50 Weird Hobbies People Enjoy In Their Spare Time

"I'm 17 years old and just finished building this 14.7" f/2.89 Newtonian reflector telescope. Despite its stubby size it collects roughly 2500 times more light than the human eye and is bigger than the scope at my local observatory."

Quarter piercing.

"A year ago, I started staying in and piercing state quarters, instead of going out and getting in trouble. Here is my collection so far."

Meme painting.

"I’m painting a collection of Memes. Here’s the progress so far."

"My pocket cottage! Loved miniatures since childhood, and have recently taken them on as a regular hobby. Here's my happy place from my palm to your face."

Creepy head sculpting.

"Not sure if this is the right place to post but my dad is 52 y/o and his hobby is making these weird heads. he doesn’t think they’re any good but considering he makes them from scratch I think they’re amazing!"

"I started by buying a few advertising rulers here and there; at yard sales, eBay, and the occasional antique store when they weren’t charging $20/stick. I figured that I would use them as wainscoting in a small room once I found me forever home. People would give them to me as gifts around the holidays. Two homes later, there was some very boring pine paneling, and needed something. I still have about 100 yardsticks left. Maybe for a vacation house someday."

"My father carves Pokemons as a hobby."

"My sand and dirt collection is from every place I visit."

"I sew stuffed animals. I do it all by hand so each project takes six hours from beginning to end. It's so mind-numbing and zen. Here are some squid pictures. He's about 5'4" long."

Competitive duck herding.

Some dogs are specifically trained to herd farm animals and even show off their herding skills in competitions. Humans decided that activity looks like fun, so they began herding as a hobby. Duck herding is nowadays an active sport.

"My mom has gotten into some strange hobbies since we left for college. Those are pistachios. I always said she needed a hobby but I did not expect this."

Dirt polishing.

Those who take up dirt polishing as their hobby first extract moisture from mud and then cover it with several layers of natural soil. What you get is a smooth ball of dirt you can later display on the shelf.

Geocaching.

Geocaching is what happens when you engage modern technologies in a treasure hunt. Geocaching enthusiasts search for treasure boxes and trinkets to then swap them with each other, but instead of maps and clues, they use satellites. However, you don’t have to work at NASA to do this, your phone is more than enough.

Element collecting.

Element collecting, as in chemical elements from the periodic table, raises a lot of questions. Number one, where do people find the rarest elements, some of which can only be produced in labs and cost a whole lot of money? Number two, how do they store elements that, with incorrect handling or prolonged exposure, can be harmful for your health?

"I collect maps, my dad worked for United so he always stuffed a map in my face to make sure I knew where we were going. Now I have a strange fascination for maps/globes."

Yarn bombing.

Yarn bombing is like graffiti in many ways, except instead of paint you use yarn. The very first case was a decoration on the door handle of a yarn shop, but with time it turned into an actual hobby for many. And since most things can be covered with yarn, all you need is enough material and patience.

Dumpster diving.

While it is a fact that sometimes people throw away absolutely undamaged and good things, it’s a whole different question whether you want to literally dive into the dumpster to find those gems and keep them for yourself or sell them. Dumpster diving gave the expression “one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure” a new meaning.

Tree shaping.

No, we’re not talking about trimming here. Tree shaping means you give the trunk of a tree all sorts of weird shapes depending on your imagination. One word of advice though, tree shaping takes time, lots of time, so if patience is not your virtue, think again before taking up this hobby.

Painting the largest ball of paint.

If you visit Alexandria, Indiana, make sure you see the local attraction — the largest paintball. When you look at this 2.5 ton ball, it is hard to believe that somewhere underneath tens of thousands of paint layers there is a regular baseball that set the entire project in motion. What started in 1977 as a fun activity for Mike Carmichael’s toddler son turned into a lifetime project. Today, visitors are welcome to put another coat of paint on the ball.

Mushroom hunting.

Mushroom hunting is not too weird compared to other hobbies on this list, but probably was much more popular in previous decades, when supermarkets didn’t offer you any kind of produce. Before you start, make sure you learn enough about mushrooms, as not all of them are safe for consumption.