Unique Sports

From getting muddy to risking a knockout or chasing after cheese, these sports show that athletic skill can look very different. They prove that competition can be funny, bold, and creative. Extreme and quirky sports highlight our love for fun, challenge, and memorable experiences.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_ironing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife-carrying

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_wrestling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_alai

https://www.topendsports.com/sport/unusual/goanna-pulling.htm#:~:text=The%20event%20requires%20two%20people,of%20tug%2Dof%2Dwar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pato

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_racing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistball

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_handball

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo-taoshi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fierljeppen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canne_de_combat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_ball

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_football

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_hockey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_wrestling

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Welcome to the Cashley Show. We are Kevin and Ashley. We started this podcast after recent tragedies to take a break from negativity and discover the good news happening all around us. Think you know all there is about sports? Yes. There's a whole world of unusual competitions out there that might surprise, entertain, or even puzzle you. Let's explore some of the most unexpected and outrageous sporting events from around the world.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

I bet puzzled. I'm going to be puzzled at how some of these things are a sport.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Yep. Once we get to the end.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

First one is underwater hockey.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Puzzled already. You said to the end, but it's actually the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

The best ones are at the end. Picture a fierce game happening below the surface of a swimming pool created by British Navy divers in 1954. This fast-paced non-contact sport has two teams of six competing entirely underwater at depths of seven to nine feet.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Like under ice?

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Is that what you said? Underwater.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Oh, just underwater. Just under pool.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Players wear fins, snorkels, and gloves. They use short sticks as they glide along the pool floor, flicking three to five pound puck toward the other team's goal, all while holding their breath. Every few seconds, they're down for about five to twenty seconds. The athletes dive down, make their moves, and then go back up for air. The action keeps going for two 15-minute halves. There is no goalie, so every player takes on both attacking and defending roles, and this exciting aquatic game. What do you think of that one?

SPEAKER_02 1:51

And well, how do they stay under? So they come back up and then they dive under, and then they like scoot a puck around.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Yeah. They have a short little sticky back up. Yeah, they have a short little stick like hockey.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

So are they like do they all have to go up and down at the same time? Or people are just going up and down?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

I think people are just going up and down.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

So if you can hold your breath for a minute, you just stay down there for a minute, and this sounds a little bit dangerous too.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

I mean, I guess you're only seven to nine feet, and there's a bunch of other people around.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

So hopefully someone will see you when you pass out.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Yeah. Next one is cycle ball. Imagine playing soccer butt on a bike, racing across the court. This was invented in 1883.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Do they really have like bicycles that can do this back then?

SPEAKER_00 2:33

No, I guess so. By a German American cycle ball is now very popular in Europe and Japan. The bikes have no brakes and the players. I like that part. The players can only use the bike and their heads to score goals. Feet are not allowed.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

Wait, how do you how does the ball get up to your head if it's like I'm imagining bike tires are hitting the ball to move it? How does it get up to your head?

SPEAKER_00 3:01

And the spokes of the tires, they hit it to the goal. So the goalie hold on, let me get to the spark. If the player's foot touches the ground, they must circle behind their own goal before joining the game. Each player has two players, one outfielder, one goalie.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Each player has two players?

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Each sorry, each team has two players. It says team, I just said players.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Oh, there's only two players?

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Two players. One goalie, one outfielder. The goalie can use their hands in the goal area. So the if the goalie like hits the ball, it seems like you would be able to hit it with your head. If they hit it with their hand, knocks it away. Seems like you should be able to hit it with your head.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

Yeah, I don't I still can't. I'm trying to envision, and I cannot envision these balls flying into the air from a bicycle tire.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

They're they're a crazy bike. Hold on. So goal's much smaller than soccer.

SPEAKER_02 3:52

I'll have to show this to some of my friends who are cycling enthusiasts. Yeah. Both mountain and armstrong.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Distance. The games are fast with two seven-minute halves where strategy and balance matter most.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

So like what are the scores on these games? Seven minutes. You're playing for 14 minutes. What's the is it one point per goal?

SPEAKER_00 4:18

One of these games the goalie gets an extra point.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Like if the goalie scores?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Mm-hmm. Scoring a goal counts as one point. The team with the ghost wins.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

What if they tie? Do you go for another seven minutes? I feel like did you look up anything in this game?

SPEAKER_00 4:35

I did. Not enough to care about how the How it actually works?

SPEAKER_01 4:41

How the point system works. Well, that's the whole point of the game. If you have a point system in the game, you're all just hanging out riding bikes.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

I don't play sports, so this means nothing to me. If a match ends in a tie, a winner must usually be determined, often via a sudden death overtime period, or a penalty shootout from the center line. Because shrimp is focused uh high intensity sport draw results are generally not allowed in the final standing. Next one is cane de combat. Try a unique French martial art that was standardized in the 1970s. It's similar to fencing, but instead of swords, competitors use wooden canes.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

They're old people? Just bane each other's shins with their canes.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

It's very specific. They do wear protective masks like in fencing, the same masks as fencing. The aim is to outsmart your opponent with quick downward and horizontal strikes to the head, torso, and legs. Thrusting is not allowed.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Just like a church dance.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yeah. So you're just hitting people with a cane.

SPEAKER_02 5:51

This is from France?

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Yeah, I see that. It's kind of funny. I've been to France. This makes sense. That matches.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Next one is canal vaulting.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Just jumping over canals with like a big long pole, like a pole vault type thing, and you run and you stick it and you go over.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

Do they is this the one where they like climb up the pole and they get to the top and then like it comes down and then they No, that's a different one.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

We'll get to that one.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Okay. So what is this called again?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Canal vaulting.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Canal vaulting.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

In the Netherlands, this exciting sport has been around since 1771. It's like pole vaulting.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

When this is the only way to get over canals?

SPEAKER_00 6:29

Yeah. But instead of jumping over a bar, athletes run and launch themselves over wide muddy canals using long poles. Some of the poles are up to 43 feet tall.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

What? How do you even carry that? How do you run with that?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Seems like the ones in pole vaulting are pretty tall too. I don't know how bad.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yeah, I guess I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

So a flat plate is at the bottom of the pole to keep it from sinking in the mud at the bottom of the canal.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

The current record is an impressive 72 feet 10 inches jumping across a canal.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

A 72-foot wide canal?

SPEAKER_00 7:07

They jumped 72 feet. I don't know. I don't know if this canal is 72 feet, or it starts from when they jump and when they land on the other side.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

So it could just be a little crick then. They're just flying 72 feet. You got a four-inch creek.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Each jump combines timing, strength, and courage.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

Yeah, if you're gonna fly 72 feet, you'd have to be a little bit courageous.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yeah, come flying in.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Next one is Castell's Human Towers. So in Spain, teamwork and courage come together in the form of human towers called castellos. These towers, which date back to at least 1712, can reach up to 43 feet high and involve anywhere from 100 to 800 participants. The brave climbers, often children, climb to the top. So people are at the bottom and then they stand on each other's shoulders and just build up to 43 feet high.

SPEAKER_02 8:09

I've been in those pyramids and like 43 feet. Like you'd have so many people on top of you.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Yeah, but it's not like you're on your hands and knees, it's like you're standing up and they're standing on your shoulders, so then the next person's standing on their shoulders. So they make the kids wear helmets now, because I think one kid fell and died. But I don't know how much that's gonna help you falling 43 feet.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

But they're pretty crazy looking. Skilled teams can build up and take down these towers in just four to five minutes. It's a display of balanced strength and community spirit. This is the human tower.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

Yeah, I guess I was envisioning something a little bit different. Like I was thinking more, I'm gonna say 2D, like a flat thing where like you should have like one line of people and then like they stack up. But this is like in a like more like a pyramid type thing, right? And maybe you said that and I just missed it.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Yeah, so they'll do it seems like sometimes they have I've seen pictures of a couple of them in the same arena kind of thing, but then they just four to five minutes to build this up and take it down. That's where does this happen? Spain.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Spain.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Next one is Bo Teoshi. Think of Capture the Flag, but much bigger and with a twist. This sport started in the 1940s as a Japanese military training exercise. Bo Teyoshi has two teams of 150 players each, with 75 attackers and 75 defenders.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Take that, bicycle stalker.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

