If you were on the Internet over the weekend you might have seen a video or news story about the Heavy Metal World Knitting Championships, which took place last week in Finland.
From the look of things, the event may have been even stranger than you would think from the name. People dressed as sumo wrestlers, in dresses that looked like wedding gowns and other wild attire banged their heads to the music while knitting.
According the AP story linked above, Finland has the highest number of heavy metal bands per capita (at more than 50 bands per 100,000 people) and there are tons of knitters, too.
The competition’s website says
Knitting to the rhythm of heavy metal music can be compared to playing air guitar – which is a Finnish way to goof around as well. In heavy metal knitting, the knitter becomes a part of the band, showing their best needlework tricks as the heavy riffs echo on the background. The knitter takes part in the jam while their balls of yarn and knitting needles swish through the air…
Competitors from nine countries took to the stage to stitch and thrash, with the Japanese team Giga Body Metal coming out the winner. I don’t know how the winner was determined or what the prize is, other than that cool trophy, and getting to say you’re a world champion of heavy metal knitting, which I guess is prize enough.
[Photo via Heavy Metal Knitting.]
