Fun_People Archive
20 Feb
Things you can do with...

Date: Tue, 20 Feb 96 15:26:56 -0800
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: Things you can do with...

[Just in case the flood of silliness and/or whining from Fun_People has  
somehow failed to keep you too busy to be bored...  -psl]

Forwarded-by: bostic@bsdi.com (Keith Bostic)
Forwarded-by: Chris Small <chris@eecs.harvard.edu>

URL: http://www.pixi.com/~owens/bored.html.

This List Includes:

      Things you can do with absolutely nothing
      Things you can do with very little
      Things you can do with another person

      The amusement potential for each activity is denoted.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Things you can do with absolutely nothing

      Push your eyes for interesting light show
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes) See a variety of blobs,
	    stars and flashes. Try to make out things -- is your
	    subconscience trying to send you a message? Can you control
	    what you see by pressing different areas with different
	    forces? Would it be possible to somehow see the same effects
	    on TV?

      See how long you can hold your breath
	    (Amusement Potential: 4-20 minutes) Not that much fun, but it
	    sure passes the time. Play with a friend, or try to beat your
	    own personal best. Some tips: hyperventilate before hand,
	    and stay as still as possible. My personal best is 2:00
	    (exactly).

      Try to not think about polar bears
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes) This is especially hard,
	    because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying
	    to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up
	    thinking about polar bears anyway.

      Scratch yourself
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes) Go ahead, scratch yourself
	    now. Even if nothing itches, go ahead. Doesn't that feel
	    pretty good?

      Hurt yourself
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes) What is pain? Why is it
	    unpleasant? There's nothing physical about it -- it's all in
	    your mind. Plus, after pinching yourself for awhile, boredom
	    will seem nice next to being in pain.

      Try to swallow your tongue
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes) There's not much to say
	    about this one. It is possible.

      Look at something for awhile, shut eyes, study after image
	    (Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes) Another great time waster.
	    It takes about 30 seconds of staring to create an after image,
	    and the image is then viewable for about the same length of
	    time. Fun to combine this one with pushing on your eyes.

      Get yourself as nauseated as possible
	    (Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes) Best achieved by looking
	    straight up and spinning around. Try to be so dizzy you can't
	    even stand up. This is also entertaining due to the "makes
	    boredom seem a lot better" effect (see "Hurt Yourself").

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Things you can do with very little

      See what's in your neighbor's trash
	    (Amusement Potential: 20-30 minutes) You can learn a lot about
	    people by what they throw out. You might uncover some dark
	    secret about them. Plus, they might be throwing out something
	    with value that still works, like a VCR.

      Watch TV, repeat everything said in Italian accent
	    (Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes) Sort of entertaining.
	    Fun to pretend the people on the screen are actually talking
	    that way.

      Call up people who write editorials you disagree with
	    (Amusement Potential: 15-60 minutes) I'm surprised no one has
	    thought of this before. Unleash your fury on the person who
	    had the nerve to write a letter like that!  I'm pretty sure
	    it doesn't qualify as a prank phone call, too.

      Make prank phone calls
	    (Amusement Potential: 20-60 minutes) Very entertaining, but
	    requires discipline.  Remember -- vulgarities don't make a
	    call funny, but getting the other person to believe a
	    ridiculous story will. Even more fun if you get a bunch of
	    people on the line using a Wonderphone and take turns making
	    the calls. One to get you started off: Call McDonalds, try to
	    make reservations.

      Pretend all humans will die except for people in room with you
	    (Amusement Potential: 10-20 minutes) What would you do if this
	    really happened? Would the group stay together, or would there
	    be factions? Who would join what group? Remember, there would
	    only be power for a few days before the plants ran out of fuel
	    or broke. To travel, you would always have to be near cars to
	    siphon gas out of.  Best to do with people you know.

      Step off a curb with eyes shut, imagine it's a cliff
	    (Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes) To get any benefit out of
	    this one, you have to have a good imagination. Don't step off
	    immediately, build up to the jump. Study the ravine below.
	    Feel the winds at that altitude. Step off and...AHHHHHH!!!!!

      Burn things with a magnifying glass
	    (Amusement Potential: 5-30 minutes) Ants are always fun to
	    use for this, but burning the face of someone you don't like,
	    under some circumstances, can be just as entertaining.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Things you can do with another person

      Have a water drinking contest
	    (Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes) While the competition is
	    fun, you probably won't feel too good afterward. To give your
	    event an old western theme, slam the cups upside down on the
	    tables after you have emptied them.

      Stare at the back of someone's head until they turn around
	    (Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes) This works on the "I have
	    the feeling I'm being watched" principle. Conduct an
	    experiment -- does this really work?

      Have a "Who is less competitive" competition
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes) Trying to win at this will
	    make you lose.  Trying to lose makes you win which makes you
	    lose. Not trying at all makes you lose which makes you win
	    which makes you lose.

      Pick up a dog so it can see things from your point of view
	    (Amusement Potential: 3-5 minutes) Think about it: your dog
	    has only seen the house from a viewpoint from 6" to 2' high
	    (15 to 60 cm for all you metric fans). It's never seen the
	    tops of counters, what you keep on your desk, the tops of
	    shelves, etc.  Try looking at things from its point of view,
	    too.

      Pull out a hair, stick in someone's ear
	    (Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes) Best done to sleeping
	    people. Added challenge in having no one else around, because
	    then you can't blame it on anyone else. Try to beat your
	    record number of times before the person catches on.

      Pour water in hand, make sneeze noise, throw water on back of
      person's neck
	    (Amusement Potential: 5-15 minutes) Always a good gag. For an
	    even bigger reaction out of the person, act like you're not
	    sorry at all for what they think you did.  Comment instead on
	    how big that sneeze was or about how there was a lot of mucus
	    in that one.
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