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30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
CuriositiesMAR 26, 2025

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise

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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.

#1

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Driving 8 hours into the desert, escaping the light pollution, and seeing the Milky Way.

I cried.
79points

#2

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Seeing the Northern Lights in person. Photos don't do them justice.
70points

#3

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Polio vaccine.
67points

#4

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
My dog, he's still awesome. Well, time to go walk again.
62points

#5

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
51points

#6

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
The Grand Canyon. It is 100% worth the trip to see it.
46points

#7

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
European chocolate.
41points

#8

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
37points

#9

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
37points

#10

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Pompeii. Holy c**p was it amazing.
33points

#11

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Heath Ledger as the Joker.
30points

#12

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
30points

#13

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Seeing a solar eclipse in totality it was amazing! 11/10 would recommend to a friend.
30points

#14

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
30points

#15

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
Report
29points

#16

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
28points

#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.
25points

#18

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds playing him; oh boy if that didn't live up to be more than we all expected it to be!
20points

#19

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
20points

#20

30 Things That Were Hyped But Truly Deserved The Praise
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.
19points
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