Dumbest thing you ever did?

[Thatch_Ear]

I never could get the Audi 100LS to do more than 110mph and I think the gauge was off...............so maybe 105. That must have been the only good one made. No mechanical or electrical problems at all. Bought used it was a 71 model and was totalled in a multi car wreck by my mom in 78.
I was once sent to get a pizza and when I turned on to the road a piece of bracket holding the base of the air filter basket came off and got part way down the carb sticking it wide open.
I had to turn it off to kill the engine but not let it lock the steering. Did pretty well for a 17 yr old. Coasted into the pizza place, opened the hood, found and got the piece out of the carb, bolted it back down and got the pizza home still hot.
I have heard horror stories about those cars but this one was driven cross country Mass to Texas & back twice, did 3 winters in Mass with yours truly often behind the wheel, I made good use of the then fairly new reclining seats.
All in all it was a fine auto and had an acceptable (you can tell when a motor likes the RPM) cruising sped of 83 mph @ 3850 RPM.
Now that I have taken this off topic I want to remind any new posters you are supposed to pick THE ONE dumbest thing you ever did.

BH, I bet you wish you still had your 2 shares of Microdot that you bought way back when!!

 

[JDaniel]

Originally posted by Thatch_Ear

Now that I have taken this off topic I want to remind any new posters you are supposed to pick THE ONE dumbest thing you ever did.

One? How can I just pick one when their are hundreds on the menu?

JD (amazed that I've made it this far)

 

[Fisherdude]

When I was communting between Central California (Fresno area) and San Jose every week, there was a stretch of usually deserted rural two-lane road about 15 miles long, no stops, one railroad track to cross, and so straight you could tie the steering wheel to the door handle and take a nap.

For those of you that have lived in the central valley, you know about the pea-soup fog ("tule fog") that covers the area in the winter. When it's so thick that it's just barely possible to drive in it, locals refer to it as "70 mph fog". Pileups are legendary.

So one Friday night about 9 pm I'm on my way to San Jose, through fog thick enough that you could only see two or three sections of center line on the road, at my usual 80 mph. The railroad crossing, which was smooth and flat enough that you didn't have to slow down, was my mental marker for the halfway point to the main highway. I was thinking I must be getting close when, in a heartbeat, I flashed across the tracks. As I crossed the tracks I picked up, out of the corner of my eye, the crossing gates coming down over the roof of my car. I didn't clear the bottom rail by more than a foot. The thought went through my head that, had I been literally one second later, I would have taken out the gate, and done some pretty serious paint work to the front of my car.

I swear to God, it wasn't until another half mile down the road that I realized had I crossed the tracks a few more seconds later, I would have hit the side of the freight train at 80 mph. The phrase "heart in your throat" doesn't begin to describe what I felt like at that moment.

That was the LAST time I drove too fast in the fog.

Then there was the time in college I rode the Harley home so smashed I was literally laying on the gas tank, trying to hold my head up far enough to see over the speedo. Don't do that anymore, either.

It's really amazing that guys live to be 30.

Clay

 

[trent]

I guess we're all lucky..

Had a FIAT strut in my lap trying to bust the big bolt off the top with an impact wrench... the big bolt that holds the BIG SPRING under pressure. If the boss hadn't yelled at me I'd be maimed at a bare minimum, I was looking right at the top of the thing.

Went to the lake to go sailing and got a bit looped. Tried to go get more beer and took a wrong turn just in time to see the <<<<<< signs and just almost ran my '67 VW bus into the lake. That's about as scared as I've ever needed to be.

The older I get the more careful I get.

My Foreplay won't be here for a month but I'm already reading up on precautions because electricity scares the heck out of me. I'm determined not to shock myself and ruin a fun hobby.

 

[Andyman]

I heard this on the radio today and had to post it for Lionel.

He might say his last marrrige today.

Lionel Ritchie Divorce settlement

Hard to believe............

 

[Trawlerman]

Originally posted by Retro Stereo
I worked on a commercial fishing boat in Kodiak, Alasaka for about a year.

You just earned my respect there fella. That has to be one of the worlds most dangerous jobs ever.

Kudos indeed.

 

[Mrs. Kamakiri]

I think that the dumbest thing I ever done was crash my Chevy into my fathers garage. The car had stalled out and I couldn't get it started again.

But the smartest thing I've done is marry Tim. Awe!!!:smlove:

 

[reyneman]

That's just wrong!!!

We save the affection for the equipment.

Would catching a 500 gallon gas storage tank on fire be considered a dumb move?

Hey, I didn't know that the rope still had some spark left in it, and I was trying to get it to burn (don't ask why )

 

[Mrs. Kamakiri]

I'll save my affection for my audio system when Tim gets me the Almarro's I want.

Otherwise I am invading on his affection for his system.

