"The Satisfaction of a Well-Pressed Shirt"

It is a danger sport. It is a performance art. It is an "extreme outdoor activity". It involves well-pressed shirts.. what?!

(Yeah, see that hunk? He's actually ironing *gasp*

source: http://hovanitz.com/images_scc/extreme.htm)

It is EXTREME IRONING, a thrilling sport where competitors take ironing to a greater height - and literally too. Other locations which serve as an arena include "a mountainside of a difficult climb; a forest; in a canoe; while skiing or snowboarding; on top of large bronze statues; in the middle of a street; underwater; whilst parachuting; and under the ice cover of a lake" (Wikipedia, 2008).

From the contents of various videos, it seems that the sport is also categorized in group (synchro) and solo performances. This is a good introductory video for those who've never heard of the sport.

Before you dismiss this as a total gimmick, as media bait, let it be known that there is a World Championship for this event. In its inaugural year, 8 teams from 5 nations participated. Who knows, we might soon be seeing it as an official Olympic discipline!

Then again, this might just be a ploy to finally get the men to do some housework...

What You Need:

- MUSCLES (try running up and down carrying an ironing board strapped to your back.)

- Shamelessness (need I say more?)

- Brain Damage

- An ironing board (duh)

Resources:

- The official site for Extreme Ironing!: http://www.goextremeironing.com/ (it's really funky, with flash games and all)

- BBC's report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2176024.stm (yeah, it's that big)

- The Exteme Ironing Bureau: http://www.extremeironing.com/ (don't you just love it when they take themselves so seriously? NOTE: I could not open this page, content not reviewed)