The video: Fifty adventurous souls showed up at the Mountain Dell Golf Course in Salt Lake City, Utah, last week to try out a hot new wintertime sport called "skouching." The concept is simple: Participants attach skis to old couches, pile on with a few friends, get someone to give them a push, and then ride their unconventional sled down a hill. "Professional skoucher" Nick Edwards says that he founded the novelty activity while brainstorming with fraternity brothers about (you guessed it) what to do with an old couch. His idea spread through the magic of Facebook, leading to Saturday's well-attended skouching extravaganza.
The reaction: The "willing (if absent-minded) participants" of this new pastime will be providing "plenty of B-roll footage for the next Jackass movie," says Mike Richard at Vagabondish. Why do this? The better question is, "Why not?" Skouching participants didn't express any qualms. This is the "best thing I've ever done in my life," said Trent Levrich, a skoucher quoted by the Los Angeles Times. "Can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday." Watch some skouchers in action:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 AprilPuzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Humza Yousaf clears the decks to battle no-confidence voteSpeed Read First minister is 'done', according to insider, but a single vote could change the balance
-
Immunotherapy and hay feverThe Explainer Research shows that the treatment could provide significant relief from symptoms for many hay fever sufferers