 

[cruisaire]

Thought my table saw would work "better" with the kick back guard removed. Building a cradle for my oldest daughter, was ripping a 1" x 1" red oak strip. Wood caught the blade, shot back and hit the end of my left middle finger dead center. Blew it out like a banana. Blood everwhere and nobody at home. Drove my stick shift to the hospital and got tunnel vision while on the interstate (saw the whole world through 1-inch pipe), but didn't black out. They had to cut the entire nail off to have somewhere to sew it all back together.

Mr. Rogers: "Can you say DUMB ASS?"

 

[Reel 2 Reel]

EEEUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!:yuck:

 

[Andyman]

Uhhhh......

Don't try cutting wedges using the fence and the blade angled in either.

Or holding aluminum gaskets in your hand while drilling them out a wee bit.

 

[Bauhausler]

Tool stories? Hypertherm 750 plasma cutting torch. My training was "Here's how you turn it on. Get some scrap and practice." This thing is like a garden hose except with a 5000 degree plasma flame instead of water. It'll go through 1/8 CRS like a letter opener. I spent the afternoon happily cutting up sheet metal for machine enclosures. Only while driving home and hardly able to catch my breath did I realize I'd been breathing vaporized iron for 4 hours and that probably wasn't healthy. Youth is no excuse in this case. It was 11/2002.

Metalworking is fun until something happens like a Bridgeport cutter catches your 3 lb block of aluminum by the corner and whips it past your ear at Mach 1. Swallow hard and go sit down and contemplate safe shop practice, feeling grateful that the brain cells on both sides of your head still work the same.

And then there's lathe stories and bandsaw stories...

 

[Trilln451]

Re: Dumbest Thing...

Here's one:

I was on my way home from a rousing session of Trivia at a neighborhood bar. Going thru a yellow light on a four-lane highway while fending off a Blazer that wanted to cut in front of me (in a Volvo). I have a rule - Never Back Down From A Truck (I hate bullies).

Afterwards, as my car was getting towed & a nice officer was giving me a ride home, he asked me if I'd been drinking. Everyone says you should always deny, deny, deny. But he looked sternly at me & said he could smell alcohol, so no funny stuff. I said yes, and had to do the breathalizer thing (the first & only time in my life). Blew a .08, which AT THAT TIME was below the legal limit in Michigan. He said "You lucked out" & I just nodded. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you for the ride, sir.

I've probably done dumber things...but, y'know, I drink to forget. Been doing pretty good so far...

 

[Mrs. Kamakiri]

One time when our oldest son was little, I took the garbage out for tim and while moving our garbage cans from the snow dropped 4- 24# bricks on my toe. Hurt like hell, but all i lost was the nail.

Recently I dropped my keyboard tray on my foot.. pulled it out too far.

Hey I'm blonde so I'm kinda allowed to do dumb things right?

Tim should carry a sign :withstpd: cuz I feel like i'm always doing something wrong.

 

[boostcrazy]

last winter when i was delivering freight at a local factory i pinched my big toe on the power lift on the back of my truck. hurt like hell and i also lost my toe nail. next time ill get my size 12's out of the way.

 

[Thatch_Ear]

Story told to me by my lawyer.......He had to go bail his roomie out of jail when they were law students in Austin. Seems his friend was pulled over after imbibing too much, the cop followed him to a 7-11 where he was supposed to buy coffee and sober up. The guy walked in and bought a 6 pack of beer!!

 

[Vintage TX]

bump

 

[Eric H]

Gosh, there's so many...

OK, one time at work I needed to knock something loose with a hammer and chisel,
not having a chisel handy and being too lazy to go get one i grabbed a screwdriver instead and not having a hammer either i grabbed a nice heavy brake rotor...

Well the thumbnail eventually grew back.

 

[Rodzilla]

hmmm when i was about 16-17,a friend was at my place waving around an exceedingly sharp self sharpening knife...me being the responsible one..i grabbed the knife and said "do you know how sharp this is?"and with that i grabbed a nearby banana and started slicing ginsu style...slices of banana were flying,right up until i caught my index finger on the downstroke,taking a slice of that off and sending it flying too...a moment later i'm at the sink and my irresponsible buddy is there asking-"do you want to go to the hospital" to which i asked "do you think?"...showing blood soaked finger...to which he replies smiling..."well...i don't think a bandaid's gonna do it man".

about a dozen or so stitches later they had reattached the side of my finger and taped my nail back together[a third friend found the "slice" on the floor and unbeknownst to me brought it along]..to this day i still have a large scar,tho the numbness has gone away and my fingerprint is beyond unique...i still believe "i don't think a bandaid is gonna do it man" is about the funniest comeback i have ever heard...i once almost walked into the side of a moving bus too but that's a story for when the kiddies are asleep