The goal is to work together to pull down a 13-foot pole that is guarded by a helmeted, by helmeted players. This is the one you were talking about. One player called the monkey sits atop the pole and tries to keep attackers away. Punching and kicking are not allowed, but tackling and wrestling are.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Now, this isn't the one I was thinking of. I think the one I was thinking of is that the one you were talking about. The human castle. No, the pole vaulting across canals. Like that I've seen people with these long poles and they like scurry up the poles as they like they jam it into the canal and then so I think what I was thinking of is what you were talking about. I just maybe described it wrong or didn't remember it correctly or whatever. But I also have seen this. I don't remember where I saw it, but yeah, it is also pr pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Seems pretty violent. Yeah. So a team wins by tilting the pole of the opposing team at a 30-degree angle.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Who measures this?

SPEAKER_00 10:38

I don't know. Or ref the game is fast, chaotic, and full of excitement.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Yeah, the videos I've seen are fast chaotic, and like I don't understand what's happening. Yeah. Other than like, yeah, this is almost like monkeys. The name implies. And then these are monkeys going after a banana.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Yeah, the one video I saw, this guy had another one like in a headlock and rolling around on the ground. Oh, this is a pretty intense game.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Just come to get some stress out.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Next one, Sipak Tekra.

SPEAKER_02 11:04

Yep, you know that.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

This sport, which started in Malaysia 500 years ago, combines elements of volleyball and soccer. This one is way cool. So teams of two to four players leap, twist, and somersault to hit a lightweight ball over a net using their feet, knees, and chest. Oh, and their head, sorry. Hands and arms are not allowed. This game is played on a badman court with a five-foot net. Matches our best of three games to 21 points. Each rally highlights the player's athleticism and creativity. So these people are kicking the ball up over the net.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

I bet I could do this. I don't think I'm as amazed by you because I feel like this is something I can do. I mean, I would have to stretch first.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

She's like doing the splits, kicking that ball.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

You just gotta stretch it.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Look at these people. Seems crazy.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Yep. I could do flips and twists and kick a ball. So I got this one. This one's in the bag.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

I guess I'm amazed because I don't do sports and it seems pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Seems pretty well for you to jump and throw your leg in the air.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Whoa. Jump and kick something? Yeah. That's not happening.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Mind blown.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Have no athletics.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

How can you make your legs do two things at once?

SPEAKER_00 12:26

I could do I used to be able to do gymnastics stuff, but not anymore. Too old.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

That happens.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Next one is beach handball.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Beach handball?

SPEAKER_00 12:38

This sport began on Italian beaches in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Two teams of four compete on sand, passing and rolling the ball. Dribbling is not allowed.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

But you can roll it.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

You can roll it, but don't dribble it. Each player can take up to three steps before passing.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

That's basketball.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Special goals like spin shot, alley oops, or goals by a goalkeeper are worth two points, while regular goals count for one. I don't know what a spin shot or an alley oop is.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

Spin shot, you're like doing a 360 shot. Oh. So you jump in. So you're gonna jump in the air. And you're gonna do another thing. Yeah. Yeah. That seems kind of cool. So is there is there a hoop or is there or is there a goal? Is there a basket or a goal? How do you score? Because I was thinking that it was kind of like volleyball until you said that you can roll the ball on the ground.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

I was thinking it was a net, but let me look.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

A net like a goal?

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Like a volleyball net.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

Well, how do you how do you score?

