On the whole, the Do-It-Yourself craze that's been sweeping the nation has proven to be an empowering and inspiring movement. Still, there are some things that are best left to the professionals. Here are the dumbest of the dumb DIY projects:
1. Haircuts
This one's a no-brainer. Sure, hair salons are expensive but you can still go to a barber shop for $14. Even if you do decide to get a haircut at home, have someone else do it. I don't care how coordinated you are, you know who's going to do a better job trimming the back of your head than you?
ANYONE ELSE.
2. Hard Alcohol
Many people make their own beer or wine as a hobby but when it comes to the hard stuff it's best to stick to the store bought. It's cheaper, safer and legal. Homemade distilleries, or "stills," have been known to explode or contaminate their products.
3. Tattoos
In high school I had a friend that tattooed a ball of flames to the back of his own hand because he got bored while waiting on hold. He's now the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The second half of this story is false.
4. Animal Euthanasia
Sadly, this has become a trend. The intention behind it is a good one. An owner wants their pet to pass on at home where they feel safe and comfortable. That's a nice idea, but botched attempts at euthanasia have led to the heightened and extended suffering of pets. If you want your animal to die at home have a professional come and do it for you.
5. Crime Fighting
A more amusing DIY trend is the uptick in costumed adventurers. As you can see in this recent HBO documentary, these men take crime fighting very seriously. I think most people would agree that law enforcement is best left to the law.
6. Firearms
There's no reason you should be building your own heavy artillery. Oh wait, yes there is, you're a terrorist.
7. Propulsion Vehicles
A man was recently decapitated after test-driving his DIY built hovercraft. Apparently, the instructions he found on the internet didn't include a guard cage for the blades. Another DIYer was hospitalized after his homemade rocket backpack blew up during an accelerated sled ride. Very few stories have happy endings when people slap together their own high-speed vehicles.
8. Booby Traps
Booby traps are a bad idea on their own but when you mix booby traps with amateur craftsmanship you amplify that bad idea exponentially. Most self-made booby traps wind up going off, not on an intruder, but on their maker. Like this one for example. Or this one.
9. Dentistry
I'm sure you heard stories from your grandparents about someone they knew getting their teeth pulled out with pliers. Well, newsflash, we don't have to do that anymore. Still, some people out there, like the free thinker in this VERY GRAPHIC video seem to like to do this.
10. Surgery
The final and absolutely dumbest DIY project is mostly practiced by completely insane people, like the man who attempted self circumcision with a pair of nail clippers. Frighteningly though, some DIY surgery products appear to be in mass production. For a short time Amazon.com offered a DIY gastric bypass surgery kit.
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