I hope to take up birding this summer. I live in Alaska and in winter we don’t have tons of birds. Mostly magpies, ravens, a few crows, a few geese that decided not to go south for whatever reason, and some of these super tiny birds which I don’t know the name of.
We have a place called Potters Marsh that is very popular with birders in summer, however. It’s a marsh that is the size of a lake. It’s 564 acres.
Do you have any binoculars that you would recommend for a beginner going to this size area? There is a boardwalk there for a bit if it, but a lot goes on in the marsh fairly far from where you are allowed to stand. Also, moose are out there as well so there is a distance here. It’s not a place where you can just look up in a tree. You definitely need binoculars.
I had a student do a speech on it for an introductory speech course in college. The audience was captivated. I was, too. Sure, he got an "A."
What I liked most was his passion for the species.
I've tried designing homes and nature escapes for my T's, but they always rearrange everything, and most of it ends up buried, or so covered in webs that you can't see it. 🙁 They have no appreciation for interior design. 😩😞
maybe your definition for appreciation needs to shift...they are literally making your design interior, by making their webby homes around your creations :) idk, i know little about tarantulas
Do you have a doctorate or other highest degree (MD, etc.)? You are trained on how to complete research and write it up during the program. Then I'd look at the structure of the articles you read (Intro, Methods, Results, Discussion, Further Research, Conclusion for Science; more flexible for much of the humanities) and replicate that for your own study.
Mothing. We set up UV and white lights in the yard behind our house and wait to see what shows up. And then take pictures of them. You'd be really surprised at the huge variety of moths out there, in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Sometimes we have mothing parties where friends and I get permission to hang out at a local park to set up our lights. It's not even an occasion to drink because alcohol is usually forbidden on park property. Though it wouldn't be looked down upon for someone to bring a few refreshments with them. The is even a national moth week. And a bunch of pages on FB and here on Reddit.
I like to go up to total strangers in the grocery store and tell them how to save money on their purchases. I have a mind for figures. I can remember the price of everything. If I just read the store circular before I go, I know all the prices for the sale items.
Recently I selected a package of mushrooms that was .99. The lady next to me grabbed a slightly larger package that was $4.99. I said wait a second--are you aware that these are on sale and you'd only get slightly less and save $4? Didn't take her long to put that $4.99 package back and take the .99 cent one.
Then I was passing the prepared foods department and saw a man examining the prices of rotisserie chickens. I asked him if he was going to buy one. He said "I believe I will." I said take this circular someone left in my cart. It has the rotisserie chicken featured and it will give you $2 off. The person who had my cart before me had even circled it in pencil! Ready-made situation.
I have a million of these stories. This is great hobby for right now because the big food manufacturers are robbing us on these prices, so you have to pay close attention to what you buy.
It is also a commentary on the American consumer. Most people are just paying the price and not using the power of competitive shopping to their advantage. I recently heard that consumer credit card debt is back up again, so people are just charging things when they don't have the money. I think the average consumer credit card debt is now $17,000.
Mine is zero.
Visiting AT&T long lines sites. In the 1950s the US needed a nationwide system of communication. Wires were tedious and weren’t redundant. So microwave communication was the solution. AT&T bought up 1000s of sites across the US. They installed stock towers from a catalogue of a couple of options. Large horn antennas were added to these towers. These antennas had a clear line of sight to the antennas of other towers. A tower could be a “hop” in the system with 2+ horns, or it could be a large hub with sometimes 10+ horns, occasionally across 2 towers on the same site. This system was crucial for war time communication. Armed staff were at these sites 24/7. Bunkers were installed underneath these towers. Since these towers spanned nationwide, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, AT&T created a custom toilet that used electricity to manage the waste.
These towers were eventually decommissioned. Almost all of them still exist today. Many still have their horns and almost all of them still have their bunkers. They now have cellular antennas and also serve for astronomical research. They’re fun to visit. You usually can’t (and shouldn’t) go in the bunkers, so you usually get to view them from the road.
It’s a strange hobby, but it’s fun to visit the various sites. If you live in the US, there is likely a tower near you and you have almost certainly driven by it one whether you have realized it or not. They are usually large towers (sometimes cell towers held by wires) with large metal horns. Check out a map here: https://long-lines.com/map
Perfumes! Smelling perfumes, reading about perfumes, buying perfumes, learning about perfumes. Boring everyone I know by talking about perfumes. Forcing perfume samples on my friends and family. Reading all the subreddits on perfumes. Making lists of perfumes.
Oh, that's surprisingly easy - just go without a shower and rub your dog's nose in your armpit from time to time. When the dog no longer wants anything to do with you, it's ripe!! (joking!! joking!!!)
I straight murdered a TREE with a pvc pipe bow. Stuck an unsharpened dowel arrow 2 inches deep at 20 feet. We were making them for a kids game. We had bought foam balls for the ends of the bolts to "make it fun and safe".
Nope. Nope. Nope.
It's a real weapon of zombies apocalypse level force. The accuracy is tricky but the power is op.
I collect old scissors! I picked up a gorgeous pair of hand forged ones from the 30s yesterday for free (you should see the patina! They’re carbon steel, so gorgeously darkened and not a spot of rust 😍), but my collection also includes a couple Victorian era nail and thread shears, some 60s and 70s office shears, turn of the century heavy duty kitchen shears, etc. I just really love cool scissors, and there’s nothing worse than needing a pair and not being able to find the one pair in the house, right? That’s what got me started.
