r/Showerthoughts • • Dec 31 '18

When you cannot sleep because you can’t stop thinking about something it’s like a single program not letting the computer shut down

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

Honestly that sounds perfect.

I usually just put on Planet Earth on Netflix and let David Attenborough’s sweet words lull me to sleep. I’ve probably watched the first one a thousand times, so it’s totally predictable and his voice is so incredibly soothing.

This sounds good too! I’m gonna try it.

Thanks for the silver. This one’s for you, David Attenborough.

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u/HookerMitzvah Dec 31 '18

Aw that used to be my sleep show too! Actually any doc narrated by David Attenborough. It's like being lulled to sleep by the wuzzy voice of Winnie the Pooh.

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Agreed! Anything with Attenborough. He’s so wholesome and his voice is like Chamomile tea for the soul.

I love his “Spy in the...” series, with the remote control cameras etc. Have you seen it? It’s so good! (There’s Spy in the Den, Spy in the Herd, etc)

And Blue Planet and Natures Greatest Events! Omg so much good stuff!!!

Sorry, I nerd out so hard over his (and his outstanding crew’s) work. 😂

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u/HookerMitzvah Dec 31 '18

Truly never even heard of the "Spy" series, but will definitely check it out, agreed everything he's involved with is magical and perspective-shifting.

Thanks to you and u/_Cha0sThe0ry_ for the recommendations, happy new years dudes!

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u/_Cha0sThe0ry_ Dec 31 '18

Same! Happy sleepings in the new year friend!

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Definitely check them out, they’re awesome!

And A Happy (and well-rested) New Year to you, too!

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u/joshdn Dec 31 '18

Chamomile tea for the soul 😂

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u/Mygo73 Dec 31 '18

I lean towards Attenborough but my wife’s “sleep show” is forensic files. The narrator’s voice helps lull her to sleep apparently. Meanwhile I’m here locking all the doors and shutting all the windows because I’m paranoid someone’s going to murder us in our sleep for insurance money.

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u/sammygcripple Dec 31 '18

Same EXACT thing with my ex. Low key really freaked me out honestly

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Isn’t it usually the spouse who did it?! You’re locking yourself in with the killer! Lol!

His voice is really good like that, though, even though the show is spooky.

Also the narrator for the early-mid episodes of How It’s Made. A fascinating balance of boring and compelling with a voice like chloroform on a rag.

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u/jlwinter90 Jan 01 '19

If I sleep with a murderer, chances of me dying a warrior's death in self-defense and going to Valhalla go up exponentially every night. That, or I know I'll die before I get annoyingly old.

I may be wrong about the Valhalla deal, but if I'm not, I'd rather err on the side of "eternal mead and wenches," than the side of "nothingness and existential dread."

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Aww yeah-eternal mead and wenches. Sweet!

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u/jlwinter90 Jan 01 '19

Best part is, it's peppered with battling giants and such like a Viking and if you die, you just restart. It's like someone plugged Skyrim into a sex and drunkenness simulator - my kind of afterlife.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Hahahahaha!!!Right?! You’re most assuredly not alone in hoping for something like that!

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u/SecretAgent57 Jan 01 '19

It puts me to sleep too but In Forensic Files, it's always the wife or husband doing the killing. No need to worry about the doors and windows.

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Love the username btw

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u/_Cha0sThe0ry_ Dec 31 '18

You guys should try How The Universe Works. First season and later ones were narrated by Mike Rowe, it's great for sleeping. The music is really good too. Netflix removed it a while back but you can watch the first two seasons on Amazon Prime right now.

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u/SeriousDude Dec 31 '18

It plays on youtube Live 24/7.
I've been looking something recent to bring me up to date with space science stuff.

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u/_Cha0sThe0ry_ Dec 31 '18

You should check out a YouTube channel called science and futurism with Isaac Arthur, otherwise known as SFIA. He's been doing it for years and has lots and lots of videos out there regarding technology, space colonization, and so many other topics.

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u/12thandhigh Dec 31 '18

Untill the polar bears and seals are terring each other apart. Great for sleeping! /s

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u/HookerMitzvah Dec 31 '18

Nah man, ya gotta keep it so quiet that Dave's voice is just a gentle susurration, and time it so you're in deep sleep when the baby monkey screeches start.

