# Lessons you learned the 'hard way' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849 "2005-06-18T23:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/41 "2005-06-20T12:33:30Z")
When playing hockey, always wear a helmet with a visor or a cage. A shoulder to the mouth, a stick to the head, and a stick blade to the eye (thankfully and luckily eyelid.) have taught me that. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/42 "2005-06-20T12:45:11Z")
Do not borrow your cousin’s bicycle with the bent rear wheel. Do not ride said bicycle at unsafe speed. Do not ride the bicycle at unsafe speed on a gravel road. Don’t be surprised when logical consequences arise from your actions. It’s undignified. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/43 "2005-06-20T13:20:27Z")
Never trust anyone who habitually calls random coworkers “dear”, “honey”, “sweety”, etc… You have no-one to blame but yourself. Learn the lesson. Forgive yourself. Move on. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/44 "2005-06-20T16:27:53Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > When playing hockey, always wear a helmet with a visor or a cage. > > A shoulder to the mouth, a stick to the head, and a stick blade to the eye (thankfully and luckily eyelid.) have taught me that. To expand on this: if there are helmets made for whatever activity you do, get one and wear it. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/45 "2005-06-20T17:30:37Z")
Check which parts of a machine are hot before you have a chance to grab one instinctively. The exhaust on a rototiller is on the top of the engine and will give you a blister that will last for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/46 "2005-06-20T17:31:25Z")
There is no way to tell the difference between cold glass and hot glass by looking. No matter how quickly you use memory after freeing it, your program will eventually crash. Washing your car to make it rain will not work. Leaving your convertible top down, though, is a pretty sure thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/47 "2005-06-20T18:02:09Z")
Only start one home improvement job at a time. Make sure you double check how tight the nuts are on the motorcycle forks before you get to speed on the race track after your idiot of a friend adjusted them. In tools you get what you pay for. Beer+eBay+credit card=bad things. Hell, beer+credit card+internet=bad things. Never fry bacon nekkid. (not a real life example I just like saying it.) ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/48 "2005-06-20T19:34:22Z")
If you’re female, always have a ‘back-up’ tampon stashed in your purse somewhere. Don’t end up like I did, prowling Montreal at 6am on a Sunday looking for an open shop. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/49 "2005-06-20T20:15:22Z")
-That ‘gut-feeling’ you sometimes get is there for a REASON. -A four-year-old will say “why” more times than an owl can say “who”. -Don’t drink a soda with a mouth full of “pixie-stix”. -If you hear a diaper-wearing infant give off a watery-sounding fart, wait until you hear TWO more before removing that diaper. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/50 "2005-06-20T20:25:08Z")
You cannot change the behaviour of others, you can only change your reaction to it. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/51 "2005-06-20T20:29:02Z")
Washing up liquid will not make a good substitute for dishwasher powder in an emergency. Don’t put off calling for a Doctor when you are feeling very ill. Sometimes even your instincts can be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/52 "2005-06-20T20:31:07Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > You cannot change the behaviour of others, you can only change your reaction to it. My life got so much easier and my thinking so much clearer the day I figured \*that \* one out. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/53 "2005-06-20T20:41:01Z")
> [@Mr. Goob](#): > > Never fry bacon nekkid. (not a real life example I just like saying it.) I can vouch that this is good advice. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/54 "2005-06-20T20:48:54Z")
If you’re in college, you’re not ready to get married. If you’re not ready to get married, you’re not ready to have kids. If you’re not ready to have kids, birth control is _really_ important. More important than sex. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/55 "2005-06-20T21:17:15Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > My life got so much easier and my thinking so much clearer the day I figured \*\*that \*\* one out. Probably one of the biggest revelations I’ve ever had. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/56 "2005-06-20T21:27:06Z")
Don’t TOUCH any game that doesn’t have decent Codebreaker codes. They are all nightmarishly difficult abominations that will have you screaming for codes. Whenever an entertainment company of any kind makes a mildly controversial decision, exactly one facet of the screaming psycho lunatic fringe will have a **stranglehold** on the discussions about said decision. (see: D, Initial) If the regulars on a message board can get worked up in an otherworldly lather about Dance Dance frickin’ Revolution, asking them for advice about anything is a fool’s errand. If your bicycle can’t go two lousy months without springing a flat or misaligning a wheel, it’s a sign that you should stop riding bicycles. Lousy-paying jobs that take place at odd hours and require you to stand or walk for hours at a stretch also have ridiculous rules or production quotas, so you won’t last whether you want to or not. Never take the mainstream news at face value. These guys are under more political pressure than most mayors and don’t even try to be objective anymore. If a car develops recurring battery problems, there is one correct course of action: Replace the battery. Don’t clean the ports. Don’t test the alternator. Don’t replace this wire or tighten that connection or some other mincing little half-measure. REPLACE. THE. BATTERY. If you cannot last at least _twice_ the length of a standard movie without going to the restroom, forget about seeing movies in theaters. Reality shows are the most bogus form of competition in existence, so there really isn’t much point in getting all worked up over who wins. Much less making predictions. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/57 "2005-06-20T21:57:41Z")
There is no end to human stupidity. Truly, it is the only thing I am absolutely sure is infinite. Never try to talk someone out of an irrational belief. If someone has an irrational belief, using logic to show them that the belief is not true will **never** work, and will lead only to your own mounting frustration, and possibly anger on both sides. If something is truly beyond your control, worrying about it is pointless and destructive. (And if I stuck strictly to the OP, I couldn’t post this one because I **still** haven’t really learned it.) You can’t change the past. You can’t. You really can’t. No, no matter how much you might want to, you can’t change the past. Nope, sorry, the past has happened, and it’s unchangable. You can’t change it. Once something has happened, you can’t change it. Even if it’s just one second ago, you can’t change it. If you say something stupid, you’ve said it and for all eternity it will remain said. If you make a mistake, it remains made for the rest of time. If you wish you hadn’t done it, that’s too bad, you still did it. You can’t change the past. And a corollary: Regret is only useful if it helps you to avoid a similar mistake. By itself, regret is pointless and destructive. (I’m closer to actually learning this one, but still working on it.) ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/58 "2005-06-20T22:20:45Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > If you’re not ready to have kids, birth control is _really_ important. More important than sex. Yup, I just learned that one too. Second important lesson, the little red button beneath the cashier’s desk should _never_ be pushed unless someone is actually robbing the bank. Otherwise you very quickly assemble a group of heavily armed policemen outside the bank and your Dad has to explain that the bank isn’t being robbed at 7pm, it was just his 14 year old son messing around. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/59 "2005-06-20T23:31:31Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > When people show you who they really are, your job is to SEE. > And (yes, this is the voice of bitter, bitter experience) never utter the phrase, > > “Sure, why not, I couldn’t feel any worse.” > > Say these words - go directly to emerg. You’ve been warned. Huh? What exactly are you describing? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849/60 "2005-06-20T23:34:52Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > Custom inspectors have zero sense of humor. If you try to make funny, you’ll be pulled aside and searched. I guess that puts the kibosh on my intention, when next re-entering the U.S., to say, “I have nothing to declare but my brilliance!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-you-learned-the-hard-way/308849.md?page=4)