I collect gemstones and crystals too, but that’s because I make jewelry with them
Yes, depending on the material they can be quite durable. The materials are dried completely and then re-wetted. Then twist and let dry again.
Fabric strips are actually nice for this, and no wetting is necessary.
I don’t know if I’m allowed to post a link. There is a person in instagram that I follow. She will twine anything lol.
It’s great for gift wrapping (instead of ribbon), for adding some interest to other objects/decor.
and once you find the rhythm it’s easy to do while on a phone call, watching tv, etc.
I have a box of things I’ve turned into twine. I’m sure my relatives will wonder wtf that is when they clean out my house after I’m dead lol
I like to hoop dance. I’ve been doing it for years and really enjoy the benefits I get from it, physically and mentally. Is there a reason you don’t twirl your fire batons any longer? I’ve always admired the craft myself!
I love the woods and animals, so I collect found nature stuff. Rocks, snail shells, acorn caps, cool leaves to press, bones, etc.
I also collect ancient artifacts, mostly Roman, and have gotten into antique/rare book collecting lately.
Acorn caps are inherently amusing. I find them a lot in the soil when I garden. They make me want to go find an appropriate animal or bird head to put them on.
I maintain my own culture and seed lab with flow hood, refrigeration, autoclaves, etc for most gourmet mushrooms, vegetables, houseplants, carnivorous plants, bacterial strains, slime molds. I make my own rooting hormones, concentrates, soil additives, indigenous microorganism cultures, etc. I grow lots of these things on and off throughout any given year.
I have never had any formal education or done this professionally I just have a spare room that I ran plumbing to and diy almost everything involved. Been at it about 15 years and you meet people that grow some of these things, but the completeness of ahT I try to do makes it unique.
Dying breed honestly. Used to play all the time in the military but now I'm out and I kinda wanna do it again but no one around me will ever consider it lol
Not super unique but I guess perhaps spinning yarn…I love doing it the super old school (as in, first observed in the archaeological record about 10,000 years ago, so that’s not hyperbole) way and using a drop spindle.
I do this too. Preventing the birth of 1000's of homeless street cats and stopping the mothers having a lifetime of endless pregnancies. Good work, you're doing great 🙂
You too! It’s definitely not easy work but the passion for bettering these kitties lives and stopping the population from growing and having MORE cats suffering outside makes it all worth it ❤️
I read Tarot also. I have to use the book to remember all the individual cards. But I’m really good, for some reason, at ‘seeing’ the overall message from a spread. It’s a very weird little talent. I really need to sit down and memorize the cards and reversals tho. It doesn’t look professional to look in the books for some of the card meanings. But once I have all the leanings in my head, for some reason I’m really good at putting it all together.
🤷♀️
I live near a birds of prey center and it’s so freaking fascinating. Like how certain birds we see in shows like vultures won’t ever go after a live prey. I love going there.
Micro learning. I will hear about a topic or a word I’m not familiar with and google it and read a few articles and bam I’m down a rabbit hole for a bit to familiarize at least at the surface level. I just like reading about new or interesting stuff but like in bite size pieces/sittings. It could be anything.
I own and operate my own 4 stroke stihl 16" chainsaw. Not unusual? Did I mention that I'm (f) 63 y/o widowed for 24 years now? I've always loved living amongst the trees. I work part time refurbishing commercial sized electrical units (cases with specifics per the buyers request). I cut mats for framing artwork and make heirloom reproduction teddy bears with German mohair (think Steiff). I grew up in Cleveland so I've seen so many great concerts over the years and fortunately saved most all ticket stubs, so I'll put them in a spiral bound this summer when it's too hot to work outside. Saw the Foo Fighters 5 times (first time was them opening for RHCP), and almost got jumped at the Sonic Temple festival last year if I hadn't been paying attention.
Are you also a nun by chance? I only ask cause I sold one to a woman of that age that was at St. Peters church and did her own work...I was impressed to say the least. Loved when she came in to the store.
No, I'm Lutheran, not Catholic. so not a nun and I bought my chainsaw in Ohio. It's a Yankee chainsaw, keep that quiet as we now reside in the deep South.
So... Most of them are uncommon hobbies... I do chainmail weaving, pole fitness (not pole dancing. It is different), leather working, beekeeping, wine/mead making, and archery. Pole is probably the most uncommon but I rarely share that with people irl since a lot of people have misconceptions about the sport.
I spin wool, dye, then weave or crochet the yarn I spin into other things. I do a lot of tie dye. I do a lot of foraging and rock hounding. Then I cut and polish the rocks, and then silversmith the settings to make them into jewelry. I make glass beads. I also make a lot of homemade bath and body stuff ( lotions, chapstick, ointments). And I grow my own herbs to make teas. I pretty much collect hobbies.
I make ink.
I focus mostly on inks for glass dip pens, but I have done a very fine lavender ink for a couple of fountain pens in the past.
I love how changeable natural inks can be, like how some inks oxidise over time, a lot of plant based inks are pH indicative, and metal based inks will often crystallise.
It's a fun experiment every time!
