# What do you do that is unique?



## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

These forums have been here for many moons, and I've spent more than a few moons of my own going through them. Every now and then, I read a thread that makes me click my tongue and say "well...that's just neat!" After enough of these, I'm wondering what else is out there that I don't know about.

So, what do you do that is unique? I don't mean growing mushrooms on your own, making your own cordage, bottling your own ketchup/syrup, doing needlework for your book club, etc. Those are all nifty and useful skills, but not unique. What do you do that no one else has posted about on the forums? Ready...set...go!


Sent from my iPhone usi


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Unique from anyone on these forums? nothing.

Unique from anyone that I've come across yet in my entire neighborhood? I *now* do solar cooking! I'm pretty happy about that, it's going very well! 

I can food, thanks to this forum. I use my canned food. I used canned ground beef to make my monks pie (my grandmas name for it) last weekend in the solar oven, I can chicken all the time and I dont cook with "new" chicken anymore, I dont think I have done that for over a year now, I only used MY canned chicken and I buy it and restock 20 lbs at a time which constantly upgrades my stores... 

I have been dehydrating beef jerky for 20+ years but now I'm doing a lot more variety of things, not just jerky.

I vacuum seal various things.

I try to expose my friends to things that are self sustaining and self reliant as it applies to them, and then offer a glimpse into something else.. like the beef jerky or the banana cinnamon sugar chips, and let them get interested on their own. My feeling is that if you try to grab someone by the shoulders and tell them "the end is nigh!!!!" they are gonna slap you and call the police! but if you show them how to do something new, that they really like, they will like learning other things even more!

Maybe that's what I do that is unique... I try to expose others, not to some fear mongering or zombie day mindset, just something that gets them interested and motivated to buy a tool, like a dehydrator and make their own banana chips, or jerky, or maybe they like camping and hunting and I get them into shooting sports... I try to increase the number of people that will actively participate in things that are self-sustaining dual or multi use, etc...


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

This is one of the only places I go (on the internet or otherwise) where I don't feel unique . I'm considered a freak everywhere else.

I don't think any of my skills would be considered unique here, the amount of skills I have may be unique? But again probably not here. 

Hmmm probably something meaningless like I've never worn makeup and only own two pairs of shoes (rubber boots and leather work shoes)  , but again probably not unique here.

Well the shoes one is a bit of a fib, I have more than one pair of both in storage.

That's what I like about this 'place', I'm not unique here.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

I see dead people the are everywhere.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

jnrdesertrats said:


> I see dead people the are everywhere.


That is unique...


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Like others here, I ain't nothin special at this site. Ta the other world out there I be crazy asa pet ****!

I collect an use old hand tools, grow my own food an store it, gotta good workin knowledge a basic medicine, I guess ya could say I'd be a jack a all trades ana master a none.

Some folks look at me like a be a loon, but I look in the mirror each morning an evenin an like what I see, that be what matters. We have lotsa unique folks on this forum with many skills an lotsa knowledge, it be nice we can all share it here an learn from each other.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I have been called odd and strange all my life ... so is that unique, I'm not sure but as always ... That is alright with me!

It is alright to be different!


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Imagine the world ifin we was all the same? I read a sci fi story what wen't like that once. I know I sure nough wouldn't be a happy camper! Us "unique" fold stick tagether cause we have a good time with each other!


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

mike_dippert said:


> The amount of time I spend playing video games is probably unique on this forum.


Hahahaha, maybe not. I play when the pain is bad, this can mean days at a time. I used to read but I can't concentrate enough any more on my bad days.

I also find the online gaming community to be generally pretty friendly and pleasant, well they are in the MMORPG I play.

It's also something I can do with both of my children even though one of them is thousands of miles away.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

mike_dippert said:


> The amount of time I spend playing video games is probably unique on this forum.


I bet I can give you a run for your money on that one!


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

I don't want to be unique, I just want to blend into the greenery.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I convince old machinery that I have a retirement home for them ,then (insert evil maniacal laughter) I work the poor old things


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Nothing to see here folks, keep moving, keep moving.... Just want to keep it that way. Jack of most, master of none, not rich, not poor, just working to keep my future and my kids future to stay that way.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I can fix near anything, except really intricate jewelry and surface mounted component circuit boards. 

