Remember that time you tried to let your sister’s pet hamster out of his cage, only to be thanked with a couple of teeth marks on your finger? Well, here’s your chance to get even by beating that hamster at his own game (and I don’t mean biting people). While hamsters may have had the first plastic balls to run around in, humans now have the coolest ones thanks to a couple of thrill-seeking New Zealanders. These giant balls, generally called “zorbs,” go faster and farther – without getting stuck behind the couch.

A zorb is basically a 200-pound plastic bubble inside of another bubble. Dwayne van der Sluis and Andrew Akers made the first zorb in New Zealand, and since then the sport has become a giant phenomenon. Zorbs have already made notable appearances in pop culture, like on the hit TV show The Amazing Race. And get this: The word “zorbing” is now defined in the Oxford English Dictionary. If you want to zorb, you’ll need to hit up a zorb park. There are two major companies who operate or franchise parks: the New Zealand-based Zorb Limited, and the UK-based SphereMania. The latter company calls their version of the zorb a “sphere.”

“Zorbonauts,” the term applied to those who take a zorb for a spin, crawl into the inner bubble through a two-foot entrance hole and are either harnessed in for harness zorbing, or are left free to slide around inside (with help from a bucket of water) for hydro or aqua zorbing. Once inside, the rest is up to gravity – zorbonauts are sent rolling down either a straight slope, or depending on the site, a zigzag course. For kids too small for the regular zorb, Zorb Limited offers rides in a Zylinder, which is shaped like a cylinder (instead of a sphere) and used only on flat ground.

There are currently two parks in the U.S. where you can get your zorb on (as of August 2007). One, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is affiliated with Zorb Limited and scheduled to open this year. The other in Brighton, Michigan, is affiliated with SphereMania. Both companies have parks around the globe, so you can schedule a zorb experience into your next vacation. Prices vary from park to park, but plan on spending around $20 per ride in the U.S.

Neither one of these companies sells their equipment to the general public, for safety reasons. However, other companies have created their own version of the zorb and are cashing in on it – you just need come up with $2,000 to $3,000 to buy one. If you do decide to splurge on your own life-sized hamster ball, be safe and keep your eye on the... well, just try not to puke.

Like McDonald’s, Subway, and many other things you couldn’t live without, both Zorb Limited and SphereMania offer franchise opportunities. Zorb Limited says that they are interested in “working with landowners, investors, and developers to build quality zorb sites.” It could be a very cool business opportunity – just keep in mind that Zorb Limited expects the total investment will be roughly $1.5 to $2 million per park.

Sources:

zorbasales.com; spheremania.com; zorb.com; sphereusa.com; zorb.co.nz