Humanity has gifted the world with countless athletic endeavors — the marathon, the decathlon, competitive swimming. And then, somewhere in the foggy pubs of northern England, someone looked at a ferret and thought: “I wonder what would happen if I put that in my trousers.”
The answer, dear reader, is ferret-legging — a genuine, documented, absolutely real endurance sport that makes extreme ironing look like a perfectly reasonable hobby.
The rules are almost insultingly simple. First, tie your trouser legs shut at the ankles. Second, drop two live ferrets in. Third — and this is the part where most sensible people would reconsider their life choices — cinch your belt tight at the top so the little wrigglers can’t escape. Then stand there. In front of judges. For as long as you possibly can.
For those unfamiliar with ferrets, these are not cuddly, go-with-the-flow creatures. They are slender, sharp-toothed, endlessly curious carnivores who absolutely will not appreciate being trapped in a warm, dark denim tube with another ferret. They will express this displeasure enthusiastically and with their teeth.
Competitors are not permitted to wear anything under their trousers — because apparently the inventors of this sport felt the rules needed to go somewhere darker — and the ferrets must have a full set of unaltered teeth. No loopholes. Literally.
The world record, set in 1986 by a Yorkshire man named Reg Mellor, stands at a jaw-dropping five hours and twenty-six minutes. Mellor, who reportedly trained by standing in streams and tolerating discomfort, described his technique with the zen-like calm of a man who had simply transcended pain.
Ferret-legging reportedly peaked in popularity during the 1970s and 80s among Yorkshire miners, which suggests that either coal mining makes everything else feel relatively pleasant, or that a certain kind of stubborn northern grit truly has no limits.
Somewhere out there, two ferrets are still confused about all of this. They are not alone.
*Source: Boing Boing / Wikipedia*
Original story via Boing Boing
