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Hype, as it were, is a pretty double-edged sword. Its origin lies, most likely, in the word hyperbole and it was originally used to describe "excessive or misleading publicity or advertising," which remains pretty true at the end of the day. But every now and then, people stumble across things that are worth the hype.
We’ve gathered examples of things that really did live up to the hype from across the internet. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and examples in the comments below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Driving 8 hours into the desert, escaping the light pollution, and seeing the Milky Way.
I cried.
David 8 months ago
I had a view like that one night driving to Montana. I needed to sleep on my trip but not much money so I stayed at a little campground. But it was one of those campgrounds in the middle of nowhere. Not much traffic on whatever highway I got off of (maybe I90??) but then I had to drive 2 or 3 miles on gravel roads to get to the actual campground. Pretty wide open / very few trees. Probably not much of a campground to see during the day time. But the night sky was vast and amazing. I laid on my back on the wooden picnic table and just soaked it in for a while. Bazillion stars, shooting stars, the milky way etc. And no other campers.
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#2
Seeing the Northern Lights in person. Photos don't do them justice.
LillieMean 8 months ago
I have seen the northern lights often, but when I was on holiday in Lapland they were particularly impressive. No light or noise pollution. I have never felt so small as I stared spellbound at the lights dancing in waves in the night sky. You really felt the powers of the universe there. I live so far north that I can see the northern lights if I can keep an eye out from my living room window. Light pollution just interferes with their visibility and they are often not as multi-hued as they are further north. In Finnish Northern Lights is revontuli.The first word repo means fox and the second tuli is fire. It was a mythical creature in folklore. There was an old belief here that the fire fox would flick rocks or snow with its tail, igniting sparks through friction, which created the northern lights. In a way, it feels like I'm looking into the past when I watch the northern lights, but on the other hand, time ceases to exist at that moment.
#5
The LOTR film trilogy. I've never been so hyped and at the same time nervous as when I went to see Fellowship. Within the first minute I knew they had pulled it off. Still the best theater going experience I've ever had.
David 8 months ago
Yes. Loved the books and didn't think there was any way they could do the books justice in a movie(s). Movies often have to cut a lot from books. The books and movies were their own experiences but I didn't walk away from the movies thinking, "But the books were so much better". The only 'movie' of Hobbit / LOTR I had seen before was that animated c**p show hobbit movie that didn't seem anything like the book. So I went into these movies with reservations but they were pretty good.
#6
The Grand Canyon. It is 100% worth the trip to see it.
#7
European chocolate.
Apatheist Account2 8 months ago
Belgian is the best, then Swiss, followed by the UK. American stuff (eg Hersheys) is horrible.
#8
Marriage.
My wife and I love the same things. We support each other's dreams, but also try to empathize with each other's pains.
I'll take the most mundane day shared with my wife over an exceptional day alone, just because I know she will be there to be the little spoon at night.
Also the whole dual income thing is nice.
#9
Weird Al in concert. He wears a new costume for almost every song, his band is fantastic, and despite being around for ~30 years his tickets are still affordable.
MalayDragon 8 months ago
I saw him live and during his shows the little comedy interview footage he showed stopped working towards the end of the show. So he cam out for a second encore, but admitted that they hadn't planned anything so asked for Suggestions from the crowd. You'd think a bunch of Weird Al fans would all be shouting their favourite song out but no, room was dead silent. Except for me waaaay up the back. I Yelled out Albuquerque, Queue a 12 minute second encore with weird all dressed in a Spongebob Tshirt, zebra stripe leggings and a fluffy pink tutu..
#10
Pompeii. Holy c**p was it amazing.
David 8 months ago
It is an interesting bit of 'living' history. I know they are dead but I mean in the sense you feel like you are dropping into their town so long ago. I saw it in the 80s. My brother saw it a couple of years ago and from the photos it appears they have unearthed a lot more since I was there. It's weird to see an attractive mosaic floor that was some rich person's house 2000 years ago.
