What's an obscure hobby or interest you have that most people wouldn't understand why you're passionate about it?

I *really* like graphs. I don't know a what point you call it a hobby, but I spend a lot of time viewing r/dataisbeautiful, fivethirtyeight, and wherever else a graph pops up. I'm also trying to learn the basics of R right now (free to download!) so I can make better graphs than the autogenerated ones on excel/publisher
— TheInvisibleDuck

I like to scour the country for celebrity graves. I've visited maybe 20+ graves ranging from Mr. Rogers, Andy Warhol, Patsy Cline, Ann B. Davis, Lee Harvey Oswald, Lucille Ball, Mickey Mantle to JFK, Woodrow Wilson, Helen Keller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Parker, Clyde Barrow, F. Scott Fitzgerald and more but I can't think of more off the top of my head.
— sherlockmyballs

Killer Queen -- it's a 5v5 arcade-style video game with cabinets across the country. Last week I traveled across the country to play it with 90 other people in a cramped barcade. /r/killerqueen
— zrbrt

I do a lot of thrift store shopping for books and I find a lot of inscriptions or notes left in the books. I have a weird fascination with all these messages of love and thanks that have been left in books abandoned to thrift stores so a few months ago I started keeping photographic records of all the notes and other odds and ends I find in them. I'll share some amongst my Facebook friends, who don't seem to think it's too weird, or at least they haven't said anything to me about it. Edit: I've been getting a lot of comments suggesting I start a blog. The problem is that I don't come across these often enough to sustain one. However, because it's also been requested, I'm including a small gallery here of a smattering of some of the notes I've come across (and one that it would have been nice to have discovered before I bought the book): https://imgur.com/a/b3Nie
— schnit123

Collecting ancient coins. People don't realize you can get a very nice bronze Roman coin from the 4th century for the price of a movie ticket and popcorn. Reading about Marc Antony is one thing but holding a coin minted on his orders using silver from Cleopatra's treasury is a completely mind blowing thing to do.
— GeneralAgrippa

Juggling. People think it's cool, but they don't understand my passion for it. It's a great way for me to get into a meditative (or flow) state. There's always a new trick, prop or number to work on. It actively improves your hand eye coordination. Multiple studies have shown that juggling promotes grey matter growth and increased communication between the left and right sides of your brain, one consequence of this is people that are actively juggling actually learn other things faster (this benefit goes away if you don't stay in practice though) It improves balance. It's something you can do just about anywhere. The closest I'll ever probably get to feeling like a Jedi is when I get a high number of catches juggling with a blindfold on. You can incorporate it into other work outs to make them more challenging/burn more energy (joggling and juggling sit ups are two of my faves).
— monito29

D&D has gone pretty mainstream, but I think people really underestimate just how easy it is to get properly addicted. For some people it's a case of meet up once a week, drink a few beers and eviscerate a few goblins, but for other people they get sucked into the vortex and find themselves going way over the top in terms of planning out campaigns and encounters and such. Case in point: >'What's this?' >'Oh, just a couple of notes that I was throwing together for a D&D campaign I want to run later this year.' >'Hazel, this is, like, a full binder.' >  >^^^'*...you're* ^^^like ^^^a ^^^full ^^^binder, ^^^shut ^^^up.' My current project is trying to figure out a way to quantify just how *good* a character dice roll actually is, which has to be pretty close to the nerdiest hobby possible.
— Portarossa

Flashlights. There are so amazing flashlights out there that are bright as hell.
— Inanimate-Sensation

I started working at a local sex shop a while back because I was desperate for a job and they were close and hiring. Nowadays I’m pretty savvy to the inner workings of sex toys, sexual health, and all that jazz. I tend to get really excited talking about sex toys and it pretty much disturbs everyone outside of my work environment, which I understand I guess.
— bugkiss

Pyrography. There’s something so calming about the smell of wood burning.
— bootsmadeofconcrete

I like pipe organs, though I don't play (want to learn) I like the idea of a massive musical instrument that is controlled by a little console. There's so much going on and it seems so complex but at the most basic level you're just making air go through pipes. There's an entire science behind getting it to sound just right, everything is measurable and is dependent on different variables. There's an equation using frequency and wavelength to determine the internal length of the pipe. That's physics baby! But it doesn't end with the organ because the instrument has to be in a place with good sound quality. That means there are well trained people who are making fucking *buildings* a certain way to house an organ. The way an actual structure is crafted accommodates the fact that it has an organ in it. All of this work and for what reason? The sound air makes when it goes through a pipe sounds pretty. A shit ton of mathematics and planning and physical labor has gone into creating something because it's enjoyable to listen to. I don't know, just tickles my fancy.
— kynes_piece

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