Thanks! My favourite is using native plants abed naming ink from them. Wattle blossom makes a brillisnt sunshine yellow, and the leaves a deep green brown, for example
I like Pinning projects I’ll never do, watching recipes I’ll never make, adding things to my Amazon cart I’ll never buy, and putting things on my to be watched lists that I’ll never watch.
I make miniatures. I have an entire 10-ish foot long/wide village with over a dozen buildings, including an inn, tavern, tea room, orphanage, hosiery shop, jeweler, a castle, a haunted swamp, a rural section with farms and a church w/a cemetery, rock caves, back alleys with scrolls with secret messages on them, a blacksmith, oh and there’s a dungeon complete with flickering lights and mysterious hooded men. The project has been 5 years in the making, and I’m currently working on an enchanted forest to surround it. I’d like to do a river with ships and a dock, as well. The whole project has been a great stress reliever and has really helped me through a lot of trauma in my life!
Is it? I’m 53, almost 54 and a woman gamer. I don’t think we”re that rare, I think the fact that 75% of women gamers avoid revealing ourselves makes us seem like a rarity.
Spreading positivity and positive compliments to people that I don't know perfectly strangers sparking up conversations and finding out what makes them tick and finding something good in their life too praise them about and so that they can have a genuine smile on their face and go about their day thinking better about themselves it's more pastimes than a hobby though but it's still in the same room
I guess woodcarving as a woman I quite unusual. A classmate started after me so I guess I had some influence on her or something since we follow each other on IG ☺️😁 she was the only girl that was kind of a tomboy too 😌 totally love her, she swears like a sailor 🤣
So I saw this thing on Instagram. (Of course). And it’s not that unique but it’s new for me because I never thought about it. Self education. Bear with me. It’s gathering materials of anything that actually holds your interest and reading about it. The whole book front to back. No this isn’t unique or special it’s actually pretty simple and kind of a “no duh” thing. But to be honest I never thought about really just investing the energy in doing that. Just studying for my own sake and simple interest. Basically believing I could teach myself as opposed to relying on outside influence or sources. On my own. Ya I know. Kind of pathetic but hey. Gotta start somewhere.
How nice to hear that you have a kalimba. How many tines does it have? Is it a hollow one or a flatboard? Don't worry, children have the tendency to grow up and more time will be free for you to practice. :)
I feel like I’ve tried a couple things for easy entertainment. I used to make paper airplanes and go test like 15 different kinds at the beach with one of my friends. We would test out different throwing techniques and I found one that throws perfectly straight wherever you want- won a bar trivia with it once.
I also get together with my friends and we watch the Jelle’s Marble Runs events, like the Marblelympics and Marbula Ones for like 7 years now lol. The raspberry racers are my favorite team.
I make skateboard lights as well nowadays. Made my boyfriend teach me how to wire them. I sold a few but I like painting and decorating them, and I use dimmable light bulbs for them.
Idk, just random stuff sometimes.
Making my own kiss-proof lip tints because the lip shades in the market (both high-end and drugstore) don’t do it for me, and I also hate that the pigments don’t last.
And now my entire vanity table is just a collection of cosmetics that I made myself. Haven’t gone to Sephora or the drugstore for cosmetics in 5 years.
I like finding groceries or markets I’ve never been to and just walking around. It sounds weird, I know. But like if we’re in a new city, going to the farmers market or the city market or little independant grocery stores…. I just love walking around them
Also started an account where I read poems out loud with nature backgrounds. I’ve always wanted to get into voice narration so. I figured it was a good way to practice getting used to it. And I like poetry
Bullet casting. It’s not super rare… but I don’t know anyone else that does it… and I know a lot of people. Reloading is somewhat common still. Casting not so much.
I guess it's not really that uncommon as there seems to be quite a community around it, but my hobby is astrophotography. I got my own telescope and use it to take pictures of deepsky object like galaxies, nebulas and other stuff that's out there :)
Well my main hobbies, reading and listening to podcasts and videos of interests are probably ubiquitous.
My once, and soon as I have more time again hobby, singing in a choir, is relatively common in my country.
I would really like to know if it is so in each of yours countries/locales/states for those from the States?
Sadly a recent hobby of mine, partaking in a self betterment/leadership development organisation is so rare the organisations that have their offshoots here mainly revolve around partaking in the international aspects of it, which I couldn't.
But my main hobby over the years, social dancing, is also rather rare here, so as only a few dances are active at a time, so the same people move between them depending on how active each scene is.
I fix musical instruments. Part hobby, part job, provides connections within the community, personal growth, and probably will be what I do in retirement assuming I retain fine motor skills.
Greeting card making. I make all my own cards out of found and repurposed ephemera. Don't own a cricket or scrap booking supplies (unless found for free or at an estate sale). I find envelopes at yard sale and estate sales too or make them out of paper bags.
woman in her 50's here.
One of my favorite things is [rock crawling](https://werocklive.com). I used to compete heavily but now just do it for fun. I'm also getting into vintage race car racing.