#11
Heath Ledger as the Joker.
#12
Dungeons and Dragons as a second grader in 1980. S**t blew my mind for years.
Edit: wow happy to see all the folks who still love DnD and PnP RPGs. Still have a scar on my sole from a D4 I stepped on at age 10.
#13
Seeing a solar eclipse in totality it was amazing! 11/10 would recommend to a friend.
sturmwesen 8 months ago
We watched it as teenagers with our summer camp in the Munich Zoo... every animal and person went totally silent. It was soooo special
#14
Dark Side of the Moon. I finally got a copy when I was...16? I started listening to it and was like...wow, no wonder.
#15
The Internet.
In the early days when it stopped being solely for universities and government, people, media, etc. was unsure what to make of it and how useful it would be.
#16
Scuba Diving. Had friends who wouldn't shut up about it, but I was never sure (I was comfortable in the water, but I didn't like swimming that much).
Holy s**t, after the first time I can only think of when the next dive is.
#17
Naps. The older get man the better they are. With noise canceling headphones it’s even better now. I look forward to them all the time. Hug a pillow, blanket over eyes but not mouth or nose, headphones in and I’m out cold in like 15 seconds. I wanna take a nap now just typing about it.
#18
Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds playing him; oh boy if that didn't live up to be more than we all expected it to be!
#19
Shakespeare. You spend your whole life being told his stuff is just sooo goood and then you're forced to read it in high school and what do you know, it is actually good.
#20
That f*****g Kinetic Sand toy. It's AMAZING. You form it into a ball or a mound and it stays. You squish it in your hands and it runs over your finger tips like water. You break a chunk in half and both sides slowly ooze over itself like lava. What an easy, stupid, but highly therapeutic toy.
#24
The Godfather
I've been on a kick lately of watching classic movies widely considered masterpieces. Best of anything so far has been The Godfather - not really into mafia movies or anything like that, but I guess it's more a movie about *humanity* and not just the mafia.
Absolutely deserves all the hype and more.
#25
The Avengers. I think everyone was nervously thinking it might suck, and then we got the best film in the MCU at the time.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
No, no, no. "The Avengers" means Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee.
#26
Better Call Saul is an amazing show, definitely lived up to the hype.
#28
Smart Phones. I used to think it was all hype...but d**n it on the off chance that they didn't end up being helpful.
#30
Air Fryers. Little kitchen miracles.
David 8 months ago
I laughed at myself the day I realized the amazing 'new' "air fryers" are basically toaster ovens with fans. That said, the one I have is pretty handy. Especially now that I live alone. I can throw in some chicken or fries or whatever and push the button and walk away. And it's a lot faster than heating up my big oven for a small job.
#31
Hamilton. I'm an MT major in college who has been exposed to theatre for my entire life, and I'm now studying to do it full time professionally, and it's the best show I've ever seen. The choreography, writing, score, and direction are all absolutely genius. Easily the best writing since Sondheim. I cannot hype this show up enough lol.
Marianne 8 months ago
Hamilton has a difficult audience in me. I don't like rap music and I'm German, so I'm not patriotic at all and cannot for the world relate to Americans being emotional about their constitution. However, I was very much impressed by the complexity of the music and choreographies and how exellently they were performed by the actors. It is by far the most challenging musical that I have ever seen.
#32
Super Mario Bros. 3.
Bibibis:
SMB3 didn't just live up to the hype, it literally shaped the video game world. It's the most important game ever released.
#33
Fury Road. It was exactly what I expected. Some good clean spiky wheeled car fun. No pretense of depth or character development. Just fun physical special effects.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 8 months ago
No depth? Okay... I disagree but there's a LOT of car-chases and nearly no dialogue so I can easily let that go and say that it's a movie for those who enjoy car-chases and also for those who can enjoy subtlety when it comes to characters. I loved that there was hardly any talking because you can easily SEE what they want to say. "Show, don't tell" in its best.
