# 50 things to do before you're 30 - which have you done? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952 "2006-01-21T01:17:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/81 "2006-01-23T19:10:29Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Before 30 I managed to do the following, although it seems filled with rather silly stuff: > (How the heck was I supposed to boot up Linux when it had not even been written before I was well past 30?) Or buy a pocket gadget that cost more than a month’s income. They didn’t HAVE those types of pocket gadgets back in the dark ages. Its also a very British list. I don’t think many of us 'Mericans haven’t shot SOMETHING before our 30th birthday, even if it was just tin cans with a pellet gun. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/82 "2006-01-24T00:30:16Z")
1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit **In anger, I slammed down a Coke bottle, slashing my hand.** 2. Shoot something **Pistol practice involving a rattan manniquin.** 3. Post bail for a friend **I didn’t do that until age 56.** 4. Break a really large plate glass window **I was 10, and I threw a bottle the length of the house. For punishment, I had to dig 400 weeds.** 5. Make a pointless modification to your house **When repapering the bathroom, I left Batman and Robin figurines in a niche in the wall, for posterity.** 6. Break a sledgehammer **Bad aim, at 20.** 7. Make a bomb **I bought a car for $25, which turned out to be worthless. I beat on it with a pipe, towed it into a field, and blew out the windows with a gunpowder-in-a-glass-jar bomb. We were careful to see that nobody was endangered.** 8. Tip a waiter with something other than money **Well, sorta. Two waitresses at my favorite watering hole were squirrelling away dollar coins, so I would tip in Susies or Sackies.** 9. Light a fire with petrol **Some autumn leaf fires. I watched a friend get 2nd degree burns lighting a brushpile with gasoline.** 10. Kidnap someone **At about age 10, we were playing cops-and-robbers games, and we captured another kid, holding him at scoutknife-point. Afterward, the kid’s parents got steamed, and my co-kidnapper got hauled downtown, thus beginning his career as a criminal.** 11. Drive at more than 140mph. **Not exactly. I rode at 140 mph, in a '58 Chevy hotrod driven by my co-kidnapper when we were both 19.** 12. Give yourself a mains electric shock. **I bought a neon transformer at a garage sale, and I was playing with it in the dark in my garage, with a pair of jumper cables. There was a crack in the insulation in one cable, and I got burns on my hand and on my knee (I was kneeling.)** 13. Completely dismantle an object larger than yourself **Tore down a bandstand in high school.** 14. Write off a car **See #21.** 15. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery **Child’s play; I don’t remember when I first did that. Hell, I stuck a screwdriver in a light socket at 8.** 16. Take part in motorsport **On a kart, age 15** ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/83 "2006-01-24T03:58:09Z")
I’m 31 now, but all of these were done before age 30. There are a few on that list that are just too stupid or unapealing to do. The Purity Test is a better scorecard/list of goals than this, IMO. **1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit** I sometimes tell people who ask about a scar on my arm that it’s from a knife fight. I actually put my arm through a window. There are a few other stupidities, but that’s the fun one. **2. Shoot something 3. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home 4. Boot Linux on your home PC** pffft, big deal **5. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language** I don’t usually get lost. I assume he’s talking about serendipity and dealing with stressful situations. I’ve done the equivalent. **7. Post bail for a friend** I still don’t know how he ended up there. **8. Break a really large plate glass window** Drove my dad’s Cougar through the window of the fish store when I was 4. **10. Use a whole roll of gaffa (sic.) tape in one day** I guess this is duct tape. Used up three making modifications to the bed of a buddy’s truck; we made it into a hot tub. **13. Pull a shemale by mistake (but realise in time…)** It was no mistake. I was at a party with about 95% gay men. She was very convincing, but I’ve never met a cross dresser or transsexual who fooled me for more than about 30 seconds. I’ve got nothing against flirting, but I let her know that I wasn’t going to bed with her. We had a good time hanging out, and she took home a much hotter guy later that night. Fun all around. **14. Buy a samurai sword** Not only have I bought one, I know how to use it properly. **15. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives** I had to serve community service for a speeding ticket once because I moved so many times that the summons to appear was the first thing to catch up with me. **17. Refill an inkjet cartridge** \ **21. Make a bomb 22. Smash a CRT 23. Require medical treatment as a consequence of kinky sex gone wrong (STDs don’t count.)** Girlfriend got a bladder infection that probably was the result of an inadvertent transfer of bacteria from anal sex. I had a chafing problem once, but that’s it. Even if you do heavy bondage, if you hurt yourself badly enough that you require medical attention, it’s because you were stupid and screwed up. Not praise-worthy, not something to put on your list of things to do. **25. Light a fire with petrol 27. Park inside a motorway service station** I’ll assume, like an earlier poster, that this translates to making out in a public place. Several times, and it didn’t stop at making out. **29. Live abroad.** Still there. **30. Drive at more than 140mph.