Do you ever get sick of hearing about the same old entertainment ideas all the time? For that matter, is cheese just too ordinary for you? Are frogs just too slimy to be recognized for anything special?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be the victim of entertainment nearsightedness. The only cure? Wacky knowledge. Buckle up buttercup,  this prescription is free.

Gloucester, England has a method of entertainment that no other human has ever dared to think of: “The Cheese Run.” Every May at Cooper’s hill, residents of Gloucester muster up all the courage they have to face a 45 degree, 200 yard, grass hill. A monster of a hill. Why? Well, to run down! 

The tradition involves a wheel of cheese (for no particular reason at all) and a group of people. Each person competes for speed, and when I say speed, I mean: rolling, falling, and breaking bones just to beat the others down the hill. Don’t ask me why they do this, but they do. Talk about “the tradition of our fathers.” 

Get this, nobody has ever died while running the hill… (emphasis on the “running down” part) BUT, when a human being gains the velocity of momentum and is affected by gravity on a 45 foot hill, the damage can be catastrophic to a down-wind, or in this case: down-hill viewer. Again, no runner has ever been killed on Cooper’s hill, but we can’t say the same for first-hand viewers of an unstoppable human body projectile. (read more about casualties at cheeserolling.com) 

Regardless of the danger, England still gathers its residency and partakes in this madness every year. This is wacky entertainment at its finest.

Think that chasing a wheel of cheese down a 45 degree hill isn’t enough? Well lucky for you, the people of England aren’t the only crazy ones. America might be even more unique when it comes to entertainment. 

Cavaleras, California may not be that popular, but they sure are competitive. Every year Californians gear up for a world championship competition of jumpin’ frogs. Yes, I said world championship of jumpin’ frogs. Why do they do this? For entertainment, of course!

Every May, Californian’s gear up for a four-day fair of the nation’s one and only frog jump. The way this works is that every contestant will bring a carefully trained swamp frog (named however they desire) to the famous competition stage in Calaveras. Here, they place their slimy, long legged frog on a small circle drawn into the ground. The objective is to get the frog to jump the farthest distance from the circle in three jumps. 

Believe it or not, many championship winners train for months and with many different frogs until they find the perfect jumper. These crazy human frog trainers are called “Frog Jockeys”. Don’t believe me? Just envision middle-aged die-hards slapping the floor and screaming at a small green animal to scare it into jumping 20 feet in three hops. Even ask the four-year world championship winners. Trust me, this is definitely real.

So, our world is pretty darn creative when it comes to what people will pay money to see. Obviously, these two events aren’t the only strange ideas the earth’s inhabitants have to offer. Here are some honorable mentions: 

• Giant Pumpkin boating: Windsor, Nova Scotia https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/get-your-pumpkins-ready-its-the-great-pumpkin-boat-race
• National Air Guitar Championship: Finland  https://www.usairguitar.com/
• Dog dancing: Czech Republic https://www.facebook.com/DogdanceWorldchampionship/
• The Fantasy Hair styling competition: New Orleans https://bronnerbros.com/fantasycompetition/

So there you have it. You live in a world of strange competitions and wacky entertainment and you probably never even knew it!