SPEAKER_00 13:39

By like volleyball, hitting it to the other team's space. I don't know. This one has like a goal.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

But if you're allowed to bounce it and go roll it. What is this called? Beach handball. Beach handball. Seems like yeah. It seems like there'd be goals on both sides. Because if you can you have to pass you take three steps and then you can pass it, right? Or you have to pass it. Yeah, so I imagine it's kind of like like an indoor soccer or like a futsal or something, right? But you have hands like ultimate frisbee type stuff. Like I think once you catch a frisbee in ultimate frisbee, like you can't you can't move, you have to throw again, I think. So kind of like that. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Next one is fistball. This need to get a better name. This grass court game has ancient origins. First mentioned in 240 AD. Fistball is similar to volleyball, but each team has five players who hit the ball over a six and a half foot net.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

So far, this sounds a lot like volleyball.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

Only using fists and arms. They cannot use open hand. The ball can bounce once per volley, and teams have three hits to return it. Matches are played best of five, each to eleven points with a two-point margin.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Man, this is very close to volleyball. Yeah. But I guess volleyball isn't from second century. Yeah. So this game predates. So whoever created volleyball probably stole it from these guys. Probably. And wasn't as angry, so didn't need to close their fists. Was okay using open hands. Slap. Slap ball.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Next one is dragon boat racing. This brings to life colorful festivals along ancient Chinese rivers where boats decorated with dragon heads and tails race through the waters. Teams of ten to twenty paddlers guided by a drummer and helmsman compete over distances from 200 to 2,000 meters. And I was gonna look that up, but I didn't.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

So this is very different than what I envisioned. What did you first say? Maybe I misheard it.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Dragon boat racing.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

Oh, drag. I'm thinking so I heard drag boat racing. So I'm thinking like drag racing, like America, mullets, light beer. That's what I'm envisioning. All of a sudden I'm in ancient China with people paddling and drums.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Like, what is happening? Dragon.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Drag boat racing.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

The sound of drums and the splash of paddles and cheering crowds add to the excitement. So they have to paddle to the beat of the drum. There's also an ice version where boats with blades, which you don't understand then, race across frozen lakes. Dragon boat racing is a all about teamwork, strength, and tradition.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

So I think blades like hockey, like ice hockey, like the skates. It's like that. So like blades underneath thing that they do in the middle of the room. Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

You're just pushing the boat instead of pedaling.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

I think so.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Because what are you gonna do in the wintertime when you can't drag and boat race because the water's all frozen?

SPEAKER_00 16:48

I don't think I drag and boat race.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

You gotta slap blades on and keep going. Okay. Can't be off a whole season. Try and come back.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Do some do some leg exercise. Okay, arms, because you won't be pushing the boat. Next one is corf ball. Have you ever heard of this one?

SPEAKER_02 17:04

No. I don't even know what a corf is.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

A lot of these are similar to soccer or have like a soccer element in them, which is kind of interesting.

unknown 17:12

I think.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

And I wonder if that's just because there's really only so many renditions of a sport. Not that like anyone took anything from soccer or or football or anything like that, but oh we have this ball and we need to put it in something, right? A goal, a basket, like what else you got? What else can you put it in?

SPEAKER_03 17:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Like these two spires you can throw it between there. Yeah. Right. Like, I mean, there's only there's only so many.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

People will come up with a lot of stuff. It's interesting. Corfball is a strategic variant of basketball invented in the Netherlands in 1902. Each team has four men and four women playing together on the same court. The object is to score by throwing the ball into a hoop without a net. The player cannot run, dribble, or make physical contact.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

This was in that show that we watched. Going Dutch?

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

That that's this is the sport that they play. When you said there was four men and four women, I was like, Well, I've seen this.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

That's funny.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

Corf ball, right? Because it's like I think it's so what's not like basketball is it's like just on a stick. I don't think there's a backboard.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

No.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Right. So like you have to like nothing but net all the time.

unknown 18:19

Corf ball.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Each player guards someone of the same gender. So quick thinking and accurate passing are essential. Games last two 30-minute halves and highlight teamwork, agility, and fair play.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

Oh, they're so equal rights in Norway.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Netherlands. Netherlands. Isn't that where the Dutch?