** My first car was a Ford Escort station wagon handed down from my mom: give me a break. The round speedometer was marked to 85 at 170º, I drove it fast enough to hit “M” on the MPH. I think that counts. **32. Give yourself a mains electric shock.** By accident. Touched the prongs on a plug when I was stretching too far to plug something in behind the desk. **33. Completely dismantle an object larger than yourself** Helped tear down a house. **34. Write off a car** A couple of times. **35. Fall asleep and get really hilarious sunburn** Just once. Almost blistered too. **37. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis** That used to be my idea of a relationship. I got better. **38. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery** Hell, that’s how you know if it’s still good. **39. Take part in motorsport** Does impromptu street racing count? I was going “P” miles an hour when he gave up. **41. Set off a fire extinguisher** To put out a fire. **42. Drive at least 600 miles in a day on two lane roads 45. Shag an ex-girlfriend by mistake** How could you do that by mistake? Even if my count were in the hundreds, I know I’d remember everyone, even if I’d only nailed her once. There’s no way I would not know who the hell one of my exs was. **46. Dial 999** 911? Yes. Not fun, not recommended. **47. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again** I must have. I still have no idea what the hell it was. **49. Read a 500 page book in one sitting** Often. **50. Escape a perfectly justified parking ticket.** Blew the speed limit on my motorcycle coming home from a date’s place. I’d gone through a several month drought. The female officer asked me where I was going in such a hurry. The smile on my face when I told her that I was going home from a goooood date and was feeling too good to pay much attention must have convinced her that I could be let off with a warning. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/84 "2006-01-24T04:23:54Z")
I’m only 24, so I’ve got time, but I’ve only done eight. My life is apparently rather boring, although I didn’t realize that I could spice it up merely by refilling a printer cartridge. **2. Shoot something** Does paintball count? **3. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home** In Puerto Rico, about six weeks ago. **5. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language** About four years ago, in Thailand, my friend and I found that the Bangkok central bus station wasn’t quite where we thought it was. We found someone who was probably the only English speaker for a significant radius, and not only did he walk us twenty minutes in blazing heat to the bus station, he found the proper ticket counter and arranged for us to buy the right tickets, pointed out the correct bus, and wrote out instructions in Thai for us to give cabbies once we got there. He was awesome, and he wouldn’t even let us buy him a bottle of water. **15. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives** I was contesting a bill with my health insurance, which ended up refusing to pay; by then, I’d already gotten a couple of letters from a collection agency. **19. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space** Hasn’t everybody? Not a particularly exciting highlight of my life, I have to say. **21. Make a bomb** I’ve made small dry-ice bombs in controlled settings, because that’s what biologists do when we’re bored. Does that count? **34. Write off a car** My brother totalled my car (with me in the passenger’s seat - I saw it, and it wasn’t his fault). The car was pretty much done at that point. Is that what this question means? **37. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis** I _am_ a girl, so this isn’t that exciting, but my Friend Whose Life Most Closely Resembles a Soap Opera knows that I’m up late and there for her if she needs me. Emotional crises happen about once a year, on average. **49. Read a 500 page book in one sitting** Sure. More than once. Probably by the time I was twelve. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/85 "2006-01-24T04:40:22Z")
**14. Buy a samurai sword**. It wasn’t a very good one. **15. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives** If the “if you do not pay this ticket, _you will not graduate_ letter” that you get a few days before graduation counts, then yes. **21. Make a bomb** : It didn’t work very well, but I tried. **31. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining**. Got a free upgrade to a hotel room due to accidentally blowing the fuse for the room when there was _no one at the hotel who knew how to change a fuse/flip a breaker_. And then complaining that the room didn’t have electricity. **37. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis**. Multiple times. No gender barrier. **38. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery**. I was ten-ish. My uncle convinced me to try it. Jerk. **46. Dial 999**. If 999 = 911, then yes. **47. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again**. Yeah. Never lie to a guy who’s interested in you by saying you broke up with your boyfriend when, in actuality, you didn’t. Now, you’d _think_ this would’ve been obvious to me at the time, but. . . **49. Read a 500 page book in one sitting**. More than once. …not bad for 22, I think :). ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/86 "2006-01-24T04:51:29Z")
1. Shoot something 2. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home 3. Boot Linux on your home PC 4. Post bail for a friend 5. Break a really large plate glass window 6. Use a whole roll of gaffa tape in one day 7. Make a pointless modification to your house 8. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives 9. Refill an inkjet cartridge 10. Break a sledgehammer 11. Make a bomb 12. Light a fire with petrol 13. Give yourself a mains electric shock. 14. Completely dismantle an object larger than yourself 15. Write off a car 16. Fall asleep and get really hilarious sunburn 17. Get drunk on Absinthe 18. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis 19. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery 20. Stay at the office for more than 24 hours 21. Set off a fire extinguisher 22. Drive at least 600 miles in a day on two lane roads 23. Shag an ex-girlfriend by mistake 24. Dial 999 25. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again 26. Read a 500 page book in one sitting 27. Escape a perfectly justified parking ticket. That’s 27, by my count. I think all of them were done before I turned 30, except perhaps #46 (dial 999 – translated to 911 here), and definitely # 11 (Make a pointless modification to your house) and # 4 (boot Linux on your home PC). I didn’t have a house or access to Linux until I was over 30. For #20 (break a sledgehammer), I counted the time I broke a mattock, since I also attempted unsuccessfully to use a 10 lb sledge for the same task and did it no good at all, though it didn’t actually break, unlike the mattock. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/87 "2006-01-24T12:45:32Z")
1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit I probably can’t count this, but I’ve broken a rib on the bumper cars about a year and a half ago. I never went to the hospital, but I later confirmed that it was broken. This is stupid enough, but I won’t count this one. But do I really need another stupid injury?!? 1. Shoot something Family had guns 2. Boot Linux on your home PC Experimented a few times 3. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language Many times 4. Use a whole roll of gaffa tape in one day 5. Make a bomb 6. Light a fire with petrol 7. Live abroad. 8. Give yourself a mains electric shock. Did this with a pair of tweezers when I was a kid. Can’t remember if I got shocked or not. 9. Get drunk on Absinthe 10. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis Many times with an ex 11. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery 12. Drive at least 600 miles in a day on two lane roads ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/88 "2006-01-24T13:55:15Z")
Since this is basically a poll, I’ll move it to **IMHO** for you. **Cajun Man** for the SDMB ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/89 "2006-01-24T14:19:05Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > 1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit > 2. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home > 3. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language > 4. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives > 5. Destroy a speed camera > 6. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space > 7. Park inside a motorway service station > 8. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining > 9. Fall asleep and get really hilarious sunburn > 10. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis > 11. Stay at the office for more than 24 hours > 12. Set off a fire extinguisher > 13. Dial 911 > 14. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again > 15. Make a bet you couldn’t afford to lose > 16. Read a 500 page book in one sitting > 17. Escape a perfectly justified parking ticket. I’m giving myself loose credit for a few of these – it may not have been 500 pages, but I did read _Jaws_ over a weekend at age 11 or so, which is a long book for a kid. It was a perfectly justified SPEEDING ticket, which seems to be consistent with the tone of the questionnaire. Fractured my skull at age 4, guess I was off to a good start. And I just the other day set off a fire extinguisher (11 yrs too late, apparently, but it HAS to count); I kept the thing under the driver’s seat in my car & I was cleaning the car out, removing food debris, fast food cups and bags & baby toys (with the kids strapped into their seats). Tried to slide the seat back into place – WHOOOOOOSH!!! Yellow powder filled my footwell, yellow cloud filled the driver’s seat & advanced towards the kids. Ye gods, what a mess! ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/90 "2006-01-24T14:56:55Z")
#1…Check #2…Check …and that’s it. I turn 30 next month, so this thread has me depressed now. I’m printing this list off and going for the gold. Watch out central Ohio, RancidYakButterTeaParty is on the loose! ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/91 "2006-01-24T15:13:55Z")
I doubt seriously that anyone responding here has had a tea party with rancid yak butter before the age of 30. 😃 I personally think this is all a pissing contest. **50 things to do before you’re 50** might have some small relevance to “shoulds” for real people’s lives. Better still would be **50 things to do before you’re dead**. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/92 "2006-01-24T15:27:25Z")
