The List of the 11 unusual hobbies

Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character. and taste you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting. Hobbies are divided into four large classes: doing things, making things, collecting things, and learning things. Some people like to dress in costumes, not just at Halloween but all year long. It can be a way to explore history and discover new personas.The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities, everything from gardening to travelling and from chess to volleyball.
Sport has always been popular in our country. There are different sporting societies and clubs in Russia. Many of them take part in different international tournaments and are known all over the world. Our sportsmen take part in the Olympic Games and always win a lot of gold, silver and bronze medals.
Millions of people watch figure skating competitions, hockey and football matches, car races, tennis tournaments and other sports events. Certainly watching sports events and going in for sports are two different things. Now everybody knows that sport can be a profession and a business. But sport can be fun as well. Besides, it helps to stay in good shape, to keep fit and to be healthy. Doing sports is becoming more and more popular. Some people do it occasionally - swimming in summer, skiing or skating in winter - but many people go in for sports on a more regular basis. They try to find time to go to a swimming pool or a gym at least once a week for aerobics or yoga classes, body building or just work-out on a treadmill.
Gardening is one of the oldest of man's hobbies. It's a well-known fact that the English are very fond of gardening and growing flowers, especially roses.
Millions of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling, they travel to enjoy picturesque places, or just for a change of scene. It's always interesting to discover new things, different ways of life, to meet different people, to try different food, to listen to different musical rhythms.

1. Pooktre Art

Pooktre tree shaping is a unique eco-art form created, developed and perfected by Peter Cook and Becky Northey in South East Queensland, Australia. Pooktre is a dream made into a reality through inspiration, love of nature, tree finesse, persistence and understanding trees and how they grow.
Axel N. Erlandson: Tree Shaping Master
Now if I am going to post an article about Pooktre I've got to mention one of the masters of tree shaping, Axel N. Erlandson (1884-1964). Erlandson put himself on the map, literally and figuratively, by creating a roadside horticulture attraction he dubbed The Tree Circus in Scotts Valley, California back in 1947. Erlandson had a vision of a horticulture theme park and charged admission but it was never a commercial success. The Tree Circus took in just over $300 for the entire year of 1955...his biggest take. He sold the property in 1963 for $12K and died the next year. Property owners came and went over the years. Finally, in 1985, the owner of a tree nursery bought 24 of the trees from the previous owner and transplanted them to his horticulture theme park, Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, CA, and they are on display today. Some of the other trees were sold and ended up at The Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz, CA and in Baltimore at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Grow Your Own Furniture...Really!
50-plus years after Erlandson's Tree Circus opened for business, Pooktre co-founder Pete Cook proudly stands next to one of his guided creations on his home turf in South East Queensland, Australia. Pete has some very cool looking Pooktre growing out back. Pete's life partner, Becky, co-founded Pooktre back in 1996.

Becky's bio describes how the art of Pooktre developed in the following manner..."The swirls in the Pooktre was inspired by the hobby of engraving that she was doing at the time." Their website is what inspired me to write this post because of their nature-work and tree face image on the home page.
Becky and Pete wrote me a note where they mention...
We evolved our techniques of shaping trees in complete isolation from the rest of the world. With our techniques we know what will work or not and we can reproduce any of our pieces. Which we have done with our favorites. Pooktre only relates to our techniques, in short we have mastered the art of Pooktre.
One very important thing that I have learned is that Pooktre is NOT arborsculpture. Arborsculpture does not translate well in Japanese. In Japanese it means to carve away, not shape, and Pooktre is all about tree shaping...not carving. Helpful information they picked up while in Japan at the World Expo 2005.
Becky also wrote...
John Gathright, the producer of the Growing Village at the Japan's World Expo 2005, asked if we wished to have the whole art form called Pooktre or Circus Trees. We felt that as Axel N. Erlandson had done his trees first and well, that we were happy to have our trees associated with his. So in Japan at the Expo the trees were called Circus trees. We are quite happy to have our trees associated with people that have mastered their art. Example; John Krubsack who grew a chair on his first try or with Chris Cattle who has mastered the way he shapes the trees and is able to reproduce the same design again and again. Which means he has a understanding of how and why the design works.