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. You got me.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Next one is drone racing.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Like RC drones? Mm-hmm. Yeah. These things are wicked fast. Yeah. Like so scary.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

They're going like 200 miles an hour or something. Like to see them start, like they they like they're flat. Sorry if I'm still in some of your thunder. The videos I've seen, like they're flat, and then like then they go like and like get going, and then like they like just like the back ones or whatever. So like they're facing like at a 90 degree from where they were. Right? Is that 90? Yeah, 90 degrees, right? So they're like facing like where they're gonna go, all four of their propellers or whatever, like facing that direction, and then there's like boom, yeah, and they are gone. And I've also seen videos of people flying drones through, and I'm guessing they're like practicing and doing different things for these races, like flying through like industrial factories and different, like I don't know, oil refineries and different things, like where they're going through these like staircases and railings and all sorts of stuff, and they are flying through them so fast. It's pretty crazy. No humans are involved, so like when they crash and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 19:45

Yeah. So they wear like VR goggles kind of thing, the people that are controlling the drone.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

Right. A drone jockey.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Yeah, so the this sport was started in Germany in 2011. Pilots wear headsets and the thing to view their whatever their the camera on their drone is seeing. That's what they're seeing in their VR headset.

SPEAKER_02 20:06

I don't know what it's called, but FPV?

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Sure. I don't know. To see their drones through their drones' eyes as they guide the drones through challenging obstacle courses. Yeah. The drones weave between flags and cones, fly over hurdles, and twist through narrow gates at high speeds. The sport combines the feel of video game with the thrill of motorsport, making it truly exciting. So the prizes, the prize money for this range from thousands to over a million dollars for elite competitions.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

There's that much money in it?

SPEAKER_00 20:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

Like it's it's really cool to watch the videos. And I imagine it's really cool to fly the drones as well. But I can't imagine like being a spectator s sitting again at one of these oil refineries or whatever they are where they go. And like watching a drone zip around. So I don't think I would really pay to like go there and see it.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Yeah, I think I'd be bored. I mean it'd be kind of cool to see some of it, but to however long it is, it's not worth paying to go to it.

unknown 21:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

A million dollars, huh?

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Next is chess boxing. Chess boxing? Chess. C-H-E-S-S.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

So when you take someone's piece, you get to punch them in the face.

unknown 21:22

No.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

So this is a sport that mixes mental and physical challenges. Created in the late 1970s, it alternates between six four-minute chess rounds and five three-minute boxing rounds. Players begin with chess, then switch to boxing for the next round. Between rounds, a table and chairs are set up. The player wears headphones to concentrate so they can't hear the crowd. A player can win by checkmate, knockout, or having more points when the time runs out. It's kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

It's a little bit ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

It'd be kind of hard to go from like boxing someone to like Oh. Moving chess pieces around.

SPEAKER_02 22:04

Did it and right? Like so you have to be good at both of those things, which is gonna be difficult. But it just seems like such a a wild jump. Like I don't even know the next one is Peto.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Yeah, okay. It's a it's a traditional sport from Argentina that dates back to 1610. Originally it was it used real ducks in a basket, but today the players use a six-handled ball riding a horse to compete and throw the ball through a tall vertical ring that is over three feet wide and almost eight feet high. The game is played in six eight-minute periods and combines elements of polo and basketball.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

This is kind of like Quidditch.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Next one is goanna polling.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

Gowanna?

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Goanna? Gowanna? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:01

Polling.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Pulling. So it's a unique Australian contest that began officially in 1985, inspired by Bushmen's traditions. The sport is named after the lizard-like stance the competitors take. Two people crouch on their hands and knees connected by a strap. So they're on their stomachs, on their hands and knees. Their necks are connected by a strap. And it's a tuga war with your neck.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

With your neck? Come on, y'all.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

That's something you don't want to break.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Goanna?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Goanna, it's a type of lizard.

unknown 23:36

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

Dude did they used to do it with the lizards?

SPEAKER_00 23:39

No, it's just what the lizards do sometimes. This little move.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Where they just pull back.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

I don't know. So they call it after the lizard.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

Next one is I mean, I guess that's not much different than like arm wrestling.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Right except for it's your neck. I've seen arms break in arm wrestling. So do necks break in Gowanna polling? I'm gonna call it neck wrestling.