…after noting that the OP only racked up 7/50. 1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit (Shoved a dime up my shnoz at age 18 months.) 2. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home (Does it count if you were there before the weekend?) 3. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language (English is not an official language in Switzerland.) 4. Spend more than your monthly income on a pocket sized gadget (Repeatedly!) 5. Use a whole roll of gaffa tape in one day (Bass saxophone case. I had the only bass sax ever that would have fit in in a Northwest garage band. Unfortunately, the case fell apart into a useless wad of gray tape.) 6. Delay paying a bill until a summons arrives (If by _summons_ you mean _dun letter._ I have never actually been ordered to appear in court for not paying a bill.) 7. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space (It was my first year in the NY metro area and I wept hot tears of shame.) 8. Tip a waiter with something other than money (I left subway tokens a time or two.) 9. Kidnap someone (Does a dorm mate count? For a surprise party?) 10. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining (Oi, don’t get me started.) 11. Write off a car (I wrote _on_ a car. That good enough?) 12. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis (Followed by major cuddles.) 13. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again (See my answer to 31. :rolleyes:) 14. Read a 500 page book in one sitting (And I’d do it again! Just not the same book. I’d pick a new one.) 14/50! I am TWICE as…whatever…as the OP. Woot, as I believe the youngsters say thes days. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/93 "2006-01-24T19:07:23Z")
1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit 2. Shoot something 3. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home 4. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives 5. Refill an inkjet cartridge 6. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space 7. Light a fire with petrol 8. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining 9. Completely dismantle an object larger than yourself 10. Write off a car 11. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis 12. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery 13. Take part in motorsport 14. Set off a fire extinguisher 15. Drive at least 600 miles in a day on two lane roads 16. Shag an ex-girlfriend by mistake 17. Read a 500 page book in one sitting I guess I’m behind. I’ll be 34 in 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/94 "2006-01-24T19:31:08Z")
1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit Several times. Broke collar bone playing Softball when I tripped over the first baseman’s (who happened to be my sister) foot. 2. Shoot something I shot my sister (same one, but not for that) with a BB gun. Does that count? 3. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home TX to MI 4. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language My mom got lost in the Sistine Chapel, and I could find her, and I don’t speak Italian. Does that count? 5. Post bail for a friend Yup 6. Use a whole roll of gaffa tape in one day Yup, many times. You can never have too much tape 7. Make a pointless modification to your house Yup, I hated those cupboards 8. Neck a pint of peppermint oil I don’t know what this one means 9. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives Hasn’t everyone? 10. Destroy a speed camera I don’t know what this one means either 11. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space Last weekend, in fact. 12. Break a sledgehammer yup 13. Make a bomb We used to make ammonium tri-iodide poppers. Does that count? 14. Light a fire with petrol Of course 15. Kidnap someone Not against their will, but a couple of times without their knowledge 16. Park inside a motorway service station Yup 17. Drive at more than 140mph. \>120 MPH, that was the limit of my speedometer. Just once in the Upper Pennisula of MI. I didn’t think my car would go that fast 18. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining Many, many times 19. Give yourself a mains electric shock. Good Lord, of course 20. Write off a car Give a couple away. 21. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis Yup 22. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery Yup 23. Take part in motorsport Yup. 24. Stay at the office for more than 24 hours HELL NO! 25. Drive at least 600 miles in a day on two lane roads Yup 26. Hotwire a car Yup 27. Watch all the Monty Python films In one sittingYup 28. Shag an ex-girlfriend by mistake Yup. If ex-Boyfriend counts? 29. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again Didn’t go to, or acknowledge a wedding 30. Read a 500 page book in one sitting Yup 31. Escape a perfectly justified parking ticket. Yup That’s 28/50 by 37. Not too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/95 "2006-02-02T01:58:21Z")
1. Shoot something: A target at boot camp 2. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home: Tangiers, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Malaga, Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Barcelona, Andorra, London, Paris, Normandy, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco, Andorra, Madrid, Ibiza, Munich/Dachau, Switzerland, Leichtenstein, Milan, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Messina, Venice, Istanbul, Izmir, Athens, Dubrovnik, Split, Valletta, Malta, Beirut, Jerusalem, San Juan (all right after boot camp), Tallahassee, Key West, Savannah, Charleston (SC), Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, BC. 3. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language: See #3. In the Souk of Tangiers and the Paris Metro. 4. Post bail for a friend: Not quite but convinced a parole officer to let a good employee out of jail (after age 30 ‘tho). 5. Break a sledgehammer: It was old and the handle was cracked. 6. Live abroad: See # 3 7. Take part in motorsport: If commuting 20 miles to/across Boston counts. 8. Stay at the office for more than 24 hours: To get out a report by the due date/time (slightly over 30) 9. Set off a fire extinguisher: Several times-to douse a small car engine fire and while learning to use one-was a floor fire warden on 48th floor of an office building. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/96 "2006-02-02T03:36:14Z")