Generally....The only times in my life I ever hear "You are absolutely AMAZING!" was only after I had fixed something that nearly everyone else said couldn't be fixed. I even had a dude named Tex lend me his '52 Panhead for a whole month because I was the only person (after many had tried) that was successfully able to get it running right.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I dress up like the villains from Disney movies and play with my children (who dress up like the heros / stars of the show). We have at least two large totes and a suitcase full of dress up clothes. I was Hans from Frozen and my youngest boy was the snowman. I had several actresses to play Elsa and Anna. We had to sing the solos and duets more than once. Then my oldest son and I finished playing Halo 4 on x-box and my oldest daughter and I went and looked at a used car. After that we all built leprechaun traps to put around the house using Lucky Charms cereal as bait. We caught 2 but they escaped in the night. Of course they left behind coloring books, shamrock stickers and chocolate / gold foil coins as is the standard leprechaun catch and release agreement. Being a VERY active participant in your children's lives may not be unique on this forum but it sure seems to be unique in the world.

My wife and I also give people gift cards anonymously. Yesterday she picked up a $50 gift card to Starbucks and asked the person at the counter to give it to the next person who showed up for coffee. Once she picked up a $250 gift card for Culvers and asked the person at the counter to just pay for everybody's meal until the card was used up. When you know where your provision and your supply comes from, it's easy to be generous. A random act of kindness might just have been the blessing the recipient needed that day. We leave it up to Jesus to make everything work out.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Most of the time I feel pretty "different" - but on this board, not so much.


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

I buy broken LCD and plasma TV's on craigslist and fix them. Although it is amazing how many people want hundreds of dollars for a 4 year old tv that is, well... broken. I then wither hang them on my wall to update mine, give to family and friends at my cost or pawn them.

Anyone got a nonworking 70" 3d LCD? Give ya 50 bucks for it!


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## Mase92 (Feb 4, 2013)

What a great thread. I got to see people in a different light. 

I always feel unique on forums for preppers due to my stance on a myriad of issues, come don't call me different, they call me stupid but I see that as, it takes all sorts to make the world go round even the prepper world. 

Due to forums; I've learned to conserve things more, throw away less and spend times wanting to fix things instead of just "replacing" them. I shop different too. I look for things on clearance or ready to expire and either can them or dehydrate them. But the biggest things that have changed is dealings with my kids. Instead of just letting them be kids on a lazy day, I say hey, lets go walking/hiking. Teach them to start a fire in the woods, build a shelter and even talk to them about ways to stay safe in life. Things I knew or remembered due to the way I grew up but took for granted they'd learn or know. 

Believe it or not, my outlook on people and politics has changed gradually over the last 10 years and immensely in the last 3. I'm much more interested in learning the whole story instead of the side I want to hear/see.

All in all these forums have made me more the person I want to be, no matter what is going on in the world or my block, which I guess is unique!


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## Pixelphoto (May 31, 2012)

I'm normal so that makes me unique. How many truly NORMAL people have you met???? None probably because everyone has issues and oddities that make them unique.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I made my children pay their own way thru college.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

I don't do anything that unusual. I was fortunate to be raised by survivalists in my family. My grandparents we all born in or before 1880. From them I learned things like how to fix and repair shoes and boots, make soap, can vegetables, raise animals and butcher them for meat, build with non power tools, drill a water well, build an outhouse, hunt and fish. They also taught me a great love of reading. 

There are more things I cannot do that I would like to know how to do. I wish I could weld better, sew, make medicines from natural products, be a better black smith, lay bricks and concrete blocks, and be a better man. GB


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

What's unique about me? I don't know what's unique about me, but I can say what my life has been.

Spent 30 years as a professional engineer, specializing in welding, painting, sheet metal work, electrical assembly, design work, etc,

30 years flying small aircraft to all 49 states and most of Canada.

Drove an 18 wheeler for a year to almost every state.

EMT and firemen for 20 years on a local volunteer fire dept.

heavy equipment operator for 3 years back in the 70's

Drive and maintain only old cars and then cover them with liability only.

I will repair anything. I can repair things that no one else will. I find ways to do complicated things by designing and building my own custom tools.

If I need a tool for a job, I buy it, even if it is hundreds of dollars. I have a better collection of tools then any one else I know. 

I have never borrowed a penny from any one and I have never borrowed a tool from any one.

I don't smoke, drink, or do illegal drugs and never have. Well I do drink a little.

I paid my own way through college by working full time and going to school part time.

I never listen to music.

I'm a news hound.

I'm an active trader in the markets.

I believe in being prepared, no matter what it is. If I can not be prepared then I put myself in a position where I don't need to be prepared.

I don't trust any one until they prove that they can be trusted.

I can be paranoid, but I try not to be.


