# Things That Have Become Less Scary With Time **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081 "2020-10-03T03:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/41 "2020-10-04T01:15:46Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > I have no doubt that the use of hallucenogenic (did I spell that right? Trying a new keyboard and it doesn’t seem to know that word) drugs can cause problems… I’ve just never seen or heard of anyone becoming genuinely and permanently schizoprenic from the use of LSD, which was something I was specifically taught in 7th grade health class… as for alla youse librul commies, well, yer a sight less scary, it turns out, than I was taught and right now a damn sight less scary than the other guys I have two relatives who experimented with LSD in their teens and experienced psychotic breaks not long after. Now, schizophrenia normally hits in early adulthood. It’s tough to say whether the LSD caused the psychosis or triggered some latent genetic vulnerability, but in both cases neither were ever well again. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/42 "2020-10-04T03:13:05Z")
Imminent Death ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/43 "2020-10-04T05:36:04Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Rattlesnakes. Now, yeah, like quicksand, buzzworms are a real and serious threat. But they aren’t the hideous demonic monsters that will chase you down faster than a horse can run, etc. that (again) my papa told me. It was sidewinders! Rattlers wouldn’t chase you, they shake their tails to scare you off. Sidewinders would and not only can they outrun you, they can climb trees. Silent assassins just lurking around waiting for a human to get in range. Always look under the jeep before getting close, cause they like to hide under vehicles. At least that’s what my dad told me. I have never seen a sidewinder in the wild. Back in the day (mid 70’s), I experimented with drugs. I loved, LOVED LSD. I loved it so much that I wanted to use it all the time, so I quit playing with it. (That was some really fun stuff, though.) No psychotic breaks and no deformed children. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/44 "2020-10-04T06:41:32Z")
[Spontaneous human combustion.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/45 "2020-10-04T07:17:57Z")
Joan Jett ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/46 "2020-10-04T11:31:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > When I finally encountered tropical forests, they weren’t any more dangerous than ones in the southern US. Indeed. And just how dangerous are they? My only experience of the USA is Minnesota, Wisconsin and Alaska, and of forests in the latter. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/47 "2020-10-04T15:39:47Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I have two relatives who experimented with LSD in their teens and experienced psychotic breaks A psychotic episode (regardless of mental health afterward) does not surprise me. If someone has a genetic, or any other predisposition for schizophrenia, I could see LSD triggering it. The average adult human without any such predisposition? Maybe if you took enough at once? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/48 "2020-10-04T18:41:58Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Maybe if you took enough at once? LSD is tartrated from a toxin created by ergot. There have been rumors of some batches being enhanced/adulterated with strychnine, which can have similar effects in the kind of microgram doses common with LSD. It seems like the action is like a neural un-braking, so in a large enough dose, I imagine it could be fatal. For the average person, 200~300μg is quite a lot, and the trip typically goes on for at least half a day. This would suggest that the LSD itself is not the prime effect actor but causes a long-lasting change in neurological metabolism. Because such a minute dose produces such long-lasting effects, it is not unusual for people who have taken LSD to perceive that its effect is ultimately non-transient. If you go to a party, get stinking drunk for hours on end and then just stop drinking, by Wednesday you are the same person that showed up on Saturday for the party, whereas with LSD, the tripper often feels like a changed person from the experience. But the effects seem to be unpredictable, or at least not well understood. It realistically could incur psychosis, possibly even in a person who was not otherwise predisposed. Or, perhaps, it could avert psychosis in someone who was predisposed. The problem lies in the fact that it has simply not been studied adequately, and the effects seem to be as consistent and homogenous as human behavior in general (i.e., not at all). ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/49 "2020-10-04T21:05:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _In fact, [studies have found](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0928_050928_quicksand_2.html) it is impossible to be completely submerged in quicksand because humans are less dense than quicksand and a person would only sink to their chest before they begin to float._ > > _But what can make quicksand deadly is its ability to trap and hold unsuspecting victims_ . Indeed. > The 18-year-old woman became mired on the mudflats near Ingram Creek, about 45 miles south of Anchorage, early Friday morning and drowned in the incoming tide.Her husband, Jay, who watched helplessly as the water covered her head, was treated for mild hypothermia by paramedics. > **[Rescuers try, but rising tide claims woman](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/05/14/rescuers-try-but-rising-tide-claims-woman/)** ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/50 "2020-10-04T21:50:04Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Killer shrews Ha ha ha. Killer shrews were never scary. Just angry dogs in rubber shrew suits. Love that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/51 "2020-10-04T21:58:57Z")
Asbestos is real and is a real danger, but I was a lot more scared of it than I had any right to be, back when I was single-digit-aged. I think it’s because I saw video somewhere of workers cleaning it up, and it was the hazmat suits that were actually scaring me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/52 "2020-10-06T01:00:45Z")
I seem to recall a lot of needless anxiety about falling satellites when I was in grade school. They always hit the ocean miles away from where I lived. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/53 "2020-10-06T01:05:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Asbestos is real and is a real danger, but I was a lot more scared of it than I had any right to be, back when I was single-digit-aged. I think it’s because I saw video somewhere of workers cleaning it up, and it was the hazmat suits that were actually scaring me. Yeah, horsehair plaster and radon as well. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/54 "2020-10-06T01:12:15Z")
I used to be terrified of dentists. Nowadays I am pretty relaxed with my dentist. Instead, I am terrified of my dental hygienist. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/55 "2020-10-06T01:19:19Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I seem to recall a lot of needless anxiety about falling satellites when I was in grade school. They always hit the ocean miles away from where I lived. I remember being excited by Skylab, thinking it might actually fall right into my back yard. Turns out where it did fall, in the middle of the Australian outback, means it might have fallen in my back yard given just a few degrees or minutes difference. Good thing it didn’t, though, as empty areas were way safer landing spots than urban ones. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/56 "2020-10-06T03:32:38Z")
Volcanoes. Okay, volcanoes are plenty dangerous, but they aren’t likely to randomly appear in your yard, like one did for Dionisio Pulido. I read about that as a kid and volcanoes appearing near me showed up in my nightmares for years. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/57 "2020-10-06T05:05:26Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > [Spontaneous human combustion.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion) Yes, this! When I was a child my grandmother had a Time-Life collection called _Mysteries of the Unexplained_ which had everything from Sasquatch to ball lightning (which is real!) but nothing held my attention as well as the accounts of spontaneous human combustion. Terrifying stuff, and I never considered how odd it was that nobody has ever witnessed it happening. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/58 "2020-10-06T09:02:49Z")
As a lad, I remember everyone was afraid of a nuclear war with Russia. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/59 "2020-10-06T15:34:00Z")
Nixon ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081/60 "2020-10-06T15:38:57Z")
Still scary. It’s possible they are keeping his head alive in a secret South American laboratory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-have-become-less-scary-with-time/922081.md?page=4)