10 Unusual Hobbies

If your really looking for a challenging hobby you might try micro-sculpting. Williard Wigan an artist from the United Kingdom is able to create sculptures so small they can fit in the easily into the eye of a needle or on the head of a pin. With the assistance of a microscope he has turned what was initially a hobby into a multi-million dollar career.

Wigan has said himself that it is possible for him to take it down to 5 microns, which would be the tip of a human hair. For now though he primarily creates figures each from a grain of said carving them out with specialized tool looking through a microscope. He uses a small hair from a dead fly as a paint brush. He has said that he must make strokes between heartbeats and during beats his hands can't steadily apply the paint.

Wigan is said to have sold his lifes collection made before 2008 for 20 million dollars to a private collector.

Another honorable mention in this category goes to Dalton Ghetti who without the aid of a magnifying glass sculpts small works of art on the head of a pencil. Ghetti has been doing this for more than two decades. His sculpture include a tiny saw, mailbox, chain links, screw nail, chair, elvis, a boot, linked hearts, etc.

Click the picture below for a bigger view.

This hobby is certainly not for the faint of heart. One person throws the javelin down a field and another brave soul tries to catch it. In some cases this works out fine and the catcheris treated like a hero. In other cases like the one pictured it doesn't and your off to the emergency roon to get a javelin removed from your foot!

Sericulture or silk worm farming is the practice of raising silk works to create raw silk. Bombyx Mori is the primary species used for making the silk. Silk farming can be very rewarding is certainly worth taking up as a hobby or even career.

Pooktre Tree Shaping is the act of slowly making trees take a specific shape over time and become objects like a chair or other elaborate patterns. This type of hobby can sometimes take years to perform as it is done as the tree grows but once completed it can be something spectacular.

Some of these trees have been shaped for decades and have become main attractions of certain areas. I've included a couple photos to give you an idea of what is possible but the sky is the limit on this one.

Whether it be duct tape or masking tape you can make very complex pieces of art from tape. Some people have patterned cars with duct tape others create complex sculpture looking structure and model buildings. So if you have a lot of free time and a lot of free tape this could be your hobby.

Taphophilia is the attraction to cemeteries. These hobbyists enjoy filming and photographing cemeteries and grave stones. They also enjoy rubbing old stones and thus testing the texture. Granted it is a little on the unusual side but as long as you don't tamper with anything wheres the harm in it?

For most people the closest they will get to this art form is painting egg shells around easter, however there are groups of people who carve these shells into incredibly intricate patterns. These works of art are very difficult to make and not something the average person can do but if you have the time and the patience to do one give it a try.

Many amazing artists have taken up this craft with great results.

Cryptozoology involves spending your time following info on or attempting to track down animals that have not been proven to exist. Primarily people of this group of hobbyists choose subjects such as bigfoot or the Lochness monster as their main focus but many other creatures are being pursued.

I think a lot of people remember the story of the young bride who gave a lock of hair to her husband before he went off to war. It gave him something to remind him of her but there are a group of hobbyists who collect different peoples hair. In some cases it is from family members throughout time to make a sort of family tree or timeline of hair.

Some may find this silly but there are a small portion of the population who enjoy doing this and maybe you will too. Although in some cases it may send people in your neighborhood into a panic to see a dog dyed to resemble a tiger or another creature.