As an adult, what seemingly childish things do you get excited about?

My neighbors have a turkey. Every time I walk through the kitchen I look out the window to see if she's in our yard. If so, I run out to pet her.

Also, if I'm working outside she trots over to see what's going on and, of course, I have to stop to pet her for 15 minutes.

She just walks up to me and sits down expecting pets.

Stone paths. I was hiking in a large state park recently and came on a stretch of path that a seriously skilled stonemason built. It was beautiful. I stood there for ten minutes looking at how perfectly they matched the stones together.

Zoo's and aquariums, fucking love animals.

I like exploring old buildings like churches and hotels. I feel like architecture has been optimized so much to fire codes that most modern buildings have pretty boring layouts. But older buildings are completely batshit in their designs sometimes. Like woah there's a second little staircase down here that goes to a single room not accessible by anywhere else, or just random little hallways to nowhere. Also secret little closets everywhere, it's way more fun.

Trees! Those big, old giants which make you feel like they are indeed harboring some ancient wisdom, being there, in the same spot years before you, barely brushed by the passing of time. And then if they are evergreen not even season affects them - they just keep on existing, all tall and gracious. How awesome is that.

Seeing the moon and stargazing in general. Oh and everytime I see a picture come back from the Perseverance Rover. I just look at them in absolute wonder and still find it unbelievable that we have clear pictures coming back from Mars. Every new picture is like Xmas for me.

My children are old enough for Lego now.

I'm more excited for their Lego christmas gifts then they will be!

Not exactly childish but, assembling furniture. I’m excited when I buy furniture that arrives disassembled because I get to look at the instructions and build it myself. I guess it resonates with setting up and assembling toys, just with adult things instead.

SNOW!!!!!

Movies about giant monsters or giant robots or ideally both. I love Pacific Rim, Godzilla, Jurrasic Park, Transformers, Robot Jox, etc. etc. etc. I don't care about plot or a coherent story I just want to see giant things fucking up shit.

Sometimes I get served ads for toys and I'm like "I fucking want that."

There are so many kick-ass toys right now I wish existed when I was a kid. 😩

Metro. Train go underground, yay! Probably helps that where I'm from they're pretty tidy.

Mechanical items being repaired. It didn't work as it was supposed to, now it does, magical, you healed it! (Sometimes it's even me being the magician.)

I turned 41 this year. First snowflakes of the season still put a huge grin on my face.

Planes

Steam locomotives. I still get giddy like a little kid when I get to see one in a museum. Real life is even better. Heck I'll go out of my way to see model trains if there's a steam engine somewhere in the display.

Honestly so much stuff I don't even know where to start. The world is amazing!

Blankets, bubblebaths, colouring in, making a mess, making stuff out of mess, chocolate, jigsaws, road trips, snowy days, macaroni cheese, exploring new places, playing games, giving and receiving hugs, dancing just because, wearing big whooshy skirts and making them go whoosh, cuddling dogs, cake, rollercoasters, ok you probably get the idea.

Also I got to go on a reeeeally big boat this year, that was awesome.

Vehicles used in a fictional setting in an unconventional way. Sky pirates in a wooden ship for example, or space trains, etc

I'm about to harvest my first batch of vegetables in a very old MMO.

In-universe lore. Of any franchise or story really. I love good world-building. Even if it's just some funny details or references.

You can imagine the first time, as a kid, watching a marvel movie and recognising Stan Lee, I was very excited. Little did I know this was a running gag.

I still get really excited every time I get on a plane. Like it's so cool. Giant flying machine transports hundreds of humans in the sky.

Doors. Specifically doors in obscure places. Think maintenance accesses and such. I like to imagine that they’re less mundane than they are.

Im 50 years old. I watched Trolls 3, Wish, and Leo all in the same week. I have not seen Openheimer nor do i wish to.

I havent seen Barbie either, but when it shows up on streaming I might.

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I love going to the toy aisles in stores or to toy stores with my daughter. I don't even have the excuse of looking to buy something for her anymore because she's 13. We both just love looking at toys. There are so many cool toys. Also, so many toys to make fun of.

Riding my bicycle!

Shit, now I want to go for a ride...

Seeing my friends.

Cool rocks.

New video games coming out soon (Tekken 8!)

Finding new pretty things to wear.

Baking treats.

Having a whole day to myself with no interruptions to do what I like.

Setting up a new computer.

Something about wiring it up, setting up the environment and configuring the desktop to do just what I want is a lot of work, but so rewarding!

Chocolate milk.

I don't get it often, but I get psyched when I decide it's time.

Dragonflies! They're so cool. Their wings are amazing and it's like they're nature's small attack helicopters. The body is colorful.

