Okay, stay with me on this. This is a real thing.

I was scrolling on Facebook when I saw that one of the meme pages I follow shared this:

To me, this post looked extremely photoshopped, and could not possibly have been real. The post did prompt me at the very least to do a Google search on the topic, and boy, was I surprised by the results.

What the Hell is Extreme Ironing?

As it says in the image above, right from it's Wikipedia page:

Extreme ironing (also called EI) is an extreme sport in which people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing. According to the Extreme Ironing Bureau, extreme ironing is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."[1]

People have gone extreme ironing on cliffs, forests, caves, seas, and more. According to Cool of the Wild, the first Extreme Ironing World Championship was held in 2002, which saw 12 teams compete for champion extreme ironing status. There is even a documentary on the subject called Extreme Ironing: Pressing for Victory, which gained international attention.

Who Came Up With This?

According to Sportsmatik, the sport was introduced by Tony Hiam in 1980 in Yorkshire Dales National Park, near Settle England. Although some referred that extreme ironing was originated by Phil Shaw in Leicester, England in 1997. Either way, we have those bloody Brits to thank! One famous feat in the sport was when John Roberts, Ben Gibbons and Christopher Allan Jowsey ironed the Union Jack above the Base camp of Mount Everest.

How To Get Involved in the Hudson Valley

There are so many easy ways to get involved in the Hudson Valley! All you need is an iron, an ironing board, something to press, and your imagination! The Hudson Valley is crawling with landmarks, parks, mountain trails, tourists attractions and more where one can get their thrills! Do some ironing overlooking the Hudson River on the Walkway Over the Hudson. Press some pants on Mount Beacon. Pay homage to a flag while on the Roosevelt Farm Trails. And whatever you do, make sure you get a picture and share it with us!

For some ideas on where to go Extreme Ironing, look no further than some of these locations below:

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