Strange Contests Around the World

Prepare to be amazed, amused, and occasionally horrified as we journey through the strangest competitive events humanity has devised. From the Finnish forests to the steep hills of Gloucestershire, people around the world have found truly bizarre ways to challenge themselves and entertain spectators.

We kick things off with Finland's Wife Carrying Championship, where competitors navigate obstacle courses with their partners draped across their shoulders – all for the chance to win their "wife's" weight in beer. The strategies involved might surprise you, with Hannah confirming she'd be the perfect weight-to-portability ratio for maximum beer winning potential!

The conversation takes several unexpected turns as we discover Japan's Baby Crying Contest (where sumo wrestlers make infants cry for good luck), England's stomach-churning Toe Wrestling Championship, and the genuinely dangerous practice of Cheese Rolling, where competitors chase an 80mph wheel of Double Gloucester down a nearly vertical hill.

Not all competitions involve risk of bodily harm – though many do! The Air Guitar World Championships judges participants on "airness" and stage presence, while Mobile Phone Throwing competitions (another Finnish specialty) combine distance with style. For those seeking the truly extreme, there's Extreme Ironing, where participants press clothes in unlikely locations like mountaintops or underwater.

Throughout our exploration, we debate which competitions we'd actually enter versus simply observe. Some clear favorites emerge (Wife Carrying gets two enthusiastic thumbs up), while others receive a hard pass (Bog Snorkeling and anything involving feet).

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to throw tomatoes with thousands of strangers in Spain or compete in an underwater hockey match? Join us for this lighthearted journey through human creativity, competition, and occasionally questionable judgment. And if you're feeling inspired, maybe we'll see you at the next World Wife Carrying Championship in Finland!

Transcript

Introduction to Weird Competitions

Speaker 1 0:00

Hello and welcome to Bonus Dad. Bonus Daughter a special father-daughter podcast with me Hannah and me, davie, where we discuss our differences, similarities, share a few laughs and stories within our ever-changing and complex world, Each week we will discuss a topic from our own point of view and influences throughout the decades or you could choose one by contacting us via email, instagram, facebook or TikTok links in bio us via email, instagram, facebook or tiktok links in bio.

Speaker 2 0:28

Hello and welcome to a special episode of bonus dad, a bonus daughter.

Speaker 1 0:30

Every episode is special every episode is special, of course, they're all special uh, what are we doing? Today, father. So today we're going to do something. We're going to do something we kind of done before to a degree, and this is when we did the episode on the weird game shows oh yeah yeah, so we uh don't remember if you listened to one of the other episodes where we had an idea of weird game shows and also weird championships, weird competitions around the world contests, real contests.

Speaker 1 0:55

So we did one on weird game shows and this one is weird competitions around the world and, like the game show one, oh, I just cricked my neck. Then when I, oh, it's because you're 50, it's because I'm 50, I'm getting old like hannah. I've asked hannah to close her laptop. So this is a. This is going to be almost blind react.

Speaker 2 1:13

Blind react to some of these competitions most episodes are blind react for me anyway, how much did you prepare for this episode, hannah? Nothing, nothing, absolutely. I did for mythical beasts you did. You have occasionally I episode, hannah, nothing.

Speaker 1 1:23

Nothing, absolutely.

Speaker 2 1:23

I did for Mythical Beasts you have occasionally. I've occasionally written episodes.

Speaker 1 1:28

I know you have A whole episode, a whole episode.

Speaker 2 1:30

Especially of the subjects that I'm well versed in.

Speaker 1 1:33

Yes, indeed, indeed. So I have got. I've got 16 here.

Speaker 2 1:38

Lovely.

Speaker 1 1:39

Weird and wonderful competitions worldwide. If we don't get through all 16, we probably will. Wonderful competitions worldwide. Uh, if we don't get through all 16, we probably will. But uh, we'll just see kind of how we go.

Speaker 2 1:48

Yeah, so we're gonna see if you've heard of them.

Speaker 1 1:50

Oh, there might be some in here that I know there's definitely, there's only one I can think of that's definitely in here's number two, because we all love that one when that happens okay, okay I think we might be thinking of different ones, but sure your confidence is yeah.

World Wife Carrying Championship

Speaker 1 2:06

So yeah, I've got. I've got what the competition is, the country of origin, yeah, and also what the winner is, or what the winner gets oh, what like? The prize, the prize, the prize, okay so I have heard of this first one. It's from from Finland, so our Finnish brothers, and sisters across the sea. This is the World Wife Carrying Championship.

Speaker 2 2:32

Oh cool, I've heard of this too. You've heard of this. Yeah, I've seen a video of it.

Speaker 1 2:36

So what happens in that one? What do you know what happens?

Speaker 2 2:39

There's basically, I assume, husband and wife. I'm not sure about.

Speaker 1 2:43

You can have a female teammate.

Speaker 2 2:45

It doesn't have to be husband and wife, but it is yeah I, I just meant it more for, um, uh, couples that aren't conventionally male and female as well.

Speaker 1 2:51

I'm not sure what they do for that, but my understanding is, I suppose you could actually suppose, yeah, it'd be like a spouse carrying, a spouse carrying, yes, that's better way um my understanding, is a husband or a male figure carries a female figure?

Speaker 2 3:07

yeah over an obstacle course. Essentially, yes, um yeah, I'm assumed the winner is the first person to complete the obstacle course carrying the wife exactly that.

Speaker 1 3:16

Do you know what they win? I know they win the person that they carried, so the, the wife, would be their weight right in beer.

Speaker 2 3:27

Brilliant, oh no, but okay. So you want your wife to weigh a good-sized beer amount? Yeah, but not so heavy that you can't carry them.

Speaker 1 3:39

Oh, that sounds awful, but you know what I mean, exactly Like you want a good I feel like I might be that good balance.