1. Duct Tape Art

Duct Tape Artist Melody Williams, 17 Greers Ferry, Arkansas
As you can see, Melody's hobby is duct tape art. Her creations include shoes, clothes, jewelry, cards and sculptures—even a model of Shakespeare's Globe theater (which later became a home for her pet turtle, Shelley).
Most people aren't quite sure what to make of Melody's fascination with duct tape. "They laugh and mock me," she says, "but they always come to me when they need an adhesive."
Laughter isn't the only difficulty Melody encounters while pursuing her hobby. "Duct tape is very sticky," she says. "When I was making my skirt, I had a lot of problems with it sticking to itself in places it wasn't supposed to. Also, wearing duct tape is slightly uncomfortable. It's stiff and doesn't breathe very well."
Not that any of these drawbacks have diminished her love for the "handyman's friend." She's even written a song about it:
I have to say that my world is gray,
not because of compromises made
or morals in the shade,
but because of a sticky tape
and the way it takes shape.
There are so many uses
and not many abuses
of this great sticky mess
the component of my dress …
Ode to duct tape, my best friend;
Ode to duct tape,
may the gray never end.

3.Taphophilia

Taphophilia should not be confused with necrophilia, which is a sexual attraction to corpses.Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries. The singular term is a taphophile. It involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of (famous) deaths. An example of an individual’s expression of taphophilia is the character Harold in the movie Harold and Maude (1971).
Interview with Joel GAzis-SAx, a taphophile
How did you get into the hobby of grave hunting?
I don't know that I like being called a grave-hunter. The phrase suggests the work of resurrectionists or, worse, autograph hounds. When I do a cemetery crawl, I tend to focus on the way people use cemeteries. Sure, I include a celebrity or two, but often those who come with me enjoy the visits to places like Babyland or an ethnic section of a cemetery more than they like staring at the plaque and flower on Rudolph Valentino's crypt -- provided, of course, that I have something interesting to tell them or there is something fascinating to see.
City of the Silent has always focused on the art and culture of cemeteries, not name-dropping. There are plenty of other good sites out there that do the latter: I think I work harder than most to provide a place where people can enjoy even the tomb of a total stranger.
I prefer to call myself a "taphophile", a word I resurrected and popularized some years ago. It means, simply, one who loves tombstones or cemeteries. It comes from the same root as cenotaph and epitaph.

Do you collect any memorabilia?
I keep my collecting to items that can be purchased legitimately. I frown on collecting graveyard sculpture, for example. Another grave site owner used to advertise his desire to obtain samples of dirt from the graves of famous people. The hobby sounds innocuous until you realize just what this kind of souvenir hunting can do to a gravesite when the hobby catches on and the hordes descend. We've lost plenty of our national heritage to such "harmless" collecting. People need to realize that items like tombstones and mortuary sculpture come from cemeteries out in text '>the real world: you are often buying stolen property and destroying the beauty intended for a specific locale.
I focus on three particular areas that do not require destroying a cemetery. The first is photography: I see an interesting tombstone, I take a picture of it. The second is postcard collecting. Many cemeteries were tourist destinations in the past. Hunting around on e- bay or some other place will turn up many interesting views from the past. Of course, you have to pay the price. Third, I collect calacas or miniature skeleton figures made for the Day of the Dead. These aren't like the grotesque monstrosities that you see in the back of gift shops, those uglies with oozing pus, shriveled skin, worms, and bared bones: calacas are clown figures, often dressed up and equipped with the paraphernalia common to the professions. I have skeletons playing instruments, dancing, getting married, working at computers, etc. I don't think they are scary and most people who view my collection agree. They are funny. They are us.
I do my best to promote these nondestructive hobbies through the Taphophile's Handbook at my site.
How does your family feel about your hobby?
I think my wife sometimes wishes I would spend a little less, but otherwise, she enjoys visiting cemeteries with me and has picked up a couple of calacas for her desk at work. I guess she feels I could be going down the hill to the biker bar and getting drunk instead of to cemeteries. She counts her blessings.
Why did you start your website and what has the response to it been?
I started City of the Silent in 1994 because no one else seemed to be doing a site about cemetery culture. Response is generally positive except for the occasional disappointed Goth who feels I need more black and more gore in my site or the squeamish person who feels any mention of death and dying is sick sick sick. I get all kinds: genealogists who want to figure out what the emblems on their ancestors' graves was, writers who are trying to find details for stories, students writing papers, and other taphophiles -- lovers of cemeteries -- who come for the art and the photographs in my pages.

