ha ha ha, this is where having a strange mind is like a real-life superpower.
Conversation going nowhere? Pull out one of the questions lurking in your hindbrain and toss it into the mix, completely ignoring all logical segues.

There's always stuff to wonder about.

How common *are* ghost redwoods and other albino trees? What's the maximum age of them and how dense the forest support does it require to get there?

How do you measure the change when a species becomes domesticated? What are the criteria for it to count as domesticated instead of wild? How many domesticated bird species are there? If people bred owls for ratting instead of terriers, would it have been more or less effective and how amazing would it be for every barn to have an owl loft by default?

If you look at the most common constellations and calculated how old the light was from each star in it (from when it left the star to when you can see it), which constellation has the largest range? If you average them out, which constellation is the closest and which is the furthest?

If Pompeii graffiti tours became a sudden internet meme, would there be a rise in graffiti in modern cities as a result?

Does any crazy pet owner of a hairless pet variety (sphinx cats, etc) ever try and get them tattooed, and how many tattoo artists have to put up a "We do not tattoo pets!" sign as a result?

In the days when smoking was so common that most work places had smoking breaks, was it mostly cigars and cigarettes or did people smoke pipes on smoking breaks too? And did they ever hold smoke-ring competitions like workplace table tennis tournaments, but smoke ring tournaments?

Etc, etc, etc.

Heh, I'm good at random topics in person, during live conversation! Who doesn't want to know whose pet is the most annoying??? I just feel bad about going off topic in a forum lol.

And I didn't even know Ghostly Redwoods were a thing??? They're so pretty tho.


And all of these topics are hilarious lol, I'd definitely talk about these irl!

Seeing a ghost redwood is definitely an item on my bucket list!

In person, I mean, not through a video or photo or something.

I'm actually doing pretty good about clearing off bucket list items, weirdly enough. It used to be full of things like, "make this" and "finish that" and "learn this other thing" and "attend this kind of event" but most of those are crossed off now. I'm still working on a few but at this point most of the ones left are things like, "See a porcupine in the wild", "see a ghost redwood", "get a tour of the catacombs under Paris", "visit the castle of the Second Defenestration of Prague", "Set foot on Mt Kilimanjaro", "create a perfume that smells like old books", and similar.

That sounds like an amazing bucket list tho. Like, I’ve never made one myself, and I’ve never seen a reason to? I get why, but like, if I do something or see something, then awesome, and if not, well, maybe it can still happen.

If I had a bucket list, though, the only item on it would be “Go to Japan”. lol

I make the list because there are so *many* cool things in the world that if I don't make the list I might forget.
And when I do make the list, I can look at it and go, "Okay, if I do two things a year for the next sixty years I can get through this, and I don't have to live forever really" and it motivates me to actually do stuff *now* instead of putting it off thinking there's time. Which is helpful, because otherwise I can just sort of go with the flow for years on end and not end up doing what I actually want to.

Good point, mostly because that’s literally how I go through life lol. Basically if it happens, it happens, if not, well, there’s still a chance someday, haha.

My life is not very interesting lmao

Well, that's just it. I finally figured out, if I want my life to be interesting then I have to make it interesting, and I can't afford to just go with the flow all the time. Obviously, leave room for that and flexibility for the stuff that just pops up out of nowhere, but actively work towards the fun stuff I want.
And I wasn't doing that.
And then I started making lists and going, "Okay, at least two of these, I'm doing this year."
And it's true that it doesn't always happen 2 every year. But then some years there's an amazing trip with lots crossed off at once, and it's definitely better than when I wasn't paying attention.

Of course, sometimes the things you want to do end up becoming impossible due to forces outside your control (like wanting to go see the barrier reef and then learning it's dying. I cried for days).

The coral reef. :(
You’re right, that’s definitely something that I’ve always wanted to see, as I love everything pertaining to nature. One of the reasons why seeing a documentary about the Galápagos Islands always makes me want to visit it. I hope the many (yet still not enough, and too little too late) efforts to save these beautiful, dying areas will pay off. :(

And you’re actually working towards crossing things off your bucket list, and I find that amazing. Lots of people say they will, and yet never do. You go girl!

Ha ha, thank you! You'd be surprised at how many people hear that and go, "What, are you dying? You're so young! Why are you working on your bucket list now, that's so morbid!"
But there's no guarantees, you know? So why not! I don't go to the doctor enough anyhow so I suspect that by the time I'm told I'm dying, I'm going to be in such bad shape I won't be able to do anything anyhow. Bad habits.

See?
It was not that hard :D

And if you don't love the topic, you just offer a completely new one.
For example, it's not rare that people in a hangout are having different conversations.
I reply this to a person who mentioned something, then I follow a conversation with another person. All in the same thread. As if you turned your head and talked with someone and later with another one about a different thing.