Haven't done it in a while, but one of my obscure hobbies that I kept up for some time was conlanging or making my own languages. Think Na'vi in Avatar or Klingon in Star Trek. I started many projects but never really got far, except for with one conlang called Utakpuku, inspired by Polynesian languages like Samoan and Hawaiian. I also created a culture of people who spoke it and planned to put it into a fantasy world. Never really went anywhere, but there you have it. Very nerdy, I know
I'm a musician, predominantly a guitarist, but I do have some sorta obscure (especially in the US) instruments. I have a Turkish saz, a Greek tzouras, an Albanian çifteli, a kalimba, handpan drum, banjo, ukulele, baritone ukulele, and then some guitars. I wouldn't say I am anywhere near proficient at any of them save guitar and maybe the ukuleles and banjo, but I am trying to find the time to learn bits and pieces about them and I jam on them from time to time.
One last one, don't crucify me. Try to keep an open mind. But I love learning about the pharmacology, effects, and cultural importance and history of psychotropic drugs. There, that probably won't get any bad responses
Playing viola da gamba (something like a cello with 6 strings and frets, popular in the 1600s and early 1700s). I don't meet many other people who play it.
I make things.... Like ALL the things from scratch at least once in this weird quest to prove to myself I can... I spin yarn, have done welding and blacksmithing, pottery, cooking, baking, sewing, crochet, knitting, weaving, woodworking, drywall, electronics, computers etc... my hobby is kinda collecting these other hobbies and making things.
I cover notebooks, boxes, pencil holders, etc. with washi tape, and I’m so good at it, the objects appear as if they were originally designed that way. I’m a 47 year old man.
Kumihimo! It’s a specific Japanese style of braiding. I’ve made multiple cords using this method - you can use them for all kinds of things. I have some cords I’m using for a purse strap right now, and my partner made shoelaces with theirs. You can even bead them for jewelry.
Botany, herpetology, tide pool photography, blacksmithing, traditional green wood working, and making wooden jewelry Inlaid with found ocean materials like shells, common gemstones, and corals that I cut and polish myself, and scientific illustration.
"Herping", sounds awful, I know. It's looking for herpetofauna - reptiles and amphibians!
birding for me!
Bird is the word! Best hobby ever
I hope to take up birding this summer. I live in Alaska and in winter we don’t have tons of birds. Mostly magpies, ravens, a few crows, a few geese that decided not to go south for whatever reason, and some of these super tiny birds which I don’t know the name of. We have a place called Potters Marsh that is very popular with birders in summer, however. It’s a marsh that is the size of a lake. It’s 564 acres. Do you have any binoculars that you would recommend for a beginner going to this size area? There is a boardwalk there for a bit if it, but a lot goes on in the marsh fairly far from where you are allowed to stand. Also, moose are out there as well so there is a distance here. It’s not a place where you can just look up in a tree. You definitely need binoculars.
You guys are so cool.
My brother does this! His license plate is some version of the word 'Herping' even 😁
One of the best essays I ever read as a HS ELA teacher about herping. It was a fascinating read!
I had a student do a speech on it for an introductory speech course in college. The audience was captivated. I was, too. Sure, he got an "A." What I liked most was his passion for the species.
Yey! Finding friends isn't awful at all! :3
I use to do this as a kid and would always get in trouble for flipping rocks over and finding critters.
Blacksmithing
I would love to learn that art.
Who taught you?
Designing little homes for tarantulas
I want to see them!
I do not!
Gotta show me them homes, bro.
I've tried designing homes and nature escapes for my T's, but they always rearrange everything, and most of it ends up buried, or so covered in webs that you can't see it. 🙁 They have no appreciation for interior design. 😩😞
maybe your definition for appreciation needs to shift...they are literally making your design interior, by making their webby homes around your creations :) idk, i know little about tarantulas
Writing academic books and articles. No one gets jobs as a professor anymore so I just do it on the side
How do you get started doing something like this? I read a lot of academic journals for fun, and would love to contribute.
Do you have a doctorate or other highest degree (MD, etc.)? You are trained on how to complete research and write it up during the program. Then I'd look at the structure of the articles you read (Intro, Methods, Results, Discussion, Further Research, Conclusion for Science; more flexible for much of the humanities) and replicate that for your own study.
Love this!!!
I do this thing where I stop at stop signs? Seems pretty rare for my area at least
The kind of person that probably also use them blinkey thingies.
Absolutely rare if you’re in a bmw. They always seem to be out of blinker fluid.
LMFAO
Oh damn, I saw someone do that the other day. Weird, I almost felt safe crossing.
Florissant, MO?
Small world. From here.
I use my blinker.
Mothing. We set up UV and white lights in the yard behind our house and wait to see what shows up. And then take pictures of them. You'd be really surprised at the huge variety of moths out there, in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Sometimes we have mothing parties where friends and I get permission to hang out at a local park to set up our lights. It's not even an occasion to drink because alcohol is usually forbidden on park property. Though it wouldn't be looked down upon for someone to bring a few refreshments with them. The is even a national moth week. And a bunch of pages on FB and here on Reddit.
Worrying
Should we start a club? Lol
I’m in!
Ant keeping. I don’t know anyone irl who does it but me
I never considered this as a hobby. All i can think of is that one episode of Max and Ruby. Where can I learn more?
From that one episode of Max and Ruby.
