# Damn, I must've slipped into a parallel universe... again! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2009, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395 "2009-05-14T10:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/21 "2009-05-15T23:55:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Did you swallow the red pill? I was offered the choice between the red & blue pills. I took _both_, & wound up here on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/22 "2009-05-16T00:23:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > It’s a little-known fact that the parallel universes are classified by the date that Abe Vigoda died. Our current universe is U-0, meaning he hasn’t died yet (the degree of surprise which people feel upon learning that is a way of determining which parallel universe they came from…another little-known fact). Who is Abe Vigoda? My references turn up nothing. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/23 "2009-05-16T00:33:35Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Who is Abe Vigoda? My references turn up nothing. Seriously, or are you whooshing me? [Abe Vigoda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Vigoda)…played Sgt. Fish on _Barney Miller_ and his own spin-off sitcom, called _Fish_. He’s one of those perennially-mentioned people when conversation turns to “Is that person dead?” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/24 "2009-05-16T01:05:05Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Seriously, or are you whooshing me? > > [Abe Vigoda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Vigoda)…played Sgt. Fish on _Barney Miller_ and his own spin-off sitcom, called _Fish_. He’s one of those perennially-mentioned people when conversation turns to “Is that person dead?” Me? Whoosh? 😃 Okay, I vaguely remember him; I used to watch _Barney Miller_ occasionally. I’m not sure that the death date of any one person is a good single criterion for classifying alternate universes though; what about the different universes where M. Vigoda never had his own show, or was Ambassador to Venezuela for a time, or returned to his old job after _Barney Miller_ ended, but in none of which he has died yet? ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/25 "2009-05-16T01:09:35Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So! Did you have any parallel universe incidents lately? Share 'em! Don’t be stupid; we’re never aware of parallel universes. Small metallic objects do travel through time, however. That is the only possible explanation for why my keys regularly show up in a place I’ve already checked three times. _… unless I left my keys there in a parallel universe …_ ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/26 "2009-05-16T02:58:14Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I was offered the choice between the red & blue pills. > > I took _both_, & wound up here on the SDMB. That’s because you didn’t crush them and snort them. Then you would have ended up on [XKCD](http://xkcd.com/566/). ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/27 "2009-05-16T04:48:32Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > (Somewhat inspired by the ‘[Is reality consistent?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517413)’-thread.) > > So, lately, I’ve experienced a curious increase in what I sometimes call ‘parallel universe incidences’. A parallel universe incident is something like when you are absolutely convinced in your expectation of some aspect of your surroundings – where things are located, how they look, their colours, etc. --, just to find that expectation suddenly subverted by the realization that things are _not_ where or how they are supposed to be, leaving you with a curious and only slowly subsiding feeling of dissociation and bewilderment. > > The latest such incident I clearly remember has to do with my girlfriend’s doorbell. I’ve rang that doorbell quite a couple of times, enough for the act of reaching for and pressing it to be wholly committed to muscle memory. I don’t have to think about where the doorbell is located; I don’t have to look for it. I just ring it, my mind wholly preoccupied with other things. Except, a week or so ago, instead of making the expected contact with the little knob that makes the bell go ring, my extended index finger hits wood. Thinking I may have missed by some fraction of an inch, I look, and there’s nothing there. No doorbell at all where I was expecting it. Looking around, I find it on the outer side of the door frame, while I could have sworn it was located on the inside! I even actually asked my girlfriend, who fortunately has a saintly patience and is accustomed to such things, if the doorbell had always been at that spot, which she claimed it had been; but then, she’s probably just from the parallel universe. > > So! Did you have any parallel universe incidents lately? Share 'em! Actually your particular universe is quite small, not infinite as you have been led to believe. We sometimes tear down areas after you have left and use the materials to construct the next place you are going. On the day of the doorbell incident you were not expected at your girlfriends place and we had to hastily throw the thing together. One of the new guys put the damn doorbell in the wrong spot. He has been reprimanded by the foreman (your ‘girlfriend’). You should get used to the new location in short order. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Management. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/28 "2009-05-16T07:01:30Z")
I remember when I was a teenager seeing on the news that Scott Weiland had died of a heroin overdose. It wasn’t just a blurb, it was from several news sources and talked about for weeks. Except he’s not dead. WTF?? No one believes me! ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/29 "2009-05-16T17:26:02Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I remember when I was a teenager seeing on the news that Scott Weiland had died of a heroin overdose. It wasn’t just a blurb, it was from several news sources and talked about for weeks. > > Except he’s not dead. WTF?? No one believes me! I remember that. It was his brother Michael that died but a few places got it mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/30 "2009-05-16T17:32:18Z")
