# Little things that irritate in a big way - Cafe edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318 "2011-01-12T06:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/21 "2011-01-13T17:23:47Z")
People who get pissed over trivial nitpicks. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/22 "2011-01-13T17:25:41Z")
Stores have no business making their checkout personnel ask their customers personal shit. " Bite me, that’s my ZIP code". ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/23 "2011-01-13T17:28:15Z")
Spec-Fic writers that don’t bother with the simplest sanity checks. _No Ordinary Family_ has already established itself as a mediocre super-show, such that even Dopers don’t think it’s worth discussing, so I’m glad you gave me a spot to post this. On the show, Julie Benz’ character can move really fast. When she revealed her power to her lab assistant, they tried to gather some data and determined she ran a mile every 6 seconds or so, which comes out to 600 miles an hour. In this week’s episode, the lab assistant was going to be transferred to Miami. The show is set in a fictional town called ‘Pacific Bay’, which is clearly in California. And she says, “But I did the math, and at your speed, that’s only 7 and half minutes away, so we can still have lunch together every day.” Well, I actually did the math, and to travel that distance in that time would require travel at more than 18,000 miles an hour, if she was willing and able to cross into Mexico and run right across the Gulf. If she wanted to stay on land and in the U.S., she’d have to go a bit faster yet. She’d be approaching escape velocity (about 25,000 miles/hour). I know I’m a nerd, but anyone who is not completely innumerate or totally hopeless on U.S. geography must have seen immediately that their numbers were wrong. Why didn’t anyone at the show? ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/24 "2011-01-13T17:32:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > People who get pissed over trivial nitpicks. Was that aimed at me? If so, I can assure you I’m entirely sober. Besides, a good home had to be found for all those poor little aitches that you lot so callously remove from the word “herbs” without any thought for their future well-being. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/25 "2011-01-13T18:38:22Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > Was that aimed at me? If so, I can assure you I’m entirely sober. > > Besides, a good home had to be found for all those poor little aitches that you lot so callously remove from the word “herbs” without any thought for their future well-being. The aitch was silent for almost 600 years before some pleeb started pronouncing it in the 19th century. So history is on our side of the pronunciation. From: [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herb](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herb) > [@](#): > > Word Origin & History > > herb > > late 13c., erbe, from [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). erbe, from L. herba “grass, herb.” Refashioned after Latin since 15c., but the h- was mute until 19c. Herbaceous is from 1640s. > Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Also you guys did not invent the language. > [@](#): > > English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Netherlands. > **[History of English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_English_language)** > > English is a West Germanic language that originated from Ingvaeonic languages brought to Britain in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by Anglo-Saxon migrants from what is now northwest Germany, southern Denmark and the Netherlands. The Anglo-Saxons settled in the British Isles from the mid-5th century and came to dominate the bulk of southern Great Britain. Their language originated as a group of Ingvaeonic languages which were spoken by the settlers in England and southern and eastern Scotland ... ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/26 "2011-01-13T19:20:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > . > “The war in Afghanistan, characterized by constant coverage of the dollars spent on tanks, guns, soldiers MAKE past conflicts…” > . If you are so fussy about grammar, why do you use weird punctuation between paragraphs? ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/27 "2011-01-13T19:47:00Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > The aitch was silent for almost 600 years before some pleeb started pronouncing it in the 19th century. So history is on our side of the pronunciation. > > From: > > [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herb](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herb) > > Also you guys did not invent the language. > > [History of English - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_English_language) You’re taking this very seriously. Can I tempt you to a yoghurt? It may help you relax. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/28 "2011-01-13T19:54:07Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > You’re taking this very seriously. Can I tempt you to a yoghurt? It may help you relax. Or a nice MASSage. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/29 "2011-01-13T20:07:53Z")
I’m annoyed by sloppy gun and rifle use in movies and TV shows, especially from characters that are or were in the military and should know better than to run around with a finger curled around the trigger of a weapon set to full auto. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/30 "2011-01-13T20:17:47Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m annoyed by sloppy gun and rifle use in movies and TV shows, especially from characters that are or were in the military and should know better than to run around with a finger curled around the trigger of a weapon set to full auto. That, and when the hero is out of bullets, the gun is now worthless and he tosses it aside. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/31 "2011-01-13T20:18:56Z")
