I'm sure many of us in the UK are quite familiar with bog snorkelling even if it's not something we follow or care that much about. But that got me thinking about all the odd sports that are familiar only to our area. I've been to the Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling Festival in Gloucestershire with a uni mate who used to live around there. I had a blast and it was all in good fun, but some participants actually get injured chasing that cheese wheel. It's serious business to some. What are some weird sports you've heard about from around the world?

Well, all I know is that Neil Rutter set a world record a year ago, on the same date today. The 2016 edition was an interesting one because it was the first time a brother and sister simultaneously won the national championship.

I went to watch some videos of said cheese rolling festival. I suppose injuries happened because the participants had to roll just like the cheese. If only they could change that part, the event would be much safer.

 

Other than that, I think I've heard of a face slapping competition. Just the name already sounds scary.

Cheese rolling looks awesome. Another different sport that I heard of is headless goat polo, played in Kyrgyzstan. The meat gets eaten later. Sounds practical!

In the United States, we can turn the most mundane jobs into a sport. The Lumberjack World Championship draws quite the crowd and is even televised on ESPN usually. Watching people compete to saw logs faster than the other competitors is boring - until you add an announcer. Then all of a sudden the basics of being a lumberjack become a serious competition that people care about.

Another different sport that I heard of is headless goat polo, played in Kyrgyzstan. The meat gets eaten later. Sounds practical!

Man, that looks brutal! It's like an all out brawl on a horse. I'm surprised the horses don't get injured.

I went to watch some videos of said cheese rolling festival. I suppose injuries happened because the participants had to roll just like the cheese. If only they could change that part, the event would be much safer.

 

Other than that, I think I've heard of a face slapping competition. Just the name already sounds scary.

Just trying to figure out how a slapping competition is structured and I can't help but cringe at the thought of being slapped. I think this one falls the 'weird but dangerous games'!

Just trying to figure out how a slapping competition is structured and I can't help but cringe at the thought of being slapped. I think this one falls the 'weird but dangerous games'!

I went to search for some videos of the game after that. Participants stand and slap each other until one flinches back far enough from the line. I'm very worried looking at whoever loses the match because they really don't pull back their punches!