Free shipping on orders over $99
Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports

Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports

by Edward Brooke-Hitching
Hardback
Publication Date: 01/06/2015

Share This Book:

 
$26.99
For those who enjoyed the quirkiness of Schott's Miscellany, the erudition of The Etymologiconor the extremes of The Dangerous Book for Boys, this is the perfect read.

From Flagpole Sitting to Hot Cockles, Edward Brooke-Hitching has researched through piles of dusty tomes to bring vividly back to life some of the most curious, dangerous and downright bizarre sports and pastimes that mankind has ever devised, before thinking better of it and erasing it from the memory.

After all, who would ever want to bring back Fox Tossing, a popular sport for men and women in 17th-century Germany? As the name suggests, it would involve dozens of couples pairing up and standing 20-25 feet apart in an enclosed field, each holding one end of a net, and then they would pull hard at both ends as the fox ran past, sending it flying high into the air.

There are many other sports revealed within these pages that are unlikely ever to make an appearance on our TV screens, such as Firework Boxing, which is just as dangerous as it sounds. Meanwhile, Ski Ballet may not have been so risky, but Suzy 'Chapstick' Chaffee's signature move - the Suzy Split (a complete forward split while balanced on the tips of her skis) - was probably not one to try at home. An intriguing, entertaining and occasionally shocking insight into the vivid imaginations of mankind across the years, Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sportsis an unforgettable read.
ISBN:
9781471148989
9781471148989
Category:
Sports & outdoor recreation
Format:
Hardback
Publication Date:
01-06-2015
Language:
English
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster, Limited
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Dimensions (mm):
216x135mm
Weight:
0.4kg
Edward Brooke-Hitching

Edward Brooke-Hitching is the author of the critically acclaimed books The Phantom Atlas (2016), which has been translated into nine languages, and Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports .

The son of Franklin Brooke-Hitching, collector of the largest and most comprehensive library of British exploration and discovery ever accumulated, he is also a writer for the BBC series QI and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He lives in London.

Click 'Notify Me' to get an email alert when this item becomes available

Reviews

Be the first to review Fox Tossing.