You want nitpicky, I’ll give you nitpicky: I hate that mom look that women in commercials give their husbands and children when they’re either messy or do something clueless. You know, _that_ one - hands on hips, shoulders slightly shrugged, knowing smirk, all the while looking at the camera like, “They’re stupid, but what can you do? Good thing I’m here or they wouldn’t be able to tie their shoes!” I also hate listening to commercials from drug manufacturers on the radio. There’s one for a clinical trial in my area looking for people over the age of 30 who are tired, moderately to severely overweight and not really interested in sex. Apparently these “symptoms” mean you have some sort of fatigue-type syndrome that needs to be treated with medication. Not, you know, sleep, exercise and better nutrition, which isn’t mentioned anywhere in the ad. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/32 "2011-01-13T20:44:09Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > If you are so fussy about grammar, why do you use weird punctuation between paragraphs? Because when I post from my Blackberry, if I insert a paragraph break, the BB ignores those paragraph breaks and mushes everything into one paragraph. But if I insert a paragraph break (“carriage return”) and then put a period and then another carriage return, the BB’s formatting genie honors them. I post regularly on other message boards, and on that one, when I post from my Blackberry and insert a carriage return the BB honors it and my post is broken into paragraphs. It just seems to be this one. _(Betcha didn’t see that one coming, eh?)_ +1 to the person who objects to the misuse of LESS and FEWER. YES!! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/33 "2011-01-13T21:30:23Z")
> [@Overlyverbose](#): > > I hate that mom look that women in commercials give their husbands and children when they’re either messy or do something clueless. You know, that one - hands on hips, shoulders slightly shrugged, knowing smirk, all the while looking at the camera like, “They’re stupid, but what can you do? Good thing I’m here or they wouldn’t be able to tie their shoes!” I know, right? Dreadful. That look that says _everyone_ who lives in the home (including their rugged, good-looking husband, who, presumably was an _adult_ when they married) is completely clueless and incompetent! “Geez, I just spilled crap all _over_ the previously-spotless counter! Whatever shall I do??” (Irritating Mom) “Let me get these new Name Brand paper towels that I was brilliant enough to suggest we purchase, after _you_ wanted to buy the generic brand!” The commercial closes with the husband giving the camera a clueless-but-grateful look, and the wife giving the camera a superior smirk that makes me want to bitch-slap her. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/34 "2011-01-13T23:02:57Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > The commercial closes with the husband giving the camera a clueless-but-grateful look, and the wife giving the camera a superior smirk that makes me want to bitch-slap her. I’d rather bitch-slap the husband. Because he is typically the one who made the mess in the first place, and he’s acting like he doesn’t know how to work a paper towel. That’s my irritant: grown men in commercials are almost never shown cleaning up their own messes. Gentlemen, you are no longer three years old. If you are the one who makes a mess, YOU will be the one cleaning it up. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/35 "2011-01-13T23:17:17Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > But if I insert a paragraph break (“carriage return”) and then put a period and then another carriage return, the BB’s formatting genie honors them. Try CR Shift+Space CR. In other words, “Shift+Space” instead of period. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/36 "2011-01-13T23:35:00Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > I’d rather bitch-slap the husband. Because he is typically the one who made the mess in the first place, and he’s acting like he doesn’t know how to work a paper towel. > > That’s my irritant: grown men in commercials are almost never shown cleaning up their own messes. Gentlemen, you are no longer three years old. If you are the one who makes a mess, YOU will be the one cleaning it up. Well, in those commercials, I agree with you. The commercials that come to my mind, you _see_ the wife watching her husband make a big mess, and step in with a superior, knowledgeable look on her face before he ever has a chance to make a move. Or he’ll do something really _stupid_ like, oh, reach for a sponge (what the hell can he be thinking, trying to wipe up with a sponge?? :rolleyes: ) and she’ll come along all superior, explaining why it’s better to use New Plentiful Paper Towels. Somehow, he never comes back with a response about how cleaning up with a sponge doesn’t clog landfills nearly as much. . . ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/37 "2011-01-14T01:30:39Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Try CR Shift+Space CR. In other words, “Shift+Space” instead of period. Ok I’ll Try It. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/38 "2011-01-14T01:37:57Z")
Thanks for the suggestion. As you can see, it didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/39 "2011-01-14T02:05:43Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Thanks for the suggestion. As you can see, it didn’t work. Very strange. It came out as “OK[CR][space][CR][space][space][CR][space][CR]I’ll” I think there is some combination of whitespace that will give the desired result but it would require some experimentation to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318/40 "2011-01-14T02:25:48Z")
I put in some extra lines and spaces just for good mojo. Some of the spaces were spaces and some were shift-spaces. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-irritate-in-a-big-way-cafe-edition/567318.md?page=3)