Pick your next pastime

Yarn bombing, gongoozling, and other unusual hobby names

Image: hbieser

Yarn, stones, small beautiful pictures. Some deceivingly simple objects have fascinated humans for generations. People must have found soothing peace and fun in activities built around these simple things, because, centuries later, we are still happy to spend Saturday mornings polishing mud and scavenging for old lottery tickets. Let’s explore the etymology of the names of 10 strange hobbies: Some complex names for simple pastimes, and complex pastimes with simple names.

Image: jhenning

Toy voyaging is responsible for certain toys, like teddy bears or fairy dolls, having traveled to more countries than most people ever do. Travelers who practice this hobby help in the collective endeavor of moving certain tagged toys on journeys and documenting their adventures with photos and diary entries, usually online.

The etymology for this hobby is straightforward, but the term was coined by an online community self-proclaimed "ToyVoyagers" who help keep track of all the moving toys and their log history. The practice helped bring together people from all over the world who once held and cared for these toys, and who log in once in a while to see pictures of these celebrity teddies near world-famous landmarks.

Image: Linda Söndergaard

It is said that, by now, millions of geocaches are stashed around the world. But what are they? Geocaches, or caches, are containers hidden in specific locations as an incentive for people to play a worldwide game: Geocaching. It’s a large-scale, real-world, outdoor treasure hunt of capsules that have been conceived, in some cases, for decades. The modern take on this classic game is that participants use GPS and smartphone apps to navigate to these locations.

The term comes from the combination of geo, the Greek word for Earth, and cache, meaning a hidden storage spot. The original name for the activity was "GPS stash hunt", but it was changed by the community of geocachers to avoid any negative connotations. The first geocache was placed in Oregon in 2000, and the fascination with this activity has only grown since.

Image: Yan Krukau

In short, dorodango is the art and craft of creating perfectly round and polished balls of mud. It might remind you of rock tumbling, the act of polishing rough rocks until they are unrecognizably smooth and shiny. But this was an ancient art form that started in Japan, which a professor from Kyoto University helped bring back into modern-day practice.

In Japanese, Hikaru translates to "shining" or "bright," and dorodango refers to a ball of mud. It is considered a meditative and delicate process: of course, it might take hours or days to perfect a ball of mud until it gleams like marble, but that’s the point of setting out to do it. It gained a lot of popularity worldwide thanks to social media, where fanatics of minimalism and quiet craftsmanship got on board.

Image: johnrp

Have you ever been walking down the street when you found, well… a tree trunk wrapped in yarn? This is the result of an activity also known as "guerrilla knitting." Its goal is to cover objects in public spaces with colorful knitted or crocheted yarn. Trees, as well as statues, benches, lamposts, or mailboxes, are often recipients of these decorations which explore intricate shapes and patterns.

The term combines "yarn," referring to the material, with "bombing," a slang term reserved for sudden or unexpected artistic actions, like graffiti. In 2011, a large-scale yarn bombing project took place in Austin, Texas, where over 99 trees were covered with yarn for the city’s annual "Knitta, Please" project. The wholesome part of yarn bombing is that it is considered a non-destructive form of street art.

Image: Chait Goli

Strange as the term may sound, if you’ve ever been near a bridge or canal lock, you might have found yourself gongoozling. It simply means to leisurely watch boats and vessels as they pass through canals or waterways. The word originated in 19th-century English, combining gawn (to stare) and gooze (a dialect word for "to gape") to refer to a very curious observation.

The activity is particularly popular in the U.K. and is promoted to encourage tourism around its scenic canals. Sometimes this is compared with trainspotting, although that one consists of recognizing and cataloging trains instead of just watching them.

Image: Adonyi Gábor

Have you ever gone to the theatre and forever saved the program? Well, that’s not far from what an ephemera collector might do. Deriving from the Greek ephemeros, meaning "short-lived," this is the term given to the hobby of conserving items originally meant for short-term use. For example, gathering and collecting event tickets, posters, envelopes, newspapers, and so on.

Collectors are fascinated with how these objects contain a historical snapshot of their lives or important eras or trends. There’s even an Ephemera Society’s Fairs held in many parts of the world, where enthusiasts share the rarest finds, going back to even Victorian postcards.

Image: papazachariasa

If you were to win the lottery, most likely you would frame the winning ticket and praise it often. But lotology enthusiasts collect all sorts of lottery tickets, not just the successful ones. Lotologists are fascinated with the variety of designs, printing techniques, historical value, and cultural significance of lottery tickets from around the world, used or unused.

The name derives from lot- referring to lottery tickets, and the suffix -ology, meaning the study of something. Some of the most fascinating finds in this area have been winning tickets from long expired lotteries, or the first drawn tickets from major famous lotteries.

Image: Artem Beliaikin

Petit-Tube is an online site that bases its content on the titan of online videos: YouTube. A French digital artist created this site in 2011 with one simple goal: To show visitors one random video that, at the time of consulting, had zero views.

This hobby, tailored for the most curious digital surfers, often leads to people supporting small or growing channels and providing an audience for strangers who are posting their videos and hoping to be seen. Also, viewers might find hidden gems before they go viral, or underappreciated funny, bizarre, or moving scenes.

Image: Pixabay

Of course, if a loved one sent you a postcard from a faraway city while on vacation, you’d be inclined to keep it. But would you keep a stack of postcards with nothing written in them? A deltiologist would. Deltiology is the hobby of collecting postcards, which can range from vintage cards depicting landmarks to rare, limited-edition releases. You may have guessed it: Deltiology is one of the most popular collecting hobbies in the world.

