# What's the most interesting thing you've ever done? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207 "2016-01-25T21:30:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [January 28, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/21 "2016-01-28T01:50:52Z")
I’ve done a few things that could possibly qualify as interesting. I’ve played elephant polo. Moved to the other side of the planet with only US$1000 to my name and made a go of it (okay, that’s more than $200). As a young buck in West Texas, I went skydiving a few times (static line only). Made a fly-by of mount Everest (that was only about $100, but you already have to be in Kathmandu). Visited the lava fields on the Big Island of Hawaii. Backpacked around Europe for half a summer, at which time I passed through Checkpoint Charlie. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/22 "2016-01-28T03:55:10Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Standing in warm clear water with the rays swimming around me in Cayman Islands. It was one of those “how did I get here” moments since I don’t get out much. 🙂 I snorkeled around a bunch of stingrays in those parts once. Elegant creatures. I also spotted a larval moray eel and followed it for a while, which was no easy feat. I’ve done a fair bit of whitewater canoeing, which is generally pretty cheap, but somewhat demanding, physically. I’ve also picked a lock while hanging upside down by my knees from cargo netting and engaged in sword fights with a great many anime characters, but those are somewhat more specialized undertakings. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/23 "2016-01-28T04:49:05Z")
Chopper flight over and into the Grand Canyon was interesting and cool. Skydiving with my daughter for her 21st Snorkeling the Great barrier Reef. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/24 "2016-01-28T17:47:04Z")
By the ground rules, solving two rather difficult mathematical problems doesn’t count. So I have to fall back on baseball. Two things. On June 21, 1964, I saw a perfect game, pitched by Jim Bunning for the Phillies against the Mets at Shea, the first game of a doubleheader. Aug. 23, 2009, Phillies vs. Mets again in Citi Field, the game ended in an unassisted triple play by Eric Bruntlett, only the second game in the entire history of MLB that ended that way and only the 15th UTP. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/25 "2016-01-28T18:53:13Z")
They would be too numerous for me to even try to sort through all of them in my life. But a very recent one was last summer, when I took the 3-day ro-ro ferry across the Black Sea from Odessa, Ukraoine, to Batumi, Georgia. Definitely not a cruise ship, there was absolutely nothing to do except wait for the dinner bell three times a day. The meals were wonderful – Ukrainian ladies in the galley cooking up home-cooked meals, with enough portions for about 50 passengers, many of them truck drivers avoiding driving through Russia between Ukraine and the middle east. No wifi, no cell phone coverage, so a rare chance to go three days without hearing a celllphone ring or people shouting mindlessly into one. The high point was being buzzed a couple times at very low altitude by armed Russian fighter jets, off Russian-occupied Crimea, not belligerent, just making sure the ship was who it said it was. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/26 "2016-01-29T02:13:27Z")
I have no memories of anything actually _normal_ from my childhood, and they compete for “least normal”. Being backstage at the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus when my dad was Ringmaster on _Ronald McDonald Night_ was pretty interesting. Watching him out in the driveway teaching someone to breath fire was as well. And my whole career as a ventriloquist was interesting (if sad). Oh, and our cabin at the nudist camp probably qualifies as “interesting.” ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/27 "2016-01-29T02:52:31Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I have no memories of anything actually _normal_ from my childhood, and they compete for “least normal”. > > Being backstage at the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus when my dad was Ringmaster on _Ronald McDonald Night_ was pretty interesting. Watching him out in the driveway teaching someone to breath fire was as well. And my whole career as a ventriloquist was interesting (if sad). Oh, and our cabin at the nudist camp probably qualifies as “interesting.” And when are you publishing your biography? Because I would so read that. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/28 "2016-01-29T13:15:59Z")
When I was younger I drove around the west to visit all the National Parks, sleeping in the back of my pickup, on one trip. I have ridden my bike down the Pacific Coast, in several trips. Traveled around Europe doing the backpacker thing for a couple months, solo. Those are all over $200, tho. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/29 "2016-01-29T15:19:55Z")
A bit more than the limit, but I spent $350 to ride in a Hot-air balloon. At dawn. Over the Masai Maru in Kenya. With the great herds of East Africa spread below me. I think that qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![UncleMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e0b2c6/32.png) [@UncleMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/30 "2016-01-29T15:38:13Z")
