Sports are one of the oldest forms of mass entertainment and are one of the most popular and profitable careers today. Sports like soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and cricket are global behemoths, producing turnovers of billions every year and followed religiously all over the world. World Cups and finals of such sports often break TV viewership records; the Super Bowl, the final of the UEFA Champions League, and the final of the FIFA World Cup are some of the most watched programs in the history of television. On the other end of the scale, there are some sports which are participated in and followed by not tens of hundreds of thousands, but by tens and hundreds and thousands. Such sports are either peculiar to a very particular region, too complicated to follow for the masses, or just too plain crazy to catch on. Although they aren't universally popular, some of these sports are quite possibly the best way to spend a wacky Sunday! Here's a list of some of the wackiest, funkiest, and weirdest sports in the world. No, not the one where you fly on brooms, trick your keeper into believing he has taken a gulp of liquid luck, and seek flying golden objects that can also be used to surreptitiously store deathly hallows; muggle technology has not reached quite that level of sophistication (yet). Fortunately, there is a muggle equivalent for the fictional magical sport: muggle quidditch. Invented in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont, the sport follows the same rules as the magical version. Teams consist of 3 chasers, 2 beaters, a keeper, and a seeker. In a rather innovative improvisation, volleyballs are used as the quaffle, while dodgeballs are used as the rogue, nasty bludgers. The snitch is carried by a neutral party, known as the snitch runner. The snitch runner, who is dressed in yellow or gold, is allowed to hide beyond the playing field (usually within the entire campus of the institution hosting the game), and is sought by the two seekers. Like the magical version, the capture of the snitch ends the game. Like the magical version, there are three goals for each team, positioned at heights of 1 m, 1.4 m, and 2 m. And here's the rule that makes the experience much more 'magical' -- all players have to carry a broomstick between their legs for the whole duration of the match! Bossaball is a weird and entertaining sibling of volleyball -- think Amy or Jill to Rachel. While volleyball is played on regulation surfaces, bossaball is played on a rectangular inflatable. And that's not all. Bossaball 'fields' have a designated spot for trampolines, to help the players achieve more height and hit more effective spikes! The rules of bossaball largely resemble those of volleyball: each team has to land the ball -- a bossaball is very similar to a volleyball, and even volleyballs can be used -- over the net in the opponent's area to win points. Like volleyball, the first to gather 25 points wins (provided they have a lead of at least two points). Teams are composed of 4 players, although the number can be changed when the play is just recreational. The players are allowed to use any part of their body, and a total of 5 touches are allowed before the ball is returned. If a player manages to win a point with his/her foot, more points are awarded for the 'soccer touch' than for the regular 'volley touch'. Summing up, it's a sport for grownups, played on inflatables and trampolines. It doesn't get much better, does it? Zorbing is quickly becoming a favorite pastime in the US, and it's not hard to see why. 'Zorbs' are human equivalents of hamster balls, constructed from plastic. They are constructed in two layers, with the air cushion between the layers serving as the primary protection. Participants can either roll down a hill, or gambol around on a level plane in a much more controlled fashion. Zorbing can even be a competitive sport -- we all love tumbling, and what can make it even more fun than the added incentive of racing against your friends? Definitely not two words one would expect to find in unison. Chess boxing is a sport that combines the mental taxation and rigor of chess with the brutality and physical exertion of boxing. It is played via alternating rounds of boxing and chess, and can be won by an outright victory in either sport -- a knockout or a checkmate -- or a combined decision at the end. This sport was invented in France and enjoys considerable support in Germany and England. Currently, a majority of chess boxing events are held in Berlin and London, the two hotbeds of the sport. It is also becoming increasingly popular in France, the Netherlands, the USA, Scandinavia, and India. While not quite a Sunday-afternoon pastime with friends, this is one crazy sport to dabble with if you fancy yourself as a brawny nerd, or a brainy jock. This is a sport for extremely fit and extremely talented ball players. Sepak takraw is a combination of volleyball and soccer, played with a ball smaller than either and made of natural fiber. Like volleyball and the aforementioned bossaball, each team tries to land the ball in the other team's half, thereby earning them a point. However, like soccer, use of hands is considered a foul. Competitively, sepak takraw is played either in teams of three or in pairs, but the number can be changed for recreational play. 1 v. 1 sepak takraw can be great fun if both you and your opponent are enthusiastic about (and good at) ball sports, and 4- or 5-member teams can