often associate world-class events with speed, strength, and precision, there’s a whole, hilarious, and heartwarming realm of contests driven by pure eccentricity. The World Toe Wrestling Championship is held at the Bentley Brook Inn in Derbyshire, England, and is essentially an arm wrestling match but with feet. Competitors sit facing each other, lock toes, and attempt to pin their opponent’s foot to the ground for a count of three. As a matter of tradition and hygiene, a referee inspects the competitors’ feet for cleanliness and cuts before the match. The event was invented in 1974 by a group of pub patrons who lamented that England had no world-recognized sport and decided to create one of their own.
2. World Air Guitar Championships
The World Air Guitar Championships take place in Oulu, Finland, and are rooted in the philosophy “Make Air Not War.” The contest is more than just pretending to play an instrument; it’s judged on three main criteria: technical skill (miming guitar playing), stage presence, and “airness,” which is defined as how completely the performance transcends the boundaries of reality. Contestants perform two rounds, one to a song of their choice and another to an unannounced, surprise song, demonstrating their ability to improvise. The winner receives a custom-made electric guitar, celebrating their mastery of the invisible instrument.
3. Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling
Every May, thousands gather in Gloucestershire, England, for the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, a spectacle that is as dangerous as it is bizarre. A nine-pound round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled down an extremely steep hill, and competitors chase after it. Because the cheese can reach speeds up to 70 mph, it is practically impossible to catch; therefore, the winner is simply the first person to cross the finish line at the bottom. The race has no official organizer and is known for resulting in numerous injuries each year, yet the thrill of winning the coveted cheese keeps the tradition alive.
4. World Wife Carrying Championships
The World Wife Carrying Championships, or Eukonkanto, originated in Sonkajärvi, Finland, and have spread to various countries. The rules require a male competitor (the “carrier”) to carry a female teammate (the “wife”) over a grueling 253.5-meter obstacle course, featuring a water hazard and hurdles. The carried person doesn’t have to be the carrier’s legal wife, but she must weigh at least 49 kilograms (about 108 pounds). The most common carrying technique is the “Estonian Carry,” where the woman hangs upside down with her legs wrapped around the man’s neck. The winning couple is awarded the wife’s weight in beer.
5. Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships
In Savonlinna, Finland, people gather not to use, but to launch their old mobile phones in the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships. This quirky competition, which began in 2000, offers an environmentally friendly way for participants to vent any tech-related frustration. There are several categories, including “Original Style,” where marks are awarded for aesthetic and acrobatic performance during the throw, and the main event, “Traditional,” which is judged solely on the distance of the throw. The current world record holder for the longest toss in the men’s category is over 110 meters.
6. World Gurning Championship
The World Gurning Championship is a traditional event held annually at the Egremont Crab Fair in Cumbria, England, dating back to 1267. Gurning is the act of pulling a truly grotesque or comical facial expression, usually featuring an extended lower jaw and contorted features, often while framed through a horse’s collar, known as a “braffin.” The competition is a lighthearted celebration of eccentricity, where contestants spend months practicing their most hideous and amusing faces. The event celebrates a unique piece of local cultural history, keeping the bizarre tradition alive for generations.
7. Competitive Beard and Moustache Growing
Every few years, the World Beard and Moustache Championships bring together competitors from across the globe to showcase their meticulously groomed and often outlandish facial hair creations. Judging is based on style, fullness, length, and overall impression, with categories ranging from the simple natural goatee to the highly styled imperial moustache and the formidable full beard freestyle. This event is a serious affair for participants, who often use vast quantities of wax, hairspray, and time to cultivate their hirsute masterpieces, transforming their facial hair into complex, often gravity-defying, works of art.
8. World Black Pudding Throwing Championship
In Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, England, an ancient rivalry is re-enacted at the World Black Pudding Throwing Championship. Competitors stand on a barrel and are tasked with throwing black puddings, a type of blood sausage, at piles of Yorkshire puddings stacked on a high plinth. The goal is to knock down as many Yorkshire puddings as possible with three throws. This bizarre tradition supposedly stems from a historical skirmish between Lancashire and Yorkshire, with the puddings substituting for ammunition, providing a fun, edible echo of local history.
9. Chess Boxing
Chess Boxing is a hybrid sport that alternates between rounds of chess and boxing. Two opponents battle for victory either by knockout or checkmate, whichever comes first. The competition structure requires athletes to possess both intellectual rigor and physical toughness, demanding that they switch immediately from an intense strategic mind game to a physically demanding combat sport. Invented by Dutch performance artist Iepe Rubingh, the sport has grown into an international organization, proving that the combination of “brains and brawn” is a serious competitive pursuit.