1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit **sure did** 2. Get lost in a country where you don’t speak the language **check** 3. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives **yes** 4. Live abroad. **yes** 5. Write off a car \*\* it wasn’t even mine\*\* 6. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis **why did I have to do that?** 7. Dial 999 **911** 8. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again **like 9 times** 9. Read a 500 page book in one sitting **smoking cigarettes the whole time too** I fail. According to spirit of this list maybe before I turn 60 I need to forget a child at the grocery store, flush something important down the toilet, visit a nudist camp and get stuck in the bottom of a well for at least 24 hours in order to say I’ve really made the most of my middle age. ---
**Author:** ![Eliphalet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eliphalet/32/9563_2.png) [@Eliphalet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliphalet)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/97 "2006-02-02T16:47:21Z")
1. Shoot something 2. Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home 3. Boot Linux on your home PC 4. Spend more than your monthly income on a pocket sized gadget 5. Break a really large plate glass window 6. Use a whole roll of gaffa tape in one day 7. Make a pointless modification to your house 8. Buy a samurai sword 9. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives 10. Refill an inkjet cartridge 11. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space 12. Break a sledgehammer 13. Make a bomb 14. Tip a waiter with something other than money 15. Light a fire with petrol 16. Kidnap someone (How about been kidnapped?) 17. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining 18. Give yourself a mains electric shock. 19. Completely dismantle an object larger than yourself 20. Write off a car 21. Fall asleep and get really hilarious sunburn 22. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis 23. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery 24. Stay at the office for more than 24 hours 25. Set off a fire extinguisher 26. Drive at least 600 miles in a day on two lane roads 27. Hotwire a car 28. Dial 999 29. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again 30. Read a 500 page book in one sitting 31. Escape a perfectly justified parking ticket. I believe that’s 31. Eli ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/98 "2006-02-02T16:51:20Z")
1. Have a really stupid accident which necessitates a hospital visit 2. Shoot something 3. Spend more than your monthly income on a pocket sized gadget 4. Post bail for a friend 5. Break a really large plate glass window 6. Delay paying a bill until the summons arrives 7. Refill an inkjet cartridge 8. Do a J turn in order to beat somebody to a parking space 9. Smash a CRT 10. Tip a waiter with something other than money 11. Light a fire with petrol 12. Get something for free through a masterpiece of complaining 13. Give yourself a mains electric shock. 14. Completely dismantle an object larger than yourself 15. Write off a car 16. Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis 17. Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery 18. Take part in motorsport 19. Stay at the office for more than 24 hours 20. Set off a fire extinguisher 21. Watch all the Monty Python films In one sitting 22. Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again 23. Read a 500 page book in one sitting 24. Escape a perfectly justified parking ticket. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/99 "2006-02-02T18:14:37Z")
**Shoot something** : I don’t think I’ve ever shot anything _alive_ (unless you count paintball), but I’ve shot targets and the like. **Take a weekend break more than 1000 miles from home** : Maybe not before I was 30, but I’ve gone from Florida to Canada on a long weekend. **Boot Linux on your home PC** : I started with Linux when I was 21 or so, and it’s damn near all I run at work and at home now. **Break a really large plate glass window** : I found this out when I was 10 years old or so: hitting rocks with a tennis racket is a bad idea. **Use a whole roll of gaffa tape in one day** : I think that should be “gaffer’s tape,” but having worked stage crew in high school, yes, I’ve done this. **Neck a pint of peppermint oil** : I have no idea what this means. **Make a bomb** : I take the 5th… **Smash a CRT** : That’s what old computer monitors are for, isn’t it? **Tip a waiter with something other than money** : I got _horrible_ service from a waitress once and “tipped” her with an inverted glass filled with water. In my defense, I was 17 or so at the time. **Light a fire with petrol** : Oh, _hell_ yeah! \Duuh-duuh duhduh duuuuh!\ **Drive at more than 140mph** : I’ve flown a plane at those speeds, does that count? **Give yourself a mains electric shock** : I did that before I was 20. More than once. **Write off a car** : Not quite sure what this means, but I’ve totalled a car and I’ve given one away to a charity… **Stay up all night listening to a girl have an emotional crisis** : Ahh, high school… **Lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery** : I first did this as a kid and still do it to this day to check my 9-volts. **Shag an ex-girlfriend by mistake** : Well, I can’t ever say it was a _mistake_… **Commit a faux pas which means that a friend will never speak to you again** : I didn’t mean to, but it happened… So, what’s that, 16? Not bad. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952/100 "2006-02-02T18:20:00Z")
I’ve licked the silly 9 volt, but that is the only thing on the list that I would ever consider doing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-things-to-do-before-youre-30-which-have-you-done/340952.md?page=6)