accommodate families. Sepak takraw emerged in southeastern Asia, and countries from the region still maintain a firm stranglehold on the sport's world meets. Malaysia and Thailand, the founders and powerhouses of the game, named the sport by picking one word from either language -- sepak means 'kick' in Malay, and takraw means 'ball' in Thai. The highly acrobatic nature of the sport, as well as the breakneck pace at which it is played, has resulted in it becoming popular in the West in a very short time. No, I am not messing with you, this is an actual sport! And as four-time world champion Taisto Miettinen will no doubt testify, it is quite a big deal. The rules of this sport are very simple: male competitors must carry their wife (or any woman more than 17 years of age and weighing more than 49 kg) on their back across a 253.5 m obstacle course. The female competitor must wear a helmet, and is allowed to hold on to the man in any way she chooses. Estonian lifts, wherein the woman wraps her legs around the man's shoulders and holds his waist, are usually preferred by competitors. Piggyback carrying is also allowed and popular among amateurs, but is usually not used in major events. This sport originated in Finland and is notorious for the nature of its prizes: in the world championships, the winner receives his female companion's body weight -- often more than 50-55 kg -- in beer!! This sport consists of, quite literally, the popular game of hockey played underwater. The obvious differences are that the players are kitted out with snorkels and masks, and the puck is much heavier than the regular ones (3 lb). Because of the extra weight, the puck can be lifted while passing, but it always eventually drops down to the surface. The teams consist of 6 players and 4 substitutes. The hockey sticks in underwater hockey are much shorter than their ice- or field-hockey counterparts, usually measuring less than a foot (excluding the handle). While this sport is popular among enthusiasts, efforts are underway to make underwater hockey more appealing to the masses. Since the crux of the action is underwater, it can be boring for spectators -- especially at junior levels -- to follow the game. Underwater filming is one solution, allowing spectators to view the game in its full intensity. However, the actual process of filming is quite risky, since the players move unpredictably and can actually be inadvertently impeded by the filming equipment. This is the road version of the popular ice sport, luge. Street luge, or road luge, is accomplished via a luge sled propelled by gravity. Like the ice sport, lugers lie on the sled face-up, and steer via their calves, or elbows. While luge is one of the most dangerous ice sports, it is much safer on roads (although the sleds can reach dangerous speeds of more than 90 mph if the gradient is too sharp). The luge can be a mere pastime, or a mock competition within or between families. Forget Dancing with the Stars, dancing with your dog is the latest trend! Dog dancing is a duet between the dog and its owner, accomplished by a variety of obedience commands and tricks. While the dog is not expected to perform complicated 'dance' moves, jumps or loops are appreciated. The dog's ability to heel with its dancing master is the primary criterion in scoring. This is primarily a pastime rather than a competitive sport, but many competitions now exist to fulfill and even reward many owners' desire to dance with their canine buddies. In parts of south Asia, polo is played on the back of elephants. If you're planning a vacation in the region, don't miss the experience of this equestrian sport from a much higher vantage point! Bicycle polo is a much more affordable, safer, and easier variant of polo. This is a competitive sport, but can also be enjoyed with your friends, or family. Competitive mobile throwing emerged in Finland in 2000, and it is becoming increasingly popular elsewhere, including the US. There are 4 disciplines in this 'sport': Original (over-the-shoulder throw), Freestyle (extra points for acrobatic or well-choreographed throws), Team original (distances of three individuals added together to give a team score), and Junior (age 12 and below). The phones can either be brought by the competitor (as long as they weigh more than 220 g), chosen from a given range by the competitor, or uniformly provided by the organizers of the event. In the US, Mobile Throwing Championships have been held since 2008. In addition to mobile phones, Lawrence University also hosted a rotary phone throwing competition for three years until 2007. One from my personal bucket list, this sport is wildly popular in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and France. The format is quite simple, but quite simply terrifying. Participants (aged 18 or older) run along a designated route in a town, while being chased by raging bulls, with the route flanked by buildings and barricades! The bull run in the Spanish city of Pamplona is world-famous. It's a must-try if you are hooked to the addictive rush of adrenaline. If you still can't quite find your niche quirk in any of these sports, let your imagination run free. The world is your playground -- literally, in this case! Tweak sports you know quite well, get acquainted with new sports, and set about messing them up with complicated and hilarious rules. And remember, sports are, in essence, a fun way to 'recharge your batteries' after a dreadful day, or a hectic, tiring week; so have fun!