Germany's curious clubs celebrate beards, bunnies and robots
There are more than 600,000 clubs in Germany. Most of them are quite common, devoted to everyday things like football, pigeon breeding or singing. But there are also some very curious clubs celebrating unusual habits.
A new meaning to rabbit breeding
Rabbit breeders, sports clubs and shooting clubs are very popular in Germany and have a long tradition. There are also, however, clubs in which members have devoted themselves to somewhat more unusual preoccupations. The Streetbunnycrew, for example, sees members dress up in pink rabbit costumes to ride their motorcycles. They collect donations for a good cause while spreading good cheer.
Clubs for left-handers
The life of a left-hander is full of hurdles. Scissors, a computer mouse or a can opener - all these tools of everyday life are designed for a right-handed population. The association Linkshänder wants to support those who favor their left hand, and does so by marking, for example, International Left-handers Day or organizing left-handed painting parties.
To the moon and beyond...
Under the Alexanderplatz in Berlin lie the remains of a 4.5 billion-year-old space station, its antenna the city's famed television tower. At least that's what the association c-base believes. In a 700-square-meter cellar (around 7,500 square feet), members investigate this space station and give seminars for computer nerds. It's also where, in 2006, the Pirate Party was founded.
Meet me at eye level
The club Langer Menschen Deutschland offers people who are taller than average the opportunity to meet face-to-face. The group has failed in its mission to achieve a tax reduction for very tall people, but it continues to lobby clothing manufacturers for a greater selection in oversized clothing. To join, women must be at least 1.8 meters tall (5 feet 9 inches). For men, it's 1.9 meters (6'2").
Hold your nose!
In 2004, a member of this fun club caused a bit of a stir. The chairman of the Furz dich frei (Fart yourself free) club held an office as a municipal politician in Rhineland-Palatinate. Some of his colleagues didn't find it so amusing, and demanded his resignation.
With a beard and a bike to the finish line
"No beard, no starting number": that's the motto of this whimsical club. Its members are united in their love of facial hair - and the folding bike. Once a year, they organize the World-Klapp, an international folding bike race. People with inadequate beard growth can also register, but only upon presentation of a medical certificate.
People of the future
Cyborgs are technologically modified creatures, with the name derived from the term cybernetic organism. They're best-known from science fiction films, but they also exist in real life. The association Cyborgs deals with the possibilities and limits of technical modification by implants and so-called wearables, as demonstrated here by Neil Harbisson, probably the world's most famous cyborg.