#34
The Wire. I just finished it this morning and I'm blown away at the character development and incredible story arcs. Top ten TV shows all time for me. Omar... McNulty... Daniels ... Incredible.
#35
I wasn't actually alive when it came out, but it's probably a safe bet to say The Empire Strikes Back
It had to compare to, and surpass, one of the original blockbuster movies, one of the most popular movies of all time. And it just... did. And it set a standard that no other Star Wars movie has been able to surpass since.
If anyone saw it in theatres when it came out, please share your memories of it.
Blah Blah Blah 8 months ago
I always wonder why Star Wars is compared to Star Trek they're two entirely different sci-fi's like apples and oranges
#36
Skyrim. I still play it today.
#38
Alaska. Went with my wife for our ten year anniversary and just drove around and camped in a van for ten days. Absolutely unimaginable.
#40
Final episode of Breaking Bad.
lava172:
Season 5 was excellent, especially the second half. The last 4 episodes are probably the best TV I'll ever watch in my life.
#41
Rammstein in concert. Explosive doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was full-on incendiary rapture.
#42
The Nintendo Switch is really amazing. So many good decisions, it's what the Wii U should have been.
Now that it's sold so well last year we'll actually get some games for it!
#44
I'll say the Honda Civic. Even if you hate it, you can't deny how many of those cars have sold. I say, buy a Toyota, they don't break.
DennyS (denzoren) 8 months ago
I've had a 99 Civic hatchback and currently got the 2007 Sedan. Some really reliable cars and fun to drive. Also easy to modify and rice if that's your kinda thing.
#45
GTA V
Seemed impossible but somehow they pulled it off.
BeKind&Rewind 8 months ago
I feel like the GTA game obsession has given some young criminals the idea that they will just bounce back after a car wreck.
#46
Japanese kitchen knives with a Rockwell hardness of about 60. The metal is so hard you don't hone them because there's no flexing steel. You sharpen them with water stones or have someone else sharpen them. A good place to start is 'VG-10' steel. It's sort of the Volkswagen Bug of excellent steel.
#47
Old School Safety Razors. After you get used to them they are the best cut, and you can get great blades for them for 10 cents each. I just use a new blade each time. I actually use a 'crazy' safety razor called a 'slantbar' (or devils razor). It slightly twists the blade and has a sheering action. So satisfying.
#48
Rings of Saturn.
#49
Being a grown up. For the most part I do what I want, when I want, and it's so much better than always getting in trouble as a kid.
#50
MoviePass. My new hobby is watching about 10-15 movies a month. I usually run out of movies and ask myself why I watched the worst ones just to have seen them all in my theaters.
BeKind&Rewind 8 months ago
Too bad there aren't that many movies I care about enough to get a pass. I used to LOVE going to the movies! ;(
#52
Having and raising kids. I know it is not for everyone and I respect the child free by choice. I have a very full life thanks in large part to my daughters and have had an exceptionally satisfying time raising them. They are both wonderful adult women that I am now navigating our new relationship paradigm with. Still loving every minute of it.
#53
Portal 2.
arhanv:
I f**king love both the Portal games...
"After the tests are complete, you will be baked
And then there will be cake."
#55
Star Wars The Force Awakens.
I thought it was a great movie. The similarities to A New Hope didn't bother me like it did some people. If they had changed it up (like the prequels) people would be complaining about that.
If Episodes 8 and 9 are different like they say, then TFA shouldn't be an issue. They wanted to mix old and new and they did a really good job of that.
#56
One Punch Man.
urmomzvag:
Had no clue what it was, saw it on hulu. Proceeded to binge watch the entire season. that final fight is f**king.godly. so amazing. i immediately rewatched the final episode.