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

Nice thread. It's interesting that a lot of people are normal here but considered oddballs out there. Probably the only thing different about me is the enjoyment I get out of physical exertion. I could drive my machine to the BOL in the winter but I prefer sledging huge loads in and complaining for 4-6 hours about how heavy the load is and thinking how to make the next load lighter which I never seem to accomplish. :scratch. My friends and spouse think I'm a bit strange because I'm taking blacksmithing classes.
P.S. I suck at blacksmithing.


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## UniqueOldGal (Mar 7, 2012)

I've been the very first human being to view, hold, admire and collect many lovely mineral crystals I have hunted and dug from previously untouched pockets of mother earth. AKA "rock hound". I made a modest but happy below-poverty-level living selling my art for 20 years. Oh,and I've done some lapidary.


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## mamabear2012 (Mar 8, 2012)

I'm an amateur gourmet. I ran a food blog for a couple of years, but the munchkins wound up needing my attention more than the internet. The ironic thing is both of the kiddos and my hubby are EXTREMELY picky eaters. My talents are often lost on them ;-)


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I store water differently than anyone else. I used 4'x8' sheets of 3/4 inch plywood and cinder blocks. I had to get bigger than normal size cinder blocks so that they were taller than the water jugs when they were laid on their sides.

I have one row of 3 blocks down the middle. Then 4 rows of water jugs on either side. Then another row of blocks. Then 2 rows of jugs on each end of the plywood. The layers are 5 high. Layers with cinder blocks hold 96 jugs. The top layers hold 128. The total is 512 jugs each. We have 3 so that would give us 1536 water jugs if every spot was taken. (The cats have knocked a few over.) We store toilet paper and paper towels on top of the towers.


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## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

I write poetry that doesnt rhyme...


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

UniqueOldGal said:


> I've been the very first human being to view, hold, admire and collect many lovely mineral crystals I have hunted and dug from previously untouched pockets of mother earth.


This is the way my wife and I feel when we are out on the desert in Northern Nevada, I detect for gold nuggets and she looks for unusual rocks and crystals, we are awed that some of these things may have been around for centurys and we are the first to see and feel them. The picture of the stone is a stone that my wife picked up and threw down a few times before she noticed the fossil in the lower right corner. She also found two small quartz crystals that have what looks like forests inside. I have found two small cubed gold nuggets that I was told are extremely rare. It is unique to do things like this, to find things that are truly one of a kind, to make things that are one of a kind and to even realize that when you are in some remote area that you may be the first one to set foot on that ground since early native Americans.


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Mase92 said:


> Teach them to start a fire in the woods


Teach them how to put out a fire in the woods as well?


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

JimMadsen said:


> Teach them how to put out a fire in the woods as well?


We had 3 people here over the weekend to cut firewood. They were supposed to be independent, bring all their camp etc. They were going to cook on an open fire, windy as hell, dry and hot. Some people have NO common sense. We ended up doing the catering. Oh and they had forgotten to put any FOOD in their cool box and had to do a run back to town. :laugh:


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

Unique…weird…I guess it’s the same difference in my case.
I lived in Seattle for 31 years and never used or owned an umbrella.
I was a blue collar worker in manufacturing for 33 years and never owned a lunch pail.
Made a trip to Orlando, stayed several days and didn’t visit Disney World, or any other tourist attraction. 
Took a dozen or more swimming lessons from a professional instructor and I still can’t swim a stroke, and I sink like a rock.
When taking color blindness tests I can read both what you are supposed to see, as well as what you’re not. Drove the Air Force med tech nuts.
Could pitch a baseball either right or left handed, until I had a minor stroke.
I part my hair on the right side.
I refuse to drive a non-American brand car.
Drove a stock car around Texas Motor Speedway at 151 mph average when I was over sixty years old
.


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## Mase92 (Feb 4, 2013)

JimMadsen said:


> Teach them how to put out a fire in the woods as well?


LOL of course. I spent 10 years as a firefighter. That is pretty much engrained. They also know how to try and keep them contained and be responsible while engaging in this activity.


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## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

A few unique things about me:

My wife and I married, divorced and are now remarried. Couldn't be happier. *I should specify: all to each other only*
I speak Norwegian close to mastery

I think this is great that so many people have said that they don't feel unique here. I live a lifestyle similar to people here, but I feel like I'm not quite as far into it as I want to be yet. We are learning a lot of skills (and teaching our children skills) that were never taught to us as kids: gardening, food preservation, etc... Most of what I do is seen as unique to my coworkers, and totally normal here.



