Travelling through Thailand. More monks around us than we’ve ever seen in our life. 95% of the population are Buddhists. And we wondered: what do we actually know about Buddhism?!

Word on the street is, it’s more of a “way or life” or philosophy than a religion? Which was news to us! 

We had definitely heard of Buddha and reincarnation, but outside of that, what does it really take to be a buddhist? 

With the decision made to stop considering ignorance as bliss, we made plans to visit a temple and get some answers from one of those friendly monks we’ve been seeing everywhere. Maybe we’d finally find the answers to some of life’s big questions?

Quick Disclaimer: This episode is purely for educational and entertainment purposes. We’re exploring Buddhism out of sheer curiosity and hold it with the utmost respect as a faith followed by many. 

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Some call it the fastest growing exercise franchise. Others, a cult. Globally it’s known as F45. But, what the F does the F stand for?! 

Functional! As in, you get to use a lot of “functional movements” in the class i.e. “movements based on real-world situational biomechanics”. And since that means F all to most people, what then sets it apart? 

Apparently, TV's tell you what to do while measuring your heart rate, there’s no mirrors - so you can’t indulge in your own vanity while “getting a pump" - and occasionally there’s a DJ... Sounds, appealing? 

With a cringy motto like, “Team training. Life changing”, we just wanted to understand why some people are so obsessed with this. Especially given the extortionate cost. 

Would this be our first experience being indoctrinated into a cult? Or would that have to be a whole different episode for the future?  

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Wakeboarding is probably about as common as water skiing. It’s something you might have seen on TV - if you’ve even heard of it - but never in real life. And even if you have, unless you own a boat or live near a water park that accommodates it, you probably don’t practise it that often.

Growing up in the middle of Irish countryside, we didn’t have a need for a boat, believe it or not. So we went into this sport knowing diddly squat, or, absolutely f**k all, in layman’s terms. But the opportunity came up in Thailand, so why the hell not.

Coincidentally the 2022 IWWF World Cable Wakeboard & Wakeskate Championships were being hosted a few miles away, the very day we tried it out. Which is obviously not where we tried it, but who knows? Maybe next year?

It’s basically surfing but you’re pulled along by a cable. Can it really be that hard? 

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To all non-Americans out there, how many of you have actually shot a gun before? Not an air rifle, or pellet gun. Or even a a fun finger gun around the office. We mean a real life, gunpowder-filled, murderous weapon.

Being from a country (Ireland) where there’s so much regulation around guns, we never had the same opportunity as all of our Irish relatives in America - to buy one over the counter and actually shoot one. What a weird privilege to have!

But let’s not go down the "why does America love guns" route with this episode! What we really wondered was, if you’re from a country where guns are prohibited, what’s the point in a shooting range? Is it really just for fun?

Given that the sole purpose of guns is to kill, surely they’re more likely to fill you with anxiety and nerves than joy and excitement?

So we found a shooting range near our hotel in Thailand, stopped saying pew pew pew as we holstered our finger guns, and booked in a session to get to the bottom of that very question.

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It’s our Halloween Special! And what better topic to address than one that tears opinions straight down the middle. Ghosts! 

Do you believe in them? When we asked our listeners on Instagram (@shouldibotherpod) 62% said yes, which is higher than the typical average of 40-50%. Unless you live in Taiwan, where it's over 90%. Are most of our listeners Taiwanese? Or just a bunch of spooky weirdos? 

For a lot of people, ghosts are just a part of Halloween or lame 90’s movies (that includes you, Patrick Swayze). But some actually dedicate their lives to them. Exploring weird castles in the dark, looking for a response to the occasional, “make your presence known” comment. And always leaving without proof. 

As always, we want to know more.

Are these people potentially brain damaged - as mentioned in studies we discuss, not our opinion - or are they actually onto something? 

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As everyone in the world continues to get stressed out about every little thing in life, it’s no wonder that Rage Rooms - AKA Anger Rooms, Smash Rooms, take your pick - are also on the rise! 

Just in case the name isn’t obvious enough, we’ll spell it out. Rage rooms are a place where you can smash objects to pieces with a blunt object of your choosing. Sound like your kind of thing?

We’ve all had one of those days where you want to nominate your boss for “the world’s biggest d**khead award”. But since it’s “apparently” frowned upon to tear the entire office down, now you can bottle that frustration and bring it down to your local rage room! Where debris flies, while judgement is put aside. 

Since the jury is out on whether these actually reduce or increase anger, we had to form our own little jury.

Maybe after this, next week’s podcast description will be less aggressive?  

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Other than being voluntarily stabbed by tiny needles, what is acupuncture? What purpose does it serve? 

‘Puncture’ isn’t exactly a word that has a lot of positive connotations, so why on earth would this be something that’s a positive for your health?? 

Just like Tai Chi and Cupping, we learned early on that Acupuncture is from the same little family of traditional Chinese Healing. And based on how those episodes went, we didn’t have a lot of faith going into this. 

But maybe this would be the activity to turn things around. 

There must be some benefit. Surely? I mean… you’re paying someone to stick loads of tiny needles in you. It’s not the typical idea of fun. Unless.. you’re some sort of.. sadist?

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Statistics show that 75% of us check our phones within the first 30 minutes of waking up. And what’s more alarming is.. 25% of us don’t! Who are these weirdos? 

But what’s wrong with that? Who cares if you want to indulge in some harmless puppy videos while slurping over your bland cereal in the morning? 

As you might have guessed, studies show that starting your day with that little distraction box we call a phone, only leads to a day filled with distractions. Naturally, followed by the world’s current leading pastime - insufferable anxiety!

Like a lot of other “self-help” topics we try on this podcast - practicing daily gratitude, the 5AM club, daily meditation - not checking your phone first thing in the morning has also been added to the “life-changing activity” bucket. 

So as always, we want to find out if that claim's a potential load of baloney and really determine, is this something you should bother doing at all? 

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Did you know that approximately 25% of the global population eat “bugs" as part of their diet?! Nobody forces them to. There are other things they can eat instead. So the question on any “westerner’s” lips is probably a big fat, “WHY?!” 🤢

As it turns out, for some pretty big fat reasons. 

Outside of being considered "tasty" across a lot of cultures (*holding back a gag*), we were surprised to find out just how healthy they really are! Looking for more “gains and protein” little meathead? Look no further! 

Combine that with just how much better for the environment they are and it sounds like “creepy crawlies” could soon be coming to a menu near you. 

But how do they really taste? Can we really picture ourselves opting for crickets over popcorn in the future? 🤔 And is that really a world we want to (or might have to) live in?!

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Kind of sounds like a type of tea? But it’s not, it’s Tai chi. The slowest and - what appears to be - most harmless martial art in the world.

Although we don't know anyone personally that practices this, there are apparently 250 million people worldwide that do. That’s over 3% of the global population that thinks you should bother doing this!!

If you’ve never heard of it, you may have seen people moving slowly from pose to pose, looking extremely wise and graceful in a park near you. Typically during work hours, because they're most likely retired.

Or maybe you’re a big Kung Fu Panda fan? Pretty sure he busts out some Tai chi in that movie somewhere 🤔

Either way, we knew this would be one of the least strenuous activities we've tried for the podcast. But with so many activities out there to try and so little time in our busy little lives, would this be a hobby worth practicing on a regular basis?

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