This is a phenomenon that's been repeated throughout history, every generation, almost every person has done something like this. I know people who've done the absolutely ridiculous just because they're bored and feel the need to do something interesting to make their life a little less "blah".
A few sites I've been known for frequenting feature what are known as "viral videos" in which the stars do remarkable, interesting, stupid, or otherwise crazy things for 5 minutes of attention from their viewers. Needless to say, some things are best not watched.
Some of the stories here are definitely stories of illogical things done in the name of feel-good or fun. Some of these stories include "Why masturbating with Icy Hot is a bad idea", "bald", and many others. Some of these things are influenced by altered state of awareness, like climbing a tree for fear of hurting hallucinatory bunnies, as in "How to get a Goth out of a tree" or randomly traveling to Mexico from the REMF story "I was a prisoner in a Mexican Whorehouse".
I'll even admit to having done (and still continue to do) some very ridiculous things to make myself feel better. A few times I even tried icy hot for... that in ages long past. I used to regularly occasionally take off my shoes and shirt and go running barefoot down a dirt road outside of my home whilst howling at the moon and growling like a wild animal. I used to (and I'm sure lots of others among us have) crank up the music in my car and put my foot to the pedal and the pedal to the floor, just to see how fast my car could go.
As for my conclusion, I think it's all because of the curious "what if" factor that prods, asks, pries, and begs the question. We wonder what would happen if we did actually do that, and the animal mind, the Id says "let's try it!"