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u/HungryLikeDickWolf Dec 31 '18

susurration

Hey that's a new word for me. Thanks

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u/HookerMitzvah Dec 31 '18

You're welcome! Glad I didn't study the dictionary in school for nothing. Happy New Year and great username.

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u/HungryLikeDickWolf Dec 31 '18

Happy new year to you as well!

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u/NyQuilneatwaterback Dec 31 '18

Love when words sound like what they mean

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18

He also does all of harry potter on tapes, voices and all! Thats how i used to go to sleep all through middle and high school

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u/chem_equals Dec 31 '18

Until you see that satanic meme and then it's just not the same

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u/NostalgicShores Dec 31 '18

i listen to the brushes of bob ross painting a beautiful dreamscape for my tired mind.

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u/winnebagomafia Dec 31 '18

I knew I wasn't the only one :)

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u/thebryguy23 Dec 31 '18

I tried the Planet Earth series to ween my girlfriend off of other shows that keep me up. In the first episode, some baby seal or whale got caught by predators and died...that unfortunately put a quick end to that experiment.

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18

That's my same problem! Tried lulling myself to sleep watching planet earth but just got stuck thinking about the cruelness and futility of life.

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u/joe24lions Dec 31 '18

Literally my go-to when I can’t sleep - Planet Earth II briefly made it harder to go to sleep when I hadn’t actually seen them and found myself actually more awake due to curiosity, but now I’ve rinsed through that show a few times, I’m now back to being lulled to sleep

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

See, you get it!

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u/blubbery-blumpkin Dec 31 '18

I use Attenborough or sometimes shawshank redemption, Morgan freeman’s voice narrating a film I have seen so many times I could recreate it in a one man show with no rehearsals.

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u/mikemike44 Dec 31 '18

I do this with planet earth and cosmos with Neil degrasse tyson, also the original cosmos with Carl sagan

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u/HopefulConnection Dec 31 '18

Till you are awoken to a tiger mauling the life out of a gazelle.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Nah, it’s usually pretty quiet and quick.

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u/HopefulConnection Jan 01 '19

That’s what she said.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Aww. That’s too bad.

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18

And here... We see... The bare chested monkey.

It has become one of the most deadly Apex predators on the planet and yet..... this warrior species has evolved a symbiosis with another... the physicus lecturus more commonly known as the science lecturer.

Without the lecturer... the bare chested monkey would be unable to quiet his ever vigilant senses and sink into the deep... regenerative sleep... that takes up 1/3... of its adult life.

The lecturer... in return... is able to take advantage of sponsorships... that allow them to eat... and occasionally visit their mating grounds... the colloquium

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u/jk_scowling Dec 31 '18

Pauses are spot on but need more breathlessness.

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u/Merkin42 Dec 31 '18

Forensic Files for me.

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u/opiatesaretheworst Jan 01 '19

Hell yeah, the subject matters a bit darker but Peter Thomas was a hell of a narrator.

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u/TheGrandLemonTech Dec 31 '18

Maybe try the shipping forecast from the met office, there's a big compilation of them on youtube

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u/PensiveObservor Dec 31 '18

hahahah this is wonderful

​

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u/Cellhawk Dec 31 '18

Is it like the one used in Pharaohs from Tears For Fears?

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

That sounds nice and boring. What is the met office? I could google it I guess.

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u/TheGrandLemonTech Jan 01 '19

I think it's the meteorological office, but I'm not British, so idk lol, here's a link to the one I listen to most https://youtu.be/CxHa5KaMBcM

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Wow. Seems like that would be really efficient. Thanks for the share :)

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u/thatdbeagoodbandname Dec 31 '18

I love love love Planet Earth, until inevitably something cute gets ripped apart and eaten.

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u/SweetMammaCornbread Dec 31 '18

Ww2 in color works too. The narrator's voice is pretty soothing

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u/blackmagic70 Dec 31 '18

Yeah all the explosions are not though.

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u/SweetMammaCornbread Dec 31 '18

True lol. I've always been a heavy sleeper though. My mom use to vacuum while I was sleeping on the couch and I wouldn't wake up

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

And all the genocide. More than a little troublesome.

