Americans are pretty weird. And what they do when they're not working or sleeping is even weirder.
TIME recently looked at the strange hobbies of Americans and came up with some unexpected results. Using a per capita calculation, TIME looked at the popularity of activities on Meetup, a website people use to organize gatherings in a wide range of areas, around the country. They found the cities that have the "strongest affinity for various activities."
Apparently, UFOs are really popular in Tucson, Francophiles congregate in Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas is the unofficial capital of Paganism. If you have a seemingly strange interest, it's very likely that you can find someone else in this country that has that hobby, too.
These findings got me thinking. TV has really helped shine a spotlight on the strange obsessions of people like you and me. OK, maybe not quite like you and me, but you get my drift. Here's five of the most memorable series that have made us think, "People really do that?
"My Strange Addiction"
Every week on this TLC show, we're introduced to people who can't help but wear, eat or do the oddest things. Some of the highlights of this series, or lowlights, depending on how you look at it have been resembling Justin Bieber, dressing and acting like a pony and being an adult baby. At first, you find yourself just staring at the TV in bewilderment, but then you realize it's actually kind of sad that these people can't help themselves. Does that mean I'm a terrible person for finding it entertaining?
"True Life"
This MTV docu-series takes us into the lives of everyday people doing extraordinary things. Often, that means following young people as they explore their unusual interests, such as vampirism, owning a potbelly pig and competing in a "Star Trek" pageant. "True Life" usually has a more earnest approach to documenting people's lives, so you can feel a bit less guilty watching this show.
"Who Wants to be a Superhero?"
"Who Wants to be a Superhero?" was a reality competition hosted by none other than Stan Lee himself. Contestants dressed up as superheroes of their own creation and competed to see who was the bravest, most powerful and most passionate to reign supreme and get their own movie on the Sci-Fi Channel. Supporting people trying to save the world from evil is a cause I can get behind.
"Buying Naked"
This house-hunting series currently on TLC follows couples living the nudist lifestyle as they search for a house. Your neighbors could be nudists, and you might not even know it.
"My Shopping Addiction"
Many people get themselves into credit card debt because they overshop. However, some of the shopping habits of these shopaholics in this Oxygen series are just plain weird, such as one women purchasing items to make herself look like Barbie and a woman who is obsessed with dollar stores. These hobbies would be fine and all if they weren't so detrimental to their wallets.