Speaker 2 3:44

Yeah, well see this is where your mum wouldn't be that. No, because she's too light. She's way too light. I'm 62 kilograms. That feels like a good amount of beer to win, but also to carry yeah right, because 62 I'm not.

Speaker 1 3:57

Yeah, it also doesn't say that there's any specific way that you have to carry them, so you could know and I've seen.

Speaker 2 4:03

I've seen a really good way where the woman is really hard to explain, but the man is is upright and the woman's hang on. This is really hard, is she?

Speaker 2 4:14

straddling him at the front no she's like, wears him like a backpack, but upside down, oh, sorry he wears her like a backpack okay, so the legs are over the top of the shoulders so he's like this holding her legs. She's not like facing, facing ass yes, but her arms are on, like you know, the small of your back, just above your bottom yeah that like kind of shelf that you can. You can. She's got a support because they go through water as well because, her head would be obviously low yeah, so she like puts her, she eitherdles like bear, hugs him upside down.

Speaker 1 4:46

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:46

Or lifts. I've seen them lift like their neck up.

Speaker 1 4:49

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:50

So that they're above the water.

Speaker 1 4:51

I would say fireman's lift would probably be the most.

Speaker 2 4:53

I mean, yeah, I mean that's, that's.

Speaker 1 4:56

Seems yeah.

Speaker 2 4:57

Yeah, makes the most sense. I wouldn't even say, because piggy His piggyback's a bit like, yeah, straddling at the front, you're not going to be able to see where you're going. No, so that's why she went over the back upside down, because the legs are there and he just holds the legs, so he's still carrying her. Okay, and she's doing a lot of the kind of leg work, if you will, of supporting herself while he just runs the course.

Speaker 1 5:16

I think that's hilarious competition.

Speaker 2 5:19

I reckon I'm a good weight for this. Honestly, I do.

Speaker 1 5:21

Mitchell's quite strong. Maybe you should enter it.

Speaker 2 5:24

Let's go to Finland. That's an excuse to go to Finland anyway, yeah, exactly Like what a cool country to visit and then win a competition in beer. He doesn't drink beer, though You'll have to bring it home for you. I'll have it 62 kilograms worth of beer.

Speaker 1 5:34

Of beer.

Speaker 2 5:39

I wonder how many cans that is you?

Speaker 1 5:40

think I think you've definitely heard of this.

Cheese Rolling & Toe Wrestling

Speaker 2 5:42

This is english oh, then it might be what I think. What do you think it is?

Speaker 1 5:45

the cheese, is the cheese rolling too well, yeah, it is held at cooper's hill and basically competitors chase a giant wheel of cheese down a very steep hill. It says. Here injuries are common. Have you seen the most recent one? Oh, don't say like it's a snapped leg. No, no, oh mate, he goes down and my god he goes. He does go, ragdoll, he does. He eat grass, he proper goes. That was impressive. He even pings off, but the um, yeah, the winner. The winner gets the giant wheel of cheese.

Speaker 2 6:19

Well, yeah, well, that has just rolled down the hill yeah, and people actually train for this. People do genuinely train for it's gonna be a bit like is it encased in something?

Speaker 1 6:28

yeah, it's encased in wax. It's just rolled down the hill and people, because I feel like a grassy bit of cheese that people have manhandled. I mean honestly.

Speaker 2 6:35

Honestly, it is the funniest it's funny to watch yeah, it's hilarious how just people tumble down a hill it's. Can they practice on the specific hill that they do it?

Speaker 1 6:45

on. Yeah, I mean. But yeah, you see, broken legs, broken arms also. It's proper dangerous, but it is funny, it is funny, yeah. Third one, actually would you do that? Would you do the? I wouldn't, because it's just.

Speaker 2 7:00

I would end up breaking all, I think, the risk of injury and my current health situation no.

Speaker 1 7:07

Can you imagine the insurance premium on that Would?

Speaker 2 7:10

the insurance company even pay out. No, you'd just sign a waiver, wouldn't you To say oh, you could get hurt, and then they'd get out of paying it don't they?

Speaker 1 7:16

Yeah Jesus, the next one is English and I wouldn't do the next one. I can't think of anything worse, is it? Spider Den no Toe Wrestling Championship is.

Speaker 2 7:24

English and I can't. I wouldn't do the next one. I can't think of anything worse. Oh, is it a spider?

Speaker 1 7:26

den no toe wrestling championship. Toes, toes what like thumb war? But toes like arm wrestling, but with toes.

Speaker 2 7:34

Participants lock toes and try to force their opponent's foot to the side oh, I think the interlocking toes has creeped me out more than the snapping ankle situation.

Speaker 1 7:48

Oh, dear Lord, no, I can't cope with that. I don't like my feet at the best of times. I know you're not a feet person. I'm really not.

Speaker 2 7:54

I wouldn't even say I'm not a feet person, but even that seems really gross to me. Yeah.

Speaker 1 7:57

I've got weird feet.

Speaker 2 7:58

I hope there's conditions that they can be like. It has to be a clean foot.

Speaker 1 8:02

Yeah, actually I probably won't, because my feet are massive, because they are flat.

Speaker 2 8:05

Why don't you Vaseline your toes?

Speaker 1 8:06

I've got quite long toes.

Speaker 2 8:09

Vaseline your toes so they don't have enough grip.

Speaker 1 8:11

Slippy, sliding, but then you wouldn't have enough grip. You wouldn't have grip. No, no, there's got to be rules. You can't have Vaseline.

Speaker 2 8:18

Can't have Vaseline. Are the rules what?

Speaker 1 8:20

do you win? What do you win?

Speaker 2 8:22

do you win a turn? Actually it doesn't say a foot spa like one of them, like like nine e's like fill with water and it vibrates right.

