# "Dorkstorm"- Top 10 Geekiest Hobbies with corresponding Public Humiliation index **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896 "2004-10-24T14:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/61 "2004-10-26T17:39:24Z")
So how come furries are the nadir of geekiness–at least in the link **Capt B phart** provided–but BDSM people don’t even get a mention in either list? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Curate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Curate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curate)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/62 "2004-10-26T18:01:52Z")
Model railroading, trainspotting, and photographing trains – my personal sad little trifecta. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/63 "2004-10-26T18:26:05Z")
> [@Curate](#): > > Model railroading, trainspotting, and photographing trains – my personal sad little trifecta. So why haven’t you been hanging around with **Bumbazine** and myself? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/64 "2004-10-26T18:32:12Z")
A question to the railroad geeks here: just what is the obsession with the Monon Railroad, Pennsylvania (the state, not just the former railroad), and the early 1950s (as reflected in the built environment of many model railroads). Sems like every time I look at some railroad-related fan mag at an area boookstore, I see an article about about the Monon, images from Pennsylvania, and/opr a model railroad layout that’s based on a 1950s coal town in … Pennsylvania. Also, why is traction almost never represented in model railroads? If 1950s-era central Pennsylvania is the ideal for model railroaders, shouldn’t there be streetcars and elderly interurbans represented? After all, they lived on there much longer than the rest of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/65 "2004-10-26T18:54:19Z")
I only scored a 1, for general Star Wars enthusiasm. Maybe I’m a nerd rather than a geek? A few more overlooked signifiers of geek-dom: Tropical and salt-water aquarium-keepers: sure, many of us have done this casually and pathetically, but then there are the die-hards, who put all their extra dough and time into it, who are not just keeping, but _breeding_ fish and who refuse to go away on vacation, because no tank-sitter can be trusted with their precious tanks… Collectors: autographed first-editions, stamps, coins, toy soldiers, Depression glass, 19th-C. & 20th-C. commercial signage, 45-r.p.m. singles, tin stamped toys, etc. etc. Amateur genealogists: they started with their immediate family tree and inquiries into possible family crests, but didn’t know where to stop. May be considering conversion to Mormonism just for easier access to their archives… Metal-detector ramblers: some swear their hobby pays off, in a big way… finding watches, jewelry, coins… amidst a whole lot of crap. I confess I’ve long wanted to try it myself! Restorers and refurbishers: of cars (and not just any; it’s got to be, say, '60’s 'Vettes, or '70’s and '80’s Alfa-Romeos, or what have you); of Victorian “painted ladies” or Queen Anne manses or Arts & Crafts bungalows, of decrepit jukeboxes or pinball machines, etc. Independent historians and archivists: local history buffs, historical preservation matrons & gents, authors of obscure monographs… Birdwatchers and other indie, fanatic hobbyists/naturalists: salmon-observers, seal-counters, whale-watchers, egg & nest collectors, butterfly collectors, cicada enthusiasts (and chefs)… Fantasy leaguers. I once had a boyfriend who was doing the fantasy league trifecta: football, basketball, and baseball (or was it hockey?). He’s probably doing all four now… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/66 "2004-10-26T19:11:10Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > Collectors: autographed first-editions, stamps, coins, toy soldiers, Depression glass, 19th-C. & 20th-C. commercial signage, 45-r.p.m. singles, tin stamped toys, etc. etc. It’s not a _collection_, it’s an \*investment! \* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/67 "2004-10-26T19:36:08Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > A question to the railroad geeks here: just what is the obsession with the Monon Railroad, Pennsylvania (the state, not just the former railroad), and the early 1950s (as reflected in the built environment of many model railroads). Sems like every time I look at some railroad-related fan mag at an area boookstore, I see an article about about the Monon, images from Pennsylvania, and/opr a model railroad layout that’s based on a 1950s coal town in … Pennsylvania. > > Also, why is traction almost never represented in model railroads? If 1950s-era central Pennsylvania is the ideal for model railroaders, shouldn’t there be streetcars and elderly interurbans represented? After all, they lived on there much longer than the rest of the United States. The Monon was a quaint railroad in Indiana that no longer exists (a “fallen flag”). I’m partial to it because I lived for a time in Bedford, where the tracks ran in the city street; I’m a street trackage fan. Fallen flags are always popular subjects for model railroading. Pennsylvania gets a nod for both the Pennsylvania Railroad (another fallen flag), and the terrain. Hills, valleys, mountains, and coal are a lot more interesting and easier to model than relatively flat midwest cornfields. The fifties are popular because you can have both steam and diesel, and a lot of modelers either came of age in that time, or they can’t commit to a technology. I came of age in the earliest of the 1980s, so my models reflect that time. I also have one steamer, set in the 80s, it’s for a tourist train. Traction does have a rabid, but small following. Hanging the wire is time consuming and intimidating. Does that help? ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/68 "2004-10-26T19:51:27Z")