Parasailing behind a ski boat on Bay Lake out of the marina at the Contemporary Hotel. Ran about $85 bucks with a coupon, and lasted 12 minutes. Got high enough that I could look over the Contemporary Hotel at the Magic Kingdom, and was at eye level with a flock of birds over Discovery Island. Never got wet. They have you stand on the stern of the boat, and the parachute lifts you right off as soon as the boat gets a little bit of speed. They winch you back down, and you just end up standing where you started from. Possibly the most quiet and peaceful thing you can do at Disney.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/31 "2016-01-29T18:50:34Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Standing in warm clear water with the rays swimming around me in Cayman Islands. It was one of those “how did I get here” moments since I don’t get out much. 🙂 Given the cost limitations in the OP, this is mine, too. If anyone is ever in the Caymans and wants to do a stingray/reef tour, I strongly recommend [ToursCayman](http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1006573-d1752078-Reviews-ToursCayman-West_Bay_Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html). I don’t usually shill things on the Dope but they were a third ($35 per person) of the cost of the tours the cruise lines recommend, and yet much better. I liked them so much I signed up for TripAdvisor just to write a review. > [@teflon\_grut](#): > > I’d love to swim with manta rays. They are amazing… The rays at Stingray City off Grand Cayman are (as the name implies) southern stingrays, not manta rays. I don’t think manta rays “flock” that way. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/32 "2016-01-29T19:00:19Z")
Probably diving the Blue Hole. Sharks, lot’s and lot’s of sharks. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/33 "2016-01-29T23:52:14Z")
> [@UncleMoose](#): > > Parasailing behind a ski boat on Bay Lake out of the marina at the Contemporary Hotel. Ran about $85 bucks with a coupon, and lasted 12 minutes. Got high enough that I could look over the Contemporary Hotel at the Magic Kingdom, and was at eye level with a flock of birds over Discovery Island. > Never got wet. They have you stand on the stern of the boat, and the parachute lifts you right off as soon as the boat gets a little bit of speed. They winch you back down, and you just end up standing where you started from. > Possibly the most quiet and peaceful thing you can do at Disney.🙂 Ah yeah, parasailing. I’ve done that twice – once in the Gulf of Thailand and once in the Andaman Sea. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/34 "2016-01-29T23:59:09Z")
Judging by outside interest, it was my road trip from Ottawa to Edmonton in December, 2008. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/35 "2016-01-30T00:04:22Z")
Hands down, it was the three years I spent working in the Everglades. Without that experience, I wouldn’t have anything to talk about. I wouldn’t have any bonafides that I’m a badass, despite my weakling appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/36 "2016-02-08T15:49:35Z")
We’ve led stunningly boring lives, I see - though there’s still a bit of time to remedy it. I guess the most interesting thing we ever did - and it was more than 200 dollars - was a cross-country driving trip when we were in our mid-20s. A month off. 3 heavy driving days at the beginning to get to Colorado, then alternately mooching off of friends, camping, and the occasional motel stay, ended with 5 heavy driving days at the end. Pike’s Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, the Oregon and northern California coast, giant redwoods, Berkeley and San Francisco… a lifetime of memories in that trip and ever since, I’ve been hungering for sufficient free time and sufficient cash to do it again only longer (and maybe without the tent-camping bit - at my age I could manage a small RV). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/37 "2016-02-08T17:15:26Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > The most interesting thing I’ve done is break into our high school library with a couple of buddies just to steal some books we liked. Taking an episode of “Bonanza” for inspiration, we dissolved a whole lot of styrofoam in gasoline to make a lot of instant glue. We hid in the bushes under the window until every student, teacher and admin had gone home, and tied the cycle of the guard’s rounds with our activities. We climbed to the second floor windows, painted one glass pane with glue, pasted it over with cloth, and bashed it in with a hammer. Then we snuck in and helped ourselves. To this day, we haven’t told anyone else. > > We did try to make an atom bomb once, but using lead instead of enriched uranium. We never got around to getting the right explosive/implosive material. But we were willing to try making nitro. Acid and glycerine were readily available. So… “instant glue”? What you had there son, was ghetto napalm. Two thumbs down to not indiscriminately setting all sorts of random shit on fire with it, and instead using it to steal books from the library. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/38 "2016-02-08T17:25:01Z")
The most interesting thing I’ve done that falls within the definition of the OP? I once drove blindfolded at Abbott’s Magic Get-Together. This convention is held in Colon, MI, which is a tiny little village in SW Michigan. It was totally impromptu setup (meaning no clearing it with law enforcement and not on the schedule of official convention events ). So I’m driving around the tiny village at about 10 mph so that people can see us when I hear a voice from behind me yelling, “Stop! Stop!” It was a Colon village policeman on a bicycle. As I am sitting there thinking what the penalty would be for a “Wreckless Driving” charge, the officer says, “Take off the blindfold.” I say, “Yes, sir,” and remove the blindfold. Then the officer drove off! All of us that were in the car all freaked out afterwards! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/39 "2016-02-08T19:58:06Z")
My year in Gitmo? My year in Iraq? I don’t know. Both were just work. Maybe it was going to see Roger Waters do [The Wall in Berlin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_%E2%80%93_Live_in_Berlin) right after the wall fell. The next day we found a piece of the wall still up and chiseled off a piece for each of us. It cost whatever the price of the ticket was. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207/40 "2016-02-08T20:24:25Z")
_In_ Gitmo? Or at Gitmo? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-thing-youve-ever-done/744207.md?page=3)