Calcio Fiorentino - a Bruising, Anarchic and Exhilarating Spectacle of Sport.

Calcio Fiorentino certainly didn't ring any bells with me as a sport - I thought it might be some sort of Italian cheese that Harrods had started to stock. 

Yet this is an old sport, going back to the sixteenth century and comes across as an uber violent hybrid of football and rugby.  The rules are simple (there aren't many) and the game mainly consists of 27 men on either side beating the holy crap out of each other.  It might even be described as the original extreme sport. Great stuff!

World in Sport has the low down on this unusual and exciting sport.

Image Credit Flickr User lorZ

Culture Crossing

Have you ever been a visitor to a country and been nonplused or at least perplexed by some of the customs of the people there?  What is even worse, have you ever made a cultural boo boo that had made you blush all the way to the airport, let alone for years afterwards at its very thought?

Well, online help is at hand if that is the case! The Kuriositas Kids have recently come across a wonderful website call Culture Crossing.  No matter where you are heading in the world they  have some great tips for you so you don't have to worry about putting your foot in it (whether it is your mouth or something far, far worse).

There is plenty of information at the website at the moment but if you want to join in yourself then you can become a member and start letting people know the dos and don't of visiting particular countries.  If you don't want to advise but simply ask then there is a Q&A facility too where you can ask nationals from the countries concerned anything you want (well, within reason of course!).