21 votes

Got any fun stories of when your brain miserably failed you?

I‘m currently watching a video on Youtube and they just mentioned that famous hard-to-escape prison in the US. They just said its name and I actually know what it’s called, yet I can’t recall it right now. I thought of Azcaban, Alaska, Alcazar (Crying at the Disquotheque was playing along in my head aswell)…. and now as I‘m typing this, it finally came to me that the prison is called Alcatraz. When my brain came up with Alaska I actually had to laugh at what it’s coming up with while desperately trying to find the actual name. Fucking Alaska prison. And when the Harry Potter version comes to mind before the actual one, you know my priorities in life.

Now I want to hear your stories of your brain failing you.

8 comments

  1. [3]
    Jaqosaurus
    Link
    Recently I burnt several of my fingers and my thumb while cooking. I ran it under the tap a bit but needed to continue cooking, not wanting to let it get worse I got a jug, filled it with cold...

    Recently I burnt several of my fingers and my thumb while cooking. I ran it under the tap a bit but needed to continue cooking, not wanting to let it get worse I got a jug, filled it with cold water and set it beside the stove so I could keep dipping my hand in between stuff.

    Then 2 minutes later I just plunged my hand straight into a saucepan of boiling pasta.

    It's like my brain just reduced the task to "place hand in water" and went for the first bit of water it saw.

    The worst part of this story is actually the start. How did I burn my hand? As I took a pan off the hob I noticed the little metal disk that sits between the gas flames looked crooked, my brain decided that was a good moment to leave me hanging and in one fluid movement I turned off the flame with one hand and picked up the disk with my other to straighten it.

    15 votes
    1. [2]
      Curiouser
      Link Parent
      Oh wow, that is a MAGNIFICENT series of brain failures lmao

      Oh wow, that is a MAGNIFICENT series of brain failures lmao

      8 votes
      1. Jaqosaurus
        Link Parent
        I promise I normally function perfectly well as an independent and responsible adult. Just not that day. I think I was completely preoccupied with work and had checked out of what I was doing.

        I promise I normally function perfectly well as an independent and responsible adult. Just not that day. I think I was completely preoccupied with work and had checked out of what I was doing.

        6 votes
  2. [2]
    aphoenix
    Link
    I have a client whose group is an initialism, and one of the words that make it up is "palliative". During the course of a meeting, I failed to say that word about a dozen times in a half dozen...

    I have a client whose group is an initialism, and one of the words that make it up is "palliative". During the course of a meeting, I failed to say that word about a dozen times in a half dozen different ways. To be clear; I am familiar with the word, it was not new to me in any way, and I had not had a previous problem with saying that word out loud. I have never before or since encountered a word that I failed so cataclysmically to deal with. I typically don't meet with the lead on their end, but they were there for that meeting; several months later, we were in another meeting, and I used the word, and she actually stopped the meeting and congratulated me for being able to say the word and asked if I had practiced it.

    And I had.

    10 votes
    1. Curiouser
      Link Parent
      I pronounced the world 'spatial' as 'spat-chul'. In a job interview. Twice lol I still don't understand what the hell went wrong that day

      I pronounced the world 'spatial' as 'spat-chul'. In a job interview. Twice lol

      I still don't understand what the hell went wrong that day

      4 votes
  3. terr
    Link
    Not quite a brain failure, but definitely slow to load: In grade 9 we had a list of words we had to learn for English class. I asked my friend what "epiphany" meant, and she explained that it was...

    Not quite a brain failure, but definitely slow to load:

    In grade 9 we had a list of words we had to learn for English class. I asked my friend what "epiphany" meant, and she explained that it was a sudden realization. "Oh" I said, confirming that I had heard her. Immediately followed up with an enlightened "OOOH!" as I grasped the actual meaning. A second later, I mumbled an embarrassed "oh." after it occurred to me that I had more or less just had an epiphany right then.

    5 votes
  4. Magnificent
    Link
    When I read the word tautology my brain pronounces it tautototology and it won't stop. It drives me crazy!

    When I read the word tautology my brain pronounces it tautototology and it won't stop. It drives me crazy!

    4 votes
  5. guillemet
    Link
    Several years ago, I learned that cashews grow on a fruit and that you can buy cashew apple juice. So, I did that to try it. I was trying to tell my friends about it and couldn’t come up with...

    Several years ago, I learned that cashews grow on a fruit and that you can buy cashew apple juice. So, I did that to try it.

    I was trying to tell my friends about it and couldn’t come up with “cashew”. So I was trying to get my spouse to help me and I said.. “you know, the nut juice that we bought?” Andddd I’ve not lived it down.

    4 votes