# Experiences you don't want to ruin by experiencing them again. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450 "2008-09-07T04:02:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/1 "2008-09-07T04:02:20Z")
Lets keep this Cafe Society related. I don’t want to read Asimov’s “The Last Question” again because I enjoyed it too much the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/2 "2008-09-07T04:23:09Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Lets keep this Cafe Society related. > > I don’t want to read Asimov’s “The Last Question” again because I enjoyed it too much the first time. It’s still good though every time. I’d say I don’t want to watch all the old cartoons I used to like as a kid. I’m sure they haven’t aged well and I’d like to still think of them as being good. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/3 "2008-09-07T04:31:21Z")
Finishing the Harry Potter books. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/4 "2008-09-07T05:15:15Z")
Parachuting. I still get the adrenalin rush when I think of it. Each detail seems etched on my memory as though I’ve just stepped out of the harness, even though the certificate says it was in May 1988. Any repetition would only dilute that memory. And (to keep it Cafe) I’ve used that clarity to bring the event to life for others on stage and in writing. I’ve heard people talk about their multiple jumps - and they sound _bored_ with it. “Oh yeah yeah, it’s a rush alright … hey, is that _pizza_!?” ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/5 "2008-09-07T06:16:38Z")
Watching the \*Beavis and Butt-head \* dvd collection as an adult ruined the nostalgic appeal experience in my young adolescent life. Then again, it only reaffirmed how I must have been such a retarded teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/6 "2008-09-07T14:58:37Z")
Sound recordings or videos of any live performance I’ve been a part of. Not that there are many (I’m not a member of Phish), but my memories of great shows are always impossibly sunny – on tape all I’d hear are flubs, and on video all I’d see are bald spots and double chins (or, going back a ways, bad haircuts and worse clothing choices). ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/7 "2008-09-07T15:38:34Z")
Going through the [Crossing the Line ceremony](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellback) to become a Shellback. Once was good, disgusting fun. More than once would be masochism. Boot camp. I enjoyed it, but a large part of that was because the job I’d left to go to boot camp was so stressful I actually found it relaxing. If for no other reason than I had more control over why I was getting yelled on. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/8 "2008-09-07T15:55:35Z")
Getting stung by a stingray. No, honestly. When I felt the jolt, I knew immediately what had happened, and I knew that it wasn’t life-threatening. The lifeguard tower was 50 yards away–my wound was treated within minutes, and they had my foot in a bucket of nearly scalding water (to break down the protein in the venom) shortly thereafter. After the initial shock wore off, the pain WAS intense, but I tried to be zen about it and embrace the experience. Strangely, it worked, and I’m glad it happened. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/9 "2008-09-07T18:14:27Z")
> [@bbs2k](#): > > Watching the \*Beavis and Butt-head \* dvd collection as an adult ruined the nostalgic appeal experience in my young adolescent life. > > Then again, it only reaffirmed how I must have been such a retarded teenager. After rewatching _Demolition Man_ a few years ago, and \*Thundercats \*a few years before that, when Cartoon Network first acquired its rights in the late nineties, I now refuse to rewatch any movie or show from my child and teenaged years that I’ve not seen since. Even when I enjoyed them, I realized just how cheesy they were, but I had convinced myself they were a ripe Stilton instead of moldy Velveeta. A little piece of me died inside both times. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/10 "2008-09-07T22:17:11Z")
If I ever saw _The Last Starfighter_ again I would have to visit the guy at 25th and Walnut that claims to have a memory erasing device. I have no idea how I know that there is a guy with a memory erasing device on the second floor of that building. I think I might have been there one time, but the memory is a bit foggy. I think the guys name is Niel. It is almost like I was there one time, but I can’t remember for sure. Anyway, I am positively sure that I would regret seeing _The Last Starfighter_ again, and that is why I have never ever rented it to watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/11 "2008-09-07T22:25:30Z")
Being born. Been there, done that. I’ve never felt more sticky or gross in my life. I’ll never understand how or why some people volunteer to be born again. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/12 "2008-09-07T23:30:22Z")
The first 20 minutes of _Saving Private Ryan_. I saw it at the theater, it affected me greatly, and I have no desire to minimize or become jaded to the effect it had by viewing the movie multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/13 "2008-09-08T00:19:59Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > The first 20 minutes of _Saving Private Ryan_. > > I saw it at the theater, it affected me greatly, and I have no desire to minimize or become jaded to the effect it had by viewing the movie multiple times. This reminds me, I’ve never seen _Henry V_ a second time. The Branagh version, specifically with Derek Jacobi’s ‘muse of fire’ speech. It was brilliant. It could never be that good a second time, because I’d be waiting for that moment that had such an impact because it took me completely by surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/14 "2008-09-08T01:27:27Z")
Mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/15 "2008-09-08T14:12:43Z")
There are a few sudden, jolting moments in the movie _The Ring_. I don’t want to see that movie again, now that I now where they are. ---
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/16 "2008-09-08T16:38:43Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > If I ever saw _The Last Starfighter_ again I would have to visit the guy at 25th and Walnut that claims to have a memory erasing device. I have no idea how I know that there is a guy with a memory erasing device on the second floor of that building. I think I might have been there one time, but the memory is a bit foggy. I think the guys name is Niel. It is almost like I was there one time, but I can’t remember for sure. > > Anyway, I am positively sure that I would regret seeing _The Last Starfighter_ again, and that is why I have never ever rented it to watch it again. Good decision. I loved the movie as a teenager, and I rented it recently for my kids. It holds up fairly well for a mid-80s movie, and there were parts that I found funnier now than I did when I watched it before, but it was still far better in my memory. My main experience would be experiencing the water birth of my youngest daughter. We had her at home, and I was there holding my wife’s hand as she squeezed her out, and it was an amazing experience - but not one I want to ever experience again. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/17 "2008-09-08T16:44:19Z")
> [@bbs2k](#): > > Watching the \*Beavis and Butt-head \* dvd collection as an adult ruined the nostalgic appeal experience in my young adolescent life. > > Then again, it only reaffirmed how I must have been such a retarded teenager. I had the misfortune of catching “beavis and butthead do america” in my mid 20s, years after having been a teenage fan of the show. I know exacty how you feel. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/18 "2008-09-08T16:45:24Z")
> [@Engineer\_Dude](#): > > There are a few sudden, jolting moments in the movie _The Ring_. I don’t want to see that movie again, now that I now where they are. The “crawling out of the TV” part is what did it for me. That movie didn’t scare me until that point, and then I was terrified. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/19 "2008-09-08T16:54:18Z")
I saw **KISS** live when I was 13, on the _Destroyer_ tour. When the original quartet reunited and toured, I passed on an opportunity to see them, because seeing them when you’re 13 in the summer of 1976 is where that memory should remain. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450/20 "2008-09-08T20:11:29Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > It’s still good though every time. > > I’d say I don’t want to watch all the old cartoons I used to like as a kid. I’m sure they haven’t aged well and I’d like to still think of them as being good. Having made the mistake of watching Underdog cartoons a few back, I can heartily endorse your choice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-you-dont-want-to-ruin-by-experiencing-them-again/462450.md?page=2)