Plenty of us grew up with geeky hobbies. You know, the ones that we could only divulge to a select number of trusted friends, for fear that the truth getting out would lead to a lifetime of social shunning and a permanent status as an outcast.
How many of us would enjoy going to back to those hobbies and doing something amazing with them just to prove to everyone how cool they actually were? Well, that’s exactly what these people did. Geeks and nerds unite – your time is coming.
#5 Marching Band
In the United States and Canada, being a member of the school band is the ultimate evidence of a low social standing. It’s no wonder really – you have to put on a stupid-looking uniform with a hat that makes you look like an albino skunk has taken up residence on your head. You play an instrument that absolutely nullifies your chance of ever getting into an actual band.
But somehow, the University of Hawaii Marching Band still manages to be cool. How? Because during halftime they like to form gigantic stick figure football players, complete with a helmet stretching the width of the field. That’s neat, you’re thinking. Do you know what’s neater? They animate him. That huge stick figure runs up to a football and kicks it through human goalposts.
Of course, California had to take it to another level again. Refusing to be a one trick pony, they added Tetris, dragon heads and a Pokémon fight scene, before finishing up with Zelda and some Super Mario Bros. themes.
#4 Vocal Jazz
The level of dork below a band geek is known in American as a jazz group vocalist. When they reach university age – college for Americans – these unfortunate denizens tend to double as theatre and music majors who haven’t realised that they can’t sing.
But there are exceptions to this general awfulness. Here, for your entertainment, is the vocal version of that Nintendo performance above: Nintendo A Capella.
#3 Origami
Origami skates that fine line between dorky and cultured cool, but paper craft saw that line and ran from it, deep into the hinterland of Geekdom. Paper craft is exactly what you think: a marriage of World of Warcraft and origami. Because when you’re not playing WoW, you have to do something, right? These creations are actually incredibly complex, and some of them are pretty big too. Some people use them like decorations.
Admittedly, we’re not advocating that you use them for home interior inspiration, but you have to admit that if you visited a geek’s house and were confronted with a life-size Uther the Lightbringer, made by hand from scratch, you’d be pretty impressed. Just make sure you never admit that in public.
#2 Lego
If you grew up without ever having Lego in your life, then you really did have a deprived childhood. The thing is, when you were a child, playing with little blocks of plastic was acceptable. As an adult, not so much – I mean, imagine telling your girlfriend that you still build little Lego villages.
But if you’re Nathan Sawaya, feel free to tell anyone you want. Nathan Sawaya is so desperately geeky that it’s actually endearing – and awesome. Not only did he make a life-sized batman, but he did it in a place that would draw a crowd, which was as good as throwing up his hands and shouting, “Yeah, I still play with Lego. And?” And, to be honest, we don’t really have any answer to that.
#1 Light Sabers
All little boys enjoy playing with light sabers, pretending to chop each other’s faces off with luminescent plastic sticks. When you were a kid, it was always fun and games right up until someone’s fingers got whacked – and then there were tears. Well, throw enough adults nerds in a room for the evening, and provide them with enough booze, and you can essentially recreate your childhood.
Thankfully for the rest of us, most light sabre nerds are also computer geeks, so instead of practicing in the privacy of their front rooms, they find a remote spot, bring a camera and make it look like they’re doing something productive. And then they make something beautiful.
Honourable Mentions:
- Bob Bretall, who has one of the largest private comic book collections, with 89,613 and counting.
- A postman who spent seventy year amassing one of the world’s biggest stamp collections – around two million stamps worth tens of thousands of pounds – to fund his retirement, only to pass away before he could sell them.
- Taxidermist Lisa Black, who combines steampunk aesthetics with taxidermy to make dead creatures into cyborgs imitating our everyday animal species. Yes, it looks as terrifying and spine-chilling as it sounds!
What nerdy hobbies did you enjoy when you were a kid? I want to hear all about them in the comments below. I was big into Pogs… remember those?
