Eccentric Clubs from Around the World

Fact: There's a club for everything. There are societies for knitters and butterfly collectors and obscure game players and made-up language speakers and professional Elvis impersonators. If you have an interest, any interest, you can probably find like-minded people out there who share it.

These are some of the most eccentric clubs we've ever found:

The Cloud Appreciation Society: "We love clouds, we're not ashamed to say it and we're tired of people moaning about them." That pretty much sums up the CAS, a group of over 20,000 people who love sky-gazing. The society is based in the United Kingdom, though it accepts people from all over the world. After all, there are a lot of cumulonimbus to admire.

The Carleton College Mustache Club: There are so many kinds of mustaches. They can be prim, bushy, twirled, or pencil-thin. Cary Grant wore a mustache, but so did Burt Reynolds. The Mustache Club is a fuzzy-lipped bunch of Minnesotan undergrads who use their 'staches to benefit the Hope Center. Women are also welcome.

The Society for Creative Anachronism: Knights! Castles! Damsels in distress! Some folks wish they were born in the Middle Ages... and others decide to get medieval. The SCA is a club for people who dress in armor and pantaloons, wield homemade swords, and fight actual battles (do not try this at home—SCA combat rules are very strict). The Pennsic Wars, for example, draws over 10,000 fighters to a single campground in Western Pennsylvania.

The Principality of Sealand: Some people just want to get away from it all. This is one extreme case: Roy Bates, a pirate-radio broadcaster, moved to an obscure British fort in the North Sea (the fort is just a platform resting on two giant concrete pillars). Bates declared the manmade island an independent nation in 1967, and several "wars" have been fought over its possession. Today, the principality mints its own money (the Sea Dollar), and outsiders can even register as Barons and Baronesses of Sealand, for a £29.99 donation. Before you buy a noble title, though, keep in mind that no major nation actually accepts Sealand as a legitimate country.

The Second Vermont Republic: Like the Sealanders, a few diehard Vermonters wish to secede from the United States and become a separate country. As the group's name suggests, the state has been its own republic before: for 14 years (1777-1791), Vermont considered itself a sovereign nation. Worry not—the movement is strictly nonviolent.

International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame: Then name says it all.

The American Philatelic Society: When we think "hobby," we usually think "stamp collecting." Well, the APS is the national club for stamp-collectors, claiming (wait for it) OVER 44,000 MEMBERS! Yes, it may be the "American" Philatelic Society, but the members represent more than 110 nations. And if you think stamps are a snore, consider this: StampCruise 2010 attracted hundreds of stamp enthusiasts, and sailed to four Caribbean islands. This makes us wonder—did these vactioning stamp enthusiasts waste a precious stamp on postcards? Or did they hand-deliver them later?

What's the weirdest club at  your school/in your town?

Related Post: Odd Collections