Articles tagged as Obscure Sports | Smithsonian Magazine

An Etlatongo ballplayer figurine unearthed at the site

Cool Finds

Newly Unearthed Mesoamerican Ball Court Offers Insights on Game’s Origins

“This could be the oldest and longest-lived team ball game in the world,” says one archaeologist

March 16, 2020

Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games in 1892.

Speech That Inspired the Modern Olympics Is Now the Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia Ever Sold

An anonymous buyer purchased the manuscript, penned by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in 1892, for $8.8 million

January 15, 2020

The 1876 Glaciarium included murals of the Alps on its walls and a raised seating section for curious onlookers, as shown in a May 1876 edition of Illustrated London News.

The 19th-Century Mania for Ice Skating in the Summer

Europeans sought to recreate the luxury of wintering in the Alps with an indoor rink attraction

August 7, 2019

The winning spellers made history with eight co-champions, the most number in the spelling event history.

The National Spelling Bee Ended in an Unprecedented Eight-Way Tie

“We’re basically throwing the dictionary at you,” pronouncer Jacques Bailly told the spellers. “[A]nd so far you are showing the dictionary who is boss”

May 31, 2019

Armando, the long distance pigeon racing champ, was recently bought by a Chinese buyer and put out to stud

March 22, 2019

Katmai National Park and Preserve has a ton of chubby cubbies. But which bear's bulk will bury the competition in the 2018 Fat Bear Week?

Your vote will determine which fish-chomping ursine competitor in Katmai National Park and Preserve is the chubbiest cubby of them all

Updated: October 10, 2018 | Originally Published: October 3, 2018

In an effort to keep the fad alive, Wham-O created new hoops, including one in 1982 that smelled of mint.

The Iconic Hula Hoop Keeps on Rolling

How the loopy 60-year-old toy maintains its popularity

July 2018

The champion cheese chaser, brie-umphant.

Europe

Holey Swiss: Man Breaks Record in British Downhill Cheese Race

Fromage fiends have been participating in this unusual tradition for centuries

June 4, 2018

Women Who Shaped History

Ruth McGinnis: The Queen of Billiards

Back when pool was a serious sport that grabbed the attention of the nation, one woman smoked the competition

March 22, 2018

The Beijing Winter Olympics

Five Whimsical Words of the Winter Olympics, from ‘Skeleton’ to ‘Salchow’

The sports are hard. The words are harder. We’re here to help

January 29, 2018

Four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey’s dogs tested positive for banned substances, but Seavey claims it was sabotage

October 31, 2017

Cool Finds

Nanocars Will Race Across (a Very, Very Tiny Bit of) France

Ladies and gentlemen, start your molecules

March 31, 2017

Chris Bertish at his finishing line in Antigua

South African surfer Chris Bertish spent 93 days paddling 4,050 miles between Morocco and Antigua

March 10, 2017

Ron Hill celebrates fifty years of running every day

After running a mile a day for 52 years and 39 days, running legend Ron Hill finally took a day off due to heart problems

January 31, 2017

As a professional falconer, Rosen has trained all of her birds, which now number close to a dozen. Her brood includes Ziggy, a hybrid prairie-gyrfalcon.

Why Winemakers are Turning to Falconry to Tackle Pests

Napa Valley vintners are finding this tried-and-true deterrent more effective than modern technology

November 16, 2016

Book carts can already get out of control quickly, so careening them along a twisty course was treacherous indeed.

Cool Finds

Librarians Have an Olympics, Too

Brains met brawn in a bookish competition for the ages

August 11, 2016

Sponsor: National Portrait Gallery

Which of These Summertime Athletes Should Be Displayed on the Walls of the National Portrait Gallery?

Vote now for your pick!

May 3, 2016

Racers warm up before the annual Regata di Murano.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

How to Row Like a Venetian

The art of Venetian rowing has sustained Venice for centuries. Spend the day learning to row from a local expert

October 15, 2015

Cool Finds

Competitive Tree Climbing Is a Thing

It’s on, arborists

September 17, 2015

Players from the University of Sydney and McGill University grapple over the quaffle during the 2014 Quidditch World Cup in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Cool Finds

Muggles, Rejoice: Quidditch is Becoming a Serious Sport

The Harry Potter-inspired game is now played by more than 300 teams around the world

July 30, 2015