Well Now, Isn’t This Fun?
hobby
[ hob-ee ] noun, plural hob·bies.
An activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.
Do you have a hobby? Odds are the answer is yes. Speaking for myself, I can’t think of anyone I’ve known who didn’t have at least one hobby; some I know—including myself–have several. Hobbies can be pleasant, fulfilling, even stimulating ways to spend free time. And let’s face it: if whatever hobby you practice fails to bring you some degree of peace, you need a new hobby.
It seems all hobbies fall into at least one of these categories:
- Physical activities: These hobbies stimulate our bodies as well as our minds. Yoga, dancing, and sports immediately come to mind.
- Cerebral activities: Reading, jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku are three examples.
- Creative activities: Five such include writing, painting, playing an instrument and/or singing, community theater, and cooking.
- Community-oriented activities: Hobbies in this category would include tutoring, helping out in a food pantry or soup kitchen, volunteering for a church committee, and so on.
I enjoy a few hobbies: photography, reading, listening to music, writing, and some volunteer activities. While I never got the bug to collect stamps or coins, many years ago I started collecting wheat pennies which the U.S. Mint coined between 1909 and 1956. They still show up now and again when I receive change from a store or restaurant, and I just get a kick out of getting them and seeing how old they are. If I recall correctly, the oldest one I have is from 1912; it would be fun to get one from 1909 someday.
Have you ever noticed how some people’s hobbies seem a bit, well, weird? Trainspotting seems a little odd, or at least it seems dull, to me (just watching trains, really?) but, hey, whatever you enjoy that doesn’t hurt anybody, please go ahead and enjoy. Still, I really wonder about some folks’ interests. Shall I name a few? Too bad, I’m going to, anyway. The first one that comes to mind is …
- Navel fluff collecting. No, I am not kidding. There are folks out there who routinely collect the fluff/dust/lint from their navels and store it. One such gentleman (according to a couple of sources this hobby is predominantly male—I know, you’re shocked), an Australian named Graham Barker, was named by the Guinness World Records as having the largest collection of his own navel fluff—a collection amassed over 26 years and then sold (three jars!) to a museum. While I couldn’t learn which museum boasts the collection, I suspect it isn’t the Louvre.
- Newsraiding. You might have heard the term “photobombing,” which is when someone pulls a prank by intentionally showing up inappropriately in a photo or video of other people. Newsraiding is when someone routinely shows up where news is being reported on camera with the intention of being caught on video for posterity (usually as part of a crowd scene). This hobby requires careful planning and a dedication that borders on the obsessive. Paul Yarrow, from South London, England, is the current champ of this hobby having appeared many times in the United Kingdom on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and even al-Jazeera. He usually wears a beige sweater, as if being large and balding weren’t recognizable enough characteristics.
- Extreme Ironing. This one absolutely cracks me up. While I’ve known many people who are good at ironing—my better two-thirds comes to mind—I can’t imagine that any of them love the chore. So how to turn it into a passion? Simply iron clothes while doing something else such as surfing, rock climbing, skiing, or even—get this—underwater while wearing scuba gear. This hobby, which is considered a sport, is so popular that in 2002, 12 teams from 10 countries participated in the First Extreme Ironing World Championship. Troye Wallett of South Africa once won by ironing a shirt while standing on a tightrope suspended between two mountains. Reportedly, he got out all of the wrinkles from the shirt he worked on. Way to go, Troye! (You skeptics are invited to search this topic on YouTube. You can get back to me after you’ve picked your jaw up from the floor.)
- Suing. That’s correct; suing can be a hobby. Of course it isn’t a surprise that inmates in correctional facilities have a lot of time on their hands. Someone I once knew served time and claimed that one of the worst things about being in prison was the sheer boredom. He was not alone in that belief as this hobby (what else would you call it?) is dominated by the U.S.A. prison inmate population.
- Who is the “best” at it? No idea, but the dubious honor of sheer number of filed lawsuits goes to Jonathan Lee Riches, who served over 10 years at a federal prison in Kentucky during which time he initiated—get this—over 2,600 lawsuits. His history includes actions against such notables as Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, the president of Iran, Hulk Hogan, Martha Stewart, and former president George W. Bush. Also, Mr. Riches has filed lawsuits against Mount Rushmore, the Library of Congress, and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick for “$63,000,000,000,000,000,000 dollars” (by the way, that’s a quintillion). Why so much, you ask? According to the filed documents, “Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes.” He even filed against Upfield Holdings over their product I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Apparently, Mr. Riches had no trouble suspending his belief.
- Riches filed so many lawsuits that he, too, has been formally recognized by the Guinness World Records folks. And, yes, he even sued them for miscounting the number of lawsuits he has filed.
- Competitive Duck Herding. This hobby involves learning how to herd ducks in the same manner one would herd sheep. Why would anyone want to do this? Beats me. Except that it seems there are companies that specialize in running corporate training sessions for management. One company claims that learning the activity builds morale and helps develop skills for working with underlings. I believe the former and, sadly, understand the latter having been a victim of similar trainings.
- Mooing. Another wonderful, unsung “sport,” people gather to compare their best impressions of, well, cows. Originating in the United States, the sport now attracts competitors from around the globe.
- A recent winner was Austin Siok at the Wisconsin State Fair. His mooing was deemed the best of the 80 folks who competed, and his prizes included a check for $1,000, a jacket covered with images of cows, a golden cowbell, and a year’s supply of submarine sandwiches from Cousins Subs, a Milwaukee-based franchise, which sponsored the contest. Mr. Siok will have to ask his mom to drive him to the store for his sandwiches, inasmuch as 10-year olds aren’t allowed to get driver’s licenses in Wisconsin.
- Toy voyaging. You can forget your taking a vacation once you feel it’s safe to travel. When was the last time you sent a favorite toy somewhere to relax?
- In this hobby, people take a toy—very often a stuffed animal or character—and send it off around the world to specific recipients. The toys have tags attached to them asking those noticing the toy to take a picture of it and then upload the image to www.toyvoyagers.com, along with information such as where the photo was taken, how the toy acted, what activities it took part in, if it was excited to be on vacation, etc. The toy is then sent to another someone, somewhere, and the process repeats. Photos on the Website show toys strapped into airplane seats, hiking in the woods, poolside on a chaise lounge chair with a frozen margarita nearby, and so on.
- Collecting In-Flight Air Sickness Bags. I’m sorry, but this is one of the most bizarre hobbies I discovered, which is why it earns the position as my final entry. Simply, travelers collect the air-sickness bags from every flight they take, and then marvel at the differences. Some airlines even use different designs on their bags, making this a challenging hobby.
- The idea behind the competitive aspect of this hobby (can’t believe I just wrote that) is to compare them with other collectors to see who has the most bags with the most designs. Naturally, there are Websites where collectors post images of their bags for the purpose of trading, buying, and selling. There is even an on-line virtual museum with over 3,000 bags to view, Steven J. Silberberg, the curator of www.airsicknessbags.com, even provides a link from which one can order a free starter set for those who have, and I quote, “succumbed to the unbridled joy of Air Sickness Bag Collecting.”
You’ll have to excuse me now; I’ve needed for a long time to polish my collection of Swiss Navy Knives.
This week’s Street Advertising Smile:
