Live Pigeon Shooting
Live Pigeon Shooting was held only once in Olympic history, in 1900. The object of this event was to shoot and kill as many birds as possible. This was the first and only time in Olympic history when animals were killed on purpose. The birds were released in front of a participant and the winner was the competitor who shot down the most birds from the sky. The participant was eliminated once they missed two birds. Nearly 300 birds were killed. The event turned out to be quite messy in the end with dead or injured birds on the ground and blood and feathers all over the place. An award of 20,000 Francs was the prize for the winner, though the top four finishers agreed to split the winnings.

Duelling Pistol ShootingThe duelling pistol event was held twice, in 1906 (at the Intercallated Games - not officially recognized by the IOC) and 1912. This event required competitors to shoot at manniquins dressed in frock coats. There was a Bull's eye were on the dummy's throat. The event was held over 20 meters and 30 meters.

200m Obstacle Race - Swimming
This unusual swimming event seems very complex but a lot of fun. A combination of a swimming event and an obstacle race, the competitors had to climb over a pole, then scramble over a row of boats, and then swim under another row of boats. All this was done in the to swim in the River Seine, so they competitors also had to contend with the current. This event was only ever held in 1900, but it would be an crowd favorite if it was ever to return.

Tug-of-War at the Olympics
The tug of war event was held at the Olympics from 1900 to 1920. Tug-of-war was always contested as a part of the track & field athletics programme, although it is now considered a separate sport. This may seem like an unusual Olympic sport, but in fact it was part of the Ancient Olympics, first being held in in 500BC.

In the modern Olympics, the tug-of-war contest was between two teams of eight. One team had to pull the other six feet along in order to win. If after 5 minutes no team had done this, the team which had pulled the most was declared the winner.

BEIJING (Aug. 18) - Yelena Isinbayeva got the Olympic gold and a world record; American Jenn Stuczynski got the silver and a lesson in humility.
And we now have a new rivalry that should make woman's pole vaulting fun to watch for many more years to come.
Big poles and big mouths don't go together. Stuczynski knows that now. Pole vaulting isn't basketball or boxing. It's far too graceful of a sport for the kind of trash-talk she doled out before the Beijing Games.
"I hope we do some damage," she had said, "and, you know, kick some Russian butt."
Big mistake.
Isinbayeva is Russian but she understands English just fine. The greatest women's pole vaulter of all time heard Stuczynski's challenge loud and clear.
"I am not deaf," she said. "It made me really angry."
Their head-to-head clash turned Monday night at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing into a showdown, with long poles instead of Don King.
First, some Cliffs Notes for those who didn't tune into this saga, with its slightly musty Cold War whiff, in the run-up to the Olympics.
Stuczynski: Tall, wholesome American, natural athlete; took up pole vaulting late, had a gift for it, quickly became second-best woman's vaulter of all time, behind the Russian.
Isinbayeva: Lithe former gymnast who switched to pole vault when she grew too tall as a teen, hasn't looked back since. In a class of her own.
Like any good fight, the public announcer introduced the combatants first. Isinbayeva was presented last and got the crowd's biggest roar. No mistaking who the Bird's Nest was rooting for.
Isinbayeva is a bit like those supermodels who supposedly don't get out of bed for anything less than a very lucrative photo shoot. Only when the bar has reached dizzying heights that most other vaulters can't clear does Isinbayeva deign to take her first jump.
She's just that good.
Monday night, her first jump was 4 meters 70 (15 feet, 5 inches). She soared right over. Seven of the 11 other vaulters had already dropped out by that point.
And so up the bar went, and up again. It's that exquisite turning of the screw that makes pole vaulting so addictive to watch. Who'll crack first?
Women's pole vault has only been an Olympic sport since the Sydney Games in 2000. It was an instant crowd pleaser. Almost single-handedly thanks to Isinbayeva, the sport has grown by leaps and bounds since then. Stacy Dragila's winning height in Sydney was 4.60 (15-1), which Stuczynski and Isinbayeva now sail over that in their sleep.
On Monday night, the last two hangers on dropped out with the bar at 4.80 (15-9), leaving Isi and Stu to fight it out for the gold alone.
The Russian won by KO. She cleared 4.85 (15-11). Stuczynski vaulted no higher than 4.80. Game over.
Almost.
With the whole stadium now eating out of her hand, Isinbayeva wasn't going to stop there. The crowd had only seen her jump twice - that was all it had taken for her to defend her Olympic crown.
She wanted to give them more ... and perhaps rub that American nose just a little deeper in the dirt.
It was showtime. Isinbayeva-time. And that meant a world record.
First, she broke the Olympic record - her own, from Athens four years ago - as an appetizer.
Then, the bar went to a height it's never been before, 5.05 (16-6 3/4).
She got it on the last of her three tries. She was celebrating even before she had fallen back to earth. She screamed. Clutched her face. Screamed some more. Did a forward somersault. Grabbed a Russian flag from someone in the crowd and set off on a lap of honor.
And that whole time, Stuczynski was made to wait, sitting on a row of plastic chairs, until Isinbayeva had cleared the magic height. It was the 24th time that the Russian had set a world record; she generally likes to eke them out one centimeter at a time.
Afterward, Stuczynski didn't want to talk about her pre-game trash-talk, brushing off a question with an abrupt "OK, next."
It was her first Olympics and her first medal, "I couldn't ask for anything more," she said.