Mistaken For Each Other

There is one distinction between two words that people typically garble in their everyday speech and they are park and playground. The words park and playground are typically used interchangeably in the vernacular, but do not actually refer to the same places. Typically a playground will be inside of a park, so the mistake is understandable. But, there never will park inside of a playground. They do have one thing in common and that people typically go to either of them to enjoy themselves. Other than that, parks can have a variety of purposes, while playgrounds always have the same purpose.

Playgrounds are expressly used as place for playsets, swings and such, on which kids play. Playgrounds tend to be located in urban areas, school yards, amusement parks and parks. Playgrounds are also expressly geared towards kids. Parents play in playgrounds for the benefit of their kids and teenagers might just because they are being obnoxious. To summarize, a playground is found in the same places and used by the same age group. Also, playgrounds tend to contain roughly the same type of things, playground equipment. Although, perhaps the biggest difference between a playground and park is the that a playground can be found indoors, while it is impossible to find a park indoors..

On the other hand, a park is a broad open space, as in no buildings or buildings of which to speak, used for various purposes. A park is just a piece of land set aside for people to go through it. There are national parks, which are spaces protected by the government, but people travel through them to marvel at nature. A state park are much like national parks, but they are also more geared towards providing a place for outdoor activity than conservation. Lastly, there are city parks. These parks are grassy places, maybe trees. The city park is supposed to a place where people can escape the concrete and breath some relatively fresher air, because of all the oxygen processing greenery. A park, because it is a place of recreation in one sense or another tend to contain at least one playground, although they do not have to have one.

Most people in their daily speech fail to distinguish between a park and a playground and use the words interchangeably. Although both are places of recreation, a park is spot of natural space, having various purposes. Meanwhile, a playground is a place that contains playground equipment on which children play. The name playground summarizes what it is adequately. In fact, park and playground are not interchangeable.

SKINS Compression: Built for the Athlete

Technology in sports is becoming a bigger factor in increasing both athletic performance and competitive levels. One of the most underrated aspects of sport technology is with regards to what garment they wear. Garments such as compression wear can help athletes maximize their physical performance while reducing the chances of both fatigue and injuries. One of the best in the compression wear market is SKINS compression. Why are their compression gear considered to be the best out there?

What makes SKINS different from the rest is the amount of time they have actually invested in creating their compression gear. Thousands of hours are spent on the research and development of SKINS compression gear because their earnest aim of helping the athlete achieve his/her absolute best. Utilizing their knowledge of the human body, SKINS create their compression gear to help the person push harder, go faster, and finish stronger.

SKINS compression gear is able to expand the person's performance through scientific means. It's a known fact that proper compression enhances blood flow to the muscles, resulting to increased performance. SKINS take this concept to the next level with the help of various technologies. Athletes are constantly in motion, which is why SKINS tried to study how muscles contract while in motion. It is through these studies that they were able to produce the ideal compression even while the body is moving, a concept they call dynamic gradient compression.

SKINS also invested hours in studying the exact amount of pressure and temperature needed for specific body regions. That said, they have engineered SKINS compression gear to provide the exact level of compression for each part of the body. Doing so creates a world of difference: it optimizes blood flow to specific parts of the body, in effect increasing strength, speed, stamina, and overall energy.

Utilizing data they have obtained from their countless researches, SKINS compression gear features state-of-the-art materials completely different from everyone else's. SKINS fabric is knitted in such a way that compression is kept at a specific level. Also, these materials are knitted in such a way that moisture is properly withdrawn from the body, keeping the athlete comfortable. And temperature is regulated in these compression materials in such a way that it keeps the body at an optimal temperature no matter what the weather conditions are.

Such levels of sophistication have made SKINS compression gear the leaders in compression technology. No wonder why world-class athletes and amateurs alike trust SKINS.

Croquet: Adapting the Game for Your Back Garden

The problem that most of us have is that our back gardens do not exactly conform to the size and shape required for the traditional set-up required for the prescribed croquet game rules! Well, why not create your own version!

A croquet set will normally consist of the following: mallets, six hoops, different coloured balls, a peg with various different coloured rings on it and some clips. The better sets will have boundary pegs and corner flags included. All very well when you have the 25 by 38 yards rectangular, manicured piece of lawn as required in competition croquet; not so perfect if you have a long and thin, round, odd-shaped or garden full of other garden game equipment cluttering the lawn area. To complete the setting, grandpa insisted on planting your birthday rose right in the centre! Fear not, croquet game rules can be adapted to suit whoever is in control.

Instead of using yard lines and chalk lines forming the perfect rectangular croquet court, why not use the flower beds as the out-of-bounds lines? Instead of following the normal set pattern for the hoops and peg, why not set out your own obstacle course, where participants can get snookered behind the sandpit, or the supports of the climbing frame? We have created very interesting courses that are in all sort of shapes and lines, causing frustration and hilarity at the same time, entertaining players and spectators alike, for extended periods of time. Whether the circuit is completed once or more than once, who cares!