Whose celebrity grave would you change and why/how?
Wyatt Earp's. The former stone on his site was a simple, black marker with his name and that of his wife, Josephine. Some fan club decided that this was not good enough for him and replaced it with a glossy monstrosity with a poker hand and a silly epitaph. I've sometimes joked on my tours at Colma, California, that any one who stole the new stone would be a hero. The cemetery, I understand, still has the old one.
I think we should, wherever possible, allow the dead and their family to have the last word on how they want to be remembered. The plain black stone was Josephine's preference and it had a stark, dramatic feel to it. The new stone is pure Hollywood B-Movie.

4. Handcuff Collecting

Reno began his career in show business at age 16, touring the vaudeville circuit's in U.S. and Canada not only as an escape artist but later in an acrobatic act. This was only the beginning for eventually he was known as THE GREAT RENO,THE ESCAPE KING,and THE HANDCUFF KING. Having known Houdini personally and also collecting (and escaping from), the largest handcuff collection in the world,the history of escapism seem's to have started with Frank Reno.

Ever since the beginning of mankind and during the growth of several civilizations, there was a need to keep prisoners and to enslave people. This was necessary to have an inexpensive labor force to form towns and villages and to advance agriculture. Measures had to be taken to insure against the loss of these people. Preventing them from escape was of utmost importance. Not only for the loss of labor but for the fact that they could seek help and cause an uprising against their captors. Strips of animal hide tied to the wrists were probably the first form of restraints used to prevent these events from occurring. Later, twisted fibers from vines or tree bark were used to manufacture rope. During the Bronze and Copper Age more durable and permanent forms of restraints evolved. At this time, locks and keys were crafted which made the restraints removable and reusable. During the Iron Age, stronger restraints developed as locks became more intricate and quality raw material was available. Slave transportation to the United States relied heavily on mass quantities of iron neck collars, handcuffs, and leg irons that were manufactured and imported during the time. The golden age of handcuffs appeared during the late 19th century and into the 1920's. Manufacturing reached a pinnacle and some companies were turning out quality handcuffs by the thousands. High quality steel was now being used and manufacturing costs were reduced as factories were now producing virtually all restraints. Union Hardware-Tower Handcuff Company became the "Ford" of handcuffs and Bean cuffs were the "Chevy". The quality of the products were at their peak during this time. As World War ll approached, many handcuff companies went out of business as material was difficult to obtain. If a company was not manufacturing cuffs for the military, they were probably not going to stay in business much longer. After the war and as the end of the 20th century approached, mass production and cheaper production costs were necessary for handcuff companies to stay in business. Consequently, the fine craftsmanship diminished.

Hundreds of patents were issued to inventors of handcuffs, leg irons, thumbcuffs, neck collars, ball and chains, and countless other forms of restraints. Designs were copied or changed so there are now hundreds of models and variations from all over the world. They have become very desirable to collectors and prices for rare examples or those in exceptional condition command premium prices. Collectors of restraints are interested in their history but are equally intrigued by who may have had the misfortune to be locked up in their particular pair of handcuffs.

