20 Strangest Sports You’ve Probably Never Heard About

There is an Italian sport called Calcio Storico that is a combination of rugby, football, and bare-knuckle fighting. It is known as the 'most violent sport' in the world.

2. There is a sport called 'Shockfighting' where 3 million volt tasers are sown into the fighters gloves.

3. Fox tossing was a popular sport in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It involved throwing live foxes high into the air using slings with a person on each end to catapult the fox upwards. The King of Poland held a contest that killed 647 foxes, 533 hares, 34 badgers, and 21 Wildcats.

4. There is a sport called Bossaball that combines elements of volleyball, football, and gymnastics with music. It is played between two teams of four players on an inflatable court featuring a trampoline on both sides.

5. Shin-kicking is a sport in England in which two participants kick each other in the shin until one of them falls.

Octopus wrestling was a 1960's sport which involved diving into shallow water and fighting an octopus back to the surface. The 1963 record was a 57-pounder.

7. There is a competitive sport called joggling that combines jogging and juggling.

8. Ferret-legging is a sport where people try to keep live ferrets in their pants for as long as possible.

9. South Africa has an extreme sport called spinning, which involves doing crazy stunts like climbing out the window of your tricked out car while it well spins.

10. ‘Er Enish’ is a traditional sport in Kyrgyzstan that essentially is wrestling but with both athletes on horseback.

Competitions exist where contestants make the ugliest face they can, and the sport is called gurning.

12. In 2010, Spain held a siesta competition. It lasted 20 minutes and contestants were awarded points on the quality of their sleep, their positions, their snores and even for their pajamas.

13. The Henley-on-Todd Regatta, held in Alice Springs, Australia, is the only 'boat' race to take place on dry land.

14. There is a sport called 'kiiking', popular in Estonia, where people try to swing on swings all the way, a full 360 degrees.

15. There is a sport called Extreme Ironing, in which people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing.

In Cambodia and Angola, they held a competition titled "Miss Landmine", aimed at finding the most attractive woman maimed by an explosive.

17. An ancient tribe on Easter Island held an annual "Birdman" competition which involved racing down a steep mountain, swimming through shark-infested waters, and waiting days for a bird to lay an egg, nab it, and then race back.

18. The plunge for distance is a former Olympic sport in which contestants plunged into the water and, without moving any of their limbs, float as far as they can for 60 seconds. A sportswriter in the New York Times described it as "slowest thing in the way of athletic competition".

19. There is a sport called Banzai Skydiving. You throw the parachute out of the airplane first and then jump after it.

20. Battle of Nations is an international, full-contact, historical medieval competition where people wear real armor and fight with real weapons every year in a castle in Europe.