Over the years I have been an aficionado of weird or unusual sports. My interest has not been in participation, but rather in simply knowing that they exist, I recently underwent surgery and in the days of recovery, I spent a lot of time on my phone. While doing some mindless searching, I came across a new “weird” sport -- extreme ironing.

You read it correctly--extreme ironing. I didn’t know there was anything about ironing that could be construed as being a sport, but there it was-- on my favorite search engine. Most women I know look at ironing as a chore and many of today’s fashions involve clothing that require little or no ironing.

I remember my mother “allowing” me to do a bit of the task every week as I admired her skill in taking a wrinkled, newly washed item and making it look great with her skills at using an iron and board. Usually my assignment involved ironing handkerchiefs or sheets (yes, she ironed sheets) things that the general public doesn’t get to see.

I never questioned her asking me if I wanted to do some ironing, and looked upon it as a privilege until one of my friends learned of the activity and laughed his head off. Mom had difficulty in getting me to iron much after that.

So, what is the sport of “extreme ironing”? From what I learned, the sport is a very dangerous one. People take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing.

“The latest danger sport that combines the thrill of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a wellpressed shirt,” my information reads.

Some locations where such performances have taken place include a mountainside of a difficult climb, a forest, in a canoe, while skiing or snowboarding , in the middle of a street. underwater, while parachuting and on and on. You get the idea.

As is the case with many weird sports, this one originated in England fairly recently, in 1980.

I cannot imagine some of the locations, especially underwater. I would think it would be difficult to get a good press in that environment.

I have written about the unusual sports I have found. The remainder is from an earlier piece.

Some of those covered include: 1. Toe wrestling. This sport is similar to arm wrestling except the feet are involved. The directions on how to play indicate that the competitors must take off their shoes and socks. Really? Anyway, the players link toes and try to pin their opponents’ foot to the floor. A pretty simple concept, but I guess it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Usually the winner of a toe wrestling match is determined on a set of two out of three.

The history of the event goes back to 1974 when four guys were drinking in an English pub and in their discussion determined that the UK had very few sports champions to speak of. One of the drinkers apparently said something to the effect of, “Let’s create a new sport, one that is unknown in other parts of the world. That’ll allow the UK a championship for two years, but then a Canadian visitor competed and claimed the prize. The sobering realization that the UK didn’t hold the toe wrestling title any more discouraged competition for a long time. But somehow it was revived and has been gaining popularity. The annual championship event now is conducted at the pub where the sport was born. Some of the top players are Clive “Doctor” DeSilva, Ben “Total Destruction” Woodroffe and Alan “Nasty” Nash, the current world champion. Lisa “Winkle Toes” Shenton is the women’s champion. Besides the UK, there is competition in Pakistan, India and China.

I’m told that it is common courtesy for opponents to remove each other’s socks and shoes. I am one who has a reverse foot fetish, meaning that I don’t like other people messing with my feet. Therefore, I am not a candidate to participate in toe wrestling.

2. Zorbing. This sport involves a person (or persons) rolling downhill inside an orb, usually made of transparent plastic. Zorbing usually is done on a gentle slope, but can also be on a level surface. The orbs are buoyant, so this sport can also be done on water. Zorbing can involve racing, but also can be done on a basis of recording the distance rolled. There may be just one rider in an orb, or some competition involves a team of two or three riders in the orb.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the following zorbing or sphering records-Longest distance traveled in a single roll, 1,870 feet by Steve Camp of South Africa; Fastest ride, 32 miles per hour by Keith Kolver of New Zealand; Fastest 100 meters is 23.21 seconds held by James Duggan of Ireland. Zorbing was invented and became popular in New Zealand.

Zorbing sounds like fun. With my luck, however, I can see myself losing control of the “Zorb” and crashing into something.

3. Ostrich racing. This event is what it sounds like, a human riding on a back an ostrich in a race. This sport is common in African nations especially. The ostrich riders are equipped with saddles, reins and bits, just like those used on horses. It is considered an African sport, but there have been events in a variety of sites in the United States. The Ostrich Farm in Jacksonville, Fla. has featured Ostrich Racing since 1892 and a place in Indio, Calif. has ostrich and camel races. Other race sites in the United States include Arizona, Nevada, Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky and Louisiana.

An acquaintance of mine had an ostrich farm from which he sold ostrich meat to a Kansas City restaurant. I went out to see his operation and noted how mean acting his ostriches were. Riding any of his critters would have been a dangerous undertaking.

4. Chess boxing. This sport is a combination of chess and boxing, which really doesn’t seem like a compatible combination. A match begins with a four-minute round of chess. Then the competitors go into a ring for a three-minute round of boxing after which they return to the chess board. One match consists of 11 rounds-six of chess and five of boxing. The winner of the match can be determined either by a checkmate in the chess portion, or by a knockout in the boxing portion. Points are kept in boxing, so if the chess portion ends in a draw, and there is no knockout, the boxing points will determine the winner. The event is a merger of the physical (boxing) with the mental (chess). It was invented as an art performance, but emerged into a competitive sport and is especially popular in Germany, the UK, India and Russia.

Chess boxing is relatively new, with the first world championship held in Berlin in 2003. There is a professional level of competition, mostly in Europe. I don’t think I would excel at this sport--mainly because I’ve always been really bad at playing chess, and I can imagine I have a glass jaw when it comes to boxing.

5. Octopush. This is also known as underwater hockey, which gives one a clue into what it is all about. Two teams compete to maneuver a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team’s goal by propelling it with a hockey stick. What makes the game a challenge is that the players are not allowed to use breathing devices and must make their moves underwater while holding their breath. It was invented in 1954 by Alan Blake of the Southsea Sub-Aqua Club in England to give club members something to do during the winter months. What it takes to play is strong swimming skills, ability to hold one’s breath under water, ability to learn how to control a puck and an ability to work well with team members.

This was developed in England and continues to be primarily a European sport. However, several of the world championships have been held in the Western Hemisphere, most notably in Canada. If one likes ice or field hockey and can swim, this game should be for you. Me, I am a lousy swimmer.

7. Sporthocking. This is a very new sport, dating all the way back to 2014. The sporthocker is a dumbbellshaped stool, lightweight and carefully balanced which is used to perform tricks. The sport itself is similar to skate boarding, but instead of standing on a skateboard to perform tricks, one sits on a sporthocker. The device is like a chair or stool. The object of the game is to perform as many tricks as possible while on a stool (sporthocker). So far, this craze is mostly popular in Germany. Finally, a sport that one can participate in while sitting on a stool.