10. The World Championships of Belly Flopping (Dødsing)
Originating in Norway, “Dødsing,” or Death Diving, is a competitive belly-flopping sport where participants leap from a 10-meter (33-foot) high platform. The goal is to maintain a horizontal “X” body position for as long as possible before impact, tucking into a fetal position only fractions of a second before hitting the water to avoid a painful injury. The dives are judged on the length of time the diver holds the horizontal pose, the power of the splash, and the creativity of the dive. It’s a spectacular display of courage, controlled chaos, and an incredible tolerance for a near-miss belly flop.
11. World Worm Charming Championship
Since 1980, the World Worm Charming Championship has taken place in Willaston, Cheshire, England. The rules are simple: participants must charm as many worms as possible out of a designated 3×3 meter plot of earth in 30 minutes. Methods must be non-chemical and non-digging, with most competitors using vibrations, pumping a garden fork into the ground and wiggling it, to encourage the worms to surface. The current world record, set by a 10-year-old girl, stands at an astonishing 567 worms charmed in the allotted time. The event is a lighthearted community competition and raises money for charity.
12. Extreme Ironing World Championships
Extreme Ironing combines a mundane household chore with an adrenaline-pumping outdoor sport. Participants haul ironing boards and wrinkled clothing to remote, challenging, or dangerous locations, such as deep underwater, on a mountain slope, or even while skydiving, to complete the task. The contest judges the quality of the ironing and the remoteness and difficulty of the location. Established in 1997 in Leicester, England, it’s considered a mix of performance art and extreme sport, challenging the notion of what constitutes a competitive or even athletic endeavor.
13. Shin-Kicking World Championship
A traditional English martial art, shin-kicking is an organized competition held annually at the Cotswold Olimpicks in Chipping Campden. Two opponents grasp each other’s shoulders and, wearing special reinforced clothing or straw tucked into their trousers, attempt to kick their opponent’s shins until one falls to the ground. The first to win two out of three rounds is the victor. Despite its brutal-sounding name, the sport is a good-natured heritage event, though the competitors’ protective straw padding is a clear indicator of the intensity of the contact.
14. World Pea Shooting Championship
The World Pea Shooting Championship is held every summer in the village of Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England. Competitors use a pea shooter to fire dried peas at a target that is 12 feet away. Precision is key, as is the technique of using one’s breath and aim to score the most points. The contest originated in 1971 when a local schoolmaster devised it as a fun way to raise money to repair the village hall roof. It has since grown into an international event, complete with its own set of professional rules and dedicated competitors.
15. Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest
The Annual Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest, sponsored by Charmin and Ripley’s Believe It or Not, challenges designers to create a wearable, stylish wedding gown and headpiece using only toilet paper, tape, glue, and a needle and thread. Held in New York, the entries often demonstrate incredible artistry and engineering, featuring delicate lace-like patterns, full skirts, and detailed bodices crafted entirely from paper. The contest showcases ingenuity and creativity, with the winning dress often achieving a level of elegance that belies its simple, disposable materials.
16. Bog Snorkeling World Championship
Held annually in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, the Bog Snorkeling World Championship challenges competitors to complete two lengths of a 60-yard trench cut into a peat bog. Participants must wear snorkels and flippers, but they are strictly forbidden from using conventional swimming strokes. The objective is to propel oneself solely using flipper power through the murky, often freezing, water in the fastest time possible. Originating in 1985 as a charity fundraising event, it has since grown into an international phenomenon, drawing hundreds of participants and spectators who appreciate the muddy, unconventional test of endurance.
17. World Stone Skimming Championships
Held on the small, remote island of Easdale, Scotland, the World Stone Skimming Championships attract participants from around the globe to demonstrate their technique in making a stone skip across the surface of the water. The criteria for judging are simple: the distance a stone travels is recorded, with an official skim requiring the stone to strike the water at least three times. The competition began in 1983 and, after a period of dormancy, was revived in 1997. It is now a key part of the island’s calendar, drawing large crowds for a unique test of physics and finesse.
18. Cardboard Boat Regatta
Various locations worldwide host Cardboard Boat Regattas, competitions where teams design, build, and race boats made entirely out of corrugated cardboard and duct tape. The primary goal is to simply float and successfully paddle the vessel across a body of water without sinking. Awards are typically given for the fastest boat, the most creative design, and, in a nod to the inevitable, the most spectacular sinking. The event celebrates engineering ingenuity, teamwork, and humor, often resulting in messy, yet hilarious, maritime mayhem.
It’s clear that the human desire to compete and celebrate unusual skills knows no bounds, spanning continents and centuries. From meticulously styled facial hair to dangerously steep cheese chases, these bizarre contests offer a delightful reminder that life’s greatest pleasures are often found in the most eccentric pursuits. They are a testament to community spirit, creativity, and the joy of not taking everything too seriously.
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This story The World’s Weirdest Competitions was first published on Daily FETCH