Some people find these unique postcards in shops while traveling, but others, interested in the exceptionally rare, browse sites like eBay to expand their collections. The term derives from the Greek word deltion, which refers to small writing tablets or letters.

Image: Snapwire

Short for "urban exploration," the term urbex means exploring abandoned or off-limits urban spaces. A forgotten theatre, country house, hospital, or an entire ghost town, can be the center of an adventure for urban explorers.

Usually, the thrill is based on discovering and documenting these eerie spots. Many urbex-ers share online videos and pictures of their findings, and the hobby has also inspired many documentaries and exhibitions. Enthusiasts often follow the "Leave No Trace" rule, which means they avoid causing damage or leaving behind any evidence of their visit.

UNBELIEVABLE ADVENTURES

10 Of The Most Daring Expeditions In Human History

Image: Museums Victoria

Throughout history, humans have always had an innate desire to venture into the unknown, continuously pushing the boundaries of exploration, even when it means taking enormous personal risks.

From conquering the highest peaks to traversing hostile and uncharted territories, these 10 expeditions redefined human limits and expanded our understanding of the world.

Image: Brooks Rice

Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson in 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition sought to explore the uncharted American West. Over two grueling years, the Corps of Discovery—a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers—traversed the vast American wilderness, studying its geography, nature, and making contact with local Native American tribes.

This grand adventure would become a pivotal point in the history of the United States, and both Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are remembered as true pioneers who shaped the nation's destiny.

Image: Michael Clarke

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to summit Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak. Their historic ascent marked a milestone in mountaineering history, showcasing the triumph of human determination and teamwork.

For Hillary—who Queen Elizabeth II promptly knighted—and many other participants of the expedition, however, this achievement was just the beginning of their stellar mountaineering careers.

Image: Annie Spratt

Roald Amundsen's quest to traverse the treacherous Northwest Passage in the Arctic waters is truly a testament to human determination. In 1903, aboard the Gjøa, his crew became the first to successfully traverse this perilous Arctic route, thus unlocking a coveted maritime passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

To achieve this feat, they had to endure incredibly harsh conditions while navigating through icy waters, relying significantly on crucial Arctic survival skills learned from the local Inuit population, which played a vital role in their survival.

Image: Harris & Ewing

In 1932, Amelia Earhart made history as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In a single-engine Lockheed Vega 5B, and a mere five years after Charles Lindbergh's groundbreaking solo flight, she embarked on a difficult journey that spanned over 14 hours.

Battling fierce winds and a host of mechanical challenges, she persevered until touching down safely in a pasture in Northern Ireland. Despite her tragic disappearance a few years later, Earhart's remarkable feats shattered gender stereotypes of the time and she still is an enduring inspiration for aviators everywhere.

Image: Nasjonalbiblioteket from Norway, CC BY 2.0

In 1947, Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl embarked on a daring voyage across the Pacific Ocean aboard a primitive raft named Kon-Tiki. Heyerdahl's expedition sought to prove that ancient civilizations could have made transoceanic voyages, challenging historical knowledge of the time.

Even though the voyage didn’t prove that any significant migration of humans could have happened this way, Heyerdahl’s journey is remembered to this day for its audacity in the pursuit of knowledge and its great spirit of adventure.

Image: Abhisek Hazra

Inspired by the expeditions of 19th-century Swedish geographer Sven Hedin, the archaeologist Aurel Stein embarked in the 1930s on a series of expeditions along the ancient route of the Silk Road—the trading network that connected Europe with Eastern Asia in the 15th century.

Along the way, he uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts and manuscripts from forgotten civilizations, shedding light on the rich cultural heritage of the region.

Image: Olav Bjaaland (1873–1961)

Famously stubborn Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen beat his rival Robert Falcon Scott in the race to the South Pole in 1911. Despite facing almost insurmountable obstacles, Amundsen's meticulous planning and leadership ensured the success of his expedition without loss of life, securing his place in history.

Tragically, the rival Terra Nova Expedition led by Scott met a dark fate, highlighting the harsh realities and unforgiving nature of polar exploration.

Image: State Library of New South Wales

Despite falling short of its original goal to traverse the Antarctic continent, Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance expedition of 1914-1917 is indelibly etched in history due to its heroic nature. Stranded in the icy waters of Antarctica after their ship was crushed by unexpectedly thick ice, Shackleton and his crew endured unimaginable hardships, yet miraculously all survived.

It would take more than forty years before the first successful crossing of Antarctica was achieved, accomplished by the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition from 1955 to 1958.

Image: Brian McGowan

No exploration-themed article would be truly complete without a mention of NASA’s Apollo program. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin accomplished the unimaginable, stepping onto the lunar surface after traversing vast expanses of void space.

Their monumental achievement marked a breaking point in human history, igniting a newfound confidence in humanity's ability to reach beyond earthly confines.

Image: NASA

Although no humans were aboard this mission, it still was a groundbreaking achievement for humanity. In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder mission launched the Sojourner rover, marking the first successful deployment of a robotic rover on the surface of Mars.

Sojourner, a compact six-wheeled vehicle equipped with scientific instruments, paved the way for future Mars exploration by demonstrating the feasibility of mobile robotic exploration on the rocky Martian terrain.