5.Tea Bag Covers

I'm Geert Vinck, 29 years old and I live in Belgium. Since 5 years I collect teabags and now my collection exceeds 12000 teabags. Perhaps you think it's strange to collect teabags, but if you take a look around, then you'll see there are a lot of people collecting teabags. In Belgium and The Netherlands there are more then 200 people who share this hobby. I also exchange teabags with people from France, Germany, The Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Poland, Greece, Danemar, Sweden, Iceland, The United States of America, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Israël, etc. If you are also collecting teabags, and we havent't exchanged yet, please let me know.
I'm always looking for some new contacts. Of course I do something else then only collecting teabags. A lot of time I spend at the Red Cross community. I'm an active member of a team of nurses and ambulance people in the Antwerp region who will help people on big and / or risky events in the province Antwerp. We also give medical support to persons who are a victim of a disaster. To earn some money, I work as a nurse on an Intensive Care unit, something I really like to do.

6.Elongated Coins

Elongated coins (so-called because of their shape after they are rolled) are part of what's known as "exonumia" - that is, they fall outside the usual numismatic interests. But rest assured, if you have a few, a few hundred, or a few thousand of them, you are not alone!
Founded in 1966 as a non-profit organization, The Elongated Collectors (TEC) now has over 650 members in several countries. Our purpose is to 1. encourage the study, acquisition, and exhibition of elongates and related items, 2. research and publish articles in TEC News and elsewhere, 3. assist new collectors, especially youth, and 4. promote the realistic and consistent valuation of elongates. Basically, we care for and foster interest in these marvelous souvenirs from every source and every era!

If you love elongates, then TEC is the club for you! We gather for our annual meeting at the American Numismatic Association's World of Money convention. In addition, many of our members gather throughout the year at "mini-meets" in various parts of the country to visit with one another, compare collections, trade duplicates, and go on "squishin' missions." And many of us also participate in various internet discussion groups, sharing our latest discoveries and helping each other out in any way we can. More information is available all over our website. We welcome any and all questions you have!

7.Cigar Band Collecting

The History (And Value) Of Cigar Bands
For many cigar smokers, the small paper band encircling their stogy is just a piece of trash, to be discarded along with the shrinkwrap around the box. But for others that cigar band is a bit of history - a collectible that adds immeasurably to the romance and mystique of smoking.
What is the cigar band, and how did it become so important? As is so often true when it comes to cigars, the story begins in Cuba - early-19th-century Cuba, to be exact, when that island nation had already come to be recognize as the cigar capital of the world. At that time cigar packaging was minimal - often no more than a wooden barrel or box, with the manufacturer's name inscribed. The cigars themselves were generally left blank. This situation, not surprisingly, created a cheat's paradise, in which cheap European cigars were bundled in boxes with "Cuban" markings on them and sold, domestically, to unsuspecting customers who thought they were getting fine imported Cubans.
Gustave Bock, a Dutch immigrant who owned a cigar factory in Cuba in the 1830s, is credited with being the first to place a paper band around his cigars. (Bock's "cigar band" was just a paper ring with his signature on it.)
Many other makers adopted this practice, to the point where, by 1855, most Cuban cigar exporters were using them. These bands cut down on instances of counterfeiting while giving cigar manufacturers a way to increase name recognition and loyalty.
The practice spread from Cuba to cigar makers everywhere, and its popularity was encouraged by breakthroughs in printing technology, which developed alongside changes in the economy of Europe and the Americas that favored cigar smoking. Specifically, cheap color printing (through chromolithographic processes developed in Germany) was made widely available during the latter part of the century, and paper-embossing followed in the 1880s.
Between the expansion of the cigar industry and the new possibilities developed by the printing industry, a "Golden Age" of cigar advertising was almost guaranteed, and that's what followed. Cigar makers began working not only to manufacture their cigars, but to differentiate their products from others. The late 19th and early 20th centuries featured elaborate, distinctive cigar box and cigar band artwork, often produced by highly-regarded commercial artists. These well-wrought bands featured images of famous figures of the day, historical figures, nationalistic imagery, nature scenes and animals. As with today's postage stamps, special bands would be made to commemorate special events.
And, also like stamps, the bands had that combination of ephemerality and workmanship that so often draws collectors. While they were often well-made, they weren't intended to last - so they gave collectors a challenge, as baseball cards, comic books and cheap children's toys would later in the 20th century. And they always gave off a whiff of nostalgia, reminding dedicated smokers of good times shared with a cigar and a friend.
Children also found these bands attractive, since they were often left discarded on streets during the height of cigar-smoking's popularity. Manufacturers even made "albums" with blank pages in which a person's cigar band collection could be displayed - the forerunner of those plastic display sheets that every sports-card collector knows so well.
Adding to the boom in band collecting, some cigar makers gave premiums to customers who turned in a certain number of bands - everything from a set of children's silverware (50 bands) to a Scientific American subscription (600 bands) to a baby grand piano (180,000), according to the American Cigar Co. catalog of 1904. (Those of you who used to collect Marlboro Miles during the 1990s should be feeling deja vu right about now.)
After World War I, cigars fell in popularity relative to cigarettes. Cigar makers stopped putting as much energy into the production of attractive cigar bands, as it became more necessary to cut costs. Cigar bands - at least in the US - grew generic, boring. The cost cut wasn't enough - many thousands of cigar companies closed up shop for good in the US during the '20s and '30s.
Band collecting continues in the US among a hardy group mostly consisting of old-timers and nostalgia buffs, but in Europe it remains a thriving hobby, and cigar makers there continue to print colorful but cheap bands, some of which come as part of a series (again like stamps), others of which are created specifically for collectors.

