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By Christian Rodriguez ('23)
Every artist and athlete yearns to be recognized, yet only some few are actually achieving it. Who’d guess a guy in scuba with an iron would one-up Da Vinci? Common denominators of all sports are either the law of gravity and or a ball, two wimpy obstacles extreme ironing brushes over. The NY Times explains in an article titled Extreme Ironing is Back, “the same way a guy like Schwarzenegger builds his muscles to surpass another, we get into a real just absurd circumstance to do the same.” The extreme ironing bureau wiki page recounts the activity as “the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."
Currently, a single yet astonishing ironing championship took place upon the alps of Bavaria, Germany where ten nations collided in competitive ironing. As a firsthand record on Britclips described the clash, “participants performed in five challenges. The first one was with a broken car. The second challenge involved ironing in the middle of a fast-flowing river. Next, participants had to climb up a tree. The fourth challenge involved climbing a wall and, finally, ironers were free to iron anywhere they wanted.”
Photo courtesy of The Ski Monster
Photo courtesy of Cool of the Wind
Legitimacy of the pastime is equally mind boggling as its conception. England sprung it for sure, but the actual individual creator is still a mystery. Most sources claim it’s a guy named Phil Saw who in his book simply titled Extreme Ironing proclaimed he did so in 1997. Others say it's Tony Hiam who in 1980 supposedly performed the first ever feat of extreme ironing on a summit over in Yorkshire National Park, England. Who would have thought that so many would willingly like to be referred to as the extreme ironing champions?
Banner courtesy of The Offbeat Athlete
Cover photo courtesy of Youtube @Bizzare25
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