Speaker 1 8:31

So so years ago, years ago, somebody bought me and your mum a spa thing right. Spa day, yes, and it was. I can't remember it's in norfolk, but literally it's just like steam rooms and saunas.

Speaker 2 8:44

It's Centre Parcs, isn't it?

Speaker 1 8:45

Yeah, it could be yeah it could be, yeah, but within this place there was that fish-eating foot bath thing where you put your foot in and the fish eat away all the dead skin.

Speaker 2 8:57

I mean, have those fish? Do they keep them hungry?

Speaker 1 9:01

I don't know.

Speaker 2 9:02

Why are they so interested in munching your feet?

Speaker 1 9:05

They're selfish dude, aren't they? They eat dead skin? Yeah, not for me.

Speaker 2 9:11

I've also done a spa experience recently and I find it really boring. I'm just not that person.

Speaker 1 9:14

I'm not a spa person at all. No, sitting in a sauna. No, it's not for me and the quiet.

Speaker 2 9:24

I don't relax me.

Speaker 1 9:26

It's not for me, I just got to keep moving. Yeah, yeah, it's not for me, not for me.

Speaker 2 9:30

Although I did do this awesome like rainfall shower, I think that was because it was interactive. I enjoyed it. You had to walk through different stages. Well, it is interactive. You go through the stages of the rainforest and you move along with the lights and the um.

Speaker 2 9:56

the thing it, what made it so funny, is there's three of us kind of sharing one rainforest shower okay and um, you weren't sure when the jets were going to come on, so we just spent the time just dodging like all the jet streams and then you just suddenly just got like a jet in your face and that was just the funniest thing of all. And then the end was a really, really cold one, so it got like colder as you went through. It was interactive, it interested me and I could have done that rainfall shower, like you know, 10, 10 times.

Speaker 1 10:23

Yeah.

Speaker 2 10:23

Because it was interactive and I enjoyed myself.

Speaker 1 10:28

So Sorry, you don't fancy the toe wrestling championship, not for me, not for you, not for me. This next one, okay, number four, I could do this. I'd enter this competition. I would enter this competition. Go on, then. Finland. Back to Finland again. Oh, competition is finland. Back to finland again. Oh god, they like their competitions, they do a lot.

Finnish Competitions: Air Guitar & More

Speaker 2 10:51

There's quite a few people and quite a few finnish ones on here. Go finland, uh. Air guitar world championships. How does one assess how good of an air guitar? Do you have to do the chords?

Speaker 1 10:55

well, apparently it's uh judged on stage presence. Yes, charismaisma.

Speaker 2 11:02

Yes.

Speaker 1 11:03

And airness, and airness. I mean, you're going to pull some faces, aren't you? And you're going to dress really cool. I mean, there's going to be some string bending going on, do you?

Speaker 2 11:14

know what song it's going to be prior to? Do you get to choose your song?

Speaker 1 11:18

Is it like this?

Speaker 2 11:19

situation is like singing competition, where you get to choose your song. Yeah, I would have thought so. Oh, so many ozzy osbourne like tributes will be going right now. Oh, ozzy.

Speaker 1 11:31

Did we kill off ozzy, by the way? Have we mentioned ozzy? No, we haven't mentioned god. That wasn't us prince of darkness, the prince of rip, bubbles of the prince of darkness, rip. Bless him.

Speaker 2 11:39

Yeah, bless his heart did you see, sorry segue. Did you see the young blood um? What's his name? Dom dominic yeah he was really good friends yeah with ozzy, yeah, um kind of passing of the torch situation, because he covered changes he did yeah um, he was the first person I thought of when I when I heard of ozzy's passing, and his little tribute to him was quite sweet it was brilliant, really sweet, yeah, really really good also speaking of sorry speaking of singers that have done really well, like george michael being one of them, who done a lot of uh like gave a lot to charity and stuff, didn't he?

Speaker 2 12:10

without putting his name to it? Yeah, and it's only recently sort of come out, however, um another person that's done something really cool recently is lewis capaldi. Have you seen?

Speaker 1 12:18

oh, I love lewis capaldi. I don't like his music, but yeah same.

Speaker 2 12:22

He's a great person and you're going to like him even more because he has donated the amount of hours that he has been off of the stage from Glastonbury 2023 or something to now.

Speaker 2 12:35

That is the amount of hours, of the equivalent days that he's been off stage, that he has donated to an online therapy called Better Health, and people can then have therapy for free because he has donated the hours. The amount of hours was something like seven seven, seven hundred and thirty six thousand hours, oh, wow. So seven thousand, uh, seven hundred and thirty six thousand worth of hours of therapy that's just normally in hour blocks yeah yeah, and that's what he's donated.

Speaker 2 13:05

That's awesome yeah, because it's helped him, obviously with his Tourette syndrome yeah all of the, all of the things that he's had going on in his life and yeah, that is really cool. Is that, yeah, really really cool yeah and he's had to obviously publicize it because he wants people to know that they can access free therapy on him.

Speaker 1 13:19

Essentially, yeah, of course, yeah, yeah, very cool very cool. Sorry, back to competitions, the fifth one Welsh Welsh, welsh.

Speaker 2 13:27

God, even the UK is doing quite well with these competitions.

Speaker 1 13:30

Bog snorkeling.

Speaker 2 13:33

Oh, no, no, no, not for me.

Speaker 1 13:34

No, not for me. So competitors race through a water-filled trench, cut into a peat bog using only snorkels and flippers. No traditional swimming strokes are allowed absolutely not absolutely no way.

Speaker 2 13:48

Yep, absolutely not you couldn't even pay me to do that, do you know? How dark peat bogs are well, I imagine that, but it's more like the thickness, yeah, of said bog yeah having a snorkel, yeah, but then you can't blow out the water of the snorkel because it's just full of well, peat.