#58
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I've been playing Zelda games for a loooong time, and I really enjoyed them, but they hadn't always fully clicked with me except for a select few (Link's Awakening and ALttP/ALBW are a few examples that really stood out to me prior).
But several years ago I decided to play the original NES Zelda for the first time and I beat it. It was unlike any other game I'd ever played, and absolutely magical.
After playing it I was thinking, "If Nintendo were to recreate this game, but give it modern QOL adjustments and sensibilities, it would almost certainly be my favorite Zelda game."
Breath of the Wild came out, was basically exactly that for me, and is now my favorite game I've ever played.
#60
HD TV. Can't go back to SD anymore.
David 8 months ago
Pro tip for poor people: A quality TV with good upscaling does a surprisingly good job of making 720P look like a higher resolution. My TV is 4K but it upscales well. Now that I have better internet I can watch higher resolutions without worrying about my data cap. but on many things the upscaling does such a good job I can't tell much difference. As a very loose comparison, my previous TV was a 720P plasma. It looked "decent", but 720P on my current TV looks waaaay better than on my old TV.
#61
Lego star wars. I remember when it came out my best friend (who lived right next to me) and I would play it all day every day after school. I'm in university now and my friends and I still binge it. Only difference is now we have a glass of whiskey with it!
#63
People kept telling me an Instant Pot would change my life and they somehow undersold it.
#65
Blade Runner 2049 lived up to the hype and then some. It really took the spirit of the first one and elaborated on it further that arguably rivals the original.
#67
Rick and Morty, best cartoon I've ever seen.
DennyS (denzoren) 8 months ago
For me the novelty wears off quick....but that's just for me. I'm more of a Bob's Burgers kinda person.
What do you think ?
Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 8 months ago
This was fun! It’s good to see people feeling happy and positive about something in their lives. It’s nice to see, I don’t agree with all of them but I don’t have to. It’s genuinely cool to see people celebrating experiences.
RamiRudolph 8 months ago
For me, I'd say a Rice Cooker. I kist love a good jasmine rice, with chicken that was cooked with soy sauce. 🤤
Arlnee 8 months ago
I make good rice in the instant pot. Also rice pudding (SO YUM)
Load More Replies...
BeKind&Rewind 8 months ago
I would like to add a green, leafy plant legal in some places. It has been such an improvement to my sleep routine and bonus-no hangovers!
Roxy222uk 8 months ago
Silky Fox hand saws (made in Japan), the Zubat (curved). Cuts on the pull back. Absolute dream to use, to the point that I was walking around looking for things that needed cutting back. A Christmas present for my spouse that I got righter than right. Spirited Away, the stage musical, was so absolutely magical that there are no words. The tickets are expensive but the experience shows that every last penny is accounted for. Marks and Spencers gluten free shortbread, absolutely delicious and not full of a long list of industrial additives.
Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 8 months ago
This was fun! It’s good to see people feeling happy and positive about something in their lives. It’s nice to see, I don’t agree with all of them but I don’t have to. It’s genuinely cool to see people celebrating experiences.
RamiRudolph 8 months ago
For me, I'd say a Rice Cooker. I kist love a good jasmine rice, with chicken that was cooked with soy sauce. 🤤
Arlnee 8 months ago
I make good rice in the instant pot. Also rice pudding (SO YUM)
Load More Replies... BeKind&Rewind 8 months ago
I would like to add a green, leafy plant legal in some places. It has been such an improvement to my sleep routine and bonus-no hangovers!
Roxy222uk 8 months ago
Silky Fox hand saws (made in Japan), the Zubat (curved). Cuts on the pull back. Absolute dream to use, to the point that I was walking around looking for things that needed cutting back. A Christmas present for my spouse that I got righter than right. Spirited Away, the stage musical, was so absolutely magical that there are no words. The tickets are expensive but the experience shows that every last penny is accounted for. Marks and Spencers gluten free shortbread, absolutely delicious and not full of a long list of industrial additives.
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