Sentry18 said:


> I dress up like the villains from Disney movies and play with my children (who dress up like the heros / stars of the show). We have at least two large totes and a suitcase full of dress up clothes. I was Hans from Frozen and my youngest boy was the snowman. I had several actresses to play Elsa and Anna. We had to sing the solos and duets more than once. Then my oldest son and I finished playing Halo 4 on x-box and my oldest daughter and I went and looked at a used car. After that we all built leprechaun traps to put around the house using Lucky Charms cereal as bait. We caught 2 but they escaped in the night. Of course they left behind coloring books, shamrock stickers and chocolate / gold foil coins as is the standard leprechaun catch and release agreement. Being a VERY active participant in your children's lives may not be unique on this forum but it sure seems to be unique in the world.


I applaud you for that and I could tell very similar stories myself. My daughter loves Frozen also! She put the snowman sticker on my 800mhz Kenwood work radio so I'd know it was mine, nevermind that it says my badge number when I key it up! It really is sad how little involvement people have in the lives of their children - I see it way too much in my wife's daycare. Let other people watch them, distract them with technology and scream at them when they act out as a result of the aforementioned poor parenting or express any normal human emotions like sadness or fear. Yep, if you don't do that you are unique!


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

What is unique 'bout me?

I am a mutant - I have the DNA of Tupperware inside me. I have never broken a bone, my bones will bend a long way before they will break. With the topic of the DNA of Tupperware, I also cannot stand the heat as I will melt away.

I have ridden a bicycle many thousands of miles and have peddled my way down to California for a vacation. I have also broken parts on bicycles that I was told is impossible to break (shattered titanium axles with just the power of my legs on flat ground riding calmly along a highway).

I have swam across many lakes - both in the summer and as a polar-bear. Swimming in water that is at freezing temperature with ice on the shoreline is still comfortable for me.

I love heights, hanging off the side of mountains, climbing trees, standing on roof-tops, climbing ladders ... but hate being a passenger in an airplane.

I haven't ate at McDonalds in over 15 years - probably closer to 20 years. I eat meat and vegitarians - prefer the meat - raw or cooked doesn't matter much to me.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

NaeKid said:


> (shattered titanium axles with just the power of my legs on flat ground riding calmly along a highway).


Having dealt with titanium in the aerospace industry, that sounds like embrittlement, from a metallurgical standpoint. I'll bet the melt batch was very poorly controlled. It has been a while..... but I think titanium must be melted and poured in a vacuum to prevent atmospheric contaminants from ruining the pour.

All of the 4130 TIG filler rods I use are all meted and poured in a vacuum, I could only imagine titanium must follow the same process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_embrittlement
Hydrogen embrittlement is often the result of unintentional introduction of hydrogen into susceptible metals during forming or finishing operations and increases cracking in the material. This phenomenon was first described in 1875.
High-strength and low-alloy steels, nickel and titanium alloys are most susceptible


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

NaeKid said:


> I haven't ate at McDonalds in over 15 years - probably closer to 20 years. I eat meat and vegitarians -


And what, pray tell, do vegitarians taste like? :yummy:

As I sat here reading your post, digesting my double whopper on my lunch break. I came to realize..... I may not like you very much anymore! lol just kidding. My sister does all of those spartan races and such. I live vicariously through her workouts. Well I did do a Warrior Dash recently with a great time of an hour and a few seconds. So I know I can still hack it. If there is a beer at the end...


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

LincTex said:


> Having dealt with titanium in the aerospace industry, that sounds like embrittlement, from a metallurgical standpoint. I'll bet the melt batch was very poorly controlled. It has been a while..... but I think titanium must be melted and poured in a vacuum to prevent atmospheric contaminants from ruining the pour.
> 
> All of the 4130 TIG filler rods I use are all meted and poured in a vacuum, I could only imagine titanium must follow the same process.
> 
> ...


The thing is - I broke several "standard" axles and my bike-shop brought in some of the "unbreakable" axles for my bike - installed the first one properly (cause they told me that I didn't install the other ones "right") - I went out to the highway and broke it. They said "hmm .. that's not right" and put another one in ... and I repeated the breakage. The owner of the bike shop (5-times top-ten in the IronMan) tried to replicate it and failed ... and then I did it again. I have also shattered bike-frames just by peddling the bike - not jumping them.

