I love to read.
I actually get pretty bummed out when I have a lot of stuff going on and I don’t have enough time to dedicate to reading.
But sometimes when I tell people that reading is one of my favorite hobbies, they give me a dirty look and say, “that’s boring! And so are you, loser!”
Okay, they don’t say that second part, but what I’m trying to say is that some hobbies that people consider to be boring are not boring AT ALL!
Folks on AskReddit discussed what hobbies they think get a bad rap and aren’t boring at all.
1. Up in the sky!
“Birding.
People love hiking and going outdoors but as soon as you add in birds suddenly it’s seen as “boring”.
Birds are so diverse and you’ll never know everything there is to know.”
2. That’s unique.
“Growing algae.
I sometimes grab some empty glass containers, ones that I cleaned and wanted to reuse. Fill it with water (rain water is the best) put in a bit of soil or any organic matter.
I have a good collection of algae jars and a big bucket. They don’t need much maintenance and look cool too!
It feels good when you see how you just recycled and produced oxygen for free. I mean I’m at least not a waste of oxygen.”
3. So satisfying.
“Hand sewing. It’s meditative and yet requires a lot of attention to detail and skill to do effectively.
Tiny stitches are so satisfying and take a lot of practice. The different applications of techniques requires a lot of technical know how, and there’s a lot of math and abstract thinking involved, especially in structured or highly tailored garments.
I’m planning to start making a bodice for Renaissance faire this weekend since as of right now it looks like we’re set to get at least part of a season, and I already know my pattern is going to require a LOT of adjusting. Because it’s so many pieces, it’s going to take some trial and error to reshape them. I hate that fiber craft, garment creation, etc. are considered “soft” arts, I’d love to see some engineering bro try to figure out how to draft a corset pattern.
New challenge everyone, make a corset or set of stays to your measurements from a Janet Arnold pattern and a video you found on YouTube.”
4. Give it a shot.
“Language learning.
It’s slow, methodical, and can be frustrating at times, but that moment when you can form simple sentences without much effort is probably one of the most gratifying feelings I’ve ever felt.”
5. A lot out there.
“Collecting coins. There are so many weird ways of doing this hobby.
It can bring you to the deep recesses of eBay, a garage sale or flea market in the middle of nowhere, your grandmother’s attic or a random field with a metal detector.
And there are so many variations on HOW. you can collect memorabilia coins, state quarters, pre-war coins, silver coins, gold coins or coi s from a specific year or whatever qualifier you can think of.”
6. “Boring.”
“I have a few “boring” hobbies.
Reading – every book is an adventure
Sewing – I find it very relaxing, and have fun trying new patterns.
Puzzles.”
7. Sounds cool.
“Watching trains.
Even my own family is like “it’s so boring” but I like thinking about where it came from and where it’s going.
I like the noise and love the rumble in the ground when a hard working train goes by.”
8. Wow.
“Lock picking for sure.
I see a lot of people with this mentality that only criminals pick locks but I’m here to tell you that is not the case. Matter of fact most criminals do not pick locks at all.
If you like puzzles and complex mental exercises, lock picking is great. Calming, filled with satisfaction and develops fine motor skills. Theres nothing else I have found that has the support, and community behind it.
I have met great people in this hobby and we basically are all like a knitting club, but with lock picking. Definitely a place to develop life long friends.”
9. Agreed!
“History.
Learning about any time frame in history you want/like.
It’s not boring, it’s fascinating.”
10. Blow your mind!
“Radio astronomy.
Receiving a signal that was made when the star that calcium that our bones was come from was still a billion years away from going supernova puts things in perspective.”
11. Now you get it.
“My husband has a couple of fish tanks he absolutely loves.
I never saw the appeal, but he’s so enthusiastic about them that I’m quite invested now.”
12. That’s different.
“I collect and breed insects.
Other folks seem entirely disinterested in the fact that my female orchid mantis just devoured the male so completely that all that remains of him are his wings.
That jumping spiders dance, waving their little arms and wiggling from side to side and that my female has made like 500 babies from that one pairing.
That the atlas moth is a nightmare to breed since they don’t synchronise their emergence very well and only live for like 4-8 days when they do emerge. That silk moths are very prone to bacterial infections but are the most adorable things on the planet.
That the reason my hissing roach colony is only moderately sized because every time a female gives birth a bunch of her fellows charge up to her and start eating the babies as they come out. Yet thankfully they all run for cover ASAP so some do survive long enough to harden up their exoskeleton. That increasing their protein food content does nothing to prevent the mass m**der.
I can go on for f**king hours. I love nature and bugs are so very interesting. Hissing roaches for example hiss in the same way that we do. By exhaling air. That ghost mantids are semi social and can be kept in colonies.
That caring for beetles means largely just looking after a pot of soil for a year or so. Occasionally digging up the larvae and weighing it as it persistently tries to wiggle away.
Like how is this boring? You need to see the feeding frenzy when roaches or born or how the female extrudes the eggs from time to time to air them out prior to birth. How the males get into head butting contests. Hissing up a storm.
Seriously some folks have made the mistake of thinking I owned a very disgruntled pet snake they hiss that loudly.”
13. Be a lifelong learner.
“Learning.
You have the internet where you can learn anything you wish in hundreds of enjoyable ways and it’s practically free.
Gaining knowledge should feel awesome.
It’s a shame school does the opposite to most people.”
Do you have some hobbies that other people consider boring?
If so, tell us about them in the comments.
We’d love to hear from you!
