Behold: an update on the things that many, if not most, people have done at some point in their lives that I have not.
It’s a fun list to make, and I update it every five years.
I recommend that you do it for yourself.
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- Never used an illegal drug of any kind
- Never purchased a lottery ticket
- Never tasted coffee
- Never smoked a cigarette
- Never smoked or consumed any cannabis product
- Never bruised
- Never swore in the presence of my parents
- Never shoplifted
- Never owned an umbrella
- Never used an emoji
- Never taken a selfie
- Never played a game on my phone
A couple of notes regarding the list:
It turns out the “Never bruised” is not as rare as I thought, though still odd given the number of times I have been seriously injured in my life. It’s certainly uncommon, but I am not alone in not bruising. Apparently, it can be the result of:
- Thicker skin or more connective tissue around blood vessels makes capillaries less likely to rupture
- Genetics. Some families seem to bruise very little, while others bruise from the slightest bump.
- Good vascular integrity makes blood vessels more resilient than average
So I likely have one or more of these advantages.
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I’ve never taken a selfie, though I have taken photos of myself with other people.
But a photo of myself by myself?
No. Never.
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I learned that reactions you can attach to a text message, like a thumbs-up, are also emojis, so I should have written that I have never used a stand-alone emoji. I have, admittedly, offered thumbs-up and heart reactions to text messages rather than responding in words, but regardless of their definition, I don’t think of those reactions as emojis.
