Question of the Day: Getting Too Close

February 04, 2026

What is something you got too close to but wish you didn’t?

My first answer was going to be a dead opossum. The joke being that it wasn’t actually dead.

Which feels like a pretty solid answer, honestly.

But then I remembered a better story. A truer one. And definitely one that explains more about how I tend to operate in the world.

Years ago, I was standing in a kitchen with a friend, trying to light a gas stove that wasn’t cooperating. Instead of backing away and rethinking the plan, we improvised. I remember saying, with confidence that was completely unearned, “You turn on the gas, I’ll light the match.”

That sentence aged poorly.

What followed was a brief, loud lesson in how gas travels faster than common sense. No one was seriously hurt, but I did end up sitting in a barber chair later explaining why parts of my hair looked like they had been involved in an accident. Because they had.

It’s funny now. It absolutely wasn’t then.

That’s what makes this Question of the Day sneakier than it looks. It sounds like it’s fishing for funny stories, and it is. But it’s also asking where we tend to underestimate risk. Where we confuse familiarity with safety. Where we assume we’ll be fine because we usually are.

Sometimes getting too close gives you a great story. Sometimes it gives you a scar. Sometimes it just gives you a very clear reminder that proximity matters.

If you want to read how this question connects to today’s Thought, you can find the full reflection in the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day: Getting Too Close.

You can also explore hundreds of past prompts in the Question of the Day archive.

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