# Do really mundane things sometimes fascinate you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317 "2008-01-12T19:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/1 "2008-01-12T19:18:13Z")
One thing that has given me a warm fuzzy feeling of “Isn’t this cool” is the concept of ownership… and how we hold it dearly as a society… Yet all it takes to change ownership of something is a will of the owner to give it to someone else. It might seem obvious. We believe that the ownership of an object is a major abstract property of that product. It’s _important_ that it has an owner. And we react strongly to that object being taken without the owner’s consent. Whole societal laws exist for it… And yet… Anyone can legally change this fundemental abstract status of an object, simply by giving it to someone else. Just by physically handing over something and saying “Here, have this” Name things that… normally we take for granted… but sometimes fascinate you if you happen to be thinking about them with the right mindset. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/2 "2008-01-12T19:29:19Z")
Once in a while I will suddenly have a very brief “Oh my god!” reaction to, well, everything. It’s like I’m suddenly in one instant briefly aware of how complex and progressed society is and how amazing the world is compared to how it was for millions of years before and I’m stunned. And then it ends and I go back to whatever I was doing, like driving or doing the dishes. It happens about every couple weeks. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/3 "2008-01-12T21:02:00Z")
The sheer amount and variety of choice there is in modern civilization. A pioneer woman might have 2, maybe 3 dresses. Now we dismiss dresses on the littlest thing that does meet our approval or reflect our taste, for example. Dialing Europe or similar on the phone awes me sometimes (I still remember clearly having to wait until after 10pm to make long distance calls–cheaper at that time), as does hopping on a plane in Chicago and landing at Heathrow/Singapore/Moscow/Sydney etc. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/4 "2008-01-12T21:19:43Z")
Similar to **Alice the Goon** ’s revelation, sometimes I’ll look at large crowds of people, like people at football games on TV and think “Look at all those people, with their separate lives.” I’ll see a guy in the marching band and wonder if he’d rather be on the field, or I’ll look at a cheerleader and wonder if she’s worried that she might be pregnant, and that guy with the Viking hat – is he in a job he hates? Sometimes I give them happy lives, but usually not. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/5 "2008-01-12T21:23:06Z")
The Internet is a remarkable change in the nature of communication that seems to have become ingrained into our societies with great rapidity. Another thing I was pondering recently was newspaper and television advertising. There’s whole swathes of stuff (tech, ISPs, mobiles) being advertised nowadays that would be incomprehensible to the vast majority twenty years ago, and fifty years ago to all but the most visionary science fiction authors. Mundane stuff these days though. I guess it does really pay to “keep banging those rocks together”. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/6 "2008-01-12T21:32:28Z")
The whole world fascinates me, mundane or not. I hope it never stops. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/7 "2008-01-12T22:12:29Z")
It fascinates me that we can now establish voice communication _from_ virtually anywhere _to_ anywhere. We can call a friend and it turns out they were round the corner or sat behind us, or behind a door. It’s Star Trek badge communicators, but real. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/8 "2008-01-13T03:04:21Z")
Once there was a thread for normal things that suddenly seem intensely weird if you think of them in a certain way. The one that I remember was about pets: “We let _animals_ run around _in our house!_” ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/9 "2008-01-13T03:23:48Z")
Keeping an eye on what people say and comparing it to what they actually do. Right now, my working theory is that if you want to know the truth about someone, you consider the evidence in the following order: 1. What they do 2. What they don’t say 3. What they say 4. What other people say about them (which gives you info about both people) Then, draw the worst possible conclusion from your gathered data, and you’ve probably found the truth. By “worst possible” I mean, comparing to stuffy Victorian ideals. The opposite of human nature. ---
**Author:** ![DeathLlama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DeathLlama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeathLlama)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/10 "2008-01-13T03:46:24Z")
We humans do the strangest things. We take rocks, break them, heat them, combine the heated stuff with other stuff that someone else broke some rocks to get at and we make engine blocks. Or flutes. Or bullets. Or an AB Dick 360 offset printing press that my dad used to print up a bunch of envelopes for a doctor’s office where you go and let a _complete_ stranger inject you with something he says will help make you better, and, get this, you _believe_ the doctor just because he’s in a white coat and has an office with some framed pieces of paper on the wall. Now, if \*I \* walked up to you at a bus stop and had a white coat and a needle… ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/11 "2008-01-13T04:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] Once there was a thread for normal things that suddenly seem intensely weird if you think of them in a certain way. The one that I remember was about pets: “We let _animals_ run around _in our house!_” [/QUOTE] I’ve felt that way sometimes: “Our katie is a small… cat. Happily living in this house with us. She’s a _cat_! That’s weird” I sometimes have a similar reaction to urbanised animals such as pigeons. I see them casually wandering about on the street and it strikes me how odd this is, as if they have come to do some shopping. And sometimes the reverse is true… Something will make me think of people as just packs or herds of mammals exhibiting pack or herd behavour. For instance, in packs one of the pack will do something or make some sound and then the rest will make a repetitive vocal sound like ‘ha’ ‘hha’ which makes them feel good. edit: And every pack with have an alpha-male or alpha-female who’s natural inclination is to lead the pack. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/12 "2008-01-13T04:48:41Z")
Do you ever look at trees and think “Those are some **really** big plants!”? ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/13 "2008-01-13T04:57:47Z")
Lots of lights put together. Driving into Vegas from the south on interstate 95 gives you a pretty awesome feeling from about 20 miles away, even though lights in general aren’t too amazing. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/14 "2008-01-13T05:52:44Z")
Every time I think about it, I find it vaguely surprising that we can never know what another person is feeling, physically. I suppose if I punch you hard, my hand will hurt, but I can’t experience _your_ hurt shoulder. This inability used to kind of upset me when I was little. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/15 "2008-01-13T14:58:55Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Do you ever look at trees and think “Those are some **really** big plants!”? [/QUOTE] Yes! I’ve cut and processed or displosed of a lot of big trees (related to several hobbies). When I’m hauling or splitting or sawing or burning, I’m in awe of how much “matter” there is in a large tree. I’ve cut big oaks and gotten several saw logs from which I can make a stack of lumber, a couple of cords of firewood from the upper trunk and limbs, and one or two piles of small limbs and leaves. Trees are awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/16 "2008-01-13T16:46:10Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Do you ever look at trees and think “Those are some **really** big plants!”? [/QUOTE] That reminds me of one of my favourite [lolcats](http://icanhascheezburger.com/?s=y+dem+trees+on+dat+plate) ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/17 "2008-01-13T17:29:26Z")
Every once in a while, I stop and think … wait a minute. All of us has a bowl of water in our house. We go there, sit on it, expel our personal waste and then push a lever to just make it disappear forever. Sometimes we never even SEE our own waste. And almost none of us actually SEE where it goes, we just know it goes somewhere else and that someone else will know what to do with it. How weird is that? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/18 "2008-01-13T17:54:45Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] Every once in a while, I stop and think … wait a minute. All of us has a bowl of water in our house. We go there, sit on it, expel our personal waste and then push a lever to just make it disappear forever. Sometimes we never even SEE our own waste. And almost none of us actually SEE where it goes, we just know it goes somewhere else and that someone else will know what to do with it. How weird is that? [/QUOTE] It would seem weirder if our waste fertilized our local area and then we ate the ‘fruits’ of that which has been fertilized by our own poo. But yeah. It’s an unusual step up from our animalistic days. Doesn’t it seem weird that we cover our bodies in the processed fur and sometimes skin of other animals? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/19 "2008-01-13T18:00:48Z")
(Too late for edit…) And, Imagine an alternate reality where, instead of the Apes, the Alsation dogs (please don’t ask me why alsations… It’s just what my mind came up with) had evolved beyond walking on four legs… Imagine a vaguely dog-shaped furless body (except on the top of its head) sat in a leather-clad office chair, posting to an internet Message Board, about how weird it is that he has a pet Ape, that he uses a porcelain column to urinate against instead of a tree, and that he’s wearing the coloured, tailored fur of another animal. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317/20 "2008-01-13T18:12:02Z")
I confess I have been in the mall or wherever and looked around at all the people and thought: each of these people have their own places to live; they all got up and got dressed today; they all used a toilet. The thought of all these people, all doing the same things, repeated in endless patterns over the world disturbs me. I have also thought that each of these people came out of a woman and then my thoughts loop away and I think that perhaps we are as ants to yet something (one?) else; perhaps there is another species within the universe that is watching us and deriving amusement and education from our behavior patterns–and that thought feels so primeval and strange that I push it away. God knows what Freud would have said about these thoughts… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-really-mundane-things-sometimes-fascinate-you/433317.md?page=2)