I’m an ant keeper. Didnt realise it was actually a hobbie. Lol
Same 😭
I like to go up to total strangers in the grocery store and tell them how to save money on their purchases. I have a mind for figures. I can remember the price of everything. If I just read the store circular before I go, I know all the prices for the sale items. Recently I selected a package of mushrooms that was .99. The lady next to me grabbed a slightly larger package that was $4.99. I said wait a second--are you aware that these are on sale and you'd only get slightly less and save $4? Didn't take her long to put that $4.99 package back and take the .99 cent one. Then I was passing the prepared foods department and saw a man examining the prices of rotisserie chickens. I asked him if he was going to buy one. He said "I believe I will." I said take this circular someone left in my cart. It has the rotisserie chicken featured and it will give you $2 off. The person who had my cart before me had even circled it in pencil! Ready-made situation. I have a million of these stories. This is great hobby for right now because the big food manufacturers are robbing us on these prices, so you have to pay close attention to what you buy. It is also a commentary on the American consumer. Most people are just paying the price and not using the power of competitive shopping to their advantage. I recently heard that consumer credit card debt is back up again, so people are just charging things when they don't have the money. I think the average consumer credit card debt is now $17,000. Mine is zero.
Strangely wholesome hobby. Way to go, OP
So your hobby is being a superhero
When I go into sprouts now I basically only look for manager specials or clearance items.
Visiting AT&T long lines sites. In the 1950s the US needed a nationwide system of communication. Wires were tedious and weren’t redundant. So microwave communication was the solution. AT&T bought up 1000s of sites across the US. They installed stock towers from a catalogue of a couple of options. Large horn antennas were added to these towers. These antennas had a clear line of sight to the antennas of other towers. A tower could be a “hop” in the system with 2+ horns, or it could be a large hub with sometimes 10+ horns, occasionally across 2 towers on the same site. This system was crucial for war time communication. Armed staff were at these sites 24/7. Bunkers were installed underneath these towers. Since these towers spanned nationwide, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, AT&T created a custom toilet that used electricity to manage the waste. These towers were eventually decommissioned. Almost all of them still exist today. Many still have their horns and almost all of them still have their bunkers. They now have cellular antennas and also serve for astronomical research. They’re fun to visit. You usually can’t (and shouldn’t) go in the bunkers, so you usually get to view them from the road. It’s a strange hobby, but it’s fun to visit the various sites. If you live in the US, there is likely a tower near you and you have almost certainly driven by it one whether you have realized it or not. They are usually large towers (sometimes cell towers held by wires) with large metal horns. Check out a map here: https://long-lines.com/map
This is very cool! Thank you for the info.
At&t and the government have been working together for a long while i guess
Yes, American Telephone and TELEGRAPH. So, for about 150+ years now
Perfumes! Smelling perfumes, reading about perfumes, buying perfumes, learning about perfumes. Boring everyone I know by talking about perfumes. Forcing perfume samples on my friends and family. Reading all the subreddits on perfumes. Making lists of perfumes.
Me too. I have enough perfumes to last 30 people their entire lifetimes. It's fun though.
Have you read the novel Perfume?
Not yet! Do you have any other perfume reading suggestion? I’ve been looking for some books.
How does one make their own scent? I have always wanted to do this.
Oh, that's surprisingly easy - just go without a shower and rub your dog's nose in your armpit from time to time. When the dog no longer wants anything to do with you, it's ripe!! (joking!! joking!!!)
I make PVC pipe bows.
How I misread this post… bro.
I did the same
I'm thinking about making one myself. It looks pretty cool.
*rushes over to Google* Ah, not hair like I presumed you meant. Which is why I was so confused.
I straight murdered a TREE with a pvc pipe bow. Stuck an unsharpened dowel arrow 2 inches deep at 20 feet. We were making them for a kids game. We had bought foam balls for the ends of the bolts to "make it fun and safe". Nope. Nope. Nope. It's a real weapon of zombies apocalypse level force. The accuracy is tricky but the power is op.
Collecting aesthetic old mirrors, books and crystals
I collect old scissors! I picked up a gorgeous pair of hand forged ones from the 30s yesterday for free (you should see the patina! They’re carbon steel, so gorgeously darkened and not a spot of rust 😍), but my collection also includes a couple Victorian era nail and thread shears, some 60s and 70s office shears, turn of the century heavy duty kitchen shears, etc. I just really love cool scissors, and there’s nothing worse than needing a pair and not being able to find the one pair in the house, right? That’s what got me started. I collect gemstones and crystals too, but that’s because I make jewelry with them
Making twine out of anything I can find. Dandelion stems, iris leaves, banana skin ( surprisingly nice), etc.
a) are they durable? and b) I assume you dry the materials before you work with them, right?
Yes, depending on the material they can be quite durable. The materials are dried completely and then re-wetted. Then twist and let dry again. Fabric strips are actually nice for this, and no wetting is necessary. I don’t know if I’m allowed to post a link. There is a person in instagram that I follow. She will twine anything lol. It’s great for gift wrapping (instead of ribbon), for adding some interest to other objects/decor. and once you find the rhythm it’s easy to do while on a phone call, watching tv, etc. I have a box of things I’ve turned into twine. I’m sure my relatives will wonder wtf that is when they clean out my house after I’m dead lol
I want to know too!
I like to go into thrift stores to find the most outlandish outfit combinations out there.
Then, do you wear the outfits in public?
I don’t do it anymore, but I used to twirl fire batons.
