Extreme ironing takes one of the most boring household chores and drags it into the great outdoors, often up a cliff, underwater, or on top of a moving vehicle. What started as one man's joke in his own back garden has since spread into a genuine (if unofficial) global pastime.
Here's what's actually true about the sport's history, its one and only world championship, and the record-setting stunts that made it famous.
Extreme ironing was invented in 1997 by Phil Shaw, a factory worker from Leicester, England, who decided to combine an evening of rock climbing with a pile of unfinished laundry.
Shaw's nickname, "Steam," comes from the steam that rises off a hot iron, not from any connection to steam engines or trains.
In June 1999, Shaw went on an international tour to promote the sport, staging ironing stunts in the United States, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.
During the early 2000s the sport spread worldwide as fans swapped photos and videos of their ironing stunts on early internet forums and websites, well before social media as we know it existed.
There are no official rules for extreme ironing; participants generally just find a striking or extreme location, set up a board and iron, press some fabric, and document the attempt with photos or video.
Enthusiasts typically use a lightweight, foldable ironing board and a cordless or battery-powered iron so they can practice the sport away from an electrical outlet.
Depending on the setting, extreme ironers often need genuine safety gear, such as a climbing harness, helmet, or life jacket.
The one and only official Extreme Ironing World Championships were held in September 2002 in Valley, a small village in Bavaria, Germany, near Munich.
About 80 competitors from 10 countries, organized into roughly a dozen teams, competed in categories such as forest, water, and urban ironing; German competitor Inga Kosak won the event.
No further official Extreme Ironing World Championships have been held since 2002, though local and regional ironing meet-ups have continued.
The Guinness World Record for the most people extreme ironing underwater at once is 173, set by the de Waterman Diving Club in Oss, Netherlands, on March 28, 2011.
British extreme ironer Ben Gibbons is reported to have ironed on top of a moving London taxi in 2004, one of many stunts documented within the extreme ironing community.
In 2003, Ben Gibbons, John Roberts, and Christopher Jowsey ironed a Union Jack flag near Mount Everest Base Camp at about 5,440 meters (17,850 feet), considered the sport's altitude record.
Extreme ironing demands real physical skill and focus, since participants must safely manage climbing, diving, or balancing equipment while performing a controlled task like ironing.
The sport has no governing body or professional circuit, so today's competitions and record attempts are organized informally by dedicated fan communities.
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