# Examples of telepathy between married folks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 22, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918 "2009-02-22T04:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/41 "2009-02-24T10:10:16Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > We use house rules of not allowing married couples to be teams in Taboo, for that very reason, **ivylass**. 😃 Oh Lord, yes - our friends instituted the same rule after playing against us. We creamed them with such insightful clues as “The thing with the little thing around it” and “The thing from this morning.” ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/42 "2009-02-24T10:23:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > So, who else had the thought “_somebody_ got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!” …your wife? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/43 "2009-02-24T16:43:18Z")
My wife hates it when I tell this story… We were at the San Francisco Symphony, watching them play a, well, a symphony. Beethoven, I think, I’m not sure. Anyway… The first movement winds down and I realize she’s never been to the symphony before. Multiple grade school field trips to the Oregon Symphony all came rushing back to me. It was second nature _to me_ not to applaud until the guy with the wand turns around and bows, but unless you’ve been _told that_, you’d never know. Just as the music stops, I shoot my hand over, and sure enough, she’s was about to clap. And yeah, we could probably play Taboo without speaking words. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/45 "2009-06-09T08:17:10Z")
Sure it happens to us a bit. I think there are a number of things at work, one being simply that you spend so much time together that there is plenty of scope for coincidences. But I think it’s mainly having so many shared experiences that your brain is triggered in a similar way by things. > [@BobMarshall](#): > > Hi, > > Through proper guidance, the practice and mastery of mental telepathy can be achieved. Without using the senses, learn how to communicate by means of the mind. Full concentration is needed and will take some time to master. There are levels of attaining this technique. Mental telepathy can range from short distance communication to knowing the deepest thoughts of another without any physical contact at all. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/46 "2009-06-09T09:04:41Z")
I’m not married myself, but I can sometimes finish sentences of friends I have known for decades. I think you have to be a bit more descriptive to avoid confusion and would have called this topic “Examples of unspoken communication through simple familiarity.” Responses like this is why the title was misleading. > [@BobMarshall](#): > > Hi, > > Through proper guidance, the practice and mastery of mental telepathy can be achieved. Without using the senses, learn how to communicate by means of the mind. Full concentration is needed and will take some time to master. There are levels of attaining this technique. Mental telepathy can range from short distance communication to knowing the deepest thoughts of another without any physical contact at all. BobMarshall, I have a few questions: - has anyone ever witnessed any of the things you claim? - has anyone with these powers ever tried for the $1,000,000 award from the Randi Foundation? - why call it ‘mental’ telepathy? (what other sort is there?) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/47 "2009-06-09T11:15:07Z")
[mod tiara on] If anyone wishes to discuss whether telepathy actually exists, or how to go about developing that sense if it does, feel free to start a thread in Great Debates. Despite its semi-zombie status, I’ll leave this thread open, for now, if anyone wants to share examples of nonverbal communication and suchlike between SOs – again, leaving aside debates about the actual nature of that communication. [/mod tiara off] ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/48 "2009-06-09T11:23:48Z")
I think it’s more a case of knowing your partner and how they react to things they see and/or hear. We have a friend who says a lot of “unsupported” things. Pretty much all he has to do is open his mouth and Mr. K and I are shooting the “OMG more bullshit” glance at each other. We also have a silly little routine every time we hear our cats’ nicknames (or real names) used on TV. It’s just goofy shit. I suppose people in that frame of mind could label it “telepathy”, but I certainly don’t. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/49 "2009-06-09T11:54:02Z")
> [@glee](#): > > BobMarshall, I have a few questions: > > - has anyone ever witnessed any of the things you claim? > - has anyone with these powers ever tried for the $1,000,000 award from the Randi Foundation? > - why call it ‘mental’ telepathy? (what other sort is there?) I’ve also mastered telepathy, and trust me, you don’t want to know this guy’s thoughts. I mean…eww!! The poor llama! ☹ As for the OP…I’ve never been married, but I do have close friends where sometimes we’ll finish each other’s sentences, or I’ll be thinking of a random movie and the other person will start talking about it, etc. FTR, I don’t think there’s anything remotely “woo” about it – just the natural result of two closely connected people whose brain patterns naturally fall into sync. The plethora of positive responses to this thread is really all the evidence you need. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/50 "2009-06-09T13:18:00Z")
My husband and I have been banned from playing Trivial Pursuit together since our second date in 1993. We do, however, clean up at Time’s Up and Taboo. We call this the “meet me near the place where we did that thing that time” effect. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/51 "2009-06-09T21:14:42Z")
Another 20 year married couple. We definitely have this kind of communication together, but I tend to think it is because our children have destroyed many parts of my brain, and that’s pretty much all I have left. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/52 "2009-06-10T03:24:38Z")