As long as the rules are laid down before the start of the game, everyone is in the same boat. Providing the croquet equipment used is the same for all participants, all you need is a sense of fun, a will to win and a mean streak, ensuring your opponent's ball is in an uncompromising position after croquet was taken. An uneven piece of lawn will ensure that every shot has more than the usual dimensions to it and make planning shots ahead even more challenging. Just visualise how the contours and the lay of the land, influence the game of golf in shot selection and putting! We would not suggest that bunkers come into play in the game of croquet, but obstacles like trees, flower beds, garden furniture and other play equipment, bring challenges to the game that a flat, beautifully manicured lawn could not even dream to provide.

Croquet as a garden game can be enjoyed whether you are a nobleman with the appropriate lawns to enjoy, or the person with a postage stamp for a back garden. Croquet sets come in various sizes and prices; imagination we all have built-in at no cost already. Go outside, have a look at the croquet equipment and type of space you have to your disposal, grab a pen and paper and design the ideal course for you and your family and friends. Be mean but fair and set up your own set of croquet game rules and get stuck in for a fun time for all involved.

Competitive Eating: Sport or Mental Disorder?

You've probably heard of competitive eating before and there's a good chance you might have even tried it yourself as an amateur. I entered a couple of eating contests at local fairs in my day, especially as a young girl but it was nothing more than fun and games.

For some, however, competitive eating is something serious. So much so, in fact, that we now have Major League Eating, an international ranking of the top competitors in this unusual sport. It even inspired the reality TV show, "Man Versus Food."

This year's men's winner of the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest ate 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes and the first-ever women's winner ate 40 hot dogs. It's a fascination that is sweeping far more than just our nation as countries all over the globe feature similar eating contests.

The bizarre sport of competitive eating is nothing short of a freak show to some people. Depending on who you ask, it shouldn't be considered a sport at all. Some call it gluttony, others call it mental disorder- so what is it really?

A government watchdog group in Taiwan calls it a health hazard. "The frequent 'big-stomach' contests not only endanger health but violate the principle of fairness as the contestants who get sick are using the national health insurance resources," said the group, in a statement.

While such contests are not illegal, the group considers them to be against social fairness and justice as well as harmful to health.

Is there any truth to the health hazards of such excessive eating? There is one small study attempting to find out once and for all. The objective was "to assess the stomachs of a world-class speed-eating champion and of a control subject during a speed-eating test in our gastrointestinal fluoroscopy suite to determine how competitive speed eaters are able to eat so much so fast."

The study showed that a competitive eater seemed to lack the "satiety reflex" to cause them to stop eating and the stomach would inflate to an enormous rate to allow for the excess food.

"There's no real documentation of the risks and dangers associated with this sport," says Levine, a doctor in the study.

While some may think anyone who would eat that much food must have a mental disorder, there have also been no tests or studies done to date that clarify anything regarding the mental state of people who choose to participate in such contests. For some, it may be mere curiosity. For others, it's a way to stake their own little claim to fame.

Photographer Sol Neelman Loves Weird Sports and Sharing Them With Us

If you thought you'd seen everything, you probably have not seen the photos from photographer Sol Neelman who travels the globe in search of the world's strangest competitions. There are many weird sports out there that you may never have dreamed existed and now, thanks to Neelman, you can learn more about them through photos.

Here are 10 of the most unusual and exciting weird sports Neelman has to share:

    The Kaiju Big Battel is a mix between Japanese anime and professional wrestling that shows off the participants skills in a very humorous way.

    Have you ever heard of Underwater Hockey? It's sometimes called "octopush" and instead of pushing the puck around an ice-rink, players are pushing it around on the floor of a pool.

    When you combine gymnastics, capoeira and soccer to the sport of volleyball, you get Bossaball equipped with trampolines on both ends of the playing court.

    Snow Polo is an amazing game similar to the traditional Polo but players are on top of horses in a snow-covered arena. The horses wear special shoes to help with traction.

    The Pillow Fight League really puts on a show when these women gather together, go wild and fight each other with pillows. What an interesting way to cut loose and let out some anger.

    Surfing is not just for humans anymore. Both small and large dogs are getting in on some of the action when they go Dog Surfing. In this sport, the dogs surf alone or with their owners and it's one heck of a sport.

    One of the "Arctic Winter Games" includes an event called Pole Push in which two teams grab hold of the opposite end of a pole and each team tries to push the other team to the outside of the ring.

    Vancouver holds an unusual competition called the Ultimate Firefighter Competition in which the participants compete in a variety of events to see who is the best and fastest.

    Soccer is an amazing game that's fun to play or watch but here's something I bet you never thought you'd see. Blind Soccer is one exciting and powerful game that is played by four blind athletes and a goalkeeper who is visually impaired or sighted competing in a game of soccer in a field that has a wall around it.

    Racing in a kayak is exciting but when the kayak is make from a giant pumpkin that can weigh as much as 800 pounds, a whole new sport is born called the Giant Pumpkin Kayaking and it's one exciting race.

These are just a few of the amazing pictures that photographer Sol Neelman has to share when it comes to weird or unusual sports. His photography is amazing and the sports themselves are intriguing. I can't wait to see more.