Speaker 1 14:05

Yeah, so that is. Yeah, that would just be looking in darkness.

Speaker 2 14:09

Whenever I think of peat, I feel of a man called peat. So when I say like a bog is full of peat, you think it's like a mushed up man or lots of peats.

Speaker 1 14:20

Hundreds of peats.

Speaker 2 14:21

Hundreds of men called peat, or women, I guess, called Pete. Yeah, sorry, carry on.

Speaker 1 14:27

The next one.

Speaker 2 14:28

What do they win?

Speaker 1 14:29

Actually, do you know what? I must have done this wrong, because some of these haven't got what they win. I thought I had done what they win as well.

Speaker 2 14:36

I'd be interested to know what they win by going for a bog. Yeah, because I don't think anything is worth it yeah, that's definitely no, no it would have to be millions for me to go, honestly would I've heard of this next one, the next one's english let's go the world gurning championships.

Speaker 1 14:53

What does? Gurning mean pulling faces like right gurning, you know I don't know, what that means so what they do? They basically get. They get themselves into eggs. I've seen this a state of gun a state state of gurn. You know, they wear like a horse thing over their neck, what they call the what's that thing they have on their saddle like a collar, the horse's collar. Oh, bridal, yeah. So they put that over them and then they gurn, you know, like remember Popeye yeah, but okay essentially like that how do they judge?

Speaker 1 15:25

the best gurn, the best face change nah that's weird yeah, what are they weird? Yeah, I don't know what they're.

Speaker 2 15:32

Yeah, I don't think I'd be very good at that yeah purely because I don't know what it is yeah, world gurning champions.

Speaker 1 15:39

It's held at the Egremont Egremont Crab Fair. Contestants compete to make the ugliest facial expressions.

Speaker 2 15:46

So it's kind of Popeye related, because it's like sea related.

Speaker 1 15:49

It is, I'm Popeye the Sailor man.

Speaker 2 15:53

Is he the spinach guy?

Speaker 1 15:55

Yeah, and olive oil and blue tail bluto bluto was his, was his arch enemy oh, not pluto not pluto, no, because pluto was the dog, it was bluto do you know what? Actually, I think that's like a mandela effect okay because people would say that we used to be pluto, but I thought it's bluto uh, was he blue yeah, no, no, no. It's like a big hairy kind of. Can you remember um herjay's adventures of tintin? Remember the captain?

Speaker 1 16:21

no, no, no tintin well no I know tintin, but I don't know tintin enough. Tintin and snowy Hergé's Adventures of Tintin. Remember the captain? No, no Tintin.

Speaker 2 16:23

Well, no, I know Tintin, but I don't know Tintin enough.

Speaker 1 16:26

Tintin and Snowy.

Speaker 2 16:28

Is that the dog? That's the dog, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 16:31

Basically called Tintin, because I'm like and Flicky, flicky, flicky, flicky that's where I had long hair Because you get it in my eyes, flick it. Yeah, I want to get in my eyes, flick it, flick it, flick it, flick it.

Speaker 2 16:41

So, yeah, so that was when a lot of people didn't think you were straight and next back to Finland. Finland have the best competitions. Let's go, finland so Finland I want to go just to see all these competitions. I hope they happen at the same time of year.

Speaker 1 17:00

I've just read another one further down. Oh my god, is that actually? I will come to that one. Um, mobile phone throwing is what it is. Okay. You launch exactly what it sounds like. Competitors are judged on distance and sometimes style when throwing old mobile phones old mobile phones, not your current mobile how would you do it? What would?

Speaker 2 17:20

what nokia brick? Oh, you'd give it the old style points. So you, so you would windmill it, windmill, windmill, windmill and then overhead, not under, really, yes, do you know what I would actually under might get you further I'd get like the like it has to be nokia, because nokia's could the brick the brick. I'd hold it in that yeah, has it got to be intact at the end underarm at a 45 degree angle this is very specific, like skim it.

Speaker 1 17:48

You're saying skim it essentially use it like a skim yeah, now skimming mobile phones, that would be cool, but also spin the phone through the air aerodynamics I'd win.

Speaker 2 17:58

We're going to finland I think we need to oh I think we need to see these. So what do we need? We think we need to, I think we need to see these. So what do we need? We?

Speaker 1 18:03

need an old mobile phone. We need a wife.

Speaker 2 18:08

We have two of those at our disposal in this family.

Speaker 1 18:11

And an air guitar and we could enter all three of those competitions.

Speaker 2 18:14

Yeah, let's do it. Let's go to Finland I would enter all of the Finland ones. So far, that's cracking. One, so far, that's cracking.

Speaker 1 18:21

That is crack-a-lacking. You did say global, and I feel like we've just Europe and UK. There's a couple of other ones.

Speaker 2 18:28

We've let them down. We've let the side down.

Speaker 1 18:30

Good old Japan's in there.

Speaker 2 18:31

Oh yeah baby. We just did mobile phone throwings.

Speaker 1 18:35

Mobile phone throwings. So we're on number eight.

Japan's Bizarre Baby Crying Contest

Speaker 2 18:38

Number eight. We're doing well for time.

Speaker 1 18:40

So once we've gone through them all, we'll go back and we'll say yes or no.

Speaker 2 18:44

Oh, yeah, yeah, okay, okay, yeah, yeah. Like we did the game show, we did the game show, yeah, so this one format planning this is one your mom definitely would not do.

Speaker 1 18:53

This is a worldwide competition. Okay, happens all over the world.

Speaker 2 18:58

Extreme ironing extreme ironing, sorry again people iron clothes in extreme places like oh, it's the extremeness of the ironing, it's not the, the amount of ironing.