Just so that you know, at that time I used to do weight-lifting and doing the squats my warm-up was 500lbs and a workout was 700lbs ... quite powerful muscles in my legs. :laugh:


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

LincTex said:


> Having dealt with titanium in the aerospace industry, that sounds like embrittlement, from a metallurgical standpoint. I'll bet the melt batch was very poorly controlled. It has been a while..... but I think titanium must be melted and poured in a vacuum to prevent atmospheric contaminants from ruining the pour.
> 
> All of the 4130 TIG filler rods I use are all meted and poured in a vacuum, I could only imagine titanium must follow the same process.
> 
> ...


A few years back I bought two pair of glasses that are titanium framed, the guy setting me up with fittings for frames showed me how you could almost tie a knot in them. About a year later one frame just broke at the nose bridge with absolutely no stress.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

NaeKid said:


> What is unique 'bout me?
> 
> I am a mutant - I have the DNA of Tupperware inside me. I have never broken a bone, my bones will bend a long way before they will break. With the topic of the DNA of Tupperware, I also cannot stand the heat as I will melt away.
> 
> ...


 When I lived in Washington I visited BC many times, dated a few girls up there and might well have married one. They were unique from an American standpoint, guess why I liked them. Considering that you are a Canadian as well and unique, in reading your post I think you may be just a tad bit strange as well in thinking about your swimming habits.:scratch I happen to love heights as well, I've climbed fir trees to pick cones and was up to where I could wrap my index finger and thumb around the tree and touch them. I love the rush I get looking over the side of a mountain and looking out the window of a single engine plane is so cool. As to swimming, with my low body fat if I float in fresh water on my back my nose is six inches under and salt water my nose just sticks above the surface. So swimming for me takes more energy to stay above water than moving forward.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Viking said:


> About a year later one frame just broke at the nose bridge with absolutely no stress.


I had the same exact thing happen on a pair of Izod frames... right in the middle of the nose bridge. Mine had NEVER been stressed (sat on, etc.) so there is no explanation at all.

Now, I have had Cruz frames two years in a row with good success!


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

NaeKid said:


> The thing is - I broke several "standard" axles and my bike-shop brought in some of the "unbreakable" axles for my bike - installed the first one properly (cause they told me that I didn't install the other ones "right") - I went out to the highway and broke it. They said "hmm .. that's not right" and put another one in ... and I repeated the breakage. The owner of the bike shop (5-times top-ten in the IronMan) tried to replicate it and failed ... and then I did it again. I have also shattered bike-frames just by peddling the bike - not jumping them.
> 
> Just so that you know, at that time I used to do weight-lifting and doing the squats my warm-up was 500lbs and a workout was 700lbs ... quite powerful muscles in my legs. :laugh:


How do we know that you aren't just a gorilla in disguise?


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Add me to the titanium frames breaking at the bridge of the nose. But mine come from wally world with a 2 year replacement period. So I would expect they not hold up to the knot tying.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I was in a mid air collision. I sailed solo across the Atlantic. Now that was a test of my preps.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

The thing that I do that is unusual, is prepare. Not that the act is unusual because it has all been done before by our grandparents. The only difference is that I have modern conveniences and they had wood stoves.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

JimMadsen said:


> And what, pray tell, do vegitarians taste like? :yummy:
> 
> As I sat here reading your post, digesting my double whopper on my lunch break. I came to realize..... I may not like you very much anymore! lol just kidding. My sister does all of those spartan races and such. I live vicariously through her workouts. Well I did do a Warrior Dash recently with a great time of an hour and a few seconds. So I know I can still hack it. If there is a beer at the end...


Taste like chicken ...






:teehee:


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## Boomy (Mar 17, 2012)

I fix industrial washers (450#) and dryers (500#) for a living (household wahser hold 5-7lbs at a time. Mine handle 450lbs at a time)
I kayak fish for sharks in the Gulf of Mexico,
I sit on the ground in the middle of the woods, alone, at night, and call predators in to eat me.
I collect knowledge of many types....


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

I say the Words Jesus said and stuff happens!!!

That and being a shooter, hunter, prepped makes me somewhat unique.

Sent from my XT1080 using Survival Forum mobile app


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

A bit of a johnny come lately to this thread, but it's fun to brag.

I expand people's worlds. And no, I'm not a drug dealer. :droolie:

I was blessed to grow up in a family where a love of the fine arts and education, a reverence for nature, and travel are deeply woven into our culture. As a result I came of age in museums and campgrounds/rivers/mountaintops all over the world. My universe is a very big place with lots of opportunities for creativity and adventure.

