# Life lessons learned the hard way **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104 "2021-03-17T17:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/222 "2021-04-15T20:24:34Z")
My bike used to have a child seat installed over the back wheel. One day I took an epic bike ride by myself and came whizzing down my road and did a power slide into my driveway while readying my leg for the dismount when it hit the child seat and I crashed in a heap which was witnessed by my neighbors who laughed at me. I used to encourage my kitten to climb up my jeans and sweatshirt to sit on my shoulder, until seasons changed to shorts and tshirt and the now grown cat still wanted to climb up on my shoulder, YOW! I still see that look in his eyes and I have to take evasive action before he jumps up. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/223 "2021-04-16T15:30:31Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > And the hatchback trunk. Ah yes. If you are fortunate enough to have a garage for your car, be sure to close the hatchback door BEFORE closing the garage door, or the garage door hardware will scratch the living daylights out of the hatchback. (I did this about one day before I was going to sell my hatchback Prius back to the dealer. I’m sure the big scratch lowered the value of the car on the spot.) Here’s another. If you are allergic to dust, and have a small handheld vacuum cleaner, walk a LONG way out from the house to empty it out. In the windy place where I live, just going out to the deck and rapping its various filters, etc. onto the wooden railing wasn’t a very good idea when the wind is swirling around and pretty much blows this dust in all directions, including my face, no matter which way I turned. I had red, itchy eyes the whole rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/224 "2021-04-16T15:33:32Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I still see that look in his eyes and I have to take evasive action before he jumps up. Yes. They walk up close and look up at you intently…uh oh, here it comes…put your hand down to block, saying, “No Kitty, not now please…ARGH” My heavier cat likes to reach up and grab on with his front claws to pull himself up. Doesn’t work for me when I’m wearing thin pajama pants. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/225 "2021-04-16T21:37:12Z")
Regardless of the state of the hatchback, if the garage door is down you will have regrets. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/226 "2021-04-16T21:40:15Z")
Inanimate objects can move. Things that were well out of the way can suddenly be IN THE WAY, when you’re attempting to walk by them. The results can range from mild annoyance to broken bones (clothes washer apparently shook enough to push a box of detergent forward, right into my path as I wanted toward the door to the garage. End result: detergent 1, toe 0). ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/227 "2021-04-16T21:49:21Z")
If you lose something (yeah: **if** ) … Whatever place you’re checking (to see if the lost item is there), check it **once** and check it **very thoroughly.** Lest you find it in that top left drawer/backpack/glove compartment/hall closet, etc., the _third_ time you look, and after you’ve spent half the day searching. ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/228 "2021-04-17T04:53:33Z")
The full saying is really: You always find something in the last place you look, the last time you look there. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/229 "2021-04-19T21:20:33Z")
That I should have listened to my mother when she told me it wasn’t safe to lean back in that chair. (Ow!) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/230 "2021-04-21T01:42:58Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Never buy a rusty car. The non-rusty one will always be cheaper and better in the end. Oh My God! I know a guy who for some unknown reasons bought a Truck from Upstate New York (we live in the high desert where Jeeps and Fiats won’t even rust) and drove it home. Well, half of it fell off on the way home, and when he tried to do some repairs, every nut and bolt broke off due to rust. Ended up a huge nightmare for this guy. He was blissfully unaware about road salting in that part of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/231 "2021-04-21T14:45:50Z")
If it hasn’t already been mentioned – if you are giving someone else some important paperwork (say, tax forms) to work on for you, make sure you give them _copies_, or make sure you have copies of everything you give them. Otherwise, if the papers get misplaced, you are screwed. > [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > That I should have listened to my mother when she told me it wasn’t safe to lean back in that chair. (Ow!) When my wife and I got married, she had an old kitchen table and chairs made of bamboo. My stepson, who was about 14 at the time, used to always tilt back on the back legs of his chair, despite our warnings not to. One day one of the legs snapped on him when he leaned back. I wound sawing off the leg at the break, then had to cut several inches off of all the other legs so they were even. That was _his_ chair from then on. 😅 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/232 "2021-04-21T15:11:10Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I wound sawing off the leg at the break, then had to cut several inches off of all the other legs so they were even Just how many legs does/did your stepson have? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/233 "2021-04-21T15:21:06Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Shoeless](#): > > > > I wound sawing off the leg at the break, then had to cut several inches off of all the other legs so they were even > > Just how many legs does/did your stepson have? - First of all, it seems like Qadgop the Mercotan is in no position to be questioning the number of appendages someone else has. Second of all, I’m assuming that Shoeless was feeling sorry for himself so he sawed off his stepson’s legs so there would be a footless person around for him to feel superior to(\*). (\*) I’ve always assumed that’s what that adage was about, but I’ll admit that there might be some cynicism coloring my interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/234 "2021-04-21T22:13:07Z")
If you’ve been having diarrhea, be very very careful if you think you need to fart. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/235 "2021-04-22T01:04:13Z")
If another driver gives you a waving motion that it’s safe to proceed, _don’t trust it_. (thankfully, I learned this vicariously) ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/236 "2021-04-22T02:16:46Z")
Ditto if you’re a pedestrian ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/237 "2021-04-26T17:46:05Z")
I learned this one the hard way this weekend. If you’re grilling hamburgers, and you decide you want bacon for your burgers, do not use one of those copper grill mats to cook the bacon on the grill. Also, _definitely_ do not do this when it is windy. I’m surprised I didn’t start a grease fire on my back deck. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104/238 "2021-04-27T00:29:00Z")
Don’t try frying bacon naked. If your waterbed bag springs a leak (AGAIN) and you decide to just toss it and put a regular mattress in the frame, go ahead. Just make sure to unplug the heater from the wall. Then CUT THE PLUG OFF, lest you inadvertently plug it back in one day. Or don’t. Eventually the cord will burn off all by itself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/938104.md?page=11)