Jamie Slater, special to WTOP.com
WASHINGTON — For the next two weeks, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will fascinate and terrify the world with strange competitions like skeleton, involving hurtling head-first down an ice track, or the ever-baffling–at least for some– curling.
The history of many of these weird sports is just as fascinating as the sports themselves.
Skeleton
Racing head-first on a sled with no brakes down a frozen track while wearing no padding save for a helmet? It may make some people cringe, but references to the sport, initially called tobogganing, can be found as early as the 16th century, Olympic.org says.
In 1882, an elite version of today’s drag-racing often took place on the streets of St. Moritz, Switzerland–except on toboggans. According to the F
