# Entirely Benign, Appropriate Things That Make You Seethe **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102 "2021-05-28T17:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/223 "2021-06-16T01:12:10Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Cow-orker is not an insult. It’s a “Doperism” - one of those phrases that is commonly used here at the Straight Dope. I believe it derived from a misspelling once upon a time, and became a thing. No shame is intended. I thought it started as a Dilbert-ism. Tripler I could be wrong. Catbert has steered me wrong before. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/224 "2021-06-16T02:45:58Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I thought it started as a Dilbert-ism. I believe you are correct, but even if it’s not from Dilbert, it still is much bigger than just the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/225 "2021-06-16T03:24:07Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The singular is “datum”, and the plural is “data”. > > So if you’re saying “data” is singular, what should the plural be? In my mind, data is a singular substance composed of a lot of tiny pieces of data, like sugar or sand are composed of small grains. Datum is a word that has (in my personal limited experience) no further use in the practical world. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/226 "2021-06-16T03:33:50Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Datum is a word that has (in my personal limited experience) no further use in the practical world. I object! [Horizontal Datum](https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/horizontal/index.shtml#:~:text=A%20horizontal%20datum%20is%20a,the%20surface%20of%20the%20earth.) Though I agree with the rest of your post 😛 And I humbly submit “dataset” as a plural if one needs a different word, but data also works. Data is like sheep. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/227 "2021-06-16T04:09:32Z")
The term of art is > **[Collective noun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_noun)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing.\[citation needed\] For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people ("a group of people"), or dogs ("a group of dogs"), or objects ("a group of stones"). > Some collective nouns are specific to one kind of thing, especially terms of venery, which identify gro... ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/228 "2021-06-16T06:58:32Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The singular is “datum”, and the plural is “data”. > > So if you’re saying “data” is singular, what should the plural be? “Data sets” works for me as a plural as does “data point” to refer a single peice of data. I’m not making any claim about what anything _should_ be. I’m fully aware of what is _technically_ correct but I treat the word “data” as referring to a singular collective mass. Just like “atmosphere” or “population” and my sentence construction follows from that. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/229 "2021-06-16T13:26:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The term of art is More like this. > [@](#): > > In [linguistics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics), a **mass noun** , **uncountable noun** , or **non-count noun** is a [noun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun) with the syntactic property that any quantity of it is treated as an undifferentiated unit, rather than as something with discrete elements. Non-count nouns are distinguished from [count nouns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_noun). Count nouns are things such as “chair,” “tree,” or “cat.” Mass nouns are things like milk, sand and love. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/230 "2021-06-16T14:06:34Z")
Or, they’re pulling their cart instead of pushing it. This means they’re taking up more space than when they push it using the handle. Does it harm me that they maneuvering the cart this way? No. Does it make me secretly want to run my cart over their foot? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/231 "2021-06-16T14:27:37Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Datum is a word that has (in my personal limited experience) no further use in the practical world. There you would be mistaken. In the world of surveying, datum is a very specific term. [NOAA Definition](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/datum.html) ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/232 "2021-06-16T14:56:20Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Cow-orker is not an insult. It’s a “Doperism” - one of those phrases that is commonly used here at the Straight Dope. I believe it derived from a misspelling once upon a time, and became a thing. No shame is intended. I first encountered it at the [Scary Devil Monastery](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/sysadmin-recovery/) in the 90s, and they reference it back to alt.folklore.urban. It’s so obvious that I’m sure it’s been invented multiple times by anybody seeing “coworker” written out. It’s a disrespectful way to refer to people you work with, generally in discussions where it’s suggested they don’t deserve respect. So it is an insult, but doesn’t have anything to do with weight shaming. “Cow” is certainly used as a weight related insult, but in this case that’s just a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/233 "2021-06-16T15:10:46Z")
> [@Dogginit](#): > > There you would be mistaken. In the world of surveying, datum is a very specific term. [NOAA Definition](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/datum.html) True enough. But IMO that was utterly not the sense he was using it in. IOW he meant was: > Datum in the sense of a singular item of data is a word that has (in my personal limited experience) no further use in the practical world. A sentiment that’s IMO really pretty reasonable. Switching gears … > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > In general I get irritated with people who seem to think they don’t take up any space. They walk down the center in the parking lot rather than moving to one side or the other so that cars can pass. Certainly they should be alert enough to notice cars coming from ahead or behind and get out of the way of them. If not, I find a gentle beep usually herds them out of the way. But having been almost run over multiple times by people who first start backing out of spaces, _then_ turn around to look for obstacles, I am very uncomfortable walking within about 5 feet of the ass end of a car in a parking space. So you will see me walking well out into the driving part of a parking lot aisle every time. The slower and more infirm the people I’m sheparding, the more berth I give the parked cars. I’m quadruply wary if I can see the car’s occupied or the engine is running. But with the advent of electric and self-parking/unparking cars, neither of those is a reliable tell that the vehicle will remain stationary until I’m safely past. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/234 "2021-06-16T15:31:49Z")