Speaker 1 19:14

You have to do no, no, no, we can get around this I I'd rescind my swear, all right okay, so I rescinded. But. But people are enclosed in extreme places like underwater skydiving or on mountaintops, it says extremist.

Speaker 2 19:29

Do you know what?

Speaker 1 19:30

do you know what? Do you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna do, I am gonna do this extreme ironing, it's part performance, part laundry. Welcome to another edition of extreme ironing yeah I'm gonna be playing around with these a lot more now you are you are, yeah. So underwater skydiving on mountaintops where, where else could you do extreme ironing?

Speaker 2 20:09

I mean I can think of illegal ways. I was thinking of like centennial island oh christ yeah that's exactly what, yeah, whilst you're getting like arrowed, in the air yeah, yeah, that is extreme in the shower cold shower maybe while you're like doing an extreme stunt on a bike, like in the air, as you, I there is danger. There is actually danger in this diving, diving and then ironing yeah, yeah, oh no, because what if you hit the board? What are you ironing on?

Speaker 2 20:44

you're ironing on an iron board if you're diving and the ironing board hits the water before you and you land on the ironing board yeah danger will robinson? Ironing space zero gravity zero gravity ironing that would be difficult that would be hard difficult to access as well as yeah, the astronauts can't be on that one. Yeah, actually.

Speaker 1 21:11

I've got to iron my work shirt tonight. But yeah, your mum wouldn't do that at all. She'd do the extreme, but it would probably no one irons anymore.

Speaker 2 21:20

Really I do, I know you do. I iron all the time of a certain age People don't really iron anymore. I have to iron my shirts for work. Yeah, I guess that's slightly different.

Speaker 1 21:27

But yeah, so yeah.

Speaker 2 21:29

Do you want?

Speaker 1 21:29

That does? Yeah, that. Where else could you do it? What do you think In a volcano?

Speaker 2 21:37

Yeah, what about tightrope walking? Tightrope walking, the ironing. I reckon they could.

Speaker 1 21:43

Wing walking. You know what they did with biplanes.

Speaker 2 21:45

Yes, on the plane, that's a good idea.

Speaker 1 21:46

Yeah ironing on a plane.

Speaker 2 21:48

Ironing in the bifrost.

Speaker 1 21:49

Yeah, oh, there's yeah.

Speaker 2 21:53

Cold places, hot places.

Speaker 1 21:55

Yeah, japan.

Speaker 2 21:59

Need we say more? Japan, Japan what need we say? More japan. All I'm gonna say japan. What are you doing with this one? I'm sorry, they are like the king and queens of of competitions that are strange on game shows and this.

Speaker 1 22:11

So this is what's the haps. What's going on? The baby crying contest you okay sumo wrestlers hold babies and try to make them cry Considered good luck for baby's health.

Speaker 2 22:27

Okay, okay. So the palminus offers a health benefit for the baby? Yeah, not, you know. Psychological trauma? Yeah, so why, why, why?

Speaker 1 22:37

Japan. I mean, aren't you?

Speaker 2 22:38

going to have like.

Speaker 1 22:39

Japan, just why.

Speaker 2 22:40

Jiggle baby syndrome, what is it called?

Speaker 1 22:41

Yeah, jiggle, baby syndrome. What is?

Speaker 2 22:43

it called jiggle, but um, shake your baby shaking, shaking baby syndrome yeah do you do?

Speaker 1 22:47

you know what? I saw what? Um so a couple days ago, I was making burgers as you do because rob and annie were coming around, lovely. So I was, I was making the burger. Oh, yeah, yeah, emily as well, um, but when I was making these burgers and I put on uh, just like you know, like a random playlist on spotify, so that was, that was play. Oh, I gotta tell you something actually. So I was making this random playlist, it was playing and kids came on.

Speaker 2 23:12

Can you remember the song kids, mgmt oh not, not robbie williams and connie minogue no, um, control yourself.

Speaker 1 23:19

No, I was uh, you know the kid. Control yourself, take only what you need from it.

Speaker 1 23:24

Oh, yeah, yeah that one yeah, and it started playing and I was like, oh, I remember the video to this was like weird as hell. Okay, so I went through to the living room, switched it to video from audio and then watched the video. Can you remember the video to that? No, it's the mother with the baby and she's got the baby. The horror, the, the um, nasty, they're all. Where the guy's wearing masks with blood and tentacles and that coming out and the baby's crying. But it's not a baby, it's like a, like a toddler. So I say it's like two or three years old, all right, and she's even walking down the street with it and these, these things are doing this to. And when I watched it I was like I thought Is that baby?

Speaker 1 24:02

in therapy now. Well, yeah, and then we wound it back and I thought have they done it in such a way so that the baby can't see these things and it's filmed really cleverly? No, the baby can definitely. I'm sure the baby can see it. That's crazy and again, like that would be, that would be considered child abuse, though. Yeah, that would be definitely considered child abuse now, yeah, that would be definitely consider child abuse now. Yeah, so, but actually, whilst we're on the subject of Spotify, so your mum was doing Anya's Hair- yeah right and I had my Spotify playlist on and, yes, I was singing quite loudly.

Speaker 1 24:33

All of a sudden, the song stops that I'm listening to, coldplay starts playing and Anya thought it would be funny. Anya to hack and start playing Coldplay and there were swears, there were swears.

Speaker 2 24:52

I actually have to admire Coldplay a little bit for this whole, like you know, the no, hear me out, hear me out. I'm sure you're aware, because there's a lot of memes about it. Oh, that's hilarious With the cheating CEO. Right, they shouldn't have reacted. You, I'm sure you're aware, because there's a lot of memes about oh, that's hilarious with the with the, the, the cheating ceo right, they shouldn't have reacted they shouldn't have reacted likewise?

Speaker 1 25:10

I don't think they shouldn't have been cheating for starters.