I have no idea why, but ever since high school I've attracted a lot of people in my life who come from very sheltered backgrounds. Or perhaps they're attracted to me? No matter. I don't believe in "changing" anyone, but through the natural process of getting to know each other I've introduced them to my world and they learn a _lot_. And sometimes they change on their own, a _lot_. Sometimes it sticks and sometimes it doesn't - I have no personal investment in their choices. But I had one friend who proudly dropped out of high school with plans simply hang out with his parents in the trailer park financed by petty crime. After a few years of friendship and being occasional roommates, he got a full time job and transitioned to university where he graduated with a finance degree. He called me to tell me he was going to grad school for an MBA with an eye to becoming a stock broker.

Again, I don't believe in changing or "saving" people, it's just the organic process of getting to know each other and learning from each other that happens in any relationship. They teach me a lot too. But when this guy called me up to thank me for kicking his arse in the right direction, I knew I had a gift and I turned it into a career.

Now, I leverage my own personal experience of recovering from a catastrophic illness to show other people with disabilities that it can be done, regardless of what others have told them "for their own good." I can't even begin to describe the satisfaction that comes from watching someone shake off a lifetime of learned helplessness to take control of their lives, learn skills, and come off public assistance. They make all their own choices and do all their own work to make it happen, but sometimes I'm the first person in their lives to tell them "why not?" instead of "you can't." My friend on Wall Street showed me that planting a seed like that can have a ripple effect that benefits an entire community in surprising ways.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Oh, yeah ... I also hitch hiked across Africa once. (See above.) 

I can pill cats without drama.

And I'm a very small and feminine martial artist who's taken down more than one Marine. :teehee:


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## PurpleHeartJarhead (Mar 23, 2014)

Unique? Well, I have a bit of talent as a public speaker, purely a byproduct of a lack of fear, discovered completely by chance while in the military.

I am (well was) a competitive long range range shooter. I can (still) hit targets at ranges beyond 1000 meters, with 90% + first round hit accuracy. But I prefer short range pistol and skeet. I was just better at distance from a competitive standpoint.






Sent telepathically through my thumbs to my iPhone using Survival Forum


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Hmmm. I am not as talented or unique as many of you. But..
I bake and decorate cakes, self taught. Made my first one for my third grade teacher. Don't do it for money. Tried that, cost to much for the ingredients and no one wants homemade, they want boxed. Yuk

I too, like many. Do things the hard way. Will weed whack for 8 hrs one day each week, cause it sure looks nice when I am done.

I like to work with my hands, I like to cut out wood and paint my bunnies or Santas, garden, play in the mud, quilt, etc.


Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

OldCootHillbilly said:


> Imagine the world ifin we was all the same? I read a sci fi story what wen't like that once. I know I sure nough wouldn't be a happy camper! Us "unique" fold stick tagether cause we have a good time with each other!


Imagine? It's real and it is actually a place we all know ... HOLLYWOOD

Unique:
NEVER smoked anything
NEVER had a sip of alcohol (had a 1/4 of the little cup that comes on Nyquil bottle, that's all I've ever had)
NEVER have done a single drug 
NEVER have had the flu, ear ache, strep throat or the bron??? illness, 
NEVER been to the hospital for any reason - only had a 'cold' twice in my 40 year life (as a baby my mom said she worried a ton because I never had the usual baby issues)
I was a 13lb 24inch long baby - born one day and the next was in 8T clothes (no clue what that actually means)
I weighed over 600lbs when I was 19 years old and could dunk a little toy ball on 10' goal **that has to be unique** 
Got down to 182lbs and doctor said I was anorexic and I needed to gain weight **tell me how I am not screwed when it comes to ObamaCare? 182lbs is on the outer limits of a "healthy" weight

Oh yeah, I too see dead people and yes they are everywhere


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

When I started sailing( over10 years ago)there were very few women in the industry.Now there are many but I still find that I am(sometimes) the only female on the ship.It's also odd to find a few "cooks" or men that will NOT work with a female supervisor. :brickwall:I'm always surprised when they seem to resent a female in my position.I try very hard to treat people as I want to be treated. When they cry discrimination just because I'm female and you would be surprised at how many don't like me because I have a Southern accent.Even tho I was born of "the age" being raised in the "islands" my parents taught me to respect all people,my elders and people who might teach me something,no matter their sex,age or color.I take up for myself and family with a vengeance,right is still right and wrong is still wrong and I don't give a flip who you are.I don't tip-toe around anyone(including some of the Captains,CH-Mates and Ch Engineers that have God attitudes). Last time I looked we all bleed,get hungry,and put our pants on one leg at a time.In fact one person ask when I was working in Corrections(before I sailed) aren't you ever scared?????Hmmp never thought of it; just did my job,but,..... when a Captain, Ch-Mate and Ch- engineer has you in a corner trying to get you to back down on a wrong..ha...(guess I'm use to very large mean inmates) me I just scoot in my chair and tell them like it is and please please try to intimidate me..FAT CHANCE, :goodluck:ain't happening guess that makes me a little different.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

gabbyj310 said:


> Last time I looked we all bleed,get hungry,and put our pants on one leg at a time.