People that leave their cars running for extended periods of time in parking lots, especially on mild days. Last 4th of July we watched fireworks from a socially distanced parking lot. But a dude let his SUV run during the entire fireworks display, which was very distracting. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/235 "2021-06-16T15:56:37Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I object! > > [Horizontal Datum](https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/horizontal/index.shtml#:~:text=A%20horizontal%20datum%20is%20a,the%20surface%20of%20the%20earth.) > [@Dogginit](#): > > There you would be mistaken. In the world of surveying, datum is a very specific term. [NOAA Definition](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/datum.html) Thanks for this information. Then I would revise my assertion to be: Datum as the singular of data is a usage that has (in my personal limited experience) no further use in the practical world. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/236 "2021-06-16T16:24:57Z")
People that call for appointments on the hour. I don’t understand this, but I get more calls for appointments within 5 minutes of the hour than I usually do the rest of the hour. I don’t really understand the compulsion for this, but it’s quite annoying. One, it means that there are several people always calling at the same time, meaning that I have to put people on hold and/or miss calls. And two, on the hour is when appointments typically are scheduled to show up, so all this is happening while clients are waiting to be checked in. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/237 "2021-06-16T16:31:59Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > People that leave their cars running for extended periods of time in parking lots, especially on mild days. > > Last 4th of July we watched fireworks from a socially distanced parking lot. But a dude let his SUV run during the entire fireworks display, which was very distracting. I see your point but idling like that is neither benign nor appropriate. (Although the guy idling during the fireworks probably was doing so because he wanted to sit in air-conditioned comfort. Still not appropriate.) ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/238 "2021-06-16T20:44:06Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > People that call for appointments on the hour. > > I don’t understand this, but I get more calls for appointments within 5 minutes of the hour than I usually do the rest of the hour. > > I don’t really understand the compulsion for this, but it’s quite annoying. I imagine it may be that they set a reminder on the phone (or outlook) to call to make an appointment, and then get a notification of the reminder 5mins beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/239 "2021-06-16T20:56:00Z")
That could be it. And, as the title says, it’s benign on their part, but it really does make me seethe as I sit for half hour without any calls, then the phone rings off the hook for 10 minutes while I’m trying to check people in, then it’s quite again for a while. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/240 "2021-06-16T23:16:49Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > People that call for appointments on the hour. My guess is that it’s more an introversion or phone-anxiety thing. “I need to make an appointment, and I’m going to psych myself up to call at 3pm” instead of “stinky dog! I’m going to call right now.” I think I inadvertently avoid your trap, because to keep people from _thinking_ I’m having to psych myself up to call, I’ll set my deadline time as 3:21. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/241 "2021-06-17T00:39:21Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > That could be it. And, as the title says, it’s benign on their part, but it really does make me seethe as I sit for half hour without any calls, then the phone rings off the hook for 10 minutes while I’m trying to check people in, then it’s quite again for a while. I don’t fully understand how the dog grooming biz works, but based on other appointment-based personal services I imagine something like this: > Customer A shows up at 9am for their appointment, You greet them, grab their dog, then you’re busy doing their dog until 9:50, then there’s a brief break from 9:50 to 10 for you to close out that dog, collect payment, receive Customer B, and get their dog in-harness to start as close to 10 sharp as possible. > > Or maybe the gap is from on the hour to 10 after, but the same pattern applies. If as your customer I’m working from that mental model, the _only_ polite or sucessful time to call you is between 10 before the hour and on the hour. Any other time I’m going to get voicemail because you’re doing the dog and can’t or won’t be interrupted to take my call. ---
**Author:** ![oldoaktree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ccd318/32.png) [@oldoaktree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldoaktree)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102/242 "2021-06-17T01:02:05Z")
Person in front of me at grocery store, paying by check. Who pays by check in 2021? Yes i understand some people still use checks. and of course the person likes to chat up the checker. Just being a nice person socially interacting with a fellow human. then it takes 5 minutes to put the checkbook away. Meanwhile i’m going crazy just waiting to buy my pizza rolls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entirely-benign-appropriate-things-that-make-you-seethe/943102.md?page=13)