I just check the color of the frogships. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/31 "2009-05-16T19:32:14Z")
What about instances of total WTF? Who moved the city of Ft. Lauderdale, well obviously no one did, but as a kid I distinctly remember it being on the Gulf coast, I liked maps when I was a kid…:dubious: Another would be, when The Patriots won the Super Bowl, I found my self looking for New England on a map, cause I was curious of where that state was…:smack: oh believe me there’s more 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/32 "2009-05-16T19:37:58Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I was offered the choice between the red & blue pills. > > I took _both_, & wound up here on the SDMB. The same thing happened to ME! ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/33 "2009-05-16T19:57:40Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > What about instances of total WTF? > > Who moved the city of Ft. Lauderdale, well obviously no one did, but as a kid I distinctly remember it being on the Gulf coast, I liked maps when I was a kid…:dubious: > > Another would be, when The Patriots won the Super Bowl, I found my self looking for New England on a map, cause I was curious of where that state was…:smack: > > oh believe me there’s more 😃 When I moved to Seattle it was years before I realized that strange shape on the freeway signs was a picture of George Washington which puzzled me. When I asked someone I was granted with a look of sheer WTF are you talking about. Um, yeah, the state is named after George Washington. :smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/34 "2009-05-17T00:55:49Z")
The first time I arrived in the state, I drove north through Oregon along I-5. Normal highway signs. Upon entering Washington, I wondered why all the highway signs had their numbers within pictures of mushroom clouds. This was when I was in the army, and was being stationed there to blow stuff up, so I thought it was a common occurrance and just something the state gov’t did to let locals deal with the constant destruction and explosions all the time. It did take me a few weeks to finally realize this. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/35 "2009-05-17T03:18:34Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Every so often I hear about someone doing something, or dying, and I am absolutely convinced that I remember them dying several years previously. At that point I definitely start thinking “did I slide into a parallel universe here?” > > That’s where I usually hit that feeling. > [@jayjay](#): > > It’s a little-known fact that the parallel universes are classified by the date that Abe Vigoda died. Our current universe is U-0, meaning he hasn’t died yet (the degree of surprise which people feel upon learning that is a way of determining which parallel universe they came from…another little-known fact). 😃 In between reading these two posts, I went to the IMDB to see whether Abe Vigoda had died yet! You just know he’s gonna live to be 105 just to mess with our heads. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/36 "2009-05-17T05:03:19Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > 😃 In between reading these two posts, I went to the IMDB to see whether Abe Vigoda had died yet! > > You just know he’s gonna live to be 105 just to mess with our heads. Which is appropriate, since he’s LOOKED 105 since 1973… ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/37 "2009-05-18T12:30:01Z")
When I first moved to Tampa the local mall I would go to had stop signs all over the parking lot. Then one day it didn’t. I remarked to the person I was with that they have taken all the stop signs out. She looked at me funny and said there were never any stop signs at this mall. One day about a year later the stop signs reappeared. I told the same friend that I must have seen a vision of the future when I imagined the stop signs at that mall. She again looked at me funny and said the mall has always had stop signs in the parking lot. Near as I can figure I must have slipped through a crack in reality that took me to a parallel universe in which the only difference was that that mall didn’t have stop signs in the parking lot. After about a year some omnipotent beauraucrat realized its mistake and put me back in the correct universe. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/38 "2009-05-18T13:18:25Z")
I lived for awhile in a universe in which Shatner had directed a fifth _Star Trek_ movie and George W. Bush was President, but thank God I escaped. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/39 "2009-05-18T15:03:03Z")
> [@elendil's heir](#): > > i lived for awhile in a universe in which shatner had directed a fifth _star trek_ movie and george w. Bush was president, but thank god i escaped. KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAHN!!! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395/40 "2009-05-18T23:08:14Z")
Cheeee-neeeyyy!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-i-mustve-slipped-into-a-parallel-universe-again/496395.md?page=3)