SPEAKER_03 24:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

Is it just like a big rubber band that they put around both of them? So like it can't really break your neck? Or is it like a collar or something that's like and then that collar's attached? Just seems like you're gonna be dislocating vertebrae or something.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Here's two men competing in Gowanna.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

I like that they're looking right into each other's eyes. I will say this. Neither of those men looked like athletes.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Says the sport places extreme strain on the cervical spine and the neck muscles. I don't see that it says.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

I got I got tech neck, so I can't do that.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

My neck will break immediately. Going to butcher this one. J. Ally?

SPEAKER_02 24:53

J. Ally?

SPEAKER_00 24:55

Which means Merry Festival. Is known as the world's fastest game.

SPEAKER_02 24:58

It started in faster than RC drone racing? Doubt it.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

You'll have to wait and see. It started in Spain and France and developed from handball. Players used a curved basket called Cesta to throw a hard goat skin covered ball against a wall at speeds over 150 miles an hour, with the record reaching 188 miles an hour.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Is this they have like the big like sling things?

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Yeah, it's like a baskety thing. I'll show you.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

Like that that's like the thing they used to throw the ball. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

And I guess probably catch it too.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Yeah, like because it's zipping and then you gotta catch it and you fling it back again. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

You got barely anything to protect you from a 200-mile-an hour ball, though.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

Two mile an hour goat ball. It's gonna hurt about it. Those helmets look like what's the horse polo? Looks like those helmets they wear there. Like that's mostly fashion.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

Yeah. Next one is Buzzkashi. It's a traditional horseback game from Central Asia that has been played for centuries.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

So this is Mongolians? Mongolians invent this? Probably. Right? Because they were like the invaders, the horse. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:09

Riders race across the field at full speed, trying to pick up a hundred-pound headless goat or calf.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

All these goats. There are balls, we cut their heads off. Poor goats.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

There are no teams, so each rider competes individually to drag the prize across the goalpost. The horses are specially trained, and the game is an important part of local tradition and pride. Matches can involve hundreds of riders in large crowds and bring large crowds.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

Yeah, this definitely sounds like a Mongolian game from back in the invasion days. Like they were bored of ransacking all the cities and raping and pillaging everyone, so they cut heads off of goats and drug them around instead.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Because there were no cities left to So it is a national the national sport of Afghanistan.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Did not see that coming.

SPEAKER_00 26:59

So they're just racing around on horses, dragging a dead goat or cow body around. Seems just seems kind of brutal. But use their own.

SPEAKER_02 27:09

You say it's the national sport of Afghanistan. It's a national sport. I'm sorry, Mongolians, that I put this on you. But it really did sound like I guess I don't know enough about Mongolia.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

The next one is oil wrestling. This is Turkey's national sport.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

What kind of oil are they wrestling in?

SPEAKER_00 27:28

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

Because I would think this is maybe like Iran or Iraq's national sport, and it's just crude oil.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Well, I would hope it's not. Hopefully it's just like olive oil. Olive oil.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Yeah, I guess being a Turkey, right? They're next to Greece and whatnot. They're probably lots of olives and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

So this one goes back 4,500 years to the Balkans. Wrestlers are covered in olive oil. Oh, I had it right there and I missed it. Making it difficult to hold onto each other during matches. The match ends when one wrestler pins the others back to the ground, or sometimes by lifting and carrying the the opponent three steps. Sport highlights up three steps? No, just walks with them three steps while carrying them.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Like, is there a little stairway they have to go to?

SPEAKER_00 28:15

Alright, next is a wife carrying.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

I've seen this. Like the wife's like spin upside down and they write on the back or whatever, right? And they're like, Yeah, I've seen this before.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

So this unique race started in Finland in 1992.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

I did not know it was a European thing. For some reason, I thought it was like like Carolinas or A lot of these are done all over the world, not just in that.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

This is where it started. Okay. In this competition, men run through obstacle courses while carrying their partners in different ways, such as the fireman's carry, piggyback, or the Estonian style, which Kevin was talking about, with the legs over the runner's neck and their head down by the butt.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Because this was on like a show we watched or something. And I swear it was funny because like the husband had like a bean burrito or something. I don't remember exactly what show it was or what happened, but that's that's why I remember it.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

The sport is now held in many countries and is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

What's the world record? Like what like how far or how fast someone probably carry like how fast you get through with the obstacle course. So this is gonna be like a bigger husband and a smaller wife, I imagine. To win, yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Right. Some of them look real tired of doing this.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

I've been dragging you my whole life. I'm just thinking like if you're both like gym gym rats or like CrossFit buddies or something, right? Like for this sport, you really want your wife to be a petite person. Pokemon like or could could it go the other way? Can you have like a a strong woman and like a petite man? Uh or does it have to be a husband carrying the wife? And can they just change their what they identify as for the day?

