Pick your next pastime

Yarn bombing, gongoozling, and other unusual hobby names

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Yarn, stones, small beautiful pictures. Some deceivingly simple objects have fascinated humans for generations. People must have found soothing peace and fun in activities built around these simple things, because, centuries later, we are still happy to spend Saturday mornings polishing mud and scavenging for old lottery tickets. Let’s explore the etymology of the names of 10 strange hobbies: Some complex names for simple pastimes, and complex pastimes with simple names.

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Toy voyaging is responsible for certain toys, like teddy bears or fairy dolls, having traveled to more countries than most people ever do. Travelers who practice this hobby help in the collective endeavor of moving certain tagged toys on journeys and documenting their adventures with photos and diary entries, usually online.

The etymology for this hobby is straightforward, but the term was coined by an online community self-proclaimed "ToyVoyagers" who help keep track of all the moving toys and their log history. The practice helped bring together people from all over the world who once held and cared for these toys, and who log in once in a while to see pictures of these celebrity teddies near world-famous landmarks.

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It is said that, by now, millions of geocaches are stashed around the world. But what are they? Geocaches, or caches, are containers hidden in specific locations as an incentive for people to play a worldwide game: Geocaching. It’s a large-scale, real-world, outdoor treasure hunt of capsules that have been conceived, in some cases, for decades. The modern take on this classic game is that participants use GPS and smartphone apps to navigate to these locations.

The term comes from the combination of geo, the Greek word for Earth, and cache, meaning a hidden storage spot. The original name for the activity was "GPS stash hunt", but it was changed by the community of geocachers to avoid any negative connotations. The first geocache was placed in Oregon in 2000, and the fascination with this activity has only grown since.

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In short, dorodango is the art and craft of creating perfectly round and polished balls of mud. It might remind you of rock tumbling, the act of polishing rough rocks until they are unrecognizably smooth and shiny. But this was an ancient art form that started in Japan, which a professor from Kyoto University helped bring back into modern-day practice.

In Japanese, Hikaru translates to "shining" or "bright," and dorodango refers to a ball of mud. It is considered a meditative and delicate process: of course, it might take hours or days to perfect a ball of mud until it gleams like marble, but that’s the point of setting out to do it. It gained a lot of popularity worldwide thanks to social media, where fanatics of minimalism and quiet craftsmanship got on board.

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Have you ever been walking down the street when you found, well… a tree trunk wrapped in yarn? This is the result of an activity also known as "guerrilla knitting." Its goal is to cover objects in public spaces with colorful knitted or crocheted yarn. Trees, as well as statues, benches, lamposts, or mailboxes, are often recipients of these decorations which explore intricate shapes and patterns.

The term combines "yarn," referring to the material, with "bombing," a slang term reserved for sudden or unexpected artistic actions, like graffiti. In 2011, a large-scale yarn bombing project took place in Austin, Texas, where over 99 trees were covered with yarn for the city’s annual "Knitta, Please" project. The wholesome part of yarn bombing is that it is considered a non-destructive form of street art.

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Strange as the term may sound, if you’ve ever been near a bridge or canal lock, you might have found yourself gongoozling. It simply means to leisurely watch boats and vessels as they pass through canals or waterways. The word originated in 19th-century English, combining gawn (to stare) and gooze (a dialect word for "to gape") to refer to a very curious observation.

The activity is particularly popular in the U.K. and is promoted to encourage tourism around its scenic canals. Sometimes this is compared with trainspotting, although that one consists of recognizing and cataloging trains instead of just watching them.

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Have you ever gone to the theatre and forever saved the program? Well, that’s not far from what an ephemera collector might do. Deriving from the Greek ephemeros, meaning "short-lived," this is the term given to the hobby of conserving items originally meant for short-term use. For example, gathering and collecting event tickets, posters, envelopes, newspapers, and so on.

Collectors are fascinated with how these objects contain a historical snapshot of their lives or important eras or trends. There’s even an Ephemera Society’s Fairs held in many parts of the world, where enthusiasts share the rarest finds, going back to even Victorian postcards.

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If you were to win the lottery, most likely you would frame the winning ticket and praise it often. But lotology enthusiasts collect all sorts of lottery tickets, not just the successful ones. Lotologists are fascinated with the variety of designs, printing techniques, historical value, and cultural significance of lottery tickets from around the world, used or unused.

The name derives from lot- referring to lottery tickets, and the suffix -ology, meaning the study of something. Some of the most fascinating finds in this area have been winning tickets from long expired lotteries, or the first drawn tickets from major famous lotteries.

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Petit-Tube is an online site that bases its content on the titan of online videos: YouTube. A French digital artist created this site in 2011 with one simple goal: To show visitors one random video that, at the time of consulting, had zero views.

