Part Two of The World's Wackiest Sports - Ferret Legging

What do coal miners do for fun in Yorkshire, England? They partake in a sport that involves these three things: trousers, a ferret, and the ability to endure a fully fanged ferret shoved inside one's trousers.

The sport is surprisingly simple:

Contestants tie their trousers at the ankles, then drop two ferrets inside and fasten their belts to prevent the animals from escaping. The man that lasts the longest wins.

Lest they have sneaky contestants, judges make sure that the ferrets aren't sedated and the contestants aren't drunk. The ferrets must have a mouth's full of teeth - unfiled or otherwise blunted. Their nails mustn't have been clipped. Oh, and in case anyone asks: no underwear, please. The trousers must be loose so the ferret can move from ankle to ankle.

The sport involves little innate talent, except for the ability of ignoring a nasty bite to one's ....... well, you get the picture!

Indeed, before entering a competition, males "whose families are not yet complete" are required to have written permissions from their partners.

The ferrets are occasionally put inside the contestants' shirts in addition to their trousers. An attempt to introduce a female version of the sport—ferret busting, in which female contestants introduced ferrets down their blouses—proved unsuccessful.

So how long do you think people last with ferrets rummaging around in their trousers? A couple of seconds? A few minutes? Half an hour?

On 5 July 1981, retired miner Reg Mellor, from Barnsley, set a new world record time of five hours and twenty-six minutes at the 'Annual Pennine Show' at Holmfirth, Yorkshire. He had practised the sport since his youth, but had received no recognition until he set the new world record.

Mellor, who had hunted with ferrets in the dales outside of Barnsley for many years, had grown accustomed to keeping them in his trousers to keep them warm and dry when out working in the rain. Mellor's "trick" was to ensure that the ferrets were well-fed before they were inserted into his trousers.

Frank Bartlett, a retired headmaster, and Christine Farnsworth, broke Mellor's record in 2010. The pair managed five hours and thirty minutes, raising £1,000 for the Whittington Community First Responders.

Ferret legging has existed for centuries. Following a brief resurgence in popularity during the 1970's, ferret legging has been described as a "dying sport", that according to a 2005 report published in the 'English Northern Echo' newspaper, is being replaced by ferret racing, in which the animals race through a plastic pipe.

Although the sport is now uncommon, you don't have to trek to the coal country of Yorkshire, England to find the sport of ferret legging - a national 'ferret legging' competition has been held at the Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival in Richmond, Virginia, USA, since 2003,

In 2007, the 'Manitoba Ferret Association' held a ferret legging competition in St. Vital Park, Winnipeg, Canada to raise money in support of the organization's shelter for homeless ferrets.

According to Kelly Yager of the 'Manitoba Ferret Association,' the animals actually like small, confined spaces.

Marlene Blackburn, who works with the 'Ferret Rescue League' to ensure that no ferrets are harmed in the sport, claims that during the years the competitions have been held in Richmond no contestant has ever been bitten, although some may get a few scratches.

Jay Lugar, spokesman for the Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival, said ferrets are "generally very harmless, fun-loving creatures."

Louis Mahoney of the 'Richmond Times-Dispatch' newspaper said it is "sure to bring a laugh."

The magazine 'Cracked' listed it as the fifth "most baffling" sport in the world.

Rick Reilly, American sportswriter for ESPN, a worldwide leader in sports coverage, tried ferret legging as part of his quest to find "the world's dumbest sport" for a book he published on the 4th May 2010 called "Sports from Hell."

Part One of The World's Wackiest Sports - The Rock Paper Scissors World Championships

All aboard if you’re looking for a truly unique experience.
Book some cheap flights to Toronto, Canada in time for for the annual ' Yahoo! Rock Paper Scissors World Championships ' which are being held on the 14th November 2010, at the Steam Whistle Brewery.

Now, we have all taken part in this game at sometime in our lives, whether it be in the school playground or down the pub – but here the stakes are a lot higher, as the winners will end up clutching C$10,000 (£6,179) in the hands that brought them to victory, not to mention bragging rights of being able to call yourself 'World Champion of Rock Paper Scissors.'

What’s more, they are officially sanctioned by the World Rock Paper Scissors Society.
The World RPS Society is dedicated to the promotion of Rock Paper Scissors as a fun and safe way to resolve disputes. The World RPS Society is involved in many areas of the sport, such as: research studies, workshops, tournaments at both local and international levels, book publishing, and much more.

As with most sports, the World RPS Society has established a code of ethics, formally known as the:

World RPS Player’s Responsibility Code.

These regulations are put forth in addition to standard game rules in order to ensure the safety and respectability of the game around the world. The responsibilities game players are expected to adhere to include:

• Remove all jewellery and watches for the sake of safety.
• Agree to the number of rounds before you begin playing.
• Reconsider your options before using Rock Paper Scissors to make decisions that could affect your livelihood.
• Always be aware of the differences in foreign cultures. In some areas, shooting signs with your hands is simply unacceptable.

There are dozens of other rules for RPS play. All are published online and can be seen here at the World RPS Society website.

The Secret to Winning at RPS:

Contrary to what you might think RPS is not simply a game of luck or chance. While it is true that from a mathematical perspective the 'optimum' strategy is to play randomly, it still is not a winning strategy for two reasons.
First, 'optimum' in this case means you should win, lose and draw an equal number of times (hardly a winning strategy over the long term).
Second, humans, try as they might are terrible at trying to be random, in fact often humans in trying to approximate randomness become quite predictable. So knowing that there is always something motivating your opponent's actions, there are a couple of tricks and techniques that you can use to tip the balance in your favour.

Basically, there are two ways to win at RPS:

The first way is to take one throw away from your opponent options. ie - If you can get your opponent to not play rock, then you can safely go with scissors as it will win against paper and stalemate against itself. Seems impossible right? Not if you know the subtle ways you can manipulate someone. The art is to not let them know you are eliminating one of their options.

The second way is to force you opponent into making a predictable move. Obviously, the key is that it has to be done without them realizing that you are manipulating them.

Most of the following techniques use variations on these basic principles. How well it works for you depends upon how well you can subtly manipulate your opponent without them figuring out what you are doing. So, now that the background is out of the way, let's take a look into these techniques.

History of the World RPS Society:

The Paper Scissors Stone Club was founded in London, England in 1842 immediately following the issuance of the1842 law declaring "any decision reached by the use of the process known as Paper Scissors Stone between two gentleman acting in good faith shall constitute a binding contract. Agreements reached in this manner are subject to all relevant contract and tort law."

In 1918, the name was changed to World RPS Club in to reflect the growing International representation. At roughly the same time the Club moved its headquarters from London to its present location at Trinity Plaza in Toronto, Canada. Despite the allied victory, the official reason for the move was "England is far too dangerous a place to make a suitable home country for a game of conflict resolution." Canada was seen as an excellent choice since it was seen as a "safe, hospitable and utterly inoffensive nation, a part of the commonwealth, yet not inhabited by the descendants of criminals."

In 1925 when the club briefly reached over 10,000 members, the name was changed again to The World RPS Society.

Breaking News:

It is my sad duty to announce the passing of Wojek Smallsoa, Chairman of the World RPS Society Steering Committee. After a life-long battle with living, Chairman Smallsoa's mortal Paper was snipped short at the age of 87. Due to the gravity of the situation, a period of mourning within the Society will be recognized which forces the cancellation of the 2010 World Championships of RPS.

At this point no date has been set for the 2011 World Championship, nor who will be entitled to Mr. Smallsoa's coveted parking spot in front of Trinity Square Plaza in Toronto.