brian

Well, in school I had an unhealthy obsession with dynamic chemistry. Somehow things from the school lab would find their way to my bedroom: miscellaneous lab equipment, big coils of magnesium, sodium (I wanted Caesium), and concentrated acids (the sulphuric once spilled out in the chest of drawers I stored it in, and completely carbonised all the wood - dissolves concrete and t-shirts as well!).

One day I was at the dentists for a check-up and was left waiting in the actual dentist room for a silly amount of time. So I took to exploring and then took some dental anaesthetic home with me. Just two small capsules with resealable rubber ends - and the end of a needle (but nothing more). I then proceeded to test for effects by injecting myself, first in the muscle, then in a vein, using a biro as a plunger. I did know from TV to ensure there was no air in the needle itself. But mightily, that's one of the stupidest things I've ever done.

The most stupidest thing though was later in college when retaking chemistry for a better grade. One lesson, during a practical, I decided to forget the proscribed experiement and instead do my own - making nitroglycerin (the unstable high explosive component of dynamite). theoretically, it's actually really easy to make. Part of the key to making it involves using two dilute acids to free up nitronium ions. Unfortunately, I used concentrated acids, and they started reacting violently with each other - just at the moment that the nitroglycerin was supposed to be forming. It sort of hit me then that it wasn't the right conditions for bringing into being a highly unstable and extremely high explosive compound. So I grabbed the beaker and threw it into a nearby sink while diving to the lab floor. Nothing happened. Excepting that the incident totally cured me of a very unhealthy interest in explosive chemistry.

When I went to uni I studied chemistry and psychology in the first (and only) year, and was researching how to manufacture LSD when I caught the acting bug again. I've never really thought about chemistry since. Probably a very good thing, too!

Survivor

Man, I never did anything as stupid as that. I did once go on a field trip to see the Supreme Court with a Rambo knife strapped in an underarm sheath (which was my habit at that time, mostly because I felt the no weapons policy of public schools was deeply stupid). I realized when I saw the other students going through the metal detector that I would be getting into some very deep...deepness, so I took off my jacket and hung it in the cloak room, and listened to some argument about some states property insurance laws in my T-shirt. It was just a tad chilly.

Does that count?

Dimlien

Um, i haven't quite reached you're level Brian, but I do lots of little stupid things all the time. Some that stick in the mind are the time i was in a hurry in the morning to get to school, didnt bother to tie the laces on my boots an when i jumped out the car i ran across the road, my untied laces got tangled and i hit the pacement face first. Luckily only the caretakers were around, but they looked reasonably amused. Also I had a massive scrape across my forehead which could be in no way hidden. I had fun explaining that one
Another example is today, at worj I managed to get my hand stuck in the little box thing called a counter-cash where you put excess notes. Luckily I managed to get it free myself without having to call for the shop support people, but that was quite a paniced few minutes.
The stupidest thing I've probably done in chemistry was when we were heating a hydrochloric acid solution for some reason or other, and I managed to spill mine all voer the desk and on to serveral peoples work. The girl opposite screamed (some people always over-react), but I calmed the situation down by pointing out that it was 'only a bit of boiling acid'.
I also once managed to pour concentrated sulphuric acid on my hand which left a nice mark. That was bad enough, but then the chemistry teacher decided to relate the story to every chemistry student in the year. It still gets brought up from time to time /sigh
Many, many more in the same vein to come I fear.

brian

Well, I did say stupid things I'd done!

I really think we ought to open this up into general silly/embarrassing things done, though - things I mentioned were not simply stupid, but also very dangerous.

Now, which really embarrassing things that I've ever done can I actually remember?

Bigmacscanlan

I have done many stupid things over the years. Heres a classic that springs to mind.

