Is it bad to be interested in fire alarms? I had parents who were concerned about it, thinking it’s some sort of illness or disease.
Not at all. Be interested in whatever you want to be.
What it all comes down to is how the interest fits into your life. A line must be drawn between hobby and obsession. I’ve had friends walk into my work room and get a little freaked out when they see fire alarm equipment scattered about, but I don’t see it as any different than some of my friends who have a garage filled with car parts. I knew a guy once who had an entire shed stacked to the roof with vintage pinball machines, but his interest never once struck me as “weird” - he was happily married with a fantastic job, and those two priorities always rose far above the pinball machines. We all have interests that we’d like to keep in the closet, so to speak. But, we go about our daily lives preoccupied by far more important matters and pay a visit to that closet when there’s finally some down time. What is bad is when that interest becomes a life-dominating obsession. If fire alarms is all you have to look forward to when you get up in the morning, there’s a problem. A mental abnormality may be the proximate cause of it, but I like to think that “nurture” has more to do with unhealthy obsession than “nature”. It’s kind of an irrelevant excuse since many users here deal with differences and yet are able to manage their interests in a healthy manner.
Ultimately, the normality of your interest is what you define it to be. Are you interested in fire alarms for the same reason that others go bird watching, or is your interest a compulsion in response to a debilitating fear of loud noises or fire? Do you collect fire alarms for the same reason that others casually work on cars and pinball machines, or are you under-stimulated and compensating for the things that truly matter but are lacking in your life? I’m not saying that any of this behavior is right or wrong (I’m using “you” rhetorically), but we should all be honest with ourselves. Personally, I have to watch that my interests don’t turn into obsessions, since an obsessive personality and predisposition to addiction runs in my family and I’m no different. My grandfather was a brilliant engineer who helped design the Louisiana Superdome and built one of the first land hovercrafts in the US, but got carried away with his inventions, alienated his wife and children in the process, and (literally) worked himself to death. It’s good to always be mindful of your deficiencies before they take over and throw you so far out of reality that you can no longer take accurate stock of your qualities and shortcomings.
Be proud of your interest, but also be proud of who you would be if fire alarms didn’t exist. If you can do both, you’re on the right track.
I should install a Like Button mod…
Well said, Destin.
I’ve always wanted you to do this.
As long as there’s no detrimental member reputation…
It would probably be something like a Facebook like button. Not a karma system or something like that.
Well said Destin.
oh god
?
When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with ceiling fans and vacuum cleaners. 
When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with floor fans, and box/drum fans.
lol, when you said “obsessed”, I thought you meant “obese” at first.
There are people on YouTube who also have interests in ceiling fans.
Yeah I know. From time to time I go to see them and watch them as they are turned on. It just doesn’t feel the same as it did when I was 5.
Yea, I was around the age of 5 also, and it extended to like 8 or 9, then stopped. I still have a vague interest. What got my started were the big drum fans they had at my summer day camp (the kind with wheels and a handle on them). My counselor would let me run around turning them on when we went into one of the gyms.
The age of 9 is when I also stopped being interested in ceiling fans also.
Maybe it’s a maturity thing? We lost interest once we became older. Although, I still have a faint interest in fans. Not enough to buy any at the moment, or even look at videos.
i used to like cars but i no longer do
I’m interested in cars but not the mechanics, just all the options a car can have.
I have an interest in school buses.
I don’t think anyone on this forum is going to say no, lol.