# What's the most Extreme Thing you've ever done? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615 "2010-02-11T22:43:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/21 "2010-02-12T01:54:59Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > Kayaking with Orcas (not by choice, they showed up, and I headed for shore). One does not simply **kayak** into Mordor! ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/22 "2010-02-12T02:45:44Z")
I survived being tear-gassed during a riot in Istanbul, Turkey. A few weeks ago a mugger attacked me with a crowbar. I knocked it out of his hands. He stole my purse but I’m still alive! When I worked at a summer camp, I saved a kid who went under in the swimming pool. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/23 "2010-02-12T02:51:39Z")
:eek: I wanna be Oakminster when I grow up. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/24 "2010-02-12T02:54:09Z")
I symbiotically lived inside of a host body for nine months and then, sensing that I was detected, forcibly ejected myself from one of the body’s orifices. That’s all I got… ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/25 "2010-02-12T02:57:38Z")
_I_ wouldn’t consider it extreme, but I bet most other people would. For me it was a fun, relaxing trip to the [Snake Pits of Narcisse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcisse_Snake_Pits) for my seventeenth birthday. For people who aren’t me… they probably wouldn’t go there if you payed them. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/26 "2010-02-12T03:00:31Z")
I travelled all the way to Komodo Island in Indonesia, got to within about two metres of fully grown Komodo dragons, and then turned my back on them to have my picture taken with them. If you know anything about how deadly these giants can be, you’ll know this counts as at least a little bit extreme. I once had a large tarantula spider crawl all over my hands, arms and upper body. Some people might regard this as ‘extreme’, although it was actually a wonderful experience and the spider was truly beautiful. When visiting New Zealand (south island) I drove to the highest point and to the most southerly point in a single day. The latter is harder than it sounds, as eventually the decent roads run out and you’re driving over remote gravel and dirt tracks, having to be very careful not to damage the car. There are a few other things I’ve done that aren’t unusual or remarkable in and of themselves, but were ‘extreme’ only because I did them in such a short space of time. For example, when staying with friend in Tel Aviv, I took a ‘day trip’ to see Petra in neighbouring Jordan. This involved getting up at 3am to get to the local airport and catch a flight down to Eilat. I didn’t get back home until about midnight. It was a lot to fit into a single day, but it was definitely worth it. The same is true of my trip to Ayer’s Rock when I was staying in Sydney. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/27 "2010-02-12T03:19:03Z")
Skydiving. Three static-line jumps with the High Plains Drifters in Muleshoe, Texas in 1981. Knowing they’d want me to free fall after five, I decided to stop while I was ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/28 "2010-02-12T03:40:56Z")
Foxhunting, probably. People think it’s genteel but actually it involved galloping like a bat out if hell over the river and through the woods. Damn good fun. Don’t worry, no foxes were harmed. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/29 "2010-02-12T03:47:29Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > When visiting New Zealand (south island) I drove to the highest point and to the most southerly point in a single day. Pretty neat trick driving to the peak of [Mt. Cook](http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=11737). Heck, walking there is tolerably impressive. FWIW, I’ve flown a glider to 27,000’ there. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/30 "2010-02-12T03:47:49Z")
Used to work on the flight deck of an Aircraft Carrier. There’s nothing like playing chicken with the business end of Hornet Engines, or the suction end, for that matter. Gave it up as a full time gig years ago, but still manage to ge myself on the flight deck once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/31 "2010-02-12T03:54:32Z")
I recovered from a 7-10 split. _sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/32 "2010-02-12T05:11:46Z")
I’ve sparred with two national amateur kickboxing champions, one UFC title contender and several professional and amateur MMA fighters, grappled with several Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts, trained with and was punched in the stomach by Chuck Liddell, gone to the emergency room from a groin kick, blown out my knee, ruptured my groin, had a herniated disk in my neck, talked to murderers, prosecuted psychopathic serial rapists and child molesters, and been shot at. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/33 "2010-02-12T05:27:10Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’ve logged over 400 hours in the back seat of various fighter aircraft as an aerial photographer documenting weapons testing. Wild experiences too numerous to list, but a few highlights: > > –went out of control in an F-15 doing Mach 2 in a steep dive. Protocol said that anytime the aircraft went below 10,000 feet and was not in controlled flight, we could consider our obligation to fly that airplane terminated and pull the ejection handles. Problem was, the upper limit for survivable ejection is about 600 knots. We were going way faster than that, and had we ejected, important parts of Oak–like my limbs and head–would have been scattered over several miles of the Gulf of Mexico. Pilot finally recovered the airplane at about 2,000 feet or so. > > –serious mechanical