Weird Hobbies

 Playing dead

Chuck Lamb, 47 aka The Dead Body Guy probably has the world's strangest hobby: he likes to play dead. As if that's not enough, he takes it one step further: he takes photos and videos of himself playing dead and posts them on his website, starting in 2005. These bizarre antics have attracted 32 million hits to his website by its 1st anniversary, and several newsprint, TV and radio appearances. But what is his motivation? In his website, he says that he'd always dreamed of being in a movie or on TV. Well, that seems to be a pretty bizarre hobby for a married man with 6 kids. He himself admitted that he has no acting experience and he's not good looking. In other words, he'd never make it as an actor. 

 Appearing in the background on TV

Paul Yarrow of south London definitely has a hobby: he likes to appear on television. So whenever a news camera crew gets set up in a public venue, he hangs around in the background on camera. He has appeared in the background of live news reports on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky News at random locations and at random times. It seems like if there is a camera crew about at the moment, he is there too!Allegedly, Yarrow wants to become a cast member on Big Brother. 

 Giving away ten dollars to strangers

Reed Sandridge lost his job last year and took up a new hobby. He gives away $10 every day to someone who looks as if they could use it, a different person every day. And Sandridge expects nothing in return but a good feeling. His mom, the daughter of a coal miner whom he remembers most for her kindness, always told him that when you're going through tough times, that's when you most need to give back. So not long after he was laid off, on the third anniversary of his mom's death, he started his "year of giving," documenting each $10 gift in a small black notebook and then blogging about the people he meets. By Day 94, he had given away almost $1,000, handing out money in blizzards, in rainstorms, on the sunniest of days. Sandridge is using his savings and his unemployment benefits for the giveaways. Some of the folks he gives money to use it to help others. He tells stories of the people he meets in his blog, which has led others to help them out as well. 

 Mooing

When it comes to mooing, 10-year-old Austin Siok is an expert. The Dyer Intermediate School fifth-grader won an annual mooing contest at the Wisconsin State Fair because he sounded more like a real cow than the other about 80 contest participants. Austin has mooed a lot since kindergarten and said he started doing it even more this summer after his family read about a mooing contest at the Racine County Fair and decided to enter Austin.Austin practiced enough that he did well in the Racine County Fair contest and qualified to compete at the State Fair last Wednesday. He ended up winning the contest, which was for anyone over age 5, after a moo-off with the second place winner. For his win, Austin got $1,000, a cow print jacket, a golden cowbell and a year's worth of free subs from Cousins Subs, which sponsored the contest. 

 Collecting Ecstasy Pills

A Dutch man has spent two decades collecting Ecstasy pills of all colours and shapes as a hobby. He gathered a 2,400-pill-strong collection. Unfortunately, in 2009 the entire collection was stolen. The 46-year-old man, who was not identified, decided to report the theft despite the illegal nature of the collection because he was worried about the possible consequences if anybody were to swallow one of the 40 poisoned pills among his collection. 

 Tattooing vehicles

A Taiwanese pensioner covers every inch of his four vehicles with virtuous words from Buddhist texts. Li Zongxiong, 71, a workshop owner, started to 'tattoo' his car, two trucks and a motorbike in 1999. His words virtually cover the vehicles, including the mirrors, windscreens, bodywork, doors, wheels - and even the number plates. Li admitted his hobby had caused him trouble: "Passers-by thought I was doodling on the cars of others, and police found it hard to believe that someone would cover his own vehicle in writing," he explained.
Li, who has only an elementary school education, said most of the words were taken from Buddhist texts. Li's son, Li Jiasheng, said the family now forbids his father to buy new vehicles, since they know he will write all over them - no matter how much they cost. But his grandson has promised that when he grows up and makes some money he will buy him a big bus to write on and indulge his hobby. 

 Suing

Despite being incarcerated at a federal prison in Kentucky, Jonathan Lee Riches has made it into the Guiness Book of World Records. He was named as the person who has filed the most lawsuit ever. So what did he do next? He filed a lawsuit against the folks at Guinness! In the injunction filed in Richland, Riches – who acknowledges he is receiving treatment for mental-health problems – said: "The Guinness Book of World Records have no right to publish my work, my legal masterpieces". Those include lawsuits against New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former President George W. Bush, Somali pirates, Britney Spears and Martha Stewart. He's also filed lawsuits against Plato, Nostradamus, James Hoffa, "Various Buddhist Monks," the Lincoln Memorial, the Eiffel Tower and Three Mile Island. In his latest court filing, Riches wrote about how he sued Black History Month, the president of Iran and butter substitute I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

Gooming Dogs

That's not a tiger in the picture, but a dog dyed to look like a tiger. It's an example of a growing hobby in China: dying and trimming dogs' hair so that they look like different animals. The Chinese were very quick to embrace this bizarre trend, and it is not unusual for owners to take their dogs to grooming parlours where they are not only given a shampoo and trim, but a multi-coloured dye job as well. Recent figures show money spent on pets across the nation has seen nearly a 500 per cent increase between 1999 and 2008 – but, arguably, at the cost of their pets' dignity. What the animals might think about it is another matter. 