> [@Yamirskoonir](#): > > I have a hard time explaining to my friends that he isn’t out with me on a Saturday night because it’s a “game” night. To quote my wife “Oh, he isn’t coming, he’s geeking out.” 😃 Dante - RIFTS player extraordinaire ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/69 "2004-10-26T22:10:36Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > So how come furries are the nadir of geekiness–at least in the link **Capt B phart** provided–but BDSM people don’t even get a mention in either list? 😕 I think because the BDSM crew has kind of a kinkiness cachet, and everyone assumes they’re getting sex by the bushel load as part of it. If something unusual results in you getting some action, it’s cool amost by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/70 "2004-10-27T01:14:35Z")
How much sex is in a bushel? ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/71 "2004-10-27T02:56:54Z")
> [@Yamirskoonir](#): > > I loudly second your assertion that SCA folk know how to party. Every shin-dig I ever went to in high school and college pales in comparison. You just don’t know fun until you’ve stumbled across a guy walking down the path carrying a full-size hookah and he’s sharing, then got “special treatment” from a group of pirates weilding floggers and belaying pins, then encountered a large, hairy man screaming and running down the road with his pants around his ankles and teepee hanging out of his buttcrack (on fire), _then_ was chased down the road by a guy with some mistletoe hanging from a stick – all on your way to a clove-and-fruit party of 150 people, where a real viking funeral for an imaginary dwarf is being held (complete with burning longboat in kiddie plastic swimming pool). Round it all off with fighting the next morning, hung over and full of rage, and there’s nothing I’d rather be doing! This so beautifully describes many of the SCAdian events I’ve had the opportunity to attend. In fact, if you sub out the Viking dwarf funeral for some Middle Eastern dancing around a kiddie pool filled with green jell-o and K-Y, where large burly men were grappling with each other, you’d pretty much capture the last night of the most recent event we attended. Did anyone mention that the booze runs freely (like the Mississippi River) at these events? Did anyone mention the women are generally half dressed or at least exposing a generous portion of upper torso? You don’t have to wonder if most SCAdians can get laid, because if you stay up late enough, you can witness the parties less discriminating of shelter, and hear the ones who have moved to the “privacy” of their tents…unless you happen to be sharing a cabin with them, and they’re at it in the bunks above you :eek: So, as an ambassador to the less geeky, mundane world, you probably shouldn’t worry about anyone in the SCA getting laid. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/72 "2004-10-27T03:09:43Z")
GEEZ… you guys ARE a bunch of nerds. Well I’m off to read my DARK TOWER books again. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/73 "2004-10-27T12:19:06Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > Fantasy leaguers. I once had a boyfriend who was doing the fantasy league trifecta: football, basketball, and baseball (or was it hockey?). He’s probably doing all four now… No, he is definitely not. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/74 "2004-10-27T18:35:40Z")
What about that sexual magnet that\*\* is \*\* Scale Modeling??? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/75 "2004-10-27T18:54:41Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > How much sex is in a bushel? 32 quarts. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/76 "2004-10-27T18:59:51Z")
> [@Balle\_M](#): > > What about that sexual magnet that\*\* is \*\* Scale Modeling??? It all depends on the scale, darling! Greater than 1:15 - then be off with you. Between 1:15 and 1:20 - hmmmm…maybe. Less than 1:20 - you had me at ‘Badger airbrush.’ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/77 "2004-10-27T22:19:54Z")
I’m going to say martial arts is pretty dorky. I don’t care if they can kick my ass. Martial arts is for asian kids and psychopaths. Heck, any “hobby” other than high school or college varsity football, basketball, baseball and possibly hockey and lacross is dorky. Sports like track (for wierd overenthusiastic loners), wrestling (too ‘ambiguously gay meathead’), and soccer (too Euro) don’t count. X-sports like surfing, BMX biking or skateboarding also dorky unless you live in California and are freakin Tony Hawk. While I’m thinking about it, EVERYTHING is for dorks or nerds because it basically amounts to sitting in a room by yourself filling the void left by no other people around or indulging in excessive fantasy stuff because your real life is boring. In reality though, hobbies and activities don’t make someone a dork or a nerd. They just are. If Brad Pitt or Colin Farell admitted to being huge Everquest players, would they suddenly become “nerds”? It’s not out of the realm of possibility. The drama kids in high school usually weren’t the coolest. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/78 "2004-10-28T02:05:18Z")
5 out of 10, IF you count comic books even though I don’t read them much. ---
**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/79 "2004-10-28T11:31:10Z")
I think that the authors forgot to mention one very important qualifier: none of this appplies to female geeks. They can be just as absorbed in any of these activities as a male, and they will come across as cute and interesting rather than pathetic. Also, a female geek can still get laid without any problems. For examples, note the female Dopers who have posted in this thread. Also, [Lexa Doig](http://www.planethelium.com/trust/lexa42902.jpg) (of _Andromeda_) says that she’s addicted to computer RPG games and loves D&D. Do you believe this seriously hurts her chances for romance? ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896/80 "2004-10-28T12:28:45Z")
> [@Badge](#): > > Also, a female geek can still get laid without any problems. I am a female geek, as you can see in this recent [photo](http://www.timemachinetoys.com/toypics/sirtissp.JPG). I’d like to refine Badge’s statement to better reflect a certain harsh reality. It is more precise to say '_Any_ female can still get laid without any problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorkstorm-top-10-geekiest-hobbies-with-corresponding-public-humiliation-index/270896.md?page=5)