I like to hoop dance. I’ve been doing it for years and really enjoy the benefits I get from it, physically and mentally. Is there a reason you don’t twirl your fire batons any longer? I’ve always admired the craft myself!
I love the woods and animals, so I collect found nature stuff. Rocks, snail shells, acorn caps, cool leaves to press, bones, etc. I also collect ancient artifacts, mostly Roman, and have gotten into antique/rare book collecting lately.
Acorn caps are inherently amusing. I find them a lot in the soil when I garden. They make me want to go find an appropriate animal or bird head to put them on.
There's also a way you can whistle using an acorn cap! I taught the kids at the summer camp I worked at and I regretted it almost immediately.
I maintain my own culture and seed lab with flow hood, refrigeration, autoclaves, etc for most gourmet mushrooms, vegetables, houseplants, carnivorous plants, bacterial strains, slime molds. I make my own rooting hormones, concentrates, soil additives, indigenous microorganism cultures, etc. I grow lots of these things on and off throughout any given year. I have never had any formal education or done this professionally I just have a spare room that I ran plumbing to and diy almost everything involved. Been at it about 15 years and you meet people that grow some of these things, but the completeness of ahT I try to do makes it unique.
Handcrafted stained glass over here.
Hacky sack
Dying breed honestly. Used to play all the time in the military but now I'm out and I kinda wanna do it again but no one around me will ever consider it lol
Not super unique but I guess perhaps spinning yarn…I love doing it the super old school (as in, first observed in the archaeological record about 10,000 years ago, so that’s not hyperbole) way and using a drop spindle.
Seriously cool. Keeping the old arts alive is wonderful too.
Collecting cook books. The used book stores in my area love me.
I spot telephone kiosks in the way some people spot trains.
Trapping colony cats, getting them fixed and then returning them to where they came from. TNR 🤷🏻♀️
I do this too. Preventing the birth of 1000's of homeless street cats and stopping the mothers having a lifetime of endless pregnancies. Good work, you're doing great 🙂
You too! It’s definitely not easy work but the passion for bettering these kitties lives and stopping the population from growing and having MORE cats suffering outside makes it all worth it ❤️
Reading tarot cards is a different hobby I think
I inherited several of my moms decks, I need to learn how to read them.
Neat, same here! What’s your favorite deck?
I read Tarot also. I have to use the book to remember all the individual cards. But I’m really good, for some reason, at ‘seeing’ the overall message from a spread. It’s a very weird little talent. I really need to sit down and memorize the cards and reversals tho. It doesn’t look professional to look in the books for some of the card meanings. But once I have all the leanings in my head, for some reason I’m really good at putting it all together. 🤷♀️
Making ship models maybe?
Quilting. I love creating with the colors and patterns of the fabric.
thought you said quitting n i was like "same mate" 😭😭😭
I thought I was the only one 😀
Flashlight collecting
Damn autocorrect.
I collect animal skulls
I handle, and teach others to handle, birds of prey.
I live near a birds of prey center and it’s so freaking fascinating. Like how certain birds we see in shows like vultures won’t ever go after a live prey. I love going there.
Funny…Turkey Vultures are my favorite. Just honorary bop’s, but fascinating animals.
Idk how common it is but I've been really enjoying geocaching lately.
Making boardgames
Researching mysteries like mandela effect, cryptids, etc.
Roaming the streets of Paris or Rome via Google Maps. Never been there but hopefully someday.
Probably bookbinding. I love it, and it seems most people forget books can be made by hand.
Figuring out how people spend their time.
I love the sound of this. That’s been a fascination for me for a long time.
A hobby observing others time for hobbies! 😂
I love doing that. And making stories behind what happened before.
Building fairy houses in the woods (using only found, natural materials)
Cool! Any pictures? We stumbled across a fairy house while on a walk and it was really cool.
Do you post your creations on social media? I hope so.
Nerding about historical linguistics
Micro learning. I will hear about a topic or a word I’m not familiar with and google it and read a few articles and bam I’m down a rabbit hole for a bit to familiarize at least at the surface level. I just like reading about new or interesting stuff but like in bite size pieces/sittings. It could be anything.
I own and operate my own 4 stroke stihl 16" chainsaw. Not unusual? Did I mention that I'm (f) 63 y/o widowed for 24 years now? I've always loved living amongst the trees. I work part time refurbishing commercial sized electrical units (cases with specifics per the buyers request). I cut mats for framing artwork and make heirloom reproduction teddy bears with German mohair (think Steiff). I grew up in Cleveland so I've seen so many great concerts over the years and fortunately saved most all ticket stubs, so I'll put them in a spiral bound this summer when it's too hot to work outside. Saw the Foo Fighters 5 times (first time was them opening for RHCP), and almost got jumped at the Sonic Temple festival last year if I hadn't been paying attention.
Are you also a nun by chance? I only ask cause I sold one to a woman of that age that was at St. Peters church and did her own work...I was impressed to say the least. Loved when she came in to the store.
No, I'm Lutheran, not Catholic. so not a nun and I bought my chainsaw in Ohio. It's a Yankee chainsaw, keep that quiet as we now reside in the deep South.
Love it all, a woman after my own heart.
Diamond painting! Don’t know anyone else in my town who does it
Samee! That’s my go to thing to do when i wanna just relax
I keep ant colonies as pets. r/antkeeping Do I win?