Climbing things! Trees, walls, playground equipment. Just the idea of being able to get up there from here gets me excited. Same thing with tunnels and other out of the way places. I just love to explore places where I'm not supposed to be ever since I was little and I never really lost that.
Of course nowadays I can't be seen climbing on someone's roof or trying to scale a security fence without being seen as a trespasser. 😒

Snow on tree branches. To be shaken

OLED TVs, AV Receivers, game consoles/new games.

Driving through puddles. The bigger the better. The muddier the better. I get true child-like enjoyment from it on a real deep level.

But never to splash people. I’m not an asshole.

Fireflies. Cloud shapes. Snow. Cool rocks and leaves. Ladybirds. Dragonflies. Bubbles. Rainbows. Fairy doors

Snow.

I proper love snow. The crunch of it when you step on it, how nice everything looks covered in it. Sledding is my jam, and snow is the butter!

Snow. Every year I’m like a 10 year old when it snows.

Transformers. I loved them as a kid and still love them today. I love the action figures and the comics and the cartoons, but sorry Bayverse Transformers, hard pass on that shit.

Bath time, spinning tops, pizza, my dog, the feeling of safety when I hear my partner get home from work

Lightning. I'll leave my house every time to watch a storm for as long as it keeps up. It feels like the weather in my area has changed in the last 20 years so we don't get as many, but I love storms.

I sometimes like to ignore the sat nav and take another motorway in my city that is the only one with tunnels.

The tunnels run under the runway at our airport so I also like to see the planes flying in.

My friends think I’m weird but really who’s the weird one. I’m just taking pleasure in the simple things.

Seeing that sizzling fajita plate get set at my table when I'm really hungry.

When the dish soap makes bubbles.

Rainbows.

Cartwheels.

Bees, I love seeing bees.

I'm with you on bridges, will go at least slightly out of my way to drive over the Skyway just because it's so gorgeous.

Freight trains. The funny thing is that I was never really interested in them as a kid, only once I got into my early 20s. There's tons of adults who love trains, but for some reason it's still viewed as kind of a childish interest and I'm not sure why.

The last time I drove out to watch some I was kind of disappointed though. It's been a long time, so I was actually surprised that out of hundreds of freight containers, 90% of them are now just giant Amazon logos, and the other 10% are giant Walmart logos. It kind of sucks. The engines make it worth it though.

Inclement weather. Any kind really but the bigger, the better. Snow flurries, a really big thunderstorm, howling wind - I turn 5 years old again every time. Just overcome with excitement and fear and awe.

I am super impatiently awaiting a new set of wheels for my RC car to be delivered. I purchased them a while ago and it is taking ages! I want to finally finish my build and let it rip on the street!

I'm absolutely obsessed with dragons and dinosaurs. I just think big lizards go hard.

trains, squirrels and frogs

Poptarts, mise en place-ing what I wanna wear tomorrow, fuzzy bathrobes

Edit: great thread, OP

Minecraft

Geysers. My in-laws live in a geothermal area and there are active geysers that come and go not far from their home. I don't often spot one erupting, but it's exciting when I do.

Dogs are a big one, I can be furious while stuck in city traffic and then see a dog and I'm happy for a minute. Also those pajamas that have the feet covered and everything. Also cartoons and video games but I feel like those are more acceptable adult things nowadays

Abandoned buildings, especially theme parks. Extra points if its now all green. Yes there was a sub for this on the other site.

Plush toys. Just bought one of Spyro the Dragon and I'm waiting for production to start on the Apollo ones (if you're wondering, yeah, the one of the iOS app's mascot)

i took my mom and grandma on a driving tour of my city yesterday and she was beyond excited that we went over 2 bridges. for me, its snow.

I still count the cars on a passing train while I wait as it goes by.

Birds and wildlife in my neighborhood. I'm technically in suburbia, but enough old growth patches have been maintained that we have a surprising amount of wild animals that live in or travel through the neighborhood (Massachusetts, US)

Merlin app is amazing for identifying birds at the feeder I put on my back deck. And the rest of the animals, I mentally collect like Pokemon.

Helicopters. Every time.

Dart Blasters.

Like Nerf, but not Nerf, because nerf sucks. there's other off brands that make far better ones. Like I just got a mini gun like one, fully automatic 80 feet range

Santa is bring the heat this year. (I try to get my sons toys out and assembled and working before Christmas because nothing is worse than a toy that doesn't work on Christmas. Plus wrapping all that? Santa got no time for that

I love blimps and zeppelins. I could live in a zeppelin.

Trains, and sirens. Their history, the way they work and are put together, the rare units, all really fascinating to me. There's so much obscure information that is just waiting to be uncovered.

Solar panels, electrical stations, wind turbines, giant excavators, giant holes in the ground

Time travel in movies/shows

Pokemon Go. It makes a normal walk have a layer of catching pokemon on top of it.

