12 unusual hobbies Hungarians have

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Hungary is one of the best tourist destinations around the world. This European country has a lot to offer, from its rich culture and historical background to its wonderful people, Hungary should really be included in your bucket list.

You might be more interested in this beautiful country after knowing these unusual hobbies they do:

1. Sports

While athletics is pretty common in all parts of the world, Hungary’s dedication to the sport is quite extraordinary.

Hungary is among the top countries that produce the best players in various sports, helping them secure medals for international sporting events like the Olympics. They even have more Olympic medals than other countries even though they haven’t hosted the games yet.

2. Spinning basketball on a guitar

Speaking of sports, do you know that a Hungarian woman holds the world record for spinning a basketball on a guitar for the longest time?

Anna Malik, from Budapest, was able to keep a basketball spinning on the neck of the guitar for about 13.23 secs while performing a song, bagging the Guinness World Record for “longest time spinning a ball on a guitar”.

3. Stone skipping

Considered as one of the most unusual hobbies (more so a sporting event) in the world, stone skipping or skimming even caught the interest of Hungarians.

If you’re not familiar with it, there’s actually a competition called the World Stone Skimming Championships where the Hungarian Péter Szép is one of the titleholders. He is considered among the greatest around the world, validating Hungary’s obsession with sport.

4. Social media use

Social media nowadays is becoming a hobby for many people to let off some steam, however, Hungarians are a little more engaged with these sites than most countries.

That’s why Hungary is the number one country in Europe that uses social media. 83% of their internet users (ages between 16-74) use at least one social media app, about 20% higher than the rest of Europe.

5. Couples dancing in mob

Another unusual thing you’ll learn about Hungary is that they also hold the world record for the largest dance by couples.

In 2012, 2,594 couples (5,188 individuals) convened by the banks of the Danube river, in Budapest, to slow dance and bag the Guinness World Record. 

6. Drinking

Okay, drinking is common around the world, but there are several reasons why Hungarians take alcohol drinking to different levels that’s somehow unusual.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Hungary is the 8th in the world that consumes alcohol heavily.

When it comes to drinking ethics, you’ll make Hungarians raise their eyebrows if you clink glasses – even during celebrations – as they consider this act rude. This can be traced back to when they lost the 1848’s revolution, and the Austrians celebrated through toasts and clinking beer glasses.

Not just that, they also turned ruins into bars. What’s a better way of celebrating than drinking in pubs with historical background, right?

7. Gambling

When talking about unusual hobbies, gambling may be among them.

Hungary allows and regulates all forms of gambling (online or land-based) in their country since 1991. Today, there are around 11 casinos that operate throughout the country which offer a wide array of popular casino games that have nothing to be ashamed of in comparison to online gambling sites in the US.

Card games such as poker and blackjack seem to be loved by hungarians. Sports betting is a favorite pastime in most European countries, and Hungary is no exception to this rule.

8. Breaking world records

Since we’ve already mentioned several world records that Hungarians possess, I guess it’s safe to say that breaking world records has become their hobby.

From the largest panoramic postcard to most people simultaneously chalk drawing, Hungarians never run out of ideas to break the weirdest titles. If you want to know more, click here.

9. Cooking unusual foods

It’s customary to every nation to have a dish they take pride in – so does Hungary.

While cooking isn’t really an unusual hobby, cooking weird foods are – and Hungary may have a lot on the list.

For instance, Hungarians love cooking and eating pig feet stew which is quite weird as most of the world’s population disregard this part of the pork. They also have a dish called onion blood cake, made from (of course) fresh blood of pig fried with onions.

10. Music affects them too much

Music always creates a huge impact on the emotional stability of many people.

While most listen to music as their way of coping with the harsh realities of life, a certain song has negatively affected some populations of Hungarians some time in the past.

There was a time when the Hungarian government needed to ban the song titled “Gloomy Sunday” as it was linked to the increasing number of suicide cases in the country.

To date, Hungary is known to be among the countries with the highest suicide cases.

11. Rubik’s cube

While it’s not totally weird, solving the Rubik’s cube puzzle deserves to be included in the list.

The Rubik’s cube was made by the Hungarian sculptor and architecture professor Ernő Rubik, which he originally named the Magic cube.

What’s uncanny is how the hobby of solving this puzzle, which now has dominated the whole world, actually started in Hungary.

12. Bottle flipping on the back of the hand

Speaking of alcohol and world records, another Hungarian is written in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Kovács György, a TGI Fridays bartender in Liverpool is currently the titleholder for the most bottle flips on the back of the hand in 1 minute. He did 146 flips in 1 minute, and it’s crazy!