I put my pants on both legs at once. Is that a unique skill?


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

notyermomma said:


> I put my pants on both legs at once. Is that a unique skill?


You must be a firefighter.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

My wife and I have been married for 47+ years. Does that count?

In 1962 I came very near to drowning once in the Mohave Desert. Yes, that's true. It was in a swimming pool near Victorville. I couldn't swim and was just paddling around until I slipped off into the deep end. I was swimming when I came out though....

In 1963 I survived a rollover crash at 90 MPH thanks to a seat belt and the fact my old car had real door posts. I got out before it caught fire.

I survived 10 1/2 years in a Federal Penitentiary. Got there without breaking any laws, too, but I did really pi$$ off some Fed agents who were being their normal overbearing selves. They don't like defiance.

Been a farmer, truck driver, mechanical engineer, built houses and barns, welder, machinist, done logging, built fine furniture, and ran my own business for 10 years.



Built my own machinery. That is a slip roll for rolling sheet metal. I cut the gears for it, too, since I couldn't buy what I needed.



Now retired, I have had enough excitement to do me for a lifetime. I write fiction for a hobby.


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## PurpleHeartJarhead (Mar 23, 2014)

machinist said:


> My wife and I have been married for 47+ years. Does that count?
> 
> In 1962 I came very near to drowning once in the Mohave Desert. Yes, that's true. It was in a swimming pool near Victorville. I couldn't swim and was just paddling around until I slipped off into the deep end. I was swimming when I came out though....
> 
> ...


Life is not meant to be wasted or taken for granted or to be boring. Wonderful story, I hope mine reads as well when I am near your age.

Thank you for sharing.

Sent telepathically through my thumbs to my iPhone using Survival Forum


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Really enjoyed catching up on this thread. It makes you think about all the things you've done that are a little 'different'. I like notyermomma's braggin' idea .

I learnt to swim when I was 36, swam my first 5km swim a week later and 20km two weeks after that. That's my life in a nutshell, learn to do something, do it really well then move on. I get bored too easily. 

I drowned and was clinically dead for 19 minutes when I was three, probably why I learnt to swim so late. 

I don't like music, most of the time.

I've never met anyone that is as hard a worker as me.

Since the age of 12 I've only lived in a finished house for 6 weeks all together. I'm not looking forward to the day that we put walls up around our bedroom, I'll probably move into a tent .

I'm never met anyone with the amount of skills I have.

I love English literature. 

I'm a great public speaker (have made a few $$ doing it) but have serious issues talking to only one or two people. Last time I was part of a RL conversation other than with my family was ummmmmmm maybe 15 years ago. Last time I answered the phone to someone other than my family was in the 1980's and that was because we didn't have call ID back then.

I put $15.00 credit on my phone per year. I only use $5.00 of it. (and I get damn annoyed when they take my ten dollars  )

I don't have a drivers licence, but I can drive anything. 

I have MCS. Allergic to everything in the modern world. Sorry not allowed to call it allergies... it's sensitive to everything, pfft. Since our last trip to town my eyes have been almost completely swollen shut, no idea why. Probably the cleaner in a public toilet or the perfume of the person before me to use the shopping cart I used. The worst things in the world for me are money and walking past a beauty salon. I lost the skin off the palms of my hands last year when a visitor used hand lotion and then I touched the same door handles. And people wonder why I'm a hermit, .


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

Did a whole lot of traveling with my kids when they were young (N.A.), and one trip was a winter one around 2,000 miles from home to the Graham River where we crossed an ice bridge to get into a remote farm where friends were living self sufficiently. When we arrived there was a ‘thaw’ (warm chinooks) and the water on the bridge reached half way up the wheels on our vehicle (our driver could drive that bridge blind though thank gaaaawd ), however I determined not to leave till a cold snap set in which happened in short order...boy was it cold!! That was a real learning experience for us in so very many ways.


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## bkt (Oct 10, 2008)

I collect meteorites, fossils and interesting objects of history that I can acquire within my budget. Another hobby that is also my vocation is Linux software development. And I'm pretty heavy into tech in general.


