# Contents of glove compartments, and/or gentlemen’s rules for living **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082 "2004-12-16T03:27:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/21 "2004-12-16T17:16:43Z")
Acceptable contents should also include “insurance card” if you live in a state that requires proof of insurance. > [@](#): > > Forget quirks – the owner’s manual should be in there, for the benefit of the driver and anyone who needs to work on the car. Anyone who stores the owner’s manual outside the car is a fool. Agreed. But the last 3 cars I’ve owned all came with owner’s manuals that were too large for the glove box, at least when kept in the case intended to hold the manual and supplemental papers, separate stereo manual, etc. Mine currently lives in the mesh basket in back of the driver’s seat. Changing tires: A few decades back, when I took Driver Ed in high school, they had “changing a tire” as part of the course. They’d pick a nice, dry day and have one student change the tire on the training car before a driving session while the others watched (we went out in groups of three with a teacher). The teacher would always pick a girl if there was one in the group, ostensibly on the theory that the guys were more likely to already be familiar with the process. So, every so often you would see a Driver’s Ed teacher and a couple guys standing around in the parking lot watching Suzy change a tire. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/22 "2004-12-16T17:38:04Z")
Well, my dad is the same age, and he does keep a pretty clean glove compartment - manual, maps, registration, etc. He keeps tissues in the center console. (He does not wear sleeve garters - he grew up quite poor and by the time he might have needed them they would have gone out, I imagine.) One thing I’ve got a question about, though, is that also in his glove compartment he keeps a little notebook in which he records every single damned thing that happens to the car. Service, tire inflation, gas, etc. Now, I keep service records in there - fold the receipt up and toss it in, but he’s got (and has had all my life) this crazy anal retentive bookpeeing thing going on. When I started driving he told me to do it too - although I see certain benefits there, I don’t. Do other dads in their 70’s do this? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/23 "2004-12-16T17:43:11Z")
:smack: BookKEEPING. My dad does not have a habit of bookpeeing. My mom would kick him out of the house or lock him in the laundry room at night with the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/24 "2004-12-16T19:27:35Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Does your father in law wear garters with his socks, and those coiled spring bracelety things that keep shirt sleeves tidy? Those are relics of the age that my father used to wear. I wear those all the time, and I was born in the 1970s. It turns out that they’re called “shirt garters” and pretty much everyone in the US military wears them to keep their uniform tidy. I loaned a pair to my college roommate for a date, and he loved 'em. I’ve taken to wearing them with any dress shirt; when you take off your jacket, your shirt looks freshly-pressed, and is perfectly tucked. “Sharp” and “classy” are the words that come to mind; the resulting strain on my shoulders also gives me the ability to empathize with large-breasted women – when you can commisserate with a woman about her bra, you are halfway to helping her out of it. 🆒 Then the only problem is looking suave when you take off your pants and there are straps of elastic running from your shirt-tails to your socks. :eek: For reference, my dad was born at the end of WWII and raised by a Perfect Homemaker[sup]TM[/sup] of a mother who would put out an extra fork with dinner if she was serving a salad. Other quirks I’ve picked up that not many guys do these days: - Stand for a woman at the table (or when a woman is introduced at a party) - Never wear hats indoors or while eating - Hold the door for a lady - Always carry a pen - Shoes and belt must always match - Always tie a half-Windsor (four-in-hand is for boys learning to tie; clip-ons are for cretins) - When invited out for dinner, assume that the dress code is coat-and-tie; you can hang up the coat and take off the tie if the host is not similarly attired. - Wait for the hostess or the host’s female companion to order first at dinner. - Never order drinks or dessert when someone else is paying, unless they order first, or if they specifically invite you to “order whatever you’d like.” Sometimes a person “must” host a dinner for social reasons, but may not have the means to buy each diner an additional $7.00 drink and a $7.50 piece of cheesecake. …and so on. There are hundreds of little intangibles like how you know what to wear to a party or dinner, what sorts of things you do and don’t talk about when you’re a guest. My family is _very_ aware of “hospitality” rules (being the Host is a Big Deal) and so I always impressed the mothers of the girls I knew. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/25 "2004-12-16T19:52:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > One thing I’ve got a question about, though, is that also in his glove compartment he keeps a little notebook in which he records every single damned thing that happens to the car. Service, tire inflation, gas, etc. **I** do this, and I was born in 73. My father told me to do this, though I think he has since stopped. He used to send them back to GM and got money back, though only a few hundred, when he bought a new car. I’ve never sent mine in, then again I’ve only ever owned two cars. It helps to show me when the last time I changed the oil, what kind of gas mileage I get, all the good stuff. The only things in my glove box are my insurance papers, registration, and manual, though I don’t really see the point in that as most of it is for as there is only basic operating instructions for the car, and a bit of maintence. I never get into the glove box except to get at my book. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/26 "2004-12-16T20:14:05Z")
My grandfather, born in 1912, always liked to keep a small bottle of brandy in the glove box. I can see the utility of that, but I don’t dare try it. My glove box always has a cigar cutter, matches or a lighter, and a bottle opener. Usually a couple of fuses too, though by some quirk there is a good chance it’s already blown. What sort of dunce would keep a used fuse? Uh, that would be me. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/27 "2004-12-18T02:55:25Z")
> [@E. Thorp](#): > > My father-in-law, who is 73, has what his family consider a strange quirk: he will not abide the presence of anything in the glove compartment of his car except maps, gloves, sunglasses, and the car’s registration. They’re even stacked in a specific order. > In fact, I don’t seriously expect an answer to the tissues question, but I’d like to know how, around 50 years ago in the middle classes or so, a man was taught to be a man, or a “gentlemen.” Sounds like he’s just set in his ways. GLOVES in a glove compartment, I’m amazed. I’ve owned 8 cars and I’ve never put gloves there and I’ve never known anyone to do that. When I need gloves (due to cold weather) I wear them and don’t leave them in the car. What type of gloves does one put there? How common is that? [Slight hijack?] ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/28 "2004-12-18T03:53:42Z")
