In the same vein as the op, the sound clip of that guy on his cell phone in the WTC as it collapsed (Ken something?) stuck with me for an uncomfortable while, as did the news about them finding a pair of disembodied bound hands on a roof or something.
Not exactly the same thing, but we find that we have sections of books or (more frequently) poetry committed to memory without trying.
we discovered this a couple of nights ago when MilliCal gave me a copy of her book and told me to open it to a certain page, then began reeciting the page word-perfect.
So Pepper Mill responded by reciting “The Quality of Mercy is not Strained” speech from The Merchant of Venice.
So I responded with “The Rating”, a parody of “The Raven” that appeared in MAD. And the song “A King of Elves there was of Old…” from the LOTR parody Bored of the Rings. I have a love of high culture.
The thing is, we didn’t TRY to memorize this stuff. It just got stuck in our minds.
(Only I can’t remember quality literature, it seems. Only parodies.
“'Twas Brillo
and the GE stoves
Did Proctor-Gamble in the Glade…”)
Belly-button lint.
This wouldn’t be a problem for most people. But for me it’s a horror to match those mentioned in this thread.
Why is that?
Simply put I have an actual terror of thinking about anyone or anything touching, or worse, cleaning out, my belly button.
But then I start thinking that there’s sure to be some belly-button lint there, since the last time I cleaned. And, it gnaws at me. It’s a potential source of irritation, or with sweat a good culture medium for interesting bugs, too. So, it should come out. I know it should.
It’s a health risk.
And just thinking about picking up the washcloth, tomorrow, when I shower, and using it to wipe out in there, has my knees turning to jelly, the hair on my back rising, and my pulse racing. I’m terrified, and I haven’t even actually thought about touching anything. Just picking up the washcloth with the intent, as it were.
So, belly-button lint.
For some reason the theme song from The Love Boat that clamps on to my mind like a mental leech. I think that’s called an earworm.
The mental images that arise, unbidden, from the depths of my mind and then stick around are too disturbing to recount here. Thanks to even thinking about them they have returned and are floating across my internal Powerpoint presentation from Hell. Thank you all very much.
I’m kind of boring compared to some of you, but large multiples of 3 are always there, waiting.
At random times numbers like 258,000, 3.6 million, 639,000, etc.
I read this thread on SDMB about “What gets stuck in your mind despite your best efforts to dislodge it ?”
And I thought and I thought but I couldn’t think of anything,but I’m sure I have actually had that experience before,but I cant remember it and its driving me mad and Icant get it out of my head.
So my answer is no I’ve never had that experience.
Back in the '90s, there was a person of some prominence who got caught with his fingers in the till. He videotaped his last words and then blew his brains out, on-camera. On all the newscasts at the time, they showed it up to where he put the gun in his mouth, then it went to black screen. Well, somebody I used to know was able to get their hands on a dub of the tape that didn’t go to black screen. And he insisted on showing it to me, without telling me what it was. Jesus Christ, Brian. I did not want to know what it looks like when a person blows their brains out. But I do now.
Good job you never served in Ulster.
… SET A COURSE FOR ADVENTURE … YOUR MIND ON A NEW ROMANCE …
Damn you, erie774.
But speaking of late 70s/early 80s TV, when I was a kid I saw an episode of That’s Incredible that featured a man who lost his thumb in an accident, and doctors then attached his big toe to his hand so that he would have a functional “thumb.” I think it was supposed to be an inspiring story – the doctors were creative thinkers, the guy overcame this accident and was able to live a more normal life – but the whole thing overwhelmed me and I could not get past the fact that the guy has a BIG TOE for a THUMB.
For real, even now, sometimes I am walking along, minding my own business, and that thought pops into my head – that guy has a BIG TOE for a THUMB. A BIG TOE! For a THUMB!
BASTARDO!
An interview with Gen. Dellaire, who was in charge of the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda. Seeing a no nonsense, serious man in charge of a military operation, talk about his negotiations with the perpetrators in the massacre highly disturbs me. I still remember exactly where I was, and what I was doing when I first saw it.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/video/
It’s in the program #3 excerpt, about 10 minutes in. The entire program is very well done. And horribly, horribly tragic.
Oh, and this picture.
NSFW-graphic war picture
http: //www.michaelyon-online.com/media/images/disp/blogger-archives/0059.jpg
I’ve seen thousands and thousands of gory pictures, suicide videos, and disgusting sexual acts online, but the one that sticks with me is a pic of a dismembered woman in a suitcase/luggage tote.