# Do you know what all the keys on your key chain are for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577 "2010-06-17T17:28:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/61 "2010-07-12T01:34:31Z")
Hakuna Matata, Do you own a bicycle you rarely ever ride? Perhaps the unknown key is for your bicycle lock? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/62 "2010-07-12T22:33:09Z")
Which one of you has the key to my heart? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/63 "2010-07-13T15:15:16Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Which one of you has the key to my heart? I think it’s in the drawer with my bike room key. Sorry, did you want that back? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/64 "2010-07-13T17:46:20Z")
Yup - 4 keys all accounted for: House Car Car “Club” Bike lock A couple of folk said they enter their house using their garage door opener. Just curious - what would you do if the power went out while you were out? ---
**Author:** ![drumfun101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@drumfun101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drumfun101)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/65 "2010-07-13T18:03:38Z")
dude… I definitely have keys I cannot identify… I’m pretty sure that they are very important too… Like the master keys to the university i attended… shit like that… but since i don’t go there, there isn’t any real point in keeping them… I guess I should just pitch them… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/66 "2010-07-13T18:18:56Z")
I not only know what all of them are for, I can tell you what they all do without even looking: car front door mailbox back door ex-wife’s house (for emergencies) girlfriend’s house work And don’t go reading anything into the order. They’re in that order to keep the ones I use most often (car, front door, work, girlfriend’s house) closest to the outsides. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/67 "2010-07-13T19:18:54Z")
Damn, I was so sure I’d get them all. Apartment key Girlfriend’s place key Filing cabinet Work truck ??? School ‘master’ key #X42 (opens specific kinds of doors) Master lab key School master #4 Mailbox Garage Subaru Lab master #EW7 Handcuff key (for sexytime, a backup in case I lose the others) ??? Mysterious work related, had a label too faded to read. Various charms, an LED light and a small 4GB USB stick. I’ve always been fascinated with other people’s keys… As a child I was amazed by the hedgehog of brass and steel that grownups effortlessly navigated I have a strong suspicion that you could plot keys on one’s keyring versus age and get a sigmoid curve. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/68 "2010-07-13T19:23:57Z")
Since this got bumped…turns out the key was to my dad’s house. I was visiting him this last weekend and somewhere along the line he obviously gave me a key to his house. I just don’t remember him doing that. But I now know what all the keys on my chain are for! ---
**Author:** ![SpecialAgentJem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@SpecialAgentJem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpecialAgentJem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/69 "2010-07-13T21:16:17Z")
After much thought I can finally say yes to this question. Heres my list! - key for my flat - key for my flat (main front door) - key for the laundry room - key for the windows - keys for the lobby - mil house key - car key - the gate key for my buildings car park - the key for my works main building - my locker key at asda (i havent worked at asda since 2005 - i just dont have the heart to take it off!) - my hello kitty diary key - two keys for my parents front door Think thats it! Thats a lotta keys! ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/70 "2010-07-13T23:37:07Z")
Keyring the first: ignition key; club™ key. Keyring the second: LED illuminator; 3 work keys; keys for a lock that used to be on storage unit #1; storage unit #2; personal mailbox; house key; storage unit #1; mystery key #1; mystery key #2; mystery key #3. (Actually I might know what those last three are for but I haven’t had occasion to use them in forever.) Keyring the third: motel room. It seems I have too many keys. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/71 "2010-07-14T00:41:18Z")
Car key, apartment key, garage key, mailbox key, firebox key, (work) desk key. In the toolbox is a ring that has padlock keys for the padlocks that are in the toolbox. When those padlocks are actually locking something, the key(s) are on the keyring. I don’t keep for more than a month or so old or unused keys. They get returned to whoever needs them or thrown away, as appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/72 "2010-07-14T07:25:14Z")
Three keys: house, car, bike lock. Until last month I had four, the fourth being the key to the front door at work; I assume I’ll get a few new keys when I finally land a teaching job. When I was doing my student teaching I had two more keys. One was to the locking drawer of my desk. The other unlocked my office door, the door to the corridor with the faculty offices, the faculty toilets, the film room in the library, and every single classroom in the building. On the same key. No way _that_ could possibly go wrong, right? :smack: (And you’ll understand why I kept all valuables on my person or in the locking drawer of my desk, at all times.) ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577/73 "2010-07-14T10:54:38Z")
- House Key - Bedroom Key (my roommates are ok, but their friends I can’t be too sure of) - Car Key - PO BOX #1 - PO BOX #2 - Key to Safe (one of those fireproof things, not really a typical safe) - Key to storage room (side of house, exterior) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-all-the-keys-on-your-key-chain-are-for/543577.md?page=3)