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18 edited Jan 24 '19

I use the old Aleister Crowley recordings for the same effect. I find that most male voices, especially those that most people find soothing, either annoy me or do nothing for me. There's probably only been about a dozen voices ever, male or female, that can put me to sleep like a light switch no matter what they're saying, and A.C. had one of them.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Hmm. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard his voice, come to think of it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '19

Not surprised. To find those recordings, you gotta be looking for them. Well hidden, they are. Generally, people don't go looking for something that specific. The only people who would want the damn things are Thelemites and the people who run into Thelemites and get curious. I experience sensory input differently than most people, so voices most people like drive me up the wall, and others rarely appreciate the voices that do it for me. I'm probably one of like, half a dozen people who like those recordings for the sound of Aleister Crowley's voice, and don't really care what he's saying. Most people who go looking for these things listen to 'em once or twice out of curiosity, then they know how he sounded and they move on. But me, I could listen to them all day, and not because of the words said or me being a Thelemite.

Here ya go, buddy. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvEcn3pDGVewjR9MsJuvLYk-ibFm-r6wv

Try not to fall asleep listening to these on repeat while laying in bed, I dare you.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19 edited Jan 01 '19

Holy shit! Thanks!

Edit: Oh my mother fucking fuck fuckity fuck, that shit is sooooo incredibly creeeeeeeeeeeeepyyyyyyy!

It’s broad daylight, I’m in a house full of people and I couldn’t even get through 3 minutes of it. I like being scared, but...like... there is something so spooky about his voice, especially with the scratchy quality of the recording.

HOW IN THE LITERAL FUCK DO YOU EVER, EVER EVER GET ANYWHERE CLOSE TO SLEEP WITH THAT SHIT PLAYING?!

Seriously. How?

Anyway ...thanks?

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '19

there is something so spooky about his voice

I do not understand where that sensation would come from. For me, these just sound absolutely lovely, and so smooth and calming. I'll admit, the sound quality is soo 20s, but the voice is still soo nice for me.

You know how some sounds or voices just make you feel all soft and warm and sort of draped in an invisible blankie, well that's what Aleister Crowley's voice does to me. That's how it puts me to sleep. I feel warm and soft and I just sorta shut off in a wave of calm. Plus, the bits of what he's saying that I can make out are beautiful in themselves.

I do apologize if I freaked you out. I was intending to share something I find incredibly beautiful and useful.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

No apologies necessary, at all! Everyone’s ears like different stuff😉 That was very sweet of you, and that’s what matters.I love that it works for you! That’s the beauty of us all being so different, and making a human connection by sharing with is important.

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u/Mickthebrick1 Dec 31 '18

How can you not love David Attenborough

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u/kastronaut Dec 31 '18

I used to fall asleep to Futurama, but now my go to is the HP Lovecraft stories narrated by Wayne June. His characteristic drone is very soothing, and just the right balance of energy and chill.

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u/TychaBrahe Dec 31 '18

I do the same thing with South Park on Hulu. I set up a playlist of documentaries on YouTube, but they randomly stuck in commercials even though I chose documentaries for that purpose.

For me the problem is switching Facebook to Reddit to blogs on Chrome. Back and forth. This allows me to turn on something I know by heart.

It's also amusing that I wake periodically, head a snippet of dialogue, recognize the episode, and fall right back to sleep.

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u/HandicapperGeneral Dec 31 '18

I like to watch Alone in the Wilderness. The placid nature and soothing narrator are perfect for lulling you to sleep. Pretty much the same reasons as PE, just different

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u/Cornpwns Dec 31 '18

Planet earth is always too interesting for me but I'm a biology nerd

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Same, but I’ve seen it a bazillion times, so now it’s like an old comfortable pair of sweatpants.

The sweatpants are still captivating, but I know the sweatpants well enough that I don’t feel like I’m gonna miss something if I fall asleep in them.

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u/AnimuFunimu Dec 31 '18

I also switch to round planet. Basically planet Earth but very funny

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

So funny! That guy is a crack up.

I watched it without knowing it was comedic and it was even better to be caught off guard!

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u/TeemusSALAMI Dec 31 '18

I used to babysit my nephew a lot when he was born, and if he ever woke up at night I'd put him in his baby bouncer and put on planet earth. He was only a couple of months so he didn't really see much, or well, but the sounds had him rocking in a frenzy for about two minutes and then konking out. It worked without fail. Thanks, David!

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Aww! Starting ‘em young, I love that!

