Ever heard of them?

How, where, and why is Fierljeppen played? 10 sports names, decoded

Credit: Chino Rocha

As names go, "football," "handball, and "table tennis" are straightforward enough. But would you be able to explain how fierljeppen is played? Or what really goes on in a "toe wrestling" match? Some sports names were directly imported from their original nations, some others are combinations of traditional games that evolved when crossing frontiers. Let’s explore the meanings and backstories behind games like qianball, hantis, and eukonkanto, and find out which one you’d be interesting in watching –or playing!

Credit: JillWellington

Here’s the concept: You spring and jump off the edge of a canal, grab onto a flexible pole sticking in the middle of it, climb as high as you can, and then propel yourself to the other side of the water. Of course, the wider the canal and the higher the pole, the harder the feat gets, right? The longest pole climbed in fierljeppen to record was over 72 ft tall.

This Dutch sport originated in Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. Its name comes from the combination of Frisian words fier (far) and ljeppen (leaping/jumping). It has been practiced for centuries, derived from the pole vault technique for crossing the abundant waterways in the Netherlands.

Credit: PDPics

Qianball might remind us of tennis or squash. Except in this sport, the ball is tethered to a weight with a rubber band. Players (two or four, typically) stand on the same side of the net and strike the ball taking turns. The amazing thing about Qianball is never having to jog far after a missed ball.

The sport derives from the Chinese Qianlongball. It originated as an indoor alternative to tennis, although nowadays it can also be played outdoors. It became popular after Denmark adopted it and started organizing tournaments to promote it.

Credit: Teo Zac

Can you imagine playing tennis without rackets? That’s not very far from what hantis is. In this sport, named after the combination of "hand" and "table tennis," four standard tables are placed between the four players, who strike the ball with their bare hands. The goal, similarly to ping-pong, is to get the ball to bounce on and off the tables without the other team returning it.

The game originated in a classroom, and its creators have been promoting it ever since, developing the official rules and standard measurements for tables. Eventually, it caught on and was spread across U.S. schools through physical education programs and the help of the internet.

Credit: Mary Taylor

This is an obstacle course where participants carry teammates over hurdles, water hazards, and sandy stretchers. The traditional version of it is a man carrying his own wife while competing, with techniques such as piggyback or fireman’s carry.

Eukonkanto really translates to "wife carrying" in Finnish. The sport originated in Finland inspired by 19th-century folklore. In it, a legend spoke of a bandit leader who allegedly made his recruits carry women to demonstrate their stamina. Modern rules of the game suggest that the person carried should weigh no less than 108 pounds.

Credit: Chris Liverani

Bandy is a lot like hockey on ice, but it is played with a ball instead of a puck. Played on a large ice rink roughly the size of a soccer field, it still involves teams using curved sticks to hit the ball into the other team’s net.

The sport mixes the rules of ice hockey and soccer. It is debated whether the sport originated in Russia or England, but the name we use derives from the Middle English word bandy, which means "curved stick."

Credit: Polina Tankilevitch

The name straightforwardly describes the action —wrestling with toes. Yes, the sport consists of two participants interlocking their toes. The goal is to pin the other person’s foot to the ground for three seconds. As you can imagine, this requires strength, balance, dexterity, and a willingness to be barefoot in public.

This was created by a group of friends who lamented that England didn’t have any championships in unconventional sports, or so goes the legend. Today they must be proud, because a World Toe Wrestling Championships is held annually, and has been for at least 50 years.

Credit: Chris Geirman

We’ve all seen pogo sticks, those spring-loaded, bouncing toys for children. Xpogo takes child play to the extreme in competitions where participants achieve impressive heights in circuits or challenging terrains. It could be compared with parkour, skateboarding, or BMX.

The name is a shortening of "extreme pogo." Athletes do use specially designed pogo sticks for their high jumps, backflips, and such tricks. In fact, these modern devices allow jumps exceeding 10 feet. Tournaments are held internationally, such as the "Pogopalooza," the sport’s World Championship.

Credit: Samuel Ryde

Picigin is a recreational game played in shallow water with a peeled tennis ball, known as the "balun," or alternatively, rubber balls. Players aim to keep the ball in the air using only their hands, performing dramatic dives and acrobatic moves to prevent it from touching the water.

Unlike competitive sports, picigin has no scoring system or strict rules. It just focuses on coordination, teamwork, and not losing the ball to the water currents. The term picigin is derived from Croatian. It originated in Split when local students adapted water polo to the shallow, sandy waters of Bačvice Beach.

Credit: Leticia Pelissari

If you’ve ever seen someone walk or run on jumping stilts, you have surely fantasized about trying them on. Those spring-loaded stilts are usually worn by acrobats or entertainers, but the devices gave way to a new sport called "powerbocking."

The jumping stilts called "PowerSkips" were developed by Alexander Böck, a German engineer, and in his honor powerbocking was named. Not unlike xpogo, powerbocking involves running, jumping, and performing acrobatics to access heights and speeds that bare feet could never achieve. A milder variation also gained popularity as aerobic exercise, since the sticks reduce the impact on joints compared to traditional sports.

Credit: Nathan Poncet

All in all, slalom isn’t a strange sport compared with eukonkanto or toe wrestling. But it might be difficult to pinpoint the meaning of its name. The term comes from the Norwegian words sla (meaning "slope") and låm (meaning "track").