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## gam46 (Jan 24, 2011)

Because of a fascination with edible plants, I choose to plant on our property things which are considered native and would be good for foraging if they were already here. Also, I choose many of our ornamentals for their dual use as edibles.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

I posted early on in this thread that I didn't want to be unique, but after re-reading the posts, and thinking a bit, I guess I am unique in that I love the old ways, hunting with a bow, spear, or front stuffer, using a "primitive" camp, I love ancient things, like fossils and Meteorites. What I love most of all, though, is being able to pass along a bit of this knowledge to folks on this forum, who I know appreciate all the little nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that is passed along by all of us. This forum is a little unique for me in that I have always been a loner, and while many of you are used to forums, I wasn't. My point is that you all have made me a better, more knowledgeable person, and I think that is unique in and of itself. Thank you every one, you all would be welcome in my camp any time.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

I guess my uniqueness is that I am an empath. Not by choice and wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I absorb all feelings from those around me. ..even strangers at their homes or campers at diff campsites, people in stores, etc. Strangers seek me out to pour their hearts out. Its part of why we moved to the homestead, I needed to isolate somewhat


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

myrtle55 said:


> I guess my uniqueness is that I am an empath. Not by choice and wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I absorb all feelings from those around me. ..even strangers at their homes or campers at diff campsites, people in stores, etc. Strangers seek me out to pour their hearts out. Its part of why we moved to the homestead, I needed to isolate somewhat


Then you are living in a pretty good area as it is rather isolated. I've known others like you and it can really be a problem, most can not control it and I've told one that she needed to stop taking in "stray dogs", not real dogs but people that couldn't be trusted and did take advantage of her good will. I'm somewhat empathic myself but I've learned that I can't help everyone, however there are a few I would allow to live on our land in the event of SHTF. I just tell them if they do come they will have to live minimally, mainly because our water resource is limited.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I'm a pediatric home health nurse & specialize in kids with tracheostomies & on ventilators. I love my work very much, the kids are just awesome & I can't believe I get paid to witness these little miracles.  

Hubby & I dated 2 weeks before we married a month after my 18th birthday. We're still happily married 23 years later. We have 3 kids, two are grown & our third kid just turned two. (He's the only one that was planned). 

We scuba dive & taught our kids how to as soon as they were old enough to get certified. We dove with baited sharks with our kids (ages 10 & 12 then) in Honduras. 

We are foster parents for medically fragile kids.

That's about all the really weird stuff that I can think of right now


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

tsrwivey said:


> Hubby & I dated 2 weeks before we married a month after my 18th birthday. We're still happily married 23 years later. We have 3 kids, two are grown & our third kid just turned two. (He's the only one that was planned).


 And I thought my wife and I were short term daters, we dated about 4 months before getting married and that was 40 years ago.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

(Raising hand! ) taker in of stray dogs, actually dogs were planned...lol..stray people


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

camo2460 said:


> I posted early on in this thread that I didn't want to be unique, but after re-reading the posts, and thinking a bit, I guess I am unique in that I love the old ways, hunting with a bow, spear, or front stuffer, using a "primitive" camp, I love ancient things, like fossils and Meteorites. What I love most of all, though, is being able to pass along a bit of this knowledge to folks on this forum, who I know appreciate all the little nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that is passed along by all of us. This forum is a little unique for me in that I have always been a loner, and while many of you are used to forums, I wasn't. My point is that you all have made me a better, more knowledgeable person, and I think that is unique in and of itself. Thank you every one, you all would be welcome in my camp any time.


This one should be read by all new members.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

Camo, I feel the same way. Thanks for putting it so nicely!


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Myrtle55, there are a lot of folks on this forum who feel the same way, folks I've learned to respect, and admire. The original premise of this thread was what makes you unique, however the most unique thing that I have found is the forum itself. There is a genuine family atmosphere on this forum. Sometimes we argue, disagree, and bump heads, in the end though, we are still friends.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

Camo, I felt that within the first day I came to this forum. I love the ease of disagreements, the varying perspectives of all, the personal touches, laughter and tidbits of each other's lives that are shared. The wisdom of many FAR outshines the wisdom of one and I feel blessed to have found this community


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## Justin_Time (Jun 6, 2014)

I'm slowly converting all of my work shop devices into peddle powered ones

I'm the worst best parent ever I gave my kids a TV and told them they could watch it all day long as long as their chores are done ( apparently more the an hour of TV time makes kids fat) I think their tv is making them skinnier and they eat more.
The reason my wife allows my bad parenting is that the tv is wired directly to a peddle generator, they stop peddling and tv turns off.


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