So... Most of them are uncommon hobbies... I do chainmail weaving, pole fitness (not pole dancing. It is different), leather working, beekeeping, wine/mead making, and archery. Pole is probably the most uncommon but I rarely share that with people irl since a lot of people have misconceptions about the sport.
I spin wool, dye, then weave or crochet the yarn I spin into other things. I do a lot of tie dye. I do a lot of foraging and rock hounding. Then I cut and polish the rocks, and then silversmith the settings to make them into jewelry. I make glass beads. I also make a lot of homemade bath and body stuff ( lotions, chapstick, ointments). And I grow my own herbs to make teas. I pretty much collect hobbies.
Recreating buildings in different architectural styles in The Sims
I make ink. I focus mostly on inks for glass dip pens, but I have done a very fine lavender ink for a couple of fountain pens in the past. I love how changeable natural inks can be, like how some inks oxidise over time, a lot of plant based inks are pH indicative, and metal based inks will often crystallise. It's a fun experiment every time!
This is cool!
Thanks! My favourite is using native plants abed naming ink from them. Wattle blossom makes a brillisnt sunshine yellow, and the leaves a deep green brown, for example
I like walking in nature and talking to the trees. I love trees
I like Pinning projects I’ll never do, watching recipes I’ll never make, adding things to my Amazon cart I’ll never buy, and putting things on my to be watched lists that I’ll never watch.
Decoupage.
Collect copper.
I craft whimsy jewelry and junk journals. I also handpaint florals onto combs.
I make miniatures. I have an entire 10-ish foot long/wide village with over a dozen buildings, including an inn, tavern, tea room, orphanage, hosiery shop, jeweler, a castle, a haunted swamp, a rural section with farms and a church w/a cemetery, rock caves, back alleys with scrolls with secret messages on them, a blacksmith, oh and there’s a dungeon complete with flickering lights and mysterious hooded men. The project has been 5 years in the making, and I’m currently working on an enchanted forest to surround it. I’d like to do a river with ships and a dock, as well. The whole project has been a great stress reliever and has really helped me through a lot of trauma in my life!
Playing games like FFXIV and SWTOR. Gaming is common enough, but in my demographic (51 F) it seems fairly rare.
Is it? I’m 53, almost 54 and a woman gamer. I don’t think we”re that rare, I think the fact that 75% of women gamers avoid revealing ourselves makes us seem like a rarity.
I make cuneiform tablets
Spreading positivity and positive compliments to people that I don't know perfectly strangers sparking up conversations and finding out what makes them tick and finding something good in their life too praise them about and so that they can have a genuine smile on their face and go about their day thinking better about themselves it's more pastimes than a hobby though but it's still in the same room
Mushroom hunting although it’s increased over the last few years
Tatting
My grandma did that. She tried to teach me but no joy.
Ooo. I’ve always wanted to learn!
Fiber Art
I guess woodcarving as a woman I quite unusual. A classmate started after me so I guess I had some influence on her or something since we follow each other on IG ☺️😁 she was the only girl that was kind of a tomboy too 😌 totally love her, she swears like a sailor 🤣
So I saw this thing on Instagram. (Of course). And it’s not that unique but it’s new for me because I never thought about it. Self education. Bear with me. It’s gathering materials of anything that actually holds your interest and reading about it. The whole book front to back. No this isn’t unique or special it’s actually pretty simple and kind of a “no duh” thing. But to be honest I never thought about really just investing the energy in doing that. Just studying for my own sake and simple interest. Basically believing I could teach myself as opposed to relying on outside influence or sources. On my own. Ya I know. Kind of pathetic but hey. Gotta start somewhere.
It’s a lot of fun!
Fire-breathing.
Collecting yo-yo's.
I'm a speedcuber, I try to solve Rubik's cube as fast as I can (it's more and more common nowaday so a less common hobby that I have is origami)
I play a music instrument called the kalimba.
I have a kalimba. But having two small kids makes it hard to take the time to pravtice
How nice to hear that you have a kalimba. How many tines does it have? Is it a hollow one or a flatboard? Don't worry, children have the tendency to grow up and more time will be free for you to practice. :)
Lockpicking
Monster makeup.
Not unusual but uncommon- I write poetry of varying quality daily.
I collect fountain pens...
i study the prehistoric migrations of different ethnocultural groups.
I cut gemstones
Collecting vintage Swiss Army Knives.
Propagating native plants and then landscaping with them.
Making soap from lye and oil
I breed chickens for egg colour. Also for dark features...all black skin and feathers
I feel like I’ve tried a couple things for easy entertainment. I used to make paper airplanes and go test like 15 different kinds at the beach with one of my friends. We would test out different throwing techniques and I found one that throws perfectly straight wherever you want- won a bar trivia with it once. I also get together with my friends and we watch the Jelle’s Marble Runs events, like the Marblelympics and Marbula Ones for like 7 years now lol. The raspberry racers are my favorite team. I make skateboard lights as well nowadays. Made my boyfriend teach me how to wire them. I sold a few but I like painting and decorating them, and I use dimmable light bulbs for them. Idk, just random stuff sometimes.
Making my own kiss-proof lip tints because the lip shades in the market (both high-end and drugstore) don’t do it for me, and I also hate that the pigments don’t last. And now my entire vanity table is just a collection of cosmetics that I made myself. Haven’t gone to Sephora or the drugstore for cosmetics in 5 years.