Slalom is a type of skiing race, one of the key disciplines of alpine skiing. In it, skiers slide through a downhill course marked with alternating gates (pairs of poles), making tight turns and quick, precise maneuvers. The winner is the athlete who completes it in the shortest combined time.

Some songwriters have made whole careers out of this…

Sorry is not the hardest word: learn about these 10 famous apologies

Credit: Steve DiMatteo

From solemn and historical gestures to lighthearted expressions, apologies can take many forms. These very forms can determine whether the apology is accepted and believed or dismissed as false and insincere. The following ten examples, taken from different times in history, show us how to apologize properly—and how not to.

Credit: Léonard Cotte

Galileo Galilei’s affirmation and publications supporting the notion that the Earth wasn’t at the center of the Universe were contrary to what the Bible might suggest. As a result, the Inquisition not only restricted Galileo from publishing his works that may support ideas deemed blasphemous by the Church but also had him imprisoned. The order was later changed to house arrest.

In 1992, 359 years after the incident, Pope John Paul II declared that Galileo wasn’t wrong. Maybe not an apology per se, but at least it was something, right?

Credit: Eddie Wingertsahn

Not every apology needs to be expressed in words. In 1077, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV traveled across the Alps to beg for Pope Gregory VII's forgiveness. Only after three days of kneeling in the snow did Henry finally convince the Pontiff to welcome him back into the Catholic Church.

Henry IV had been excommunicated in the first place for usurping the Pope's authority and appointing his own bishops, a practice that was highly frowned upon at the time.

Credit: Fine Photographics

The earliest apology showcased on this list belongs to Socrates, whose words were immortalized by Plato in a famous essay. It recounts how Socrates defended himself against charges of corrupting Athens’ youth and blaspheming local gods with his philosophical teachings.

While Socrates' speech is a classic, a jury of his peers remained unconvinced and he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Plato quotes Socrates as saying at his sentencing: "The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows." Once again, so much for saying "I'm sorry."

Credit: René DeAnda

Bill Clinton’s address to the nation on Aug. 17, 1998, is probably the most public acknowledgment of presidential misconduct in U.S. history. "Indeed I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong... I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that."

He confessed to an improper relationship with an intern but sought to put an end to the scandal, defiantly insisting that "even Presidents have private lives." It wasn't to be. Interest among the press, the public, and even Congress ultimately led to the second presidential impeachment in U.S. history.

Credit: Chris Boland

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered a contrite apology for attending a Downing Street garden party while the country was under a strict coronavirus lockdown. He insisted that the gathering was a work event and did not breach government regulations on social mixing during the early days of the pandemic. "I want to apologize. I know the rage they feel with me and with the government I lead when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules. There were things we simply did not get right, and I must take that responsibility," Johnson said.

The apology might have brought Johnson some political breathing room but, in the end, it did little to dispel the rage because he eventually resigned from his post.

Credit: Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez

Martha Stewart, the celebrity homemaker and media personality, was convicted in 2004 for lying to investigators about a stock sale and was sentenced to five months in prison.

While she sought to downplay the conviction as a "small personal matter," Martha was also contrite about its impact. "Today is a shameful day," she said. "It’s shameful for me, and for my family, and my beloved company, and all of its employees and partners."

Credit: Yevheniia

When the German Chancellor Willy Brandt was scheduled to visit the Polish capital of Warsaw to sign the Treaty of Warsaw and formally recognize the border between Poland and East Germany in 1970, it was not expected of him to carry the guilt or the need to make amends for the actions of Nazi Germany during the war.

But, when he walked up to the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw, he took a moment to himself and promptly got on both his knees. This gesture probably helped his achievements as West Germany’s Chancellor which led him to the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.

Credit: Andrew Le

Everyone has seen or heard about the infamous slap Will Smith delivered to Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards. Mr. Rock was presenting the ceremony and made a joke about Jada Pinkett’s hair—Will Smith’s wife—, to which Smith took offense. He proceeded to stand up, walk to the stage, and slap Chris Rock in the face.

What made matters even more awkward was the fact that Will Smith had to walk onstage just a few moments later, to receive a Best Actor award and deliver his acceptance speech. He apologized during his speech and has since issued at least one public apology video expressing his regret for the incident.

Credit: Mario Serpas

In June 2015, France's Ecology Minister Ségolène Royal said on French television that people should avoid eating Nutella because it is made with palm oil. She noted that palm oil plantations contribute to deforestation and climate change. But, after her comments, the Italian manufacturers of Nutella responded that their products were created with palm oil from sustainable plantations.

Italian politicians called on Royal to apologize and she eventually did. "A thousand apologies for the row over Nutella," Royal said on Twitter. "Okay to showcase progress."

Credit: Stephen Mease

Kanye West, the rapper, made headlines in 2009 when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, saying: "Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!" West was heavily criticized for cutting her off and ruining her winning moment.

He later issued an apology to Swift and her mother: "I’m sooooooo sorry to Taylor Swift and her fans and her mum. I spoke to her mother right after and she said the same thing my mother would’ve said. She is very talented! I like the lyrics about being a cheerleader and she’s in the bleachers! I’m in the wrong for going on stage and taking away from her moment! I’m not crazy y’all, I’m just real. Sorry for that!!! I really feel bad for Taylor and I’m sincerely sorry!!! Much respect!!!"