Speaker 2 25:13

They shouldn't have been cheating, they shouldn't have reacted likewise, the internet shouldn't have done what it done because they have not really thought about the uh, the wife in this scenario, and the family, I think, in my honest opinion yeah what I will say, though, is that there was obviously some backlash towards coldplay for saying that they didn't consent to being on on camera.

Speaker 2 25:33

He does, he says beforehand and he does, he does, and I have to admit, I admire the fact that he. They have now got zones, apparently, where they don't put the camera, but like, yeah it's, it's the.

Speaker 1 25:45

I'm glad he fought back on that he was like yeah, I'm with. I don't like his music but good, well done chris martin yeah, he was like, no, like.

Speaker 2 25:53

Like you know, I do say that at the start. There's no way you're blaming us for your infidelity. Absolutely 100 yeah, which I did think was quite decent.

Speaker 1 26:00

But get beep. That's what I said to that oh, get beep yeah, get beep, it's actually a quack so we went. So we went from a baby crying contest to coldplay. Well, to be fair, coldplay probably does make babies cry as well it makes makes me cry, cry because it's just so bad anyway. So next one oh, we're going back to Finland, back to Finland, finland, yeah.

Speaker 2 26:23

What are you guys doing? I love it.

Speaker 1 26:26

Oh, so this is the World Sauna Championships.

Speaker 2 26:29

Oh, how long you can stay in a sauna. Yeah, I would be so rubbish at this.

Speaker 1 26:33

Yeah, I'd open the door and go dum-dum.

Speaker 2 26:36

Yeah.

Speaker 1 26:36

A brutal endurance test where participants sat in a sauna set at 110 degrees C. That participants sat in a sauna set at 110 degrees c.

Speaker 2 26:48

That's beyond boiling point yes, and it says it was discontinued after a fatal incident. I'm not surprised someone died. Someone died. I'm not surprised.

Speaker 1 26:53

Yeah, I'm not surprised yes, I'm all do that one well, we won't be doing that in finland no and I would not last long at all.

Speaker 2 27:01

I'm rubbish at being in hot places.

Speaker 1 27:03

I do not like saunas at all. I know we've already said this.

Speaker 2 27:06

on this, I don't really mind saunas for muscle recovery and stretching out limbs and stuff. It's pretty good, but other than that I wouldn't stay in it very long yeah.

European Food Fights & Challenges

Speaker 1 27:16

no, not for that one.

Speaker 2 27:17

I'd rather not.

Speaker 1 27:19

We're going to Spain.

Speaker 2 27:20

Okay, where are we going in Spain?

Speaker 1 27:21

We're going to. Apologies, brunol.

Speaker 2 27:26

Brunol.

Speaker 1 27:27

Brunol. In Spain, basically, this is called La Tomatina. Okay, it's a food fight.

Speaker 2 27:34

Oh.

Speaker 1 27:35

Tens of thousands of people gather to throw tomatoes at each other in the world's biggest food fight. I'm all over that. She makes shizzle madizzle. Oh yeah, tomatoes, oh, but you've got different style of tomatoes. Would you be using, like the vine, ripened salad tomatoes or the big old beefsteak jalopies, do you? Do you think it depends? It depends on on your fight, like you're all tomatoed up, right. Yeah so your vine ripened are more your quick-fire ones.

Speaker 2 28:06

Yeah.

Speaker 1 28:06

Yeah, and your beefsteak is your more like one-on.

Speaker 2 28:11

Yeah, yeah, I guess, yeah, I mean, I don't think I'd participate in a food fight, but I'd like to see it.

Speaker 1 28:18

Yeah, is that?

Speaker 2 28:18

weird I'd like to observe. I just hope they aren't using tin tomatoes. What so the actual tin? God, are you trying to like bludgeon people? I um.

Speaker 1 28:31

I hit him with plum tomatoes. Why is his nose broken? Oh, they were still in the tin.

Speaker 2 28:38

I actually think what might be quite lethal is Brussels sprouts, but on the vine, have you seen them? Vines? Yeah, that's a stick.

Speaker 1 28:45

They're like flagellation things, they are.

Speaker 2 28:48

Flagellation, yeah, flagellation, is that what you mean?

Speaker 1 28:51

Yeah, flail yeah.

Speaker 2 28:54

Is it called flagellation? Yeah, no, of course it is. That's not the right word, is it?

Speaker 1 29:08

Yeah, of course it is. I thought that was like if you were like that's what those weird monks do, isn't it?

Speaker 2 29:10

when they flagellate themselves? It's flagellate a word, I don't know. That's what I'm thinking, isn't that when you, when you're, like, obsessed with someone?

Speaker 1 29:12

no, that's just obsession infatuated infatuation.

Speaker 2 29:16

Sorry, sorry, sorry yeah um so no, but you don't fancy a tomato throwing contest I mean tomatoes, yeah yeah they're fine, but I think I'd prefer to observe rather than get messy with tomato juice but if I was to go into that fight, I was gonna say it's a good blood cover-up. Um, also, I would wear red sorry, it's only dull me oh just dull me oh it's dull me.

Speaker 1 29:39

Oh then, like you little bit girl on girl I cannot it.

Speaker 2 29:43

It makes me like crazy to think that's olivia coleman I know like every time I think about that, I think oh my god, that's olivia coleman.

Speaker 1 29:50

Yeah, oh you've been around the station a few times, yeah she's so good, I know it's brilliant, do you see?

Speaker 1 29:58

I saw sorry, we're talking about olivia coleman I saw um an interview with, uh, jack Whitehall and with Graham Norton and he said about. Graham Norton said oh you know, this is this what you did. This acting for in this Jack was quite different, because you were doing an American accent and you nearly, you know you did, you nearly won an award for it. And Olivia Colman was sat there and she went what in that clip?