 Riding Roller Coasters

A 78-year-old man rode a Pittsburgh-area roller coaster 90 times in one day - bringing his lifetime total to 4,000 rides. Vic Kleman spent about five hours on the Jack Rabbit roller coaster at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin. The wooden coaster is no spring chicken, either. Its celebrating its 90th anniversary - the number that prompted Kleman's marathon riding session. The Jack Rabbit has an 85-foot, double-dip drop. Kleman says he's been going on it since 1959, and usually rides it about 20 times a visit. Kleman, who lives in nearby Knoxville, Pa., is a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts. 

 Knitting breasts
A Sussex octogenarian has an unusual hobby - knitting woollen breasts. Audrey Horncastle gives her woolly boobs to daughter Rhona Emery, a community nurse, to help teach new mums to breast feed. And the 84-year-old, from Woodingdean, near Brighton, has churned out more than 100 knitted breasts in little more than three years. Mrs Horncastle, who is only paid for the cost of materials, says she will carry on knitting as long as there's demand.

Weddings from around the world

A Sunni Iranian girl rings a bell as groom Yaghoub Tan, 29, and bride Rabe'e Kori, 23, make their way during a traditional wedding ceremony in First Dahneh village near Bandar Torkaman in Golestan province, 400Km (249 Miles) north of Tehran, Iran on October 17, 2008. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)   Chinese newlyweds pose for photos, wearing rented Western wedding clothing, in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing on May 18, 2010. According to the "2010 Social Blue Paper" released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, there is currently a serious gender imbalance problem among the population under 19 years old in China. The report predicted that the number of marriage age Chinese men will be more than that of Chinese women by 30 to 40 million in 2020, meaning that one in five marriage age men will remain bachelors. UPI/Stephen Shaver.   Six brides and six grooms hold on as they begin their trip on The Boss roller coaster, where they will exchange wedding vows, June 30. A minister was on the ride to administer the wedding vows and make the ceremony official. mc/bg/Bill Greenblatt UPI   A Palestinian groom is carried by wedding guests during a traditional wedding celebration at the beach in Rafah, Gaza on June 20, 2008. Guns went quiet as a six-month truce between Israel and Gaza militants took effect early Thursday. (UPI Photo/Ismael Mohamad)   Patricia and Gabriele Starr of Wahoo, Nebraska kiss after coming down the Wahoo Racer after saying "I Do" along with two other couples at Six Flags in Eureka, Missouri on May 23, 2009. Three couples from Wahoo, Nebraska said their wedding vows at the top of the water ride before enjoying a quick ride down with their vails in hair. The event helped kick off the opening of the new ride in the water park. (UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt)   A Lebanese Shia Muslim newlywed couple Hussein Daher (right) and his wife Hadia stand before what remains of the building they were suppose to live in together in Beirut is bombed southern suburbs on August 19, 2006. Hezbollah has started a campaign around the country to give money to help Shia Muslim families rebuild their lives. (UPI Photo)   Bride Brenda Donat (bottom) and husband Matthew Huling, along with Jeff Vitt and his bride Jennifer Fox (hidden) Rev. Alexandra Potash and a radio personality, ride the Big Kahuna water ride at Six Flags Amusement Park as they say their vows while being married on the ride, in Eureka, Missouri, July 19, 2001.bg/Bill Greenblatt UPI   200 Palestinian grooms attend a mass wedding ceremony in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on July 31, 2008. Some 200 couples were married in Khan Younis in a group wedding organized by the Islamic Society, a group affiliated to Hamas. The newly wedded brides held a separate closed-door celebration for their weddings.(UPI photo /Ismael Mohamad)   Thousands attend a wedding ceremony for the World Culture and Sports Festival. The ceremony was held at RFK Stadium in Washington DC and featured religious leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon. UPI rs/STAFF PHOTO   Iranian bride Mahsa enters in a room as young men look on while they wait at a wedding party at Lavizan in the northeastern neighborhood of Tehran, Iran on August 16, 2007. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)   Sunni Iranians wear traditional clothes as they dance during a traditional wedding ceremony in great Arkh village in Golestan province, 400Km (249 Miles) north of Tehran, Iran on October 17, 2008. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)   Palestinians grooms sit as they attend a ceremony in which 120 grooms take part in an open-air group wedding in Rafah in Gaza Strip, , Aug. 6, 2005. Some 120 couples were married in Rafah in a group wedding organized by the Islamic Society, a group affiliated to Hamas. The newly wedded brides held a separate closed-door celebration for their weddings.(UPI photo /Ismael Mohamad)   Magan Noel and her new husband Jeremy Courtois kiss for the first time at homeplate after being married inside Busch Stadium in St. Louis on September 26, 2003. SC/BG/BILL GREENBLATT UPI   Palestinian bride Nirmen Aabed and groom Said Khatib, flanked by traditional musicians, are escorted to their new home after their wedding celebration in Rafah refugee camp in Gaza on August 27, 2007. The brides have a separate ceremony in private. The Hamas government prohibited the custom of firing arms into the air during weddings in order to stop militiamen from checking wedding celebrations. (UPI Photo/Ismael Mohamad)   Dave Turczyn (L) and Dylan Jones kiss after their wedding outside the San Diego County Administration Building on the first full day of legal marriage for California same-sex couples, June 17, 2008 in San Diego. (UPI Photo/Earl S.Cryer)   A Chinese couple, dressed in Western style wedding outfits, pose for wedding photographs in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing on October 10, 2008. Many Chinese couples still are married in traditional Chinese ceremonies, but like to have wedding style photographs taken also. (UPI Photo/Stephen Shaver)   Jennifer Cannon (L) and Doy Nichols, from Lexington, Kentucky, await the start of their wedding as she wears a bridal gown composed of 7 rolls of Ultra Soft and Ultra Strong Charmin toilet paper on December 19, 2007 at the Charmin Restrooms in New York Times Square. (UPI Photo/Ezio Petersen)   Gay activists Phyllis Lyon (R) and Del Martin cut a wedding cake after being married by Mayor Gavin Newsom (L) in the mayors office in San Francisco on June 16, 2008. The couple has been together more than 50 years and are the first to be legally married by Newsom. (UPI Photo/Terry Schmitt)   A young Chinese couple wears Western-style wedding clothes while posing for wedding pictures in front of a Christian church in downtown Beijing, September 22, 2006. (UPI Photo/Stephen Shaver)   Twenty-five couples kiss after saying "I do," during the Hallo-Wedding at Six Flags in Eureka, Mo. on October 10, 2003. The couples, decked out in Halloween style clothing tied the knot at the amusement park in front of hundreds of friends and family. (UPI/Bill Greenblatt)   Krystal Kennedy, 30, of Clearwater, Florida and Robert " Evil " Knievel, 61, also of Clearwater, Florida head to their wedding reception at Caesar's Palace after being married in Las Vegas November 19. nk/Nasser Khan UPI   American Ric Reed(left) and Canadian Ernest Lacasse show off their rings for photographers after their wedding service at the Metropolitan Community Church in Toronto, Canada on June 28, 2003. Same-sex couples recently won the right to marry legally in Ontario and the Candian government will soon introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriages across the country. dg/cc/Christine Chew UPI   Sony Music Entertainment CEO Tommy Mottola & Mexican singer/soap opera star Thalia at St Patrick's Cathedral pose for photogrpahers after their wedding in New York City, New York on December 2, 2000. cc/Star Max/Tom Lau ***Europe, Australia, Japan OUT***   David Gakshteyn and Cleo Londono of New York City exchange wedding vows on Valentine Day, February 14th, 1999, at the Serendipity 3 restaurant while standing in a small swimming pool filled with liquid chocolate ice cream, the couples favorite flavor. (wy/ep/Ezio Petersen/UPI)     Marc Emery, known as the "Prince of Pot", marries in a civil ceremony 21-year-old Jodie Giesz-Ramsay, the assistant editor of his Cannabis Culture magazine, July 23, 2006, in the Rose Garden of Queen Elizabeth park in Vancouver, British Columbia. Emery, with two co-accused returns to court August 21, 2006, to set an extradition hearing date. The U.S. Justice Department and DEA are trying to extradite Emery for selling marijuana seeds to US citizens over the Internet.

Skirts then and now