Horses. My kids laugh at me.

Ice cream. Someone wants ice cream, I am happy to show them where to get some. And I might get some myself too. Any reason for ice cream is a good reason.

🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧

fireflies, it's so cool and give me the warm feeling, although there's a local myth at my place said that fireflies is the ghost eyes

pardon my english

Asian cakes. So much better than Western cakes, so light and fluffy, not too sweet and fruits are so fresh!

Buying and selling computer parts. I know it doesn't sound childish but I don't really make much, it's like 0.01 percent of my salary I get paid as a software developer.

Random people call me, I meet them, they buy some random PC parts and it just feels nice.

Bright colors! I will often be drawn towards the clothing section for kids because the patterns, colors, and styles are so much more fun!

And riding on trains. As a Brit living in the US, I miss train commuting a lot. Just sitting there watching the world whizz by, and for 4 minutes you're basically in a group with all the people in your carriage, like you're in school again, only this time it's like the Class of 19:07 to Woking.

Firework displays. Those things start and I am immediately a giddy 10 years old.

Pomegranate and yogurt.

App and OS updates.

Catching a fish. Even seeing someone else catch a fish, especially kids catching fish. There's nothing else quite like it. Pure excitement and joy.

Cool new tech & gadgets have always awakened the excited child in me.

frilly dresses. plush toys and collectible figures. cute pens/paper/stickers/markers.

New video game releases from Nintendo. I'm all grown up and primarily game on PC but I still buy pretty much every Zelda release and recently beat Super Mario RPG 2023.

Swimming. Pool, Ocean, Lake, River....all the above. I could swim all day.

Covered bridges are so cool. Once in a blue moon I see one.

I love just sitting and watching the rain. The fresh smell after a strong rain. The way everything gets cooler and darker just before to end in a myriad of colors afterwards.

New GTA game.

Money, if you show me money I will get excited and happy

Rainbows, shiny things, stuff that smells good, really bright colors (a lady I work with sometimes wears magenta sweaters and they make me happy), gears, bells, and flowers. Off the top of my head, but there's probably more.

I adore mechanical stuff that looks too complicated to comprehend on the first look, old sewing machines, old typewriters, mechanical calculators, knitting machines, clocks and watches, marble tracks etc. I was abysmal in school math, today I'm collecting old mechanical and electronic calculators and slide rules (and use them & show 'em to the kids at schools) Scales and maps are another obsession. Maybe because we were too poor for mechanical toys like Meccano or better Lego technic when I was a kid? Btw I loved the sesame street episode with the what-happens-next-machine as a very young kid. Then again, my wife says I have mild ADHD or something in that direction, idk.

Ice cream. Whether it is to calm myself down or to have a snack to enjoy, it is one of my favorite delicacies that I often am excited to eat.

Big vehicles. Esspecially old tanks, considering I'm a history nerd, but even just driving by a construction site or airport and seeing all the cool stuff.

Glitter and cotton candy.

Seeing furniture left out for trash pickup. As soon as I see it I immediately start plotting out how I could transport it and where it would fit in my house or what it could replace. Though in all likelihood, I never need it and I really never pick any of it up.

Thrifting too is a “thrill” sometimes when you find something really good, but you have to wade through alot of crap and anymore the prices are less likely to be a deal.

Sunlight reflecting off water and making beautiful moving light patterns on the wall and ceiling. It’s truly mesmerizing.

Once I seen a wheel cap rolls along it's car. It made me happy. We always see them on the road side. For once I seen it roll...

Cycling, video games and lego.

Finding new cleaning supplies that are actually useful

Anytime I see a new place I take in every detail

I like motorcycles. All motorcycles. Small, large, any brand from Aprilia to Zero. I like the way they sound, whether it's a little two stroke Vespa or a ratty old Shovelhead or a six-cylinder Goldwing. They're just so cool. And there are so many different engine configurations. Singles, parallel twins with 360, 270, or 180 degree cranks, V-Twins in several different angles and different crank splits, three bangers, four cylinders, even some with inline six or flat six engines. Just an entire mechanical symphony.

I like quiet bikes. I like loud bikes. I like electric bikes. Quiet ADV bikes, thundering cruisers, thumpy dual sports, screamy sport bikes, they're all so cool.

Passenger cars. Interestingly, I was always fascinated by them as a child, but as I grew older, my interest faded away. Many adults seem to disregard trains, perceiving them as solely for adults, which I find quite perplexing.

However, my recent trip to observe them was unexpectedly delightful. It's astonishing to see that among the numerous cars, only a small fraction, around 10%, display Amazon or Walmart logos, while the majority are diverse and unique. The engines were a bit disappointing, though.

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