Speaker 2 30:21

Yeah, it was such a, I'm so sorry, put him in his place. Jack Whitehall is doing some crazy things recently. He's really into his F1 as well and so you see him on the grid quite a lot. And there was a moment where his like they have like a little handler person just to make sure that they're in the right position at the right time His handler goes, go on, move forward. He crashes straight into lewis hamilton. It's really funny, as he's going onto the grid and like it's they call it like a track lane, like infringement, like oh, it's like contact on the, on the, on the uh, on the racetrack, um, and it's just really funny. But he just seems to get himself into these precarious positions. But he was on the grid the other day and they were interviewing do something called grid. He was drunk out of his mind and you could tell he was trying to act sober, it's the funniest thing.

Speaker 2 31:07

I love Jack Wild. He is so funny. National treasure, that chap.

Speaker 1 31:11

He's a great dude. Oh, coming back to England. Woo-hoo, I've not heard of this one. Okay, this is held at the place called the Bottle Inn.

Speaker 2 31:20

Apparently, in this competition, and place called the bottle in, apparently, this competition, and it's the stinging nettle eating contest uh contestors contestants munch their way through raw stinging nettle leaves until bragging rikes.

Speaker 1 31:36

So they, they can be stung the longest. Yeah, no, not for me, not for me. That one that's um, yeah, yeah, oh, back to japan yes, go on back to japan competitive snowball fighting oh, that's not as outrageous as I thought that was gonna be.

Speaker 2 31:51

I really built myself up for that it does have strict rules.

Speaker 1 31:55

Okay, teams and even referees it says think of it as snowball paintball okay, snowball paintball oh, I love a snowball fight yeah.

Speaker 2 32:04

I think, I think you know of all the outrageous, outrageous things that Japan do.

Speaker 1 32:09

Yeah.

Speaker 2 32:09

I think that's a fairly cool one, I would imagine though that's probably.

Speaker 1 32:14

That's probably all over the world.

Speaker 2 32:15

It's a cool one.

Speaker 1 32:16

Yeah, I think you know I would imagine a lot of cold places that have snow, have competitive snowball fights.

Speaker 2 32:23

Yeah, yeah I would imagine that would go on. I don't think that's.

Speaker 1 32:25

Japan specific. That's not overly weird. Nah, it's fine. That just sounds like fun.

Speaker 2 32:31

Yeah, you didn't up the weird on that one. The next one is To balance it out, here's a really weird one.

Speaker 1 32:38

Yeah, I mean, this is a global sport.

Speaker 2 32:45

Oh, I mean, this is a global sport.

Speaker 1 32:47

It happens all over the world.

Speaker 2 32:48

Like the ironing, it's called in the UK we call it Octopush. Octopush, it's underwater hockey. Oh, okay, okay.

Speaker 1 32:52

Played at the bottom of a swimming pool with snorkels and short sticks Known as Octopush.

Speaker 2 32:57

How do you stay at the bottom Weights or lack of like when you breathe out, breathe out, you sink so they might just be able to hold their breath for quite a long time, I suppose, because the puck yeah I. I want to know how the puck works more than anything. Yeah, that that. How do they get it that?

Speaker 1 33:13

it's dense enough yeah and also yeah, drop and how to hit it underwater. You've got to, because you've got that so much resistance of hitting it as well with your own self pushed anything underwater like an object.

Speaker 2 33:28

Yeah, it would go quite far, yeah, okay, yeah, like if you were to push, like you know those kids, toys and stuff, they drop quite fast, I suppose. So the puck's got. No, the puck would have to be on the surface of the bottom of the pool, surely?

Underwater Hockey & Final Competitions

Speaker 1 33:38

now that I'm thinking about it, it's actually gonna be heavier. It's got to be I to be heavier. I was thinking like mid water, but actually no, it would be no, so your hockey sticks would be flying around all over the shop and it would slide along the floor, so there's least resistance there. Yeah.

Speaker 2 33:49

Yeah, I think, yeah, I think it's not perhaps as hard as we think. It is, other than the holding breath part.

Speaker 1 34:03

Oh, I lied to you earlier on reason. I don't think 16 was yeah it was weird number. So we are on the last one. We are on the last one, um times english hey, english, we'll finish on an english ring, one black pudding throwing, I mean. So what you do? Competitors yeah, competitors throw black pudding which, for those of you who don't know, is essentially it's blood sausage. It's made of blood. It's blood a lot of people are put off by black pudding.

Speaker 2 34:25

I love it. I like black pudding as well to me it just tastes like a really tasty earthy sausage yes, essentially that's what it does taste like.

Speaker 1 34:32

Yeah, yeah, basically they throw black pudding to knock down stacks of yorkshire puddings purchased on platforms.

Speaker 2 34:38

So this is a very like roast dinner it's a very roast dinner-esque event well, that's a waste of black pudding and yorkshire puddings yeah I'm not keen on food waste no, it's not, no, no starving children and all that so, um, that's the 15, yeah okay, should we.

Speaker 1 34:57

Let's go through should we go through yes or no?

Speaker 2 34:59

yeah, okay, okay, wife carrying world championship.

Speaker 1 35:01

Yes, I mean I'm happy to be the wife.

Speaker 2 35:02

Yes, yep um, yes I mean I'm happy to be the wife. Yes, yep, um, yeah, I'll give it the carrying, but the wife cheese rolling, um, I probably would not participate one because I don't eat cheese and therefore the prize to me is, you know, a stomach problem, inducing, um, but also, uh, injury yes, the injury would put me off as well, so no, that's a no for me. But I would observe Happy to observe Toe wrestling championship. Definitely wouldn't, and I wouldn't even observe that.

Speaker 1 35:30

It's just wrong on all levels. Just no, not for me. Air guitar yes or no?

