Your biggest mistake ever?

[geepondy]

LOL, that reminds me of a similar story. In the 70s, my brother received a bow and arrow set with the rubber plunger tips that you shot at a target that came with the set. Of course it didn't take us long to remove the rubber pieces from the arrows and sharpen the tips. I was outside and I shot an arrow straight up in the air where the wind carried it to the neighbors yard and it proceeded to come down right thru his convertible roof top. I sure got my butt blistered for that one.

[ QUOTE ]
Flying Turtle said:
It may not be my biggest, but it's at least honorable mention. I couldn't have been older than five and was playing with a bow and arrow that belonged to my older brother. The arrow had its tip removed, but was otherwise the real thing. I took aim at a tree and the arrow somehow shot off to the side and bounced off a police car that happened to be going past. I was escorted smartly home where the officer told me and my mother he ought to break the bow and arrow over his knee.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Not my biggest mistake, but it ranks up there...

When I was in my early teens I walked into my local hobby shop to get something for some project I was working on. I walked over to the counter and waited for the proprietor to come over. While I was standing there waiting, I saw a soldering iron sitting on the counter. I wanted to have a closer look at it, so I picked it up.

By the wrong end.

While it was plugged in.

My fingers were still scalding, days later...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif

 

[jayflash]

After I added VU meters to my Dynaco 400 power amp that I assembled a year earlier, I mixed up the + & - leads to the 25amp bridge rectifier. Man, did that sucker hum and vibrate when switched on! Blew the 'lytics and six of the eight output transistors.

 

[kongfuchicken]

I got into a fight with my best friend about something as stupid as a tennis match lost to a pair of rookies... that day, I've said extremely stupid things that I can never get myself forgiven for. Talking to him doesn't feel the same since. I'm still ashamed today. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Stefan]

Lets see... I'm 25 now. My biggest mistake was being hit by a car at the age of 2. Can you imagine the rest of your life restricted to a wheelchair?

 

[yuandrew]

A while back, I've posted a similar thread on this subject in the electronics forum
Worst thing/project you've done

Anyway, the biggest mistake I always remember was when I took a camera apart and touched the charged photoflash capacitor. Jumping back 3 feet is not something I want to do again!

I'v also picked up my hot soldering iron by the heating element part after leaving it plugged in for an hour and also got my butane micro-torch too close to a plant. Good thing I haven't burned down the house!

 

[darkzero]

[ QUOTE ]
Stefan said:
Lets see... I'm 25 now. My biggest mistake was being hit by a car at the age of 2. Can you imagine the rest of your life restricted to a wheelchair?

[/ QUOTE ]

Stefan, very, very sorry to hear that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
I guess I can only begin to think about how it would be like but I know I have no idea. Great thing is that you are alive and with us!

Worst thing I did in my life was taking my brand new Integra down a canyon road at night going 95mph and a 35mph turn came out of no where. Lets just say that I didn't make it through the turn and barely missing a fat telephone pole or something by ten feet which probably would have seriously taken my life. It took two tow trucks and their wenches to get my car out of the deep ditch. To make it worse, I had no insurance at the time and had to see my car sitting in my garage, "dead", everyday for a full year.

I'll never forget that and it still hurts to this day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif

 

[tygger]

About 13 on a camping trip. Put a glass ginger ale bottle with the lid on tight in the campfire to see what would happen. Got real close to the fire to stoke it up and BOOM! It exploded right in my face. Miraculously, I didn't have a scratch. Talk about counting your blessings.

 

[Mark_van_Gorkom]

Closest I came to killing myself was on a school outing. Went rowing alone at night, with gumboots on, without a PFD, and not knowing how to swim. All went well untill I tried to moor the boat and ended up in a classical cartoon position: hands wrapped around a mooring and my toes hooked over the gunwale, with the boat drifting toward the middle of the canal. The boat finally got away, and I hung from my fingernails for about 10 minutes of eternity, before somebody responded to my shouts.

 

[Al_Havemann]

My oh my!, I don't think I could possibly remember all the "worst" mistakes I've made; or continue to make. Being human is a miserable series of mistakes, some of them don't get you killed. Some do stand out better than others so I guess their the "worst".

