# Dubious skills you have... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249 "2006-05-10T17:49:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/41 "2006-05-11T18:53:11Z")
I can wiggle my ears, raise my left eyebrow independently of my right (but not the other way around), and do that clover thing with my tongue. (Three leaves, not five.) Also I have an acute sense of smell. If I walk around the neighbourhood at dinner hour I can identify what’s on the menu in many of my neighbours’ houses. This is sometimes a nice thing and sometimes … not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/42 "2006-05-11T19:00:28Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I have super hearing. I’ll hear someone whispering two rooms away. This is supposed to be about things that have limited usefulness. Obviously, if you have super powers, those are useful. Maybe you should start a thread called “What super powers do you have?” so that you can form a colony with other super-humans dedicated to learning how to channel and direct their powers, for the good of mankind. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/43 "2006-05-11T19:05:00Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > IANAD, but I would bet this is directly related to your OP. If your nervous system doesn’t get the “hunger pangs” that most of us experience, you don’t feel the need to eat. I think this is probably why I’m so flexable as well. I can turn myself into a pretzel and not actually feel a stretch, per se. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/44 "2006-05-11T19:28:47Z")
Like **Arien** , I don’t drink very much and therefore I urinate infrequently (and can also hold it for pretty long if I want/need to). When my company moved into this building I think it was a week before I saw the inside of the ladies’ room. I’ve never had to leave my seat at the movies, orchestra, or theatre to use the bathroom. I can go out with friends, have a little dinner and a couple of beers, and never go to the restroom. Etc., etc. I guess it’s useful, but I wind up a little impatient sometimes with people who seem to _always_ need the bathroom (like my mother). I’m another one with “Name That Tune” abilities, and like **Freudian\_Slip** I can also tell if a song is not in the original key. That actually does come in handy for me sometimes, because I’m a singer and can tell if the band has started a song in the “wrong” key. Along those lines I’m also very good at distinguishing between alternate versions of songs, and I notice minor changes to television commercials. I’m very good at recognizing voices, too, especially famous ones. ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/45 "2006-05-11T20:24:44Z")
1. I can crack the knuckle on my right big toe over and over and over. 2. I can hear the high pitch whine of a television or monitor, even if it’s muted or not receiving any signal, from anywhere in a house. I’ll walk into a house and know instantly whether a television is on. I’ve surprised people by telling them that they left their computer monitor on in the back room, and I’ve never been wrong. 3. I can “sleep” with my eyes open. My eyes lose all focus and my thoughts slow waaaay down, but I can just sit somewhere, eyes open and staring at nothing, for hours upon hours. My ears fill up with this sort of white noise (?) and I can’t hear much anymore. It’s obvious if someone talks to me that something isn’t normal, but on the outside I look awake, if slightly dazed and motionless. It has no practical application other than sleeping in meetings, and god help you if you get called on to speak because waking up from it can be just as hard as normal sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/46 "2006-05-11T20:27:02Z")
> [@Grossbottom](#): > > 1. I can crack the knuckle on my right big toe over and over and over. I can do that with my left big toe, with a very loud “crack.” ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/47 "2006-05-11T20:40:06Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I can do that with my left big toe, with a very loud “crack.” And I’m aware of pain while highly tolerant to it. That’s neat, we’re like Wonder Twin powers activate. Can you hear your toe cracking through leather shoes? I can, but it’s muffled and quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/48 "2006-05-11T20:45:49Z")
> [@Grossbottom](#): > > And I’m aware of pain while highly tolerant to it. That’s neat, we’re like Wonder Twin powers activate. Can you hear your toe cracking through leather shoes? I can, but it’s muffled and quiet. Yes, I can. Sometimes I do it in public and watch people trying to figure out what the noise is and where it’s coming from. Hello, **Grossbottom** twin. Do you have good hearing? ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/49 "2006-05-11T22:43:52Z")
> [@dwalin](#): > > I can crack pretty much every joint in my body except my hips. Grosses people out sometimes. I can also read for hours (and I do mean _hours_) on end and not notice how long it’s been. Me too! the cracking comes in handy too after all that reading, I stand up crack all my various 2000 parts and settle back down with the book. I can crack my hips though 😃 I can read a book and watch a movie at the same time as well. (and understand both) ---
**Author:** ![kalex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dfb087/32.png) [@kalex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kalex)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/50 "2006-05-12T03:28:56Z")
I can crack my hips too, and my shoulders. It’s disgusting, but feels wonderful. I can almost always provide the perfect TV sitcom punchline in any conversation. I have to force myself not to do it and just talk to people As one of my best ever program directors (when I was a DJ, and there weren’t many good ones) said to me, “Everything doesn’t have to be funny.” ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/51 "2006-05-12T19:00:12Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > Ok, **ArrMatey** , can you tell me something- what is the etymology of the word “etymology”? I’ve wondered that for years. It’s from Greek, meaning the meaning, or more importantly, ‘True meaning’ of a word. _sigh_ So many brain cells, so little actual usefulness. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/52 "2006-05-12T19:38:06Z")
I have a tremendous ability to remember useless information. People ask me how to spell words and read me crossword clues, but nobody wants to play trivia games with me. I can move the last section of either thumb nearly 180 degrees. Useless, and it may have contributed to my tendinitis. I seem to move quietly, and because I’m tall, I startle people just by walking up to them. It seems easy and simple to me, but when I fold up a beer can with my fingers, some people are amazed. It’s not macho, it’s only origami. My wife can do it. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/53 "2006-05-13T08:57:51Z")
I can take my ear, fold it over and tuck it inside my “ear hole”. And then make it pop out at will. Everyday I scan the classified ads for business looking for a man with my talents. One day, it’s gonna make me very, very rich. In the meantime, it’s always good for making my daughter screamand run out of the room shouting “gross, gross, gross!” mm ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/54 "2006-05-13T13:01:10Z")
Having had tuberculosis, I can hawk loogers that should have their own zip codes, and my hiccups can be heard three rooms away. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/55 "2006-05-13T17:46:28Z")
I learned, from playing countless shooter games and from shooting air rifles and arrows, that I’d probably make a pretty good sniper. I think I got it from my mom. She doesn’t do it anymore, but my dad told me that when she was my age she was so proficient with a crossbow that their buddies at the shooting range called her Annie Oakley. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/56 "2006-05-13T20:31:14Z")
For all of you that can go a long time without eating… I can eat an awful lot. Very fast. junky, greasy stuff. Often. And I don’t gain weight, cholesterol or gut problems from it. I’m already in my mid-forties, so I assume this bad habit is going to catch up with me soon, and I’ll be in deep doo-doo. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249/57 "2006-05-13T21:17:31Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > 1. I can tie a hangman’s noose. Trouble is, am almost never called upon to do so. However, if I’m ever invited to a lynching party… > > 2. I can recite the “Peter Piper” tongue-twister faster than anybody else I know. Trouble is, it’s difficult to work into ordinary conservation. > > 3. I know the entire dirty version of “Dangerous Dan McGrew.” Same trouble as No.2 Now, if you could recite Abdul Abulbul Amir that would be something. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-skills-you-have/356249.md?page=2)