8.Beetle Fighting

Beetle Battlefield
For generations people in the North of the country have taken part in a rather unusual pastime which involves catching and training small black bugs which are natural brawlers and never shy away from a fight.
Saiarun Pinaduang
As the rain stops falling and the cool season approaches, people of all ages in the northern provinces enjoy one of their favourite pastimes - traditional beetle fighting. A showdown between two battling rivals always captures the attention of beetle enthusiasts. The kwang, a hard-winged Hercules beetle of the rhinoceros beetle family, is regarded by locals as having the true fighting spirit. The number of beetles around is also a litmus test on the health of the environment. The kwang is commonly found in the northern parts of Thailand where traditional beetle fights are held annually. There are many varying types of rhinoceros beetle, but those picked for fighting are kwang song - the large male beetles with long, pointed horns.
The kwang e-lum is the hornless female, which is usually used to spur the males into battling for her.
According to a study of the beetle by Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, the beetles spend eight months between the cool season and the beginning of the rainy season from November through to July growing from caterpillars underground into beetles. A fully-grown, hard-winged beetle then emerges.
During this period, male beetles fight to mate with females. After mating and producing new beetles, they die. The beetles usually live on trees, particularly bamboo. Their diet includes dewdrops, bamboo shoots, rotten wood and sugarcane.
During a beetle fight, a stick called a mai pun is used to incite the males and warm them up for battle.
During the cool season in the North, people rise early and go out to gather the beetles in the forests. The beetles they catch are used to lure other beetles out of hiding so they can be caught.
People will tie a kwang with short horns to a piece of sugarcane and place it in front of a house to lure beetles with long horns, such as the kwang song.
Wisut Chainarun, an MP for Phayao, a forest trekker and a kwang aficionado, shared some thoughts about the popular pastime of northern people.
"It is local wisdom and instills some discipline into children during the beetle fighting season," he said. "Children who wake up early stand a better chance of finding a decent fighting beetle. Those who sleep late and get up late may not even find one.
"Getting up early will benefit people's health. People can soak up the warm sun and exercise during the cool season," Mr Wisut said.
The beetles are easy to take care of and can be found everywhere in the North. He said the tradition of holding beetle fights has been passed on for generations and beetle fighting was originally intended to be a form of entertainment rather than for gambling.
He rejected the notion that kwang trainers were gamblers. Beetle fighting is popular among locals because the beetles are easy to find and the tools required for the fights can be easily made.
Prasit Jindakham, a kwang trainer, said the trainers of fighting beetles in the North have grouped together in clubs to preserve the traditional sport.
Beetle fighting is a favourite pastime in the northern provinces.
For a bout, an area about one metre long made of soft wood such as a jute plant is prepared as a ring.
The "battlefield" has a square hole in the middle where the female kwang e-lum is kept to incite the males into battle.
A tool called a mai pun - a stick about the size of a pencil - is needed for trainers to control their beetles during the fight.