failure in an F-4, in IFR conditions. > > –set what was then a world record for filming the launch of an AMRAAM air to air missile at 1.6 mach and 7.5 Gs. The camera I was using weighed 16 pounds at 1 G. I understand that after I left the service, my former boss filmed one at 9 G, but he cheated–his plane didnt pull with the shooter, and he didn’t have 9 G on him when he filmed it. Mine pulled with the shooter, and I had 7.5 G on me when the missile came off the rail. > > –filmed several missions where the bomb or missile came off the lead airplane badly, and hit the airplane, scattering parts everywhere, but the plane landed safely. > > –landed an F-15 from the backseat. Most of the guys I flew with were pretty generous with allowing me a little stick time after the mission was completed, but they did the landings. On my last ever ride in a fighter, called an EOT flight, I’d requested a dog-fight training mission, because I love that stuff. The pilot let me fly one of the engagements, which was really cool, and also gave me the airplane as we were returning to base. I kept expecting him to take the airplane back when we got close to the landing pattern, but he didn’t. Obviously, he was there and ready to take control if I screwed up, but he let me take it all the way to the ground. Counselor, remind me never to get you angry. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/34 "2010-02-12T05:27:37Z")
> [@BunnyTVS](#): > > It’s not me in the video, [but I have done this.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leHI_B2WUog&feature=related) Holy shit! Horizontal bungee jumping! ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/35 "2010-02-12T07:16:15Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I was at work a few years back when a wisdom tooth that was coming in wrong (sideways) snapped off, leaving a sharp bit of bone poking into my cheek. So I took the nail file from my swiss army knife and ground the tooth down until it was no longer poking into my cheek. > > Self-applied non-anesthetized impromptu dental surgery has to count for something. :eek: You, Sir, are a bad motherfucker. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/36 "2010-02-12T07:29:14Z")
Skydiving (once) with a Russian friend who’s nuts: meeting with him was in a way more dangerous than the “jumping off a plane strapped to someone’s front” part. Running with the cows in towns close to Pamplona. During my first few months of being in college in Barcelona, get introduced by my Barcelona same-age cousin to several of her acquaintances as “my cousin from Navarra.” Pre-Hipercor(1), this led on 3 or 4 separate occasions to a moron (always a guy) raising his left fist, elbow folded, and spouting “Nafarroa Euskadi da!”, which in turn led to me explaining that you should not say things that you don’t know what they mean, and “Navarra belongs to Euskadi” is definitely not a greeting, nor a feeling most Navarrese would agree with. Their reactions included calling me “a traitor to your foreparents” (dude, you wouldn’t be able to find Pamplona from Estafeta Street, so leave my foreparents be and kiss my white-trousered ass) and similar niceties. Post-Hipercor, it led to two different guys calling me a murderer and one trying to beat me up. I finally told my cousin I’d rather not meet any more friends of hers, thank you much. 1: [masacre de Hipercor](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atentado_de_Hipercor). ETA, which had recently been receiving more votes and funding from Catalonia than from Euskal Herria (the Basque Country), blew up a supermarket in Barcelona, murdering 21 people. I’ve also been known to raidheal in WoW while on the phone with Mom, but all that means is that my brain can ahum at the right spots without really listening and while I visually track everybody’s life bars. **Oak** , I’m both impressed by the stories and happy that you do, indeed, have all your body parts. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/37 "2010-02-12T08:17:20Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > :eek: > > I wanna be Oakminster when I grow up. > [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Counselor, remind me never to get you angry. > [@Nava](#): > > **Oak** , I’m both impressed by the stories and happy that you do, indeed, have all your body parts. I appreciate the kind words, but all things are relative. The things I did in the military were fun, but I did them because that was my job. I was very lucky to draw that assignment. There just happened to be an opening in that unit at the time I completed training, and I passed the flight physical. There are plenty of things you won’t catch me doing. Like de-assing a fully functional airplane the way sky divers do, doing the car stunt **racer72** described, or getting in the ring with a UFC contender. Well, ok, I might do that if the money was right, but I’d get my ass kicked in the process. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/38 "2010-02-12T08:32:56Z")
> [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](#): > > One time, I spelled the word ‘extreme’ starting with an ‘X’. I’ll do it again, I don’t care. :D:D As for me, I guess the best I can come up with is some off piste snowboarding in the forest. Maybe not all that impressive. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/39 "2010-02-12T10:20:20Z")
Firefighting is good for those addicted to the ol’ pucker factor. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Crap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.crap/32/3131_2.png) [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615/40 "2010-02-12T10:23:21Z")
8 bong hits in a row while jumping out of an exploding building. And I just did it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-extreme-thing-youve-ever-done/528615.md?page=3)