> [@BobMarshall](#): > > Hi, > > Through proper guidance, the practice and mastery of mental telepathy can be achieved. Without using the senses, learn how to communicate by means of the mind. Full concentration is needed and will take some time to master. There are levels of attaining this technique. Mental telepathy can range from short distance communication to knowing the deepest thoughts of another without any physical contact at all. Wow. Banned after one post. A SDMB record? ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/53 "2009-06-10T10:46:24Z")
My sister and I do this all the time. Whenever we’re together and someone asks a question that’s not directed to either of us in particular, we always answer in unison. It can get really annoying, but we can’t seem to help it. I don’t think it can be just the result of living together for thirteen years. Mum says that when she was too young to talk and I was only four, I could always explain what she was trying to say. Like “sp-sp-aah” = “I’m thirsty”. But I don’t believe in any of that psychic stuff either, so I’m not sure what it is with us - I guess our brains are just on the same wavelength. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/54 "2009-06-10T11:54:28Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > So, Dopers in long term relationships/marriages…do you find yourselves finishing each other’s sentences, making the exact same comment at the same time, and other interesting eerie bits? I had a boyfriend that I decided I wouldn’t marry because by date four I could already finish his sentences (it didn’t work the other way 'round). My brothers are Doom at any stuff like Pictionary or Trivial. The whole family is good at Trivial, but Lilbro can’t draw worth shit, yet Middlebro has been known to guess the drawing on the first line. SiL says she hopes to see the day when she’s as good partnering with her husband at that kind of stuff as the two brothers are now; for a while it actually irritated her (and not only because they beat us). Mom tends to starts conversations or switch conversations in mid-sentence. I’m not talking about how a conversation can be MMP-ish and meander through things; she’ll say “I really think she shouldn’t, anyway” out of the blue. While not even Dad could figure out what was it she was ranting about with 100% accuracy, he was the best at it. Her best friend and me can sometimes figure it out while my brothers are scratching their heads and whispering to me “what?” OTOH, Mom always cuts me off and she can’t guess what’s on my mind at all (makes sense, she’s never been interested in it). So one of my most common responses to her is “will you kindly let me say what I was going to say and not something else?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/55 "2009-06-10T12:03:20Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Wow. Banned after one post. A SDMB record? Nah, I’ve banned hundreds of spammers who didn’t get to post. **BobMarshall** ’s post was intended to be spam, believe it or not. I left it there because it would’ve made hash of the thread, and the weirdness made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/56 "2009-06-10T12:34:09Z")
Yeah I remember that from my married days: her: Sorry I have some… me: bad news? her: Yes. I just can’t… me: keep living like this. her: Mmmm. I think that we… me: need some time apart. her:I thought that this would be… me: a lot harder. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/57 "2009-06-10T13:04:06Z")
Married almost 40 years, but it our case it is one way only. I can very frequently “read her mind”, but she never seems to have any idea about mine. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/58 "2009-06-10T17:45:59Z")
My mother and I have a well-established pattern of thinking along the same lines, whereby I’ll say something, she won’t hear me, and then she says almost the exact same thing 10-20 seconds later. We’re also able to interpret “the thing with the stuff” and esoteric hand gestures. There are a few friends I can do this with, too, mainly people I live with in college. > [@ivylass](#): > > You know what’s fun? When we play Taboo. My family is usually more the Balderdash type, but there was one gathering where we played Taboo, and I’d happened to bring my boyfriend at the time. We creamed everyone. Hard. In the same game, my cousin was trying to get us to say the word “artist.” She said, “Uncle Tom is one!” My brother and I shouted together, “Homosexual!” > [@BobMarshall](#): > > Through proper guidance, the practice and mastery of mental telepathy can be achieved. Aw man, who banned him?! I wanted to _learn how to communicate by means of the mind!_ ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/59 "2009-06-11T14:45:16Z")
Me and my best friend have mental telepathy. Many occurrences of: “I was just going to say that!” and “I knew you were going to say that” “I knew you knew I was going to say that, which is why I had to say it” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/60 "2009-06-11T15:20:02Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Aw man, who banned him?! I wanted to _learn how to communicate by means of the mind!_ I suspect ol’ Bob was one of those who communicate without using their minds at all. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918/61 "2009-06-11T16:36:16Z")
Eh, there was no link to a website to Learn More. Maybe we’re supposed to get the info telepathically. I have another one…we’re celebrating Father’s Day a week early because Ivylad and I are going on vacation. I planned to order him some gourmet coffee, Jamaican Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona Peaberry, as his gift. Not three days before I placed the order, Ivylad said, “Do you know how much Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is? $41 a pound!” (I didn’t pay that much, hee hee, but it was still more than I would normally pay for a pound of coffee.) I had to play the shocked Oh My Goodness Who in Their Right Mind card, and hope like hell he didn’t decide to buy it on his own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-telepathy-between-married-folks/486918.md?page=4)