In my previous blog post, Five Sports To Watch – And Play – This Fall, I wrote briefly about two pretty wacky events that you might want to try: Zorbing, and Wingsuit Flying.

Zorbing – which is also known as globe-riding – involves participants, called zorbonauts, rolling down half-mile long hills at speeds of 25-30mph while strapped inside large transparent balls.

Wingsuit Flying, meantime, might be a little crazier still. Wearing a special jumpsuit – a wingsuit – that shapes the human body into an airfoil to create lift, partakers launch themselves from any point that provides significant altitude to allow gliding (a plane, for example), and away (and down) they go. A special parachute is then triggered to allow for a safe landing.

But insane as these two sports are, they’re can’t even begin to compare with the wackiest sports in history. Here are five of the all-time craziest:

Cheese Rolling

Cheese rolling involves, as you might have assumed, rolling cheese – except, in this case (he says, as if it’s something we all do on a day to day basis), it’s a sport. The Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling And Wake (which sounds possibly more ominous than it is) is held each May in the Midwest of England, and involves competitors rolling a large round of cheese (which weights 7-8 pounds) down a hill and then racing after it. The cheese receives a one-second headstart, and often reaches speeds of up to 70 miles per hour – as you would imagine, it is rarely caught. Subsequently, the race is won by the person who finishes second to the cheese.

Races are often quite spectacular in the carnage that they cause.

Cheese rolling is, arguably, one of the most dangerous sports in the world, with the steepness and uneven surface of the hill causing all manner of injuries to participants, from broken bones and sprained ankles to concussions and worse. One onlooker was knocked out when the rolling cheese collided with them during one event. As a result, many ambulances and medical personnel attend the race, as there is always at least one serious injury – and usually several more – each year.

Cheese rolling is now so popular that it has spawned several websites, including an official one, and even a book.

And the prize for the first person to arrive at the foot of the hill? Why, the round of cheese, of course. Enjoy.

Extreme Ironing

There’s crazy, and there’s extreme ironing. Both a sport and an odd kind of performance art, extreme ironing involves participants taking an ironing board (and cordless iron) to a remote, often very dangerous location and then ironing a predetermined amount of clothing.

Examples of this madness including ironing whilst on a tightrope between mountain peaks, on the sheer edge of a cliff face, upside down, on the wing of an aeroplane or, for the genuine enthusiast, whilst on a bungee cord.

In March of this year, a team of 72 divers set a new world recovery by simultaneously ironing together… whilst underwater. As they’d then have had to have put the clothes through the tumble dryer, you have to wonder why they bothered.

Chess Boxing

Chess boxing, as you might imagine, combines the sport of boxing with the game of chess, with competitors engaging in both activities over alternating rounds. The sport originated in 2003, and was inspired by the fictional portrayals of the same event by the French comic book author, Enki Bilal.

For success, entrants must be both skilled boxers and accomplished chess players. Each match consists of up to eleven rounds of each event, played in succession, beginning for a four-minute speed chess round, followed by two minutes of boxing, and so on. There is a one minute pause between rounds, during which time the competitors change their clothing and equipment.

Competitors can win by checkmate, knockout or by judge’s decision.

The sport is now governed by the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO). Their motto: Fighting Is Done In The Ring And Wars Are Waged On The Board.

Buzkashi

Buzkashi – literally, goat grabbing – is a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback. It’s fairly similar to polo, albeit slightly less sophisticated – competitors grab the headless body of a goat or calf and then attempt to keep it clear of other players, whilst trying to drive it into the goal (marked either by a line or sometimes a circle or large pot).

Competition can be extreme fierce, and sometimes quite violent – players use whips and are allowed to kick and beat their opponents to knock them off of their horses in an attempt to steal the goat. Pretty much anything is allowed except tripping or attempting to seriously hurt an opponent’s horse.

The goat or calf is typically beheaded, disembowelled and has its legs cut off below its knees before being soaked in water for 24 hours prior to toughen the carcass prior to each match. The calf is the preferred projectile of choice for one simple reason – it is less likely to disintegrate during the course of a game.

Buzkashi matches can continue for days.

Wife Carrying

Wife-carrying originated as something of a joke in Finland – it is allegedly reminiscent of a past where men courted women by running to their village, picking them up and carrying them back home. If only it was that simple nowadays.

The event takes place over a track that is something of an obstacle course, complete with fences, streams and rocks over a rough, uneasy terrain that is typically a composite of sand, gravel and grass. Rules state that the wife to be carried may be your own or, indeed, a friend or neighbour’s – I bet that causes a few arguments at the finish line.

The sport is now practiced around the world. Major competitions are held in Finland and the United States, with the North American Wife Carrying Championships taking place every year on Columbus Day Weekend in October in Maine. Over forty couples took part last year – winners typically go on to also compete in the Finnish championships, where the winner of that receives his wife’s weight in beer as a prize. Which must be especially satisfying if she weighs more than you. Rules stipulate that her minimum weight must be 49kg (about 100 pounds).

Various lifting techniques are utilised by the athletes. Some go for the old-fashioned piggyback, whilst others use the fireman’s carry, or the increasingly popular – and successful – Estonian-style, where the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around her husband’s shoulders, and her hands around his waist. Estonian competitors have won the Finnish title every year since 1998. Dennis Rodman competed in the 2005 Finnish championship – unfortunately, I believe he had separated from Carmen Electra by that time.

Other prizes are awarded for the most entertaining couple, the best costume and the strongest carrier – so, if your wife weighs over 300 pounds, you still might want to enter. And if somehow you manage to win, you’ll be drinking free beer for the rest of the year.