# On the commonness of weird thoughts
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 29, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974 "2022-10-29T18:24:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/1 "2022-10-29T18:24:19Z")
Does everyone have thoughts that make them think “If people knew I thought about this they’d think I’m crazy”?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/2 "2022-10-29T18:26:34Z")
You mean, like, “If gravity were to suddenly reverse, what would I be able to grab onto to avoid flying away?”? Or “How would I explain this modern phenomenon to an ancient Roman?”?
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/3 "2022-10-29T18:31:34Z")
Or, “one easy twist of the steering wheel and I’m a grease spot on the front of that oncoming garbage truck.”
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/4 "2022-10-29T18:38:04Z")
^^^ Great match of post contents and avatar.
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### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/5 "2022-10-29T18:40:44Z")
Any of the questions posed by @Chronos or @Cervaise would qualify.
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### Author:  [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/6 "2022-10-29T18:42:45Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#):
>
> Does everyone have thoughts that make them think “If people knew I thought about this they’d think I’m crazy”?
Yes, of course. And that’s partly where great comedy and art in general comes in, they express those weird and dark, dangerous thoughts for you. Thankfully they don’t care too much if people think they are crazy, it is almost part of the job description.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/7 "2022-10-29T19:03:01Z")
One fellow I very much dislike drives a golf cart around the place.
While waiting for him to get out the middle of the street, I considered, “What does that thing weigh, 1,000 lbs? This Buick probably weighs 3 or 4 thousand…a slip of my foot…“It was a horrible accident, Officer!””
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### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/8 "2022-10-29T20:08:42Z")
No. I read widely and have come to realize my thoughts are, in terms of ice cream, very plain vanilla with the occasional snippet of other common flavours.
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### Author:  [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/9 "2022-10-29T20:14:38Z")
I’ve occasionally thought about committing suicide simply to find out **for sure** what being dead is like. Does that count?
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/10 "2022-10-29T21:02:29Z")
I remember hearing that on some personality test, answering “no” to the question “have you ever had thoughts too disturbing to mention” was an indication of deception, seeing that _everybody_ has had such thoughts at one time or another.
Now, if those evil thoughts become obsessive and intrusive, there’s a problem.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/11 "2022-10-29T21:56:45Z")
I keep thinking my thoughts make utter sense and should immediately resonate with everyone I share them with. Then, when they don’t, I’m flummoxed. Why weren’t they basically thinking along the same lines?
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### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/12 "2022-10-29T21:59:51Z")
> [@Bootb](#):
>
> I’ve occasionally thought about committing suicide simply to find out **for sure** what being dead is like. Does that count?
That 100% counts. I know exactly what you mean.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/13 "2022-10-29T22:05:37Z")
Most of my weird thoughts are just odd little moments of curiosity, and not very dark. And I now tend to post those fleeting queries on Twitter, just for fun. Most get no response.
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### Author:  [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/14 "2022-10-30T12:44:12Z")
Yesterday on Reddit, someone posted the question: “Can I learn to read Braille with my nipples?” My first thought was there’s at least one person in the world like me. It’s quite comforting.
To the OP: Yes, I have bizarre thoughts frequently, and have learned to never, ever share them. I don’t know about everyone else though.
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/15 "2022-10-30T22:41:18Z")
> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Or, “one easy twist of the steering wheel and I’m a grease spot on the front of that oncoming garbage truck.”
I have that one, only it’s not just about myself. One easy twist of the steering wheel by any of those hundreds of drivers in front of me works just as well.
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/16 "2022-10-31T13:10:50Z")
I DO have weird thoughts, and I even have a few very close friends I sometimes share them with.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote an essay/short story about such thoughts:
> **[The Imp of the Perverse (short story)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imp_of_the_Perverse_(short_story))**
>
> "The Imp of the Perverse" is a short story by 19th-century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe. Beginning as an essay, it discusses the narrator's self-destructive impulses, embodied as the symbolic metaphor of The Imp of the Perverse. The narrator describes this spirit as the agent that tempts a person to do things "merely because we feel we should not."
> The narrator explains at length his theory on "The Imp of the Perverse", which he believes causes people to commit acts against their ...
And Bob Dylan expressed it best in “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding”:
_And if my thought-dreams could be seen_
_They’d probably put my head in a guillotine_
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/17 "2022-10-31T13:25:01Z")
> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Or, “one easy twist of the steering wheel and I’m a grease spot on the front of that oncoming garbage truck.”
I have a LOT of these. I figure if I always anticipate the worst, it won’t sneak up on me.
I also do thought-experiment suicide. I decided suicide was off the table when I had kids…but what if I could convince them to come with me? At different times, I’ve thought I could convince one but not the other (and of course, sometimes they switch). However, now that I’ve got grandchildren, it’s _really_ off the table. I can’t be expected to organize all that.
The worst weird thoughts are “Dung Beetle’s Shame and Pain Hall of Fame”. These pop up a lot, and with no warning. “No, brain, I do not want to go over THAT INCIDENT right now, I’m just trying to get ready for work. Maybe later.”
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/18 "2022-10-31T13:28:30Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#):
>
> The worst weird thoughts are “Dung Beetle’s Shame and Pain Hall of Fame”. These pop up a lot, and with no warning. “No, brain, I do not want to go over THAT INCIDENT right now, I’m just trying to get ready for work. Maybe later.”
Oh my, I often have that as well, a shameful moment that happened decades ago and nobody except me will remember will pop up in my thoughts, and I’m embarrassed all over again.
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/19 "2022-10-31T21:47:11Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#):
>
> The worst weird thoughts are “Dung Beetle’s Shame and Pain Hall of Fame”. These pop up a lot, and with no warning. “No, brain, I do not want to go over THAT INCIDENT right now, I’m just trying to get ready for work. Maybe later.”
> [@EinsteinsHund](#):
>
> Oh my, I often have that as well, a shameful moment that happened decades ago and nobody except me will remember will pop up in my thoughts, and I’m embarrassed all over again.
Hmmm. I have siblings.
j
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### Author:  [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-commonness-of-weird-thoughts/973974/20 "2022-11-05T19:44:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#):
>
> Oh my, I often have that as well, a shameful moment that happened decades ago and nobody except me will remember will pop up in my thoughts, and I’m embarrassed all over again.
Oh, hell, yes!
“Regrets, I’ve had a few…”
Dan
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