A Meme I Can Live With

I really should do some more sciency stuff, but it’s almost Christmas, so instead I’ll let myself get sucked into a blog meme, as seen on VWXYNot (hang on, don’t I recognize her from somewhere?) and Grrlscientist.


The meme lists 100 unusual experiences that one might have had in his lifetime. I’ve put those I’ve experienced in bold, and those I’d particularly like to experience someday in red (some of the others would be quite fun, but they don’t shout out “do this!” to me).

  1. Started my own blog
  2. Slept under the stars
  3. Played in a band
  4. Visited Hawaii
  5. Watched a meteor shower
  6. Given more than I can afford to charity
  7. Been to Disneyland/world
  8. Climbed a mountain
  9. Held a praying mantis
  10. Sung a solo
  11. Bungee jumped
  12. Visited Paris – _unless you count waiting in an airport
  13. Watched lightning at sea
  14. Taught myself an art from scratch
  15. Adopted a child – I adopted a cat.
  16. Had food poisoning
  17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
  18. Grown my own vegetables
  19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
  20. Slept on an overnight train
  21. Had a pillow fight
  22. Hitchhiked
  23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
  24. Built a snow fort – I grew up in Britain. ’nuff said.
  25. Held a lamb
  26. Gone skinny dipping
  27. Run a MarathonStockholm. 4hrs 15 min.
  28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
  29. Seen a total eclipse
  30. Watched a sunrise or sunsetat this time of the year, easy.
  31. Hit a home run
  32. Been on a cruise – I guess the booze cruise to Stockholm and back doesn’t count.
  33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
  34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestorson my mother’s side it’s South Yorkshire, not to far from Scunthorpe.
  35. Seen an Amish community
  36. Taught myself a new language
  37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
  38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
  39. Gone rock climbing
  40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
  41. Sung karaoke
  42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
  43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
  44. Visited Africa
  45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – hmmm. Could be fun combined with 52. Depending on the climate.
  46. Been transported in an ambulance
  47. Had my portrait painted
  48. Gone deep sea fishing
  49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
  50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
  51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
  52. Kissed in the rain – Come on, in Britain or Finland?
  53. Played in the mud
  54. Gone to a drive-in theater – Ah, more Americana.
  55. Been in a movie
  56. Visited the Great Wall of China
  57. Started a business
  58. Taken a martial arts class
  59. Visited Russia
  60. served at a soup kitchen
  61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
  62. Gone whale watching
  63. Got flowers for no reason
  64. Donated blood, platelets or plasmaA few times, but I kept on fainting afterwards, so I had to give up.
  65. Gone sky diving – I get vertigo, I shudder just thinking about it.
  66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
  67. Bounced a check
  68. Flown in a helicopteronce I got over my vertigo.
  69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
  70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
  71. Eaten caviar – _sorry, bad, bad, bad
  72. Pieced a quilt
  73. Stood in Times Square
  74. Toured the Everglades
  75. Been fired from a job
  76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
  77. Broken a boneyes, it was one of mine.
  78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
  79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
  80. Published a bookI really should be writing it.
  81. Visited the Vatican
  82. Bought a brand new car
  83. Walked in Jerusalem
  84. Had my picture in the newspaper
  85. Read the entire Bible
  86. Visited the White House
  87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
  88. Had chickenpox
  89. Saved someone’s life
  90. Sat on a jury
  91. Met someone famous
  92. Joined a book club
  93. Lost a loved one
  94. Had a baby – could be difficult.
  95. Seen the Alamo in person
  96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
  97. Been involved in a law suit
  98. Owned a cell phone
  99. Been stung by a bee
  1. Ridden an elephant

Anyone else want to join in? Or just ridicule me for being boring.

About rpg

Scientist, poet, gadfly
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9 Responses to A Meme I Can Live With

  1. Kristi Vogel says:

    Nah, I think I have Most Boring in the Meme Division wrapped up, Bob. Grrl has the meme by way of my pseudonymous blog, and I got it from Cath’s other blog. My version is here.
    I don’t usually “do” memes, pseudonymously or otherwise, because they often remind me of the South Park episode Smug Alert!, in which everyone drives a Toyonda Pious, there’s a perfect storm of self-satisfaction, and San Francisco disappears up its own @$. “Good for you ….”

  2. Bob O'Hara says:

    Oh, that’s who you are! 🙂
    If I do enough memes, will Scunthorpe disappear up its own rear end too?

  3. Raf Aerts says:

    I think you’ll need to adapt this list to European standards.
    I also wonder how you could visit Africa.

  4. Bob O'Hara says:

    Well, I had lunch in Arabia today.

  5. Kristi Vogel says:

    @ Bob – Regarding #71. Eaten caviar: I agree with you about the badness of eating sturgeon caviar, but the one kind I’ve eaten was Swedish caviar, which is taken from lumpfish (_Cyclopterus_ spp.). Not evaluated by the IUCN, so potentially a threatened species, I guess.
    And yes, ’tis I behind that other blog. Since it’s almost exclusively non-controversial science posts, and I don’t whinge about my colleagues or place of employment, there’s little reason to be pseudonymous.
    @ Raf – The meme is undeniably biased, as are all memes. Even though I live in the Alamo City, I think that visiting the Alamo is an odd thing to have on the list, as its cultural significance is pretty limited.
    In a cynical moment, I might be inclined to write a medical school application meme.

  6. Cath Ennis says:

    Wait, what, you’ve lived in Europe all those years and never been to Paris?

  7. Heather Etchevers says:

    @Kristi: Have a look at the Statement of Purpose contest and a few of the entries that FSP has posted since; you might find your cynicism insufficient.
    @Bob: I’ll join in, as I’m feeling uninspired as well. But you can rectify the Paris bit anytime from next autumn on, when I will be moving back and we have a spare (sofa)bed.

  8. Bob O'Hara says:

    I live on the other side of Europe from Paris, so it’s a bit difficult to hop on the train to see it.
    And anyway, is their version of the Blackpool Tower really any better than ours?

  9. Bob O'Hara says:

    Thanks for the offer, Heather. I might take you up on it, but I’ve no idea where I’ll be in the autumn as it is.

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