5 crazy contests you've probably never heard of
From cannonballing to grimacing - some contests are not so much about winning, but about the fun.
Cannonballing
Remember when you would do a cannonball into the pool as a kid just to annoy people? Well, now it is actually a serious sport. The winner is the one who causes the biggest splash, but creative jumping technique also counts. Similar contests are said to have taken place in Hawaii hundreds of years ago.
Bog snorkelling
It couldn't possibly be more uncomfortable: The bog in Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales is ice cold, wet and muddy, and visibility is close to zero. Since1985, more than 100 brave divers from around the world compete every year to become the fastest bog snorkeller. Flippers and a snorkel are mandatory - a wetsuit is optional.
Eating super spicy food
Breaking out in a sweat, collapsing or getting sick: If you want to join this contest in Berlin, you need to have a tough tummy and a penchant for pain. You will have to try inhumanly hot chili sauces that get hotter every round, measured according to the Scoville scale. The hottest item rank in a seven million Scoville. In comparison, Tabasco Sauce is just 2,500 Scoville.
Chess boxing
What once started out as fun has turned into a serious sport with worldwide dimensions. In 2003, Dutchman Iepe Rubingh invented chess boxing, a physical and spiritual exercise combined in one single sport consisting of six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing. The match ends when one of the players is either checkmate or K.O. Chess boxing has established itself as a sport all over the world.
Grimacing
As legend has it, the inhabitants of the English town of Egremont once used to make fun of the village fool by putting a bridle on him and asking him to make faces. According to other sources, the tradition of the contest has to do with sour apples. Undisputed is that only facial muscles may be used in the grimacing competition, which is said to have been going on for 800 years in Egremont.