By Chris Cosci

People are no longer content with regular sports and activities. We are in an age of extreme sports, where everything has to be bigger, faster and more exciting. From skateboarding to golf, just about every mild sport is getting the extreme treatment. And if you are really serious, you'll spell it "Xtreme," because that extra "e" is for boring, educated people who can't handle the intensity.

As we run out of sports to convert, a new activity has found its way into the extreme trend. It started in 1997 when a man in the U.K. came home from work to a sizeable pile of wrinkled clothing. Thinking that he would rather be rock climbing than ironing his clothes, he came up with an idea: what if he combined the boring job of ironing with the pure excitement of rock climbing. Haven't we all thought about this at some point?

Suddenly, extreme ironing was born. Extreme ironing is accomplished by taking an iron with you while performing some sort of physical outdoor activity. Extreme ironing has grown in popularity throughout the world, and there are an estimated 1,500 people in the extreme ironing community. It has become so popular that it even has its own governing body, the Extreme Ironing Bureau. After all, without some sort of regulations, how could anyone take this seriously?

Many of the dedicated ironers don't use their real names. They use clever aliases such as Steam and Starch. (Steam, by the way, is the U.K. man who introduced the world to this event.) Others have devised such witty nicknames as Crease Lightning, Jeremy Irons, and Fe (the chemical symbol for iron - in case extreme ironing wasn't zany enough).

According to Steam, these pseudonyms are used "in order to avoid the ridicule of our peers." Yeah, I'm sure that helps. Normally, I would make some comment about how absurd this idea is. However, we're talking about people who would willingly go rock climbing with a working iron, so I'm just going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Extreme ironers are always looking for new ways to exhibit their obsession. In addition to rock climbing, some people have done their ironing while kayaking or even skydiving. Most people use battery-powered irons. Obviously, you don't want to have miles of extension cords getting in your way when you're mountain climbing with a steaming hot iron in your hands. That would be dangerous.

But is this really extreme ironing? It seems more like ironing in an extreme setting. Nothing changes about how you iron - only where you iron. Given this definition, I could floss my teeth on Mt. Everest and call that extreme flossing.

I think extreme ironing should add extreme elements to the ironing aspect itself. You could iron in the dark and see if you can remove wrinkles instead of adding new ones. You can tie your hands behind your back and move the iron with your teeth, using your tongue to press the button for extra steam. Or, maybe you can forgo the ironing board altogether and try ironing the clothes while you wear them. Now that would be extreme ironing. It would also be incredibly stupid, but that's another story.

In 2002, roughly 70 people got together near Munich, Germany for the First Extreme Ironing World Championships (you knew it had to happen eventually). Competitors ironed in five events, including a water event, where competitors could iron in a canoe or on a surfboard, and a forest event, where they ironed up in the treetops. The contestants were given a score out of 120, based on quality of ironing, style and speed. Why not out of 100? Because it's extreme!

Having attracted competitors around the world, these ironers are currently making appearances in the United States. I guess they feel they've wasted enough time trying to get us hooked on soccer. Why not try extreme ironing?

So far, after a stop in Boston, the group has their work cut out for them. While many people were amused, others just seem confused by the whole ordeal. But the ironers will press on (oh yes, that pun was certainly intended), bringing their display to Mount Rushmore and Times Square. Will it catch on? Who knows? Personally, I'm waiting for something else to start up: Xtreme Sleeping.