The top one?, getting married, a bad idea, very bad. Having kids, even worse. Someone as dumb as me shouldn't procreate, it's bad for race's gene pool (a pool that could use a little chlorine anyway).

Lessee, what's next on the list... Damn, just too many contenders, I can't decide, being born, I guess.

How I've managed to stumble through life and make it this far bemuses me. The world must be very tolerant because I'd certainly never put up with someone like me.

If that sounds stupid, well, it's just another mistake...

Al

 

[Birmingham47]

While in school I bartended and waited tables to make ends meet. One day a family came in for lunch: mom, dad, a couple kids. The wife had a bit of a belly, was holding her lower back, and looked generally uncomfortable. While taking their order I tried to make small talk. I looked at the women and said "congratulations ma'am". She asked "for what?". I said, "When are you expecting?" She bore a whole in my head with the look she gave me, the husband started laughing uncontrollably, and the kids looked confused. All I could say was, "I'll get you another waiter." I later found out from my buddy who took over the table that the lady had just gone through extensive liposuction and plastic surgery to help with her weight problem. Oh well.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

[ QUOTE ]
yuandrew said:
...I'v also picked up my hot soldering iron by the heating element part after leaving it plugged in for an hour...

[/ QUOTE ]
I've also picked up a plugged-in soldering iron by the business end...not fun, tell ya that much. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

 

[raggie33]

[ QUOTE ]
Al_Havemann said:
My oh my!, I don't think I could possibly remember all the "worst" mistakes I've made; or continue to make. Being human is a miserable series of mistakes, some of them don't get you killed. Some do stand out better than others so I guess their the "worst".

The top one?, getting married, a bad idea, very bad. Having kids, even worse. Someone as dumb as me shouldn't procreate, it's bad for race's gene pool (a pool that could use a little chlorine anyway).

Lessee, what's next on the list... Damn, just too many contenders, I can't decide, being born, I guess.

How I've managed to stumble through life and make it this far bemuses me. The world must be very tolerant because I'd certainly never put up with someone like me.

If that sounds stupid, well, it's just another mistake...

Al

[/ QUOTE ]
have more respect for youre self man.ya seem like a nice smart person to me

 

[maverick]

This happenned to my brother, not me thank god! He was about 10 years old and we were living in Melbourne. We were in the backyard playing with those sparkling sticks (you put them on birthday cakes) and we were lighting them up and throwing them into the air. My brother somewhat misjudged his throw and it landed on top of our neighbour's shed. Since the shed roof was full of dried leaves, he effectively burnt down the neighbour's shed.... hahahha....

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Too many to recall.

Best one I sort of remember, when I was a pup, having my thumb bridge the prongs on a power cord as it was inserted into an outlet. Nice poof! Can't tell I did it today.

Honorable mention, when I nearly burned a screwdriver in two by putting it somewhere I ought not have...

 

[PhotonWrangler]

[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
[ QUOTE ]
yuandrew said:
...I'v also picked up my hot soldering iron by the heating element part after leaving it plugged in for an hour...

[/ QUOTE ]
I've also picked up a plugged-in soldering iron by the business end...not fun, tell ya that much. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, now I don't feel quite as dumb! At least I know that I wasn't the only one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[illumiGeek]

On the dark side:

Falling in love with a girl that was dying from cancer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
(don't think I'll ever get over that one...)


On a lighter note:

Ever dropped a screwdriver on a 12KV multi-farad capacitor bank (charged, of course)?

My advice, don't! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

[ QUOTE ]
PlayboyJoeShmoe said:
Honorable mention, when I nearly burned a screwdriver in two by putting it somewhere I ought not have...

[/ QUOTE ]
I pretty much vaporized mine! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hahaha.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif

 

[Silviron]

Assuming that I had fuse in my pack, or that at least one of the other guys had fuse, or that someone at least an electrical blasting cap and some det cord.

 

[scooter]

I was about 10 when I squeezed a 22LR cartridge in a bench vise. 35 years later I am still amazed none of the shrapnel touched me!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif