# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 176
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3501 "2026-10-15T16:20:02Z")
I watch all kinds of sports, but I refuse to watch soccer in any form, at any time, played by any species. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3502 "2026-10-15T16:41:09Z")
> [@RollOutTheBarrel](#): > > I selected that I think it’s rude when the person ahead of me doesn’t put down the divider in the checkout lane, but my answer is a little more nuanced than that. It only bothers me when I can’t reach the divider. That makes sense. I mostly grocery shop at two places. One doesn’t have a conveyor belt at all, so it’s moot. On the other, i can reach the divider whether I’m in front or behind, so I’m indifferent to who puts it down. If it’s not there when room opens up, i do it, i think. But honestly, it’s such a minor thing I’m not even sure who usually does that. But if i could reach, and u was standing there waiting to be able to set out my groceries, I’d care. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3503 "2026-10-15T17:14:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > i found the author condescending to his readers. He made a number of untrue assumptions about me. (Of course you wouldn’t eat a well prepared dish of insects! ) And assumed i didn’t know things that i know. I just found him annoying, despite the topic being theoretically interesting As you’ve thanked him for the intention, I don’t think you need to say anything unless the giver asks you about it. If they do, I think I’d say I found the topic interesting but the tone unpleasant; and I’d probably ask if they’d read it. > [@RollOutTheBarrel](#): > > It only bothers me when I can’t reach the divider. If the cashier places the divider next to them, the person ahead of me can reach it and I can’t. That means there will be space to place my groceries on the conveyor belt as the other person’s groceries move forward, but I can’t put them down because the divider is not in place In that situation, I wait for some space to open up on the belt, leave some of the space open, put my shopping bags down as a divider, and start unloading behind the bags. I keep an eye out in case the cashier seems confused about whose bags they are, but that doesn’t usually happen. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3504 "2026-10-15T17:29:43Z")
In my professional life, i often describe several numbers, and often, i describe them in millions. $3.2M of this and $1.7M if that… If one of several numbers is less than a million, it may get included as $0.3M. So describing numbers that way is something I’ve done. But if the highest number I’m interested in is less than $1M, I’ll probably describe everything in thousands (or just in dollars, if the largest number is reasonably described that way.) So, strange, but nothing wrong with it. And maybe fine, depending on the context. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3505 "2026-10-15T17:29:57Z")
My “other” for the earthquake drill was “be slightly annoyed,” because I got phone call, email, and text. Any one of the three would have been sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3506 "2026-10-15T17:51:36Z")
In the first moment of the earthquake drill, my heart rate shot up and I felt a little panic. Then I realized it was announcing it was a drill, and I also remembered hearing about it a few days prior. After that, I ignored it. It took a minute or two for my heart rate to come down to normal. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3507 "2026-10-15T18:07:35Z")
Fractions of a [Smoot.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3508 "2026-10-15T18:57:44Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Asking how you voted is rude. Asking if you voted is not. > > I hold the door for someone because it lets me smugly congratulate myself for my moral superiority. It does not create any obligation on their part. > > I always figured the divider stick was my job, not theirs. > > Under the traditional rules of etiquette, a verbal thank-you is not adequate. A written note is required. I am rude far more often than I should be. > > If someone does not eat a particular item, that leaves more for those of us that do like it. Not a problem. I agree- mostly- to all of these. Except the “smugly” part. I would prefer a verbal thank you, in fact. > [@RollOutTheBarrel](#): > > It only bothers me when I can’t reach the divider. If the cashier places the divider next to them, the person ahead of me can reach it and I can’t. That is more annoying that rude, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3509 "2026-10-15T19:08:32Z")
I have walked Harvard Bridge just to see the Smoot markings. Great story. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3510 "2026-10-15T20:40:51Z")
If you can’t reach the divider, just leave a divider-sized gap. You’re going to be able to reach it long before the cashier gets to your groceries, then just drop it in. I can’t think of a cashier that can ring things up faster than I can unload the cart. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3511 "2026-10-15T20:57:14Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I can’t think of a cashier that can ring things up faster than I can unload the cart. I believe this is likely true, but try grocery shopping in Germany sometime if you want to put that to a test. It’s kinda terrifying the first time they start flinging groceries at you at high speed. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3512 "2026-10-15T21:26:15Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I believe this is likely true, but try grocery shopping in Germany sometime if you want to put that to a test. I’d like to give that a try. I feel like my talents are wasted in the US League. * * * I have to revise my previous post. I stand in front of the cart, which is probably atypical. I could see how someone behind the cart might not be able to reach the divider without ramming the person in front of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=175)