Dumbest (most unsafe) thing you've ever done?

[turnkey4099]

Put up a decrative fence for the wife. Took a circular saw to trim the tops perfectly. The very small pieces of trim apparently stuck the guard up because when I lowered it and it hit my thigh I ended up with 34 stitches....

There but for the Grace of God go I. Building an addition I was in the habit of letting the saw bounce off my thigh when finishing a cut. Then I had to do some plunge cuts so I tied the gaurd open. First cut and the saw was on the way down when I caught it. No more tieing the gaurd back and no more letting the saw hit my thigh.

Harry K

 

[woodchuckie]

Not me but a friend at work tried to get a siphon started(not wanting to get gas in his mouth) with a vacum cleaner. He now knows where kingdom come is. He looked like he had been in the sun all day.

 

[Bedlam]

Not me but boy those Bota's are powerful

 

[Farmwithjunk]

WOW! What a great thread! It feels good not to be alone

Well, where do I start?

1. Setting military rocket - the one used for light - on gas stove to set it on fire (after it refused to be lit by match)

2. Home made black powder in a bottle. I tossed a match in it and my buddy Michael screw on the lid. Got hit by a piece of glass - three stitches on the back of my bean. Hey, i dont use it too much anyway. 10 years or so later Michael overdose himself, life is a b!tch sometimes.

3. Cleaning some willows after a flood with an axe - almost chopped my right heel of with that axe - more stittches

4. In summer camp building and testing zip line on very steep hill - just a lot off scratches, didnt realise you need some kind of a stop before the end, especially if the line goes to a tree. Watch out for that tree, George of the jungle!!

5. Same place as 4. - jumping from the top of one pine tree to another - 60 feet above the ground, still dont feel well when remembering this.

6. Riding in a tractor tire - do you know this one? You have to be a kid to fit in - and to be stupid enough to try it - but you sit in a bog tractor tire in the place of the tube and go down the hill in it. Thrilling, but when the tire jumps in the river, you will have some good memories, trust me.

I WAS going to add another of my more memorable bone-headed stunts from my youth, but after reading your post, I feel like a slacker.

Did the "tractor tire down the long hill" thing at age 15. It's a miracle I ever saw 16.

 

[Tanberry]

Wow this post is bringing back bad memories .Count me as one who's lucky to be around.
1. When go-cart would start we tied it to the back of the pickup with a long rope, my friend and I fought over who was "lucky" enough to go first.. could't decide so both of us got on.. me behind the steering wheel him in front .. third and most unstable friend driving the truck on gravel road decided it would be funning to go 50 mph. Me behind the wheel relize that I can't see thru or around my friend driving on loose gravel behind a dodge going 50mph. Go cart start going from ditch to ditch beating us with gravel and weeds . Crazy friend driving is oblevious to screems . After several miles of this front tire falls off go-cart and were ejected many feet into corn field ... both of us survived with many bruses and cuts.... didn't see the driver until the next day at school ( he never explaind why he just kept going) .
2. Seen squirrel tail hanging out of a hole in a tree 40' up . Climed up stuck hand in the hole and grabbed squirrel . bad mistake .. many shots and stitches in buttocks ....squrrel fine .

 

[dooleysm]

Me and another guy were using a big drill with an auger bit plugged into a generator to drill holes for flower posts. The trigger was finnicky and didn't like to stop the drill when you released it. I was drilling along and hit a rock. The drill slipped out of my hands and kept spinning. The cord somehow got wrapped around my wrist and I could see it winding tighter and tighter around my wrist. I was frozen. Thankfully, the other guy had the quick wits to go over and unplug the drill. My hand was black and blue for a week.

Me and a buddy were fishing on a remote lake in the Boundry Waters with 2 other guys. Primitive camping, canoes only, nobody else around for miles and miles. We were fishing around an island that was about 200 yards from another island where our camp was. The wind picked up and we decided to head back to camp. It was still sunny and very pleasant out, in the 70's. The lake had whitecaps though, from the strong winds. We tried to paddle across the 200 yards and didn't have the strength to beat the waves. We had to turn 180 and head back to the island where we were fishing. This put us broadside to the waves.

These waves would be nothing if you were in an average sized motorboat, but they nearly capsized us in our canoe. We had lifejackets in the boat, but weren't wearing them. That water was cold. Surface temp was 50. Earlier in the week I had tried to take a bath in the lake and was paralyzed with cold when I stepped in. If we'd have went over, I don't think we could have made it to shore in our fishing gear before the cold got us. One of the scariest experiences I can remember.

We ended up paddling around the island and coming up the channel between the 2 islands. The water was smooth as glass between the islands.

 

[trlong]

OK. I've followed some of this but been busy for the last few months working on a Ham license, clearing trees,...and that "W" word.

Something just jogged my memory (it's still here somewhere) and, other than tractor stunts like: rolling my 4115 about a month after I got it, sliding the FEL and front end into the ditch when the ice broke (that'll stall it quick), lifting/dragging/pulling out of the mud with the BH and pushing with the FEL curl (the lifting bit is not a recommended practice with the rear wheels 3' in the air...), and then the cutting wood with no helmet, gloves, or chaps for years...probably the stupidest thing I ever did was with my brother...

We were all of 10 and 12. We found a treasure in the back pasture...a 12 ga. shotgun shell laying in the grass. I can't remember where we found it but, we had a piece of wood that the shell fit in the end of, perfectly. Oh, did I mention the shell was still loaded and primed? Wanting to hear a big boom, we shoved the shell in the woodblock, found a handy stone, and began pounding. How frustrating...it wouldn't go off! So, we found a nail to place on the primer, then hit that with the stone. Still wouldn't go off,...never did. I think we were extremely lucky it had a bad primer and we still have our hands and faces. We were certainly REALLY stupid.

I tend to pick up every shell and cartridge, ever since I realized what could have happened.