SPEAKER_00 30:01

The person carried does not have to be the runner's legal spouse, but must be at least 18, weigh at least 110 pounds. If they're lighter, they must wear a weighted backpack too.

SPEAKER_02 30:12

But it doesn't really have to be like a man carrying a woman. That's just generally men are generally bigger than women. Okay. You've answered my questions sufficiently. You can move on if you want, unless you want to talk more about it.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

While traditionally featuring man-carrying woman, modern wife-carrying competitions do not restrict the participants to be legally married, and some events, such as local or alternate contests, alternative contests, are open to pairing regardless of gender. So whatever you want. This next one is one your daughter suggested.

SPEAKER_02 30:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

The power slap.

SPEAKER_02 30:44

This is just like the slap boxing, slap fighting. Slaping, yeah. Yeah, like I think I've seen this too, where people they're just standing there and these guys are like, they do like a half turn backwards, and they're like, and they bring it back and like touch their face, and like and bring it back. And so I'm like, Yeah, I've seen this, and they just slap the bejesus out of them. People, people's heads are getting knocked off.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Yeah, so power slapping. Power slap.

unknown 31:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Step up to the podium for one of the world's most jaw-dropping face-offs.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

This was in a movie, a Christmas movie, right? Where like the I want to say not not the devil, but like Santa's like brother or something was like is like a demon, or like not a demon, but right? And they like the rock and Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds. Is that who it is?

SPEAKER_00 31:31

It's yeah, it's one of the Santa Claus movies.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

Yeah. Right? And like he has his face.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Krampus.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Krampus? Krampus. Krampus. They do the slapping in his world. Krampus' hand is like as big as is it Dwayne that fights him, right? Because Dwayne's the yeah. His hand's like as big as Dwayne's. He just puts it on there. Yeah. That was a good show. That was funny.

SPEAKER_00 31:54

Power Slap, which became popular in Russia and Poland in the early 2000s.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

I can see that.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Put two competitors head to head in a contest of pure resilience and nerve. Each person takes turns delivering loud open-hand slaps while the defender must stand completely still, no flinching, no blocking, and you cannot raise your shoulders.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

No flinching.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

Matches last up to five rounds and end with a dramatic knockout.

SPEAKER_02 32:21

So you have to be knocked out.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

No, it can it ends after five rounds or when someone's knocked out.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Okay. Well, so at five rounds, like who wins if neither person has been knocked out.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

I'm sure there's some sort of scoring for slappities. Slapities. This sport is not for the faint of heart. Studies show nearly 80% of contestants leave with visible signs of concussion.

SPEAKER_02 32:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

If go watch one of these videos, and you will immediately know. Yeah, a hundred percent of them should be leaving with concussions.

SPEAKER_00 32:54

Yeah, your daughter said a lot of them like start getting tears in their eyes.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:58

Which hurts so much. I don't know why you do this.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

I yeah, I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Seems painful.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

I wouldn't do it.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

The next one is extreme ironing. We're getting into the weird ones.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Why do you chores at home when you can press your shirt on the edge of a cliff? This unusual sport began in 1997 when Phil Shaw combined a rock climbing and ironing. Athletes carry their ironing boards to some of the world's most outrageous places. People have ironed shirts in forests, on rivers, underwater while skydiving, and under the ice of a frozen lake. I don't know how you do it underwater.

SPEAKER_02 33:36

You can't just iron underwater.

unknown 33:38

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

Yeah, this is all made up.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

To compete. Your item must be at least the size of a tea towel, which I don't know what that is, a washcloth?

SPEAKER_02 33:46

That's what I would imagine, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

And judges score you on creativity, daring location, and how well you press. It's part adventure, part absurdity, and real test of multitasking. So this guy had ironing to do, but he wanted to go rock climbing, and so he's like, I'll just take it with me. I don't know what you plug it into. Yeah. Or the iron.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Yeah. I don't know how any of this works. Or how this is a sport at all. Next one it's like what you said. He needed to get ironing done, but he really wanted to go rock climbing. I'll just do it while I'm up there.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

You made it as work.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

And people were like, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

Yeah. I want to do that too. The next one is swamp football. Want to get down and dirty?

SPEAKER_02 34:27

So how wait, where how are the pauses in that that you said? Swamp football or swamp football?

SPEAKER_00 34:34

Swamp football.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

That didn't you didn't change anything.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

I said football together.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Swamp football began in Finland in 1998.

SPEAKER_02 34:44

Do they have swamps in Finland?

SPEAKER_00 34:46

I don't know. I just imagine Finland as being Well, I don't think it's swampy like Florida swampy. I think it's swampy like mud swamp.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

That's what it looked like. In 1998, and takes soccer to a whole new level by playing in muddy, knee-deep bog. Players slog through the muck, fighting for every slippery goal. Two teams of six, including a goalie, play two 12-minute halves. The rules have changed for the swamp. There are no offsides, and every corner kick, penalty kick, or throw-in starts by dropping the ball onto your foot before kicking. If you enjoy grit, laughter, and a good splash, this sport is for you.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

Yeah, it seems mostly just silly having fun playing in the mud. But they had to throw a ball in there.

SPEAKER_00 35:31

Up above your knees in mud, and you're like, I don't know how you can kick a ball.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

That's why the halves are only like 12 minutes or whatever they were. You're exhausted afterwards.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

The next one is cheese rolling.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

Welcome to one of England's This just this reminds me of when like the kids don't want to do chores. So we try and make it into like something fun or a game. This one's like the peasants won't move the cheese, sire. Well, see which one can move it faster. Oh, that's great.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Welcome to one of England's wildest traditions. For more than 600 years, Daredevils have chased a heavy, not too heavy, seven to nine pound wheel of cheese down a very steep hill. It says it's almost vertical. Where gravity takes over and the cheese can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour. It's known as the world's most dangerous race for good reason. Tumbles, spills, and big wipeouts are all part of the event. The winner that makes it across the finish line gets bragging rights and a tasty wheel of cheese.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Pass. I will just buy it at the store. Not chasing my cheese down a mountain.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

And our final one, toe wrestling.

SPEAKER_02 36:40

Ew.

SPEAKER_00 36:43

Move over, arm wrestling. This British sport puts your toes in the spotlight.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

And neck wrestling.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

Invented in 1976. Toe wrestling matches opponents who lock big toes, they keep their hands behind their backs, and lift the other leg for leverage. So the leg they're not using gets lifted up. So it seems like it's hard to keep a leg up and fight with the other toe. Okay. I don't know. It's a quirky best of three contest. Switching feet each round with one goal. Pin your rival's foot to the toe platform. Who would have guessed? Toes could be so competitive.

SPEAKER_02 37:23

What's a totium platform?

SPEAKER_00 37:24

Instead of a podium, they call it a totium.

SPEAKER_02 37:27

Oh, so like when you're arm wrestling, you guys put their arms on the arm modium and then like just like that. So how do you how do you make a toe go down though? It seems like it had to be your whole foot or leg or something.

unknown 37:39

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

This one guy's they just break an ankle.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

This one guy on the one of the pictures I saw had like a it's like um a wrestling belt for his winning toe wrestling. He had it on his shoulder. He was on some news thing.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Seems like it should be on his toe. Very least, his foot.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Remember to consult your doctor before starting any new activity. These activities can be dangerous and should be done with proper safety equipment. These unusual competitions grab attention and challenge what we think of sports. The world's most extreme and quirky sports are an example of a human desire for fun, challenge, and unforgettable stories. Remember, even a small act of kindness can be someone's beacon in their darkest moment. Choose kindness every day. Reach out to someone today. You have the power to change your life. Be the signal of hope this world needs to be.