How thrilling is your life?

The quiz below originally ran in The Oregonian & was reprinted in Harrower. It’s an interesting way to look at your life, as this commentator put it, it’s either way too easy or I’m way more fascinating than I ever dreamt—as are most of the people I know. I’d be curious for other people to take it & see some results, you don’t have to admit specifics, but be honest.

I found I could take it very conservatively, in which case I get 250 pts, which puts me firmly in “awesome, probably known as a ‘colourful character’ & lots of fun at parties full of good anecdotes.” Or if I’m more generous interpreting the questions I get 400, which according to their scale would put me somewhere ahead of James Bond.

Some examples of the generous marking option: I’ve never been SCUBA diving, so I didn’t take those pts, but I’ve been snorkelling in the tropics many times & swam with sharks, porpoises, sea lions, giant stingrays, piranha, anaconda etc etc & feel I should get some credit.

Like wise I’m obviously not a daredevil but I’ve done enough things (bridge jumping, stupid 16 yr old car racing etc) that I feel I should get a few more points. I didn’t initially give myself any pts for “cutting a record or music video” but in my music days I was recorded several times (school band etc), so I could take some points there. Similarly I didn’t give myself any points for being “the subject of a news article” even though I’ve been the subject of pieces I’ve written myself.

I didn’t give myself any pts for surviving disasters etc, but I have been in enough hairy situations (being in towns shelled by Khmer Rouge etc) that I could probably take some there. Political scandal? Does getting our college student president kicked out & charged financially for buying us beer with student funds count? Been in a gang? Does it count that we were 12, there were only 5 of us, we only lasted 9 months & the biggest crime we ever undertook was stealing a dirty magazine?

Anyway, good fun. Some of the questions are absurdly wide & generous: “ever committed a crime & gotten away with it?” – isn’t jaywalking a crime? Or “ever taken dangerous or illegal drugs?” – alcohol & tobacco are dangerous! Some are a little too specific: ever been in a Turkish prison? SOLO ocean voyage!? Seriously? How many people have EVER done that? If you’re that kind of person you’re not taking newspaper quizzes, you’re dining with Bono before you head off on your solo summit of Everest.

(add up points, only count once for each item)

Thrills
Ever gone:
Hang gliding 15
Parachuting 15
Windsurfing 10
SCUBA diving 15
Bungee jumping 20
White water rafting 10
Mountain climbing 10
Have you ever:
Set a sports record 20
Run a marathon 10
Competed in sports event seen by over 1,000 people 10
10 pts for each other daredevil activity (cliff jumping, drag racing etc?)

Travel
Ever:
Piloted an aircraft 10
Stowed away on a boat, plane, train 10
Hitchhiked cross country 10
Hiked or biked more than 150 km at one time 10
Sailed on a solo ocean voyage 30
Run off to join the circus 10
Visited a foreign country 1pt each
Add 1 pt for every city you’ve lived in & 5 pts per country

Twighlight zone
Ever:
Seen a ghost 10
Seen a UFO 10 (abduction 30)
Died & come back to life 20
Had an evil twin 10 (2pt for regular twin)
Been a member of a cult 10
Had a profound religious experience 20
Displayed extraordinary psychic powers 10

Fame & fortune
Ever:
Won more than $10,000 at once 20
Been extremely rich 10
Been homeless 20
Been on TV (5pts anonymous; 10pts name, face, voice; 30pts if you’re a star)
Been in a Hollywood movie (10pts extra, 20pts speaking)
Performed on a stage before more than 1,000 people 20
Cut a record or music video 20
Been the subject of a news article 10
Had something named after you (building, product, disease etc) 20
Been close friends with someone famous 5

Disasters etc
Ever survived:
Plane crash 20
Hurricane 10
Tornado 10
Major earthquake 5
Shipwreck 10
Serious auto accident 10
Ever:
Overcome a serious disease or disability 20
Fought in a war 20
Been attacked by deadly animal, insect, reptile 5
Witnessed a nuclear blast 20
Been the victim of a felony 5
Add 10pts for each disaster etc survived, not mentioned (avalanche, volcano etc)

Dark Side
Ever:
Been arrested 5
Been in prison 10 (add 50 for Turkish prison)
Escaped from prison 50
Committed a crime & gotten away with it 5
Been in a fight or brawl 10
Had anybody try to kill you 10
Had an extramarital affair 5
Taken dangerous or illegal drugs 5
Gone underground or undercover 10
Been involved in a political scandal 10
Been in a gang, crime family or outlaw group 10
Been in a high speed chase 5
Been a member of the Communist party 5
Fulfilled some forbidden fantasy too lurid to mention here 10

Good Deeds
Saved someone’s life 20
Saved an animals life 5
Joined a monastic order or done missionary work 20
Run for public office 10 (won 20)
Won a major award (local 5, provincial 10, national 20)
Regularly do volunteer/charity work 20

Everyday life
Ever:
Given birth 10 pts for each
Been married 10 pts each
Quit a job in protest or anger 5
Been fired 5
Been sued 5
Dropped out or been kicked out of school 5
Panhandled 5
Taken part in public protest 5 (add 20pts for riot)
Visited a nude beach/colony 5
Ever worked as a nurse, teacher, doctor, cop, fire-fighter, judge, clergy 20

Penalties
Minus 2 for every TV you own
Minus 1 for every hr of TV you watch in ave. week
Minus 5 if you sit behind a desk for more than 20hrs per week
Minus 2 if you own a video game system
Minus 2 if you wear music headphones in public
Minus 2 if you spend more than 2 hrs a week in a mall

Results
0-100: a quieter gentler life than some, but we can’t all be Indiana Jones
101-200: a good start, now it’s time to turn off the TV & start wracking up some points
201-300: fairly awesome, probably known as a “colourful character” & lots of fun at parties full of
good anecdotes. Or you cheated.
Over 300: Wow! Consider yourself lucky to be alive.