When I was about 15 I got my first camcorder. I used to mess about with my mates all the time. We used to do a lot a things, mostly stop-motion photography, to make people disapear and the like. Then one day we discovered the joys of playing footage backward. This begun with just random sillyness (eating in reverse, dropping things, juggling etc), untill we realised that if you jump off something high, and play it backward it looks like you have superhuman powers (they used to use it to make people jump up into trees in 70' kung fu and nunja movies a lot). We did this for many years, and when I was about 18 we decided to do it off a 12 foot high upper school roof. At first we just dangled our feet over the edge and fell from a sitting position. Then we crouched down and jumped, followed by jumping standing up fully. Then we got really stupid, and started arabspringing (going into a handstand, and using your hands (whilst you are upside-down) to project your body upward) - possible not the cleverest thing to do off a 12 foot roof. Eventually, after getting cocky and overconfident, I decided I would really play up to the camera. I took a runup of about 6 or 7 metres, and ran as fast as I could towards the edge of the roof. I then proceeded to jump as high and far as I could, outright clearing the flowerbed we had been landing on, I landed with both legs bent, and my right foot in front of my left foot by about a metre, with my right femur parallell to the ground. Because of the momentum I had got from the running jump, my head flew foward and I hit my chin against my right knee, my head snapped back (which gave my slight whiplash for a week or so), and I fell backward onto the floor. Close to unconsciousness from the blow to my head (I nearly blacked out), I noticed something sharp in my mouth, I put my hand in my mouth, then spat out half a molar tooth. I then, due to my shamefully imature actions, had to lie to everyone, and tell them I had crashed my bike.

Fortunately I have the whole comical incident on tape, and yes it does look great in reverse. So at the end of the day I achieved what I set out to, however I dont even dare to drop off that roof from a sitting position any more, it was pretty dumb really.

brian

Not that is quite classic! At least I never actually hurt myself physically! I sincerely hope you got your £250 from "You've been framed".

Bigmacscanlan

I never actually sent anything off to Youv'e Been Framed. I may have, I have a whole collection of dumb stuff me and my mates have done that I think they might play, although most were not accidents. Lots of stuff like making a fuzz in the local library whilst wearing a hideous halloween mask, that was one of the funniest things we ever did. Later that day, whilst still wearing the mask, I then proceeded to chase people round a local park, whilst making silly grunting noises, they actually ran away from me, the footage was absolutely hilarious. On another occasion a friend of mine went to the local skateboard park wearing his inline rollerskates. Bearing in mind the fact that he hadn't worn them in 5 or 6 years, it was pretty dumb. We made a "Skater Film" in which he spent the best part of a hour attempting to go down halfpipes and falling on his arse every time. The best part was the cocky and arrogant way in which he did it, all the time calling the skate park regulars a bunch of grebos, and repeating to them that he was the best skater ever, doubled with a whole load of 80's skater slang, they soon got pissed off with us, but that just made the film better ;D . Its amazing how stupid things get when you have a camcorder at hand .

brian

Well, if you ever do send anything out make sure you warn us first - that would be great to point out to the kids and say - "Daddy knows him on the internet!".

My kids have done their own silly/funny things - but usually off camera. Sometimes I thought about trying to set up for the camera on them just to send out to "You've been framed" - but that felt too close to exploiting them for money and couldn't do it.

Exploiting the self...that's different though.

brian

We just sent 2 clips of the kids to "You've Been Framed" - which for the non-Brits here is a show where they play camcorder funnies.

My internet-widowed girlfriend really wants a Playstation 2 - heck, so do we all ;D - but this is the only way we can afford one.

Nothing much in the clips - baby Skye laughing repeatedly into a cup - she can only laugh in the cup - and Hannah as a baby wide-eyed as bodily noises.

And this is also a great way to bump up this thread.

littlemissattitude

Sounds like the British version of "America's Funniest Home Videos." We tried to get my aunt to send in the video of her throwing her bouquet at her wedding reception. The reception was held in the backyard of her son's home. She throws the bouquet, but gets a little too much power in the throw. It goes over the fence into the neighbor's back yard.

I've done so many stupid things that I'll have to think about which ones to self-report on and check back in later.