This hobby, tailored for the most curious digital surfers, often leads to people supporting small or growing channels and providing an audience for strangers who are posting their videos and hoping to be seen. Also, viewers might find hidden gems before they go viral, or underappreciated funny, bizarre, or moving scenes.

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Of course, if a loved one sent you a postcard from a faraway city while on vacation, you’d be inclined to keep it. But would you keep a stack of postcards with nothing written in them? A deltiologist would. Deltiology is the hobby of collecting postcards, which can range from vintage cards depicting landmarks to rare, limited-edition releases. You may have guessed it: Deltiology is one of the most popular collecting hobbies in the world.

Some people find these unique postcards in shops while traveling, but others, interested in the exceptionally rare, browse sites like eBay to expand their collections. The term derives from the Greek word deltion, which refers to small writing tablets or letters.

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Short for "urban exploration," the term urbex means exploring abandoned or off-limits urban spaces. A forgotten theatre, country house, hospital, or an entire ghost town, can be the center of an adventure for urban explorers.

Usually, the thrill is based on discovering and documenting these eerie spots. Many urbex-ers share online videos and pictures of their findings, and the hobby has also inspired many documentaries and exhibitions. Enthusiasts often follow the "Leave No Trace" rule, which means they avoid causing damage or leaving behind any evidence of their visit.

BECAUSE SOMETIMES MERCI IS NOT ENOUGH

Traveling Abroad? Here’s 10 Foreign Phrases That Might Come In Handy

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Even if the English language functions as an Esperanto of sorts, allowing us to communicate with people from all over the world, it is advisable to learn at least a few words from any country we are visiting. Not only does it ingratiate us with the locals, but it also teaches us about the language and, thus, the culture of the place we are exploring. The following ten phrases and words are useful expressions that will surely arise in conversation multiple times during your trip. Read on and see if you already know any of these!

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Let us start at the beginning here and talk about the first word that should come out of our mouths when speaking to someone for the first time. While the word "hallo" is an accepted greeting in German-speaking countries, there is a more colloquial word: grüezi.

And if you are feeling even more informal, or familiar, you can go with hoi, which is similar to saying "hi."

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The second thing one should say when making a new acquaintance in a German-speaking country is simply, "How are you?" The correct term is Wie geht’s? It expresses a polite interest in the other person and it sets a friendly tone for the ensuing conversation.

If the person you are talking to asks back, you can reply, "Mir geht’s gut," meaning "I am fine."

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Moving southward into more Mediterranean lands, we can find ourselves in Italy, with its musical language and colorful expressions that have common roots with Spanish and French, but not so much with English.

That is why it is advisable to know how to say, "Do you speak English?" in Italian, just in case. The correct way of saying this is Parla Inglese? When your limited Italian is getting you nowhere and both of you know it, this is your bailout phrase.

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Another highly advisable thing to learn when going abroad is how to ask for directions when nature calls. If you are in Italy, the correct way of asking "Where is the bathroom?" is Dov'è il bagno?

It doesn’t get more important than needing to use the bathroom. This is how you ask for a restroom without using gestures.

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Moving on to Spanish-speaking countries, we have to offer a simple yet highly useful phrase that we can use when asking for directions, and not just the bathroom. The correct way of asking "Where is…?" anything is ¿Dónde está…?

You can complete that expression with whichever place you are looking for. For example, ¿Dónde está el restaurante? (Where is the restaurant?), ¿Dónde está el parque? (Where is the park?), etc.

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Being honest about one’s limitations is always good advice, especially when you are having difficulties speaking with someone in a foreign language. Chances are, the person you are speaking to will understand the situation and help you communicate.

Saying No hablo español muy bien means in Spanish, "I don’t speak Spanish very well."

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Another useful expression, this time meant for asking for something, be it a glass of water, a meal at a restaurant, or anything else, is this French version of "I would like," which is Je voudrais.

That’s how you start your order, followed by the food or drink off the menu. These two words can also be used in other situations, such as at a metro station to purchase train tickets from a vendor or anything else "you would like."

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Once you have finished your French meal, you will probably have to pay for the pleasant moment with a few Euros (or Dollars, or Bitcoins, or what have you). At this point, you will have to ask for the check.

The correct way to ask for the bill in French is l’addition, s’il vous plaît, which simply means "check, please."

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We will move on to Portuguese-speaking countries for these last two entries, starting with another universally useful expression: the ever-present "excuse me."

If you’re passing through a crowd and need to politely ask someone to step out of your way, you can say Com licença. A word with a very similar meaning is desculpa, which can be used to attract someone’s attention.

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What better word to finish this article than with a goodbye? Portuguese people have a few ways of doing this, but the most common is the gentle-sounding adeus.

Another popular way of saying goodbye, more informally, is simply, tchau.