Speaker 2 35:36

I don't think I'd be very good at it and therefore I wouldn't enter, but I would love to see you do it Again. Happy to observe, not do it myself.

Speaker 1 35:44

Okay, I would do it. I know you would Bog snorkeling.

Speaker 2 35:48

Absolutely not, would I observe it? There was a part of me that would be quite intrigued, actually, by the bog snorkeling, but I wouldn't want to participate.

Speaker 1 35:57

Actually, when you do the video, when you close the video on each one do you think you could find like a. Still, I will try a still, I will try to find a still. Yeah um the world gurning championships. Yeah, yeah, not not for me.

Speaker 2 36:11

I don't even want to watch that. That seems so boring to me uh mobile throne for the throwing I mean I'd give it a whack, yeah, um, do I think I could throw it far? No, but um, again, I would like to observe that one. Yeah, I'd be happy, happily, watch someone else do that, if that okay, because I just don't think I'd be very good at it um extreme lining again, I don't think I'm extreme minded.

Speaker 2 36:32

I mean, the only thing I do extreme is roller coasters and I reckon I could, I could wangle that yeah yeah, all right yeah, you persuaded me yeah, I persuaded myself uh, baby crying, contest no wouldn't even observe that I cannot stand that yeah, the world sauna championships.

Speaker 1 36:49

We can't do that now anyway, because it's been cancelled, but I still wouldn't do that it's way too hot, wouldn't even observe it tomato throwing yeah, I'd give it a go again.

Speaker 2 36:58

I'd rather observe. I think I just don't want tomato on me, but likewise it would be very fun to watch you do it so I would observe, you'd observe, yeah, the stinging nettle eating contest. No no, definitely wouldn't do it. But again, watching people in pain might be quite funny uh competitive snowball fighting yeah, I'd give it a go again. Didn't think I'd be good at it, but underwater hockey?

Speaker 2 37:23

I wouldn't I definitely can't hold my breath for that exactly and I don't know how you would observe that no because it's not a spectator. Sport, that one is it.

Speaker 1 37:39

It's like when it's like have you ever seen that picture of the sea? And they're saying, um, someone's just taking a picture of the sea and just saying, just watching the submarine races it's the same sort of thing.

Speaker 2 37:52

Yeah, yeah, hard to observe. I don't know how can you have cameras?

Speaker 1 37:56

you'd have cameras.

Speaker 2 37:56

Yeah, you'd have cameras you'd have to televise it rather than yeah, uh.

Speaker 1 38:01

And then the last one, the black pudding throwing I just think it's a waste of black pudding.

Speaker 1 38:05

Honestly, I'm thinking about the food wastage here, like there's no point in ruining black pudding for this context yeah then I guess you could argue that with the cheese yeah but the cheese doesn't get hurt the cheese doesn't get hurt and the cheese is edible afterwards, exactly, whereas I I don't think they're eating the black pudding afterwards and the cheese is edible afterwards because it was protected, whereas I don't think they're eating the black pudding afterwards. And the cheese is a wheel of cheese as well, isn't it? It's not like a block of cheese.

Speaker 2 38:30

Is it Wensleydale? I don't know. It'd have to be hard cheese, yeah, like Parmesan. I think it's.

Speaker 1 38:36

Wensleydale.

Speaker 2 38:38

It couldn't be mozzarella, it would just blob down. Maybe cheddar that be mozzarella? It would just blob down. Maybe cheddar, that's pretty like yeah cheddar's pretty robust. Yeah, I would say yeah, and a very common cheese it is a very common cheese where in the uk was it?

Speaker 1 38:50

uh, cheese rolling championships.

Speaker 2 38:52

Let me just have a because if it was like, if it's like cheddar, we know it's cheddar yeah like it might be where it is gloucester, leicester, red Leicester er, I've put Cheese Running Championship, just putting it in chat. Gpt see what comes up Gloucestershire? Um, let's have a little look, searching the web, because I reckon the cheese that they win will be the yeah well, it's taking its time, er Parmesan's a hard cheese, so it's double Gloucester. Is it in Gloucestershire?

Speaker 1 39:21

It's a three. Yes, yeah, my theory. Yeah, it's a three kilogram wheel of double Gloucester cheese down a 200 yard. So it's 180 metres steep hill, one in two gradient, one of the steepest in Gloucestershire. The cheese can reach up to speeds of 70 to 80 miles per hour. The first person to cross the finish line wins the cheese. Catching the cheese itself is pretty impossible.

Speaker 2 39:47

Can I just say if I was in a pub quiz and I was asked where the cheese rolling competition was, I would have guessed Gloucestershire, and I'm so glad I've got to put that as a skill. Can you say that to me? Send me that picture, that exact picture, and I will put that up.

Speaker 1 40:12

He stacked it. That's hilarious. I don't know I can't save it, just screenshot it, I'll work it out. There we go.

Recap and Episode Closing

Speaker 2 40:17

If not, I'll try and find the image. So there you go. Well, we hope you enjoyed this very special episode of my blind react to these, um, crazy contests. There was across the world as well, mostly finland, which I feel like we've now just like plotted our next family holiday in finland. Yes, um yeah, join us next time for our next episode, which we haven't recorded yet and won't record for a little while. Actually, we're having a little recording break, aren't we? Uh, are we? We are, I believe, because it's my birthday, is the next recording and, um, oh, yes I'm busy.

Speaker 2 40:49

I will be a year older when the next recording happens okay, so happy birthday to me, happy birthday to you um and um. I will see you when I'm 29. Cue the outro. Thanks for joining us on bonus, dad bonus. Don't forget to follow us on all our socials and share the podcast with someone who'd love it. We are available on all streaming platforms. See you next time. Bye-bye, outro Music.