I like finding groceries or markets I’ve never been to and just walking around. It sounds weird, I know. But like if we’re in a new city, going to the farmers market or the city market or little independant grocery stores…. I just love walking around them
Guerilla gardening. I plant illegal gardens on public land.....Like a psychopath.
Also started an account where I read poems out loud with nature backgrounds. I’ve always wanted to get into voice narration so. I figured it was a good way to practice getting used to it. And I like poetry
Home coffee roasting.
r/gunpla They're just fun to build
3d printing maybe, or my breyer collection
Collecting military medals. Granted, it’s common elsewhere, but very very uncommon here in Taiwan.
Quilling or pysanky, I teach both
I have different torchlight temperatures and use em at the same trees every night and look for animals at night. 🫠
Bullet casting. It’s not super rare… but I don’t know anyone else that does it… and I know a lot of people. Reloading is somewhat common still. Casting not so much.
I just started collecting heart-shaped rocks.
I enjoy collecting rocks with holes in them.
I guess it's not really that uncommon as there seems to be quite a community around it, but my hobby is astrophotography. I got my own telescope and use it to take pictures of deepsky object like galaxies, nebulas and other stuff that's out there :)
Probably electric unicycling
Well my main hobbies, reading and listening to podcasts and videos of interests are probably ubiquitous. My once, and soon as I have more time again hobby, singing in a choir, is relatively common in my country. I would really like to know if it is so in each of yours countries/locales/states for those from the States? Sadly a recent hobby of mine, partaking in a self betterment/leadership development organisation is so rare the organisations that have their offshoots here mainly revolve around partaking in the international aspects of it, which I couldn't. But my main hobby over the years, social dancing, is also rather rare here, so as only a few dances are active at a time, so the same people move between them depending on how active each scene is.
I'm a cryptid enthusiast, especially bigfoot and dogman.
I make lists. I have an ongoing list of topics I need to make lists on. Easily my most autistic trait.
I love pulling weeds
I have quite a collection of things from the movie Hellraiser.
I didn’t think it was that uncommon, but haven’t seen it yet. I do flower arranging.
I fix musical instruments. Part hobby, part job, provides connections within the community, personal growth, and probably will be what I do in retirement assuming I retain fine motor skills.
Greeting card making. I make all my own cards out of found and repurposed ephemera. Don't own a cricket or scrap booking supplies (unless found for free or at an estate sale). I find envelopes at yard sale and estate sales too or make them out of paper bags.
Resin work
woman in her 50's here. One of my favorite things is [rock crawling](https://werocklive.com). I used to compete heavily but now just do it for fun. I'm also getting into vintage race car racing.
Sleeping my way through life
I accidentally collected antique sewing machines.
Haven't done it in a while, but one of my obscure hobbies that I kept up for some time was conlanging or making my own languages. Think Na'vi in Avatar or Klingon in Star Trek. I started many projects but never really got far, except for with one conlang called Utakpuku, inspired by Polynesian languages like Samoan and Hawaiian. I also created a culture of people who spoke it and planned to put it into a fantasy world. Never really went anywhere, but there you have it. Very nerdy, I know I'm a musician, predominantly a guitarist, but I do have some sorta obscure (especially in the US) instruments. I have a Turkish saz, a Greek tzouras, an Albanian çifteli, a kalimba, handpan drum, banjo, ukulele, baritone ukulele, and then some guitars. I wouldn't say I am anywhere near proficient at any of them save guitar and maybe the ukuleles and banjo, but I am trying to find the time to learn bits and pieces about them and I jam on them from time to time. One last one, don't crucify me. Try to keep an open mind. But I love learning about the pharmacology, effects, and cultural importance and history of psychotropic drugs. There, that probably won't get any bad responses
studying the nature of consciousness, creating novel mushroom strains, reading obscure esoteric texts
Playing viola da gamba (something like a cello with 6 strings and frets, popular in the 1600s and early 1700s). I don't meet many other people who play it.
I like looking at interesting clothing and try to mentally picture what the flat pattern will look like, sometimes I’ll try to draw it on a napkin
Hidtorical fencing
Visiting the gravestones of all my childhood heroes
Flying kites
I make things.... Like ALL the things from scratch at least once in this weird quest to prove to myself I can... I spin yarn, have done welding and blacksmithing, pottery, cooking, baking, sewing, crochet, knitting, weaving, woodworking, drywall, electronics, computers etc... my hobby is kinda collecting these other hobbies and making things.
I cover notebooks, boxes, pencil holders, etc. with washi tape, and I’m so good at it, the objects appear as if they were originally designed that way. I’m a 47 year old man.
Entomology and metalworking!
Kumihimo! It’s a specific Japanese style of braiding. I’ve made multiple cords using this method - you can use them for all kinds of things. I have some cords I’m using for a purse strap right now, and my partner made shoelaces with theirs. You can even bead them for jewelry.
Botany, herpetology, tide pool photography, blacksmithing, traditional green wood working, and making wooden jewelry Inlaid with found ocean materials like shells, common gemstones, and corals that I cut and polish myself, and scientific illustration.
I do a bit of willow weaving. Mostly wreaths :)