The weird world of obscure sports

Beyond the world of 75,000 screaming fans, ESPN highlights, and hot, sweaty jocks, there exists a world of obscurity. The age-old phenomenon of sport is not just for the extremely athletic or the drunken tailgaters massed around a football stadium on a Sunday morning, sport is what you make of it.

Here is a look at the more obscure sports played around the globe.

Apocalypse Dishwashing

"Apocalypse dishwashing is complicated so listen up and listen good because if you get out in the field and don't do it right you could end up with some seriously grotty teacups," states the Web site urbanhousework.com. Four players start out at a medium jog. The first player has a table with the proper settings attached to his or her neck, which he or she will be eating off of. After the first player is done eating, the dish is then passed on to the second player who washes it in a soapy bucket. The third player dries it and then passes it to the fourth player who smashes the dish, preferably in a grandiose manner.

The Web site warns, however, "Just remember our policy on who's responsible for injury or death (you, not us)."

Extreme Ironing

While it is questionable whether or not Extreme Ironist "Siltkicker" will be accepted into the Guinness Book of World Records for ironing his shirt in a dirty bog in Yorkshire, England, he definitely may have been the first to do so. Siltkicker made a name for himself when he ironed a shirt under 14 inches of ice.

The Extreme Ironing Bureau, however obscure, take themselves very seriously, albeit in an obscure and hilarious manner. Extreme Ironers from around the world compete for the coveted Rowenta Award, which is given to the most extreme ironist, whether ironing atop Mt. Everest, rock-climbing, scuba diving, snowboarding, in extreme climates, or in diverse atmospheres. They have been featured on Good Morning America, Fox News and the BBC. The sport's founder, rightly nicknamed Steam, recently returned to his home in Leicester, England, to iron while suspended from a crane inside a glass box.

Hashing

Started in Malaysia by colonial British Officers in the 1930s, hashing involves lots of running, and more importantly, lots of drinking. The game is "not racing and there is little honor in being first," explains the Claremont, Calif. Hash House Harriers (CH3) organization.

Generally, a five-mile course is mapped out. The course stops every quarter mile at a check where the course splits into three or four potential routes. There is only one correct route that the runners must follow. At some checks, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks are provided. This continues to the final destination, usually a bar, where runners relive the their hashing adventures.

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