I keep a pair of gloves in my truck - and not in the glove box. :smack: They’d interfere with my more-or-less tidy setup in there. They’re under one of the seats. I’m not sure which one, because I can’t remember the last time I needed them. They’re really there in case I get stranded in cold weather, which doesn’t happen often in Long Beach. If I’m going into the mountains where I know it’ll be cold, I take the nicer pair that lives in the pocket of my heavy jacket (which itself rarely leaves the closet). ---
**Author:** ![Tanach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@Tanach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/29 "2004-12-18T04:43:27Z")
I keep a small amount of anti-matter in my glove box. I just can’t get enough of watching my friends go digging in the glove box for a tissue, only to annihilate the universe as we know it. Aaahhh, good times. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/30 "2004-12-18T08:22:17Z")
One thing you **don’t** want to keep in your glovebox are condoms. On a winter evening, the last thing you want on your private parts is a rolled-lubricated-semi-icecube. :eek: My girlfriend had a great laugh, though. To all of you who keep your registration in the glovebox-aren’t you concerned about theft of the vehicle? My Dad always carried the registration in his wallet and had a copy made for Mom. When I started driving the family car, he had an extra copy ordered for me. I understand that absence of a card doth not theft preclude-I’m thinking that someone operating a MV who can’t produce a registration may draw greater scrutiny by a LEO. Perhaps **Badge** or **Loach** could comment on that. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/31 "2004-12-18T12:09:44Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Then the only problem is looking suave when you take off your pants and there are straps of elastic running from your shirt-tails to your socks. :eek: Never heard of those. I think **Bippy** was asking about armbands that you wear on your biceps. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/32 "2004-12-18T13:41:26Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > To all of you who keep your registration in the glovebox-aren’t you concerned about theft of the vehicle? My Dad always carried the registration in his wallet and had a copy made for Mom. When I started driving the family car, he had an extra copy ordered for me. The registration merely shows that the car is legally registered. It has absolutely nothing to do with proof of ownership. That’s that the title is for. Your father was, frankly, being foolish. Of course, most of us only see the title when the finance company sends it to us when the car is paid off – so we only have it for a week or two before we trade the car in… ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/33 "2004-12-18T20:18:21Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > The registration merely shows that the car is legally registered. It has absolutely nothing to do with proof of ownership. That’s that the title is for. Your father was, frankly, being foolish. I neither stated nor inferred that the registration was a proof of ownership. It is my belief that possession of the registration is evidentiary that you have permission of the vehicle owner to be operating it. ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/34 "2004-12-19T00:42:13Z")
Registration, proof of insurance, owners manual, tire guage. Nothing else. The goal is to never have to open the glove box. If you have stuff in there that makes you want to open the glove box, then almost by definition you have enough stuff in there that it makes it a pain to get it to close easily. And tissues in the glove box? Ahhh (Slam on brakes, pull car over) Ahhhh (fumble with glove box door) ahhhh (reach in and grab box) CHOOOOOOO!!! (Pull tissue out of box and use it to clean off the tissue box. Realize that tissues should be within grabbing range.) Spilled ice cream? Easy solution. We don’t eat ice cream in the car. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/35 "2004-12-19T04:29:57Z")
> [@BoringDad](#): > > Spilled ice cream? Easy solution. We don’t eat ice cream in the car. And that’s why you’re not called SuperCoolDad. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/36 "2004-12-19T04:42:03Z")
You should be able to grab your registration before the policeman at a roadblock gets to your door. If the glovebox allows that, you’re all right. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/37 "2004-12-20T20:45:28Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > It is my belief that possession of the registration is evidentiary that you have permission of the vehicle owner to be operating it. Anyone who can steal a vehicle can steal registration paperwork. I don’t believe any court in the land would consider possession of the registration to be admissible evidence of permission to operate the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/38 "2004-12-20T20:51:00Z")
> [@Fuji Kitakyusho](#): > > Contents of my own: > > registration > > I have to say I agree with your father-in-law. The glove box is not a place where extraneous crap should accumulate. Mine too…although I do keep receipts for car repairs + the owner’s manual (where do you keep that?) in there. Also, **Bippy** : I can change my tire (tyre 😃 ) ss in I know how, but most of the time it takes more strength to undo the bolts then I have in my poky little hands. Everyone should know how to do this, though, and jump their car as well, and keep jumper cables. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/39 "2004-12-20T21:22:07Z")
My father keeps only mandated-by-him items in the glove compartment, including a small notepad where he writes down mileage at every fill-up. He is very much a control freak and picky about everything being in its place in general. When he was growing up, he was fined a nickel by his dad if he was caught without his handkerchief, so he carries one to this day. He also walks on the street side of the sidewalk when escorting me around the city. He uses shoe trees and only recently gave up shirts which required plastic stays in the collar. :: off to see what treasures are hidden in my cluttered glove compartment:: ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082/40 "2004-12-20T22:02:24Z")
The complete and constant content’s of the glove compartment of my **fabulous Oldsmobile Delta 88:** Owner’s manual Car registration Proof of insurance Duct tape [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contents-of-glove-compartments-and-or-gentlemen-s-rules-for-living/280082.md?page=3)