# How many here doodle just to fill idle time? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862 "2016-03-13T14:40:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/1 "2016-03-13T14:40:42Z")
[Doodle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodle) My mom used to doodle when she was put on hold (the telephone). It could be any piece of paper near the phone. She was actually pretty good and often drew the art school tests they used to print in magazines. But she only doodled and never took drawing or art seriously… Ronald Regan doodled. At meetings and conferences to stave off boredom. > **[Lady Thatcher kept Ronald Reagan's doodles](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9148617/Lady-Thatcher-kept-Ronald-Reagans-doodles.html)** > > To Ronald Reagan they were worthless doodles to get him through a "boring" G7 meeting of world leaders. Do you doodle? Did you used to and stopped? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/2 "2016-03-13T14:48:53Z")
This will spark a few memories. 😃 the art school test. Draw the pirate. These ads were in all the magazines during my childhood. My mom drew them perfectly but never mailed them in. Mostly she preferred just doodling to pass the time. [![](https://yearbydesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/drawing-contest.jpg) ](https://yearbydesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/drawing-contest.jpg) > **[Art Instruction Schools](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Instruction_Schools)** > > Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}45°00′N 93°18′W / 45.0°N 93.3°W / 45.0; -93.3 > Art Instruction Schools, better known to many as Art Instruction, Inc., was a home study correspondence course providing training in cartooning and illustration. The company was lo... ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/3 "2016-03-13T15:05:05Z")
Atlantic Monthly did an article on Presidents and doodling. Click the small picture to see the full image. Quite a lot of them did and some of their work got preserved. > **[All the Presidents’ Doodles](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/09/all-the-presidents-doodles/305115/)** > > A history in sketches ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/4 "2016-03-13T15:46:42Z")
I answered “I used to” but I have no good idea when I must have stopped. Probably when a computer became a good part of my life. Pencil and paper for most purposes just seemed to go away on its (their) own. There was an old thread (I must have started it but couldn’t tell you when I did) asking for things you did to while away the time in church(!) and in that I mentioned “pig in a pen” games we would play. That sort of doodling – when it was down to just me alone – was part of my activity when I was bored or just needed to do something to distract myself. I also drew weird flowers and similar designs. Also eyes and noses. Been at least 20 years since. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/5 "2016-03-13T15:49:27Z")
On the phone I used to. Now, having pencil and paper around to doodle with is rare. I’m more likely to start playing Solitaire on the computer during a boring call. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/6 "2016-03-13T15:53:20Z")
Just had the thought: texting is the new doodling! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/7 "2016-03-13T16:02:26Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > … > There was an old thread (I must have started it but couldn’t tell you when I did) asking for things you did to while away the time in church(!) and in that I mentioned “pig in a pen” games we would play… I had to know: > **[How did/do you pass time in church?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=197322)** > > For those who have spent some time in church services only. Non-church-goers needn’t apply. Until I was in my teens, church was required. If I could have gotten out of it I would have, and after I left home for college I quit until I met my... How did/do you pass time in church? 07-13-2003, 10:45 AM Zeldar #65 10-15-2013, 09:34 PM Spiderman ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/8 "2016-03-13T16:55:08Z")
I doodle in meetings at work. I’m still listening and aware of whats being said. Doodling doesn’t require much concentration. I can stop and take notes anytime that I need to. Pens already in my hand ready to use. Playing around on a phone would probably tick off my boss. \ Not something I want to try. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/9 "2016-03-13T22:50:31Z")
I do. I doodle often. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/10 "2016-03-13T22:52:52Z")
I used to. Can’t possibly say why I don’t any more. But I would fill page after page of a notebook with little sketches. They were more concrete than classic “doodles.” Instead of meaningless loops and boxes, I would draw faces, or figures, or animals, or objects. I guess, technically, this would be “sketching” and not doodling. I used to donate these as clip-art to various fanzines. (Not good enough for professional publication.) Nowadays…nuh uh. Don’t do this any more. Damfino why. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/11 "2016-03-13T22:59:37Z")
A lot of my family does but its one of those traits that passed me by. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/12 "2016-03-13T23:00:33Z")
I don’t use pen and paper nearly as much as I used to, so that has effectively put a halt on my doodling. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/13 "2016-03-14T09:41:45Z")
This one does take me back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen _anyone_ doodle since about 1958. I seem to recall grade school textbooks (owned by the school, assigned to new class each year) with some half-hearted attempts at doodles. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/14 "2016-03-14T14:59:47Z")
I’m quite surprised that doodling isn’t as common anymore. I can’t imagine a phone at home without a 3x5" notepad and pen. Theres always a need to jot down a name, number, or short message. Its often information thats only needed briefly and isn’t worth entering into a computer. At work I bring a yellow legal pad to meetings for notes. Theres no way I’d try to enter them into a phone or pad during the meeting. I have to write fast while people are talking. I type them up afterwards in Word. Any doodles on the paper get thrown away. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-here-doodle-just-to-fill-idle-time/748862/15 "2016-03-14T17:26:16Z")
I don’t, and really never have. I have absolutely not artistic bent, not even for random doodles.