THE MIND-BLOWING WORLD OF EXTRAORDINARY COMPETITIONS

A collection of unusual contests from all over the world.

Surveying ancient history up to modern times, this book covers something that unites people worldwide—the desire to make up challenges in which to compete. From Chinese dragon boat racing dating back thousands of years and the ceremonial boasting component of West African wrestling to modern pastimes like eating contests and chessboxing, each contest is given a double-page spread, with pithy descriptions and contextualizing sidebars. Animal husbandry competitions are examined, too, such as camel beauty pageants, cockroach races, and worm charming (and even the wonderfully charming Fat Bear Week, which doesn’t involve people at all). Occasional spreads cover noncompetition feats (such as building giant novelty models of animals and objects), but they capture enough of the spirit of the book that they don’t feel out of place. Also included is a section on competitions in mythology worldwide. The artwork is clean and attractive and highlights the diversity of these worldwide challenges. This book is ideal for kids who like world record books and almanacs but might prefer something shorter, want subject matter curated toward the sillier side of life, or who just desire a little bit more background on the strange games humans have invented.

A clear winner.