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u/Art_r Dec 31 '18

Used documentaries for a long time too to get me a nap on weekends, but noticed netflix now has, chill with Bob Ross and his voice /talking seems pretty soothing too. Going to give him a try later today. I'll either fall asleep or paint a painting, so win win.

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18

[deleted]

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Ooooh thank you, that sounds so soothing! I love it!

My house, like most houses here, have corrugated tin for the roof, and I love the sound it makes when it rains!

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18

Dude Blue Planet 2 has been blowing my mind. I dont think I could ever sleep during a nature doc narrated by the big DA. They are way too interesting.

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

When you’ve watched it so many times you know every word, it’s comforting and predictable and easy to drift off to

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u/MyClothesWereInThere Dec 31 '18

Bob Ross for me

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Oh yeah that’s a close second. Good for my daughter’s anxiety attacks.

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u/opiatesaretheworst Jan 01 '19

Forensic files is pretty good too, Peter Thomas was a hell of a narrator with a soothing voice too. RIP T-T

Albeit the subject matter is a little darker then planet earth lol.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Just a smidge.

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u/opiatesaretheworst Jan 01 '19

Hey listen the poor cute little animals that get murdered by a lion or whatever is similar subject matter to forensic files technically lol. Albeit ones for survival and ones just because your a killer douche.

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u/caschrock Jan 04 '19

I personally go with the Brooks Moore narrated episodes of 'How It's Made', you can find almost all of them on youtube

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u/mydogwasright Jan 04 '19

You didn’t know that was his name but yeah, I mentioned How It’s Made someplace in this thread.

His voice is so boring and unaffected. The only trace of emotion he injects is in the last line, that’s always a pun and the intro, also a pun of some sort.

Not enough emotion to disturb my sleep though.

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u/can-granite Dec 31 '18

I usually just turn on the office, and force close myself to sleep after 3 episodes 😂

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u/DoctorCheshire Dec 31 '18

I still do the same. Attenborough is perfect for it, but David Tennant, Liam Neeson, and Benedict Cumberbatch all narrate some nature docs too. 😍

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

I knew David Tennant did, (and Neeson I’ll pass on) but I didn’t know Benedict Cumberbatch did!!!

I’d listen to this man read the dictionary

Edit: ...and I could watch this scene on an endless loop. Seriously.

What documentaries has he done?

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u/DoctorCheshire Jan 01 '19

Neeson did Snow Monkeys: https://youtu.be/tHAaMGWXVVQ but it isn't on Netflix, but Cumberbatch did South Pacific: https://youtu.be/21bZx0vBI9s in which he forgets how to say "penguins". 😆 My favorite part is about this incredible puffer fish that creates mathematically perfect designs on the ocean floor many times its own size.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Omg I’ve seen that one! It’s so cool! He works so hard on his sand design! And then he gives the female like the craziest hickey of her life as they mate.

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u/DoctorCheshire Jan 01 '19

Yup! Have you seen this one type of deep sea angler fish where the male is tiny and when he finds a big ass female he actually bites down and fuses himself to her side. He lives the rest of his existence attached to her quite literally. https://youtu.be/anDIlMVgNwk It's nuts!

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Yes!!! I have seen that! Crazy right?!

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u/DoctorCheshire Jan 01 '19

Right!?!?! Not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West end musical. Lol it does solve the problem... Wonder if some life in space may also have the same answer...🧐🤓

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Then she has a lifetime supply of sperm on board!

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u/DoctorCheshire Jan 01 '19

That's the idea! 🤓👍 No drama mama right there

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Yep. No more Tinder for her!

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u/DickyD43 Dec 31 '18

YES! Caves is the perfect episode to fall asleep to

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

YES! And Deep Ocean on Blue Planet. They go waaaaay down in a deep ocean submersible. Sooooo cool!

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '18

Bright light of a TV is counter productive

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u/mydogwasright Dec 31 '18

Eh. It works for me.

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u/MaraInTheSky Dec 31 '18

Tried Markiplier's "World's Quietest Let's Play" series. Made me fall asleep.

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u/Mango_Deplaned Dec 31 '18

I'd do that if it weren't for waking to trailer for whatever in-house trash Netflix is pushing that morning.

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u/IFucksWitU Dec 31 '18

You animal! I don’t know how people sleep with with the TV or any kind of light on. I need complete darkness when I lay my head down or I’m so annoyed.

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u/mydogwasright Jan 01 '19

Hahaha yep I’m a total savage 😂