Looking for some weird competitions to brighten your day? Around the world, people come up with the craziest contests—from carrying loved ones to freezing hair into sculptures—all in good fun. Here’s a roundup of ten truly unconventional competitions that prove sometimes, the stranger it sounds, the more fun it is.

1 Wife-Carrying World Championship in Finland

The Wife-Carrying World Championships are held each July in Sonkajärvi, Finland, and attract couples from around the globe. The race covers a 253.5-meter track filled with sand, water, and hurdles. The man carries his wife (minimum weight: 49 kg; lighter wives wear a weighted backpack) using one of several techniques, including the popular “Estonian carry,” where the woman hangs upside down on the man’s back. The winning prize is the wife’s weight in beer, plus worldwide bragging rights.

2 Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling in England

Each spring, Gloucestershire, England, hosts the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, a tradition dating back at least to the early 1800s. A 7 to 9 lb wheel of Double Gloucester cheese is released from the top of the steep, 180-meter Cooper’s Hill, quickly accelerating to speeds of up to 70 mph. Dozens of brave runners chase it down, tumbling and colliding along the way. The person who reaches the bottom first is crowned the winner and takes home the wheel of cheese. Though the race often leaves competitors injured, it remains wildly popular, drawing international participants and global media coverage.

3 Extreme Ironing

Extreme Ironing combines domestic chores with adventure sports. Competitors haul ironing boards to unusual, and often dangerous, locations such as mountaintops, rivers, forests, and even mid-air during parachute jumps. Points are awarded based on garment quality (wrinkle-free ironing counts heavily), creativity of the location, and overall performance. The activity began in Leicester, England, in 1997 and soon attracted global notice, leading to the first world championships in Germany in 2002. It’s part satire, part extreme sport, and part genuine ironing contest.

4 12-Hour Lawn Mower Racing in England

The British Lawn Mower Racing Association (BLMRA) has organized endurance mower races since 1973. Its main attraction is the 12-Hour Race held in West Sussex, where close to 50 teams ride sit-on mowers across a rugged one-mile circuit, hundreds of times. While engines must stay unmodified, competitors are permitted to tweak handling and safety features to withstand the overnight endurance challenge. The race begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday and continues overnight until 8 a.m. the following morning. Sunday, with drivers swapping shifts. Despite top speeds of nearly 50 mph, there’s no prize money—just the thrill of one of motorsport’s strangest endurance races.

5 Pillow Fighting Championship in the USA

Founded in 2021, the Pillow Fighting Championship (PFC) is in the world’s first professional pillow-fighting league. Matches feature fighters in a boxing-style ring, using specially designed combat pillows with straps and foam filling to maximize impact and minimize injury. Bouts are scored like boxing—with timed rounds, points for hits, and even knockouts. Events are streamed online and held in major U.S. cities, turning a childhood pastime into a legitimate combat sport. It mixes spectacle, safety, and competitive intensity.

6 Ferret-Legging the UK

Ferret-legging, once popular in Yorkshire, England, is one of the oddest endurance tests ever. Contestants place two live ferrets—sharp teeth and claws intact—into their trousers, tied securely at the ankles. Underwear is forbidden, and the ferrets cannot be sedated or harmed. Victory goes to the contestant who manages to endure with the ferrets inside the trousers for the longest time. Records once exceeded five hours. While less common today, it remains one of Britain’s strangest “sports,” testing nothing but nerve and pain tolerance.

7 Ostrich Racing in South Africa and the USA

Ostrich racing is a curious contest where riders attempt to stay mounted on the world’s largest bird. Native to Africa, ostriches can sprint at speeds of up to 70 km/h (43 mph), making the races fast, unpredictable, and often chaotic. Special saddles and reins are sometimes used, but the birds rarely cooperate for long, and riders are frequently thrown off. The sport is most common in South Africa, particularly around Oudtshoorn, the “ostrich capital of the world.” In the U.S., ostrich races have become popular novelty events at festivals and racetracks, drawing crowds for their comedic and spectacular appeal.

8 Hair-Freezing Contest in Canada

Every February in Whitehorse, Yukon, the International Hair-Freezing Contest takes place at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs. After relaxing in the steaming pools, participants head into the frigid –20 °C air, where their wet hair stiffens and freezes. They then shape it into unusual designs, competing for prize money of $2,000 based on creativity and style. Entrants compete in categories such as Best Male, Best Female, Best Group, and People’s Choice. The event began in 2011 and has evolved into a quirky Canadian tradition, garnering global media attention for its innovative and icy creativity.

9 Henley-on-Todd Regatta in Australia

The Henley-on-Todd Regatta, first staged in 1962, takes place each year in Alice Springs and is famous for being the only regatta held on a dry riverbed. With the Todd River almost always without water, teams build bottomless boats and run across the sand while “rowing” with their feet. Events include rowing races, battles with flour bombs, and themed costumes. Local Rotary clubs run it and raise funds for community projects, while also celebrating Australian humor and outback culture.

10 Bee-Bearding in Canada

Each summer in Ontario, Canada, the Clovermead Apiary in Aylmer hosts one of the world’s quirkiest contests: the Bee-Beard Competition. Beekeepers place a caged queen around their neck, encouraging thousands of worker bees to cluster across their face and chest, forming a “beard” that can weigh several pounds. Contestants are judged not only on the beard’s weight but also on creativity and presentation, with some even performing tricks while covered in bees. Although the sight may look risky, careful preparation—such as feeding and calming the bees—helps keep the event safe and sting-free.