The stick has a pointed tip with a small piece of metal fitted in the middle to produce various kinds of sounds when it is spun. The trainer makes the sounds to tell the beetle how to behave during the fight.
The rules are that if a beetle runs away from its rival three times it loses. The survival of the rhinoceros beetle depends largely on the richness of the forests, which are their natural habitat. Kwang beetles in the wild are now in danger as Thailand's forests are increasingly being destroyed. Although the beetles are being increasingly bred and raised on farms, they do not compare with those caught in the wild, which are physically stronger.

9.Javelin Catching

Javelin Catching - the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well caught spear. Javelin Catching is the perfect blend of adrenalin, danger and extreme sports. It combines dexterity with skill and fast reflexes. Above all, Javelin Catching raises awareness of safety in sport by making participants highly aware of the dangers involved (e.g. Dismemberment, Death, Injury In Many Forms). We would like to invite you to join us as we explore the Noble Art of Javelin Catching, and to share your stories or Javelin Catching Feats with us. Disclaimer: Javelin Catching is a HIGHLY DANGEROUS EXTREME SPORT. We do not accept responsibility for any actions of the individual based on the information based on this site.

10.Carving Egg Shells

Egg art is one of the earliest forms of art. There is something fascinating about the shape of the egg, and the idea of making this into art. Many early civilizations regarded the egg as a fertility symbol and decorated it as part of their fertility rites. But modern man still values egg art, possibly because it has become ingrained in our nature, or because we are amazed that art can be made from something as fragile as an empty eggshell. Whatever the reason, there are many artists throughout the world that paint, decorate, and even carve shapes into eggshells.
In a previous article, I discussed how to empty an eggshell and paint the surface. These tips are necessary because they make sure you are working with a surface that is free from diseases which are carried by birds. But after cleaning the egg and painting it, you may want to decorate it in other ways. Here are some tips that will help you learn to decorate your own egg art for Easter and other occasions.
First, your eggshell will be much easier to work with if you lightly sand a small spot where the beads will be applied. Eggshells have a naturally smooth surface, and they need to be made rough so the glue can cling. Also, you will have much more luck with a two-part epoxy or superglue than normal craft glue. For things such as ribbon, fabric, or anything else where you would be able to see an epoxy behind the fabric, use a hot glue gun very lightly. These can be peeled off of an eggshell, but using the sandpaper to rough up the edge will make it stick better.
Another trick is to use a toothpick to pick up the beads and flatback crystals. Place the crystals with the right side facing down. Apply the glue to the back and then lightly touch the toothpick to the glue. Flip it over and transfer it to the eggshell. If you need to apply two-part epoxy, this can still be difficult, and you may need to use some large tweezers or needlenose pliers to hold the crystal still while you are applying the epoxy.

11.Noodling

For those of you not familiar, noodling is basically fishing with your hands. A noodler feels around the snake infested water with his hands and feet for a large hole. Then usually goes underwater to ram their fist down a catfish’s throat. The catfish (the largest of which can be 50-70 lbs.), will latch on to the fisherman’s hand, trying to protect it’s comfy home. The noodler then has the task of dragging their catch (still latched onto their arm) out of the water and either onto shore, or into a boat. On the plus side, if they manage do all of this before they run out of air, and then retrieve their arm from the grip of the catfish’s many teeth… well, they’ve got dinner for a week.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30