# Magic powers you apparently have **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990 "2021-02-15T21:57:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/41 "2021-02-17T04:44:32Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Mostly I stand there feeling like a very bad wizard, who can never get the hand gestures right for the Wash Hands spell. The Old Wizards who crafted those sinks are very powerful indeed. A special kind of magic is needed to dispell their enchantments and release the water. The Old Wizards have tricked us into thinking we may know the counterspell by occasionally releasing the water. But it is all an illusion. We don’t really possess the magic powers we think we do. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/42 "2021-02-17T06:09:46Z")
> [@blabbermeister](#): > > We don’t really possess the magic powers we think we do. You probably don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/43 "2021-02-17T08:11:51Z")
As soon as I sneak off to hide in my room 4 kids, 4 dogs and 2 cats decide they need to come to my room as well. Don’t let’s discuss what happens if I need to go pee. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/44 "2021-02-17T08:50:21Z")
i have mystical powers of video gameness …you can be playing a console tablet or pc game perfectly … the minute i walk in the room it all goes to hell … pisses people off to no end ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/45 "2021-02-17T09:18:10Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Crazy woman magnet. Good looking ones. Been that way since college. Boggles my friends minds. Then crazy stuff happens, newsworthy crazy stuff. I had a friend like that. He, himself would joke that you could mix one crazy woman in a stadium of normal women and he not only would find her, they would be living together my the weekend, married in a month and divorced after six months of hell. He’s never proved that wrong. I can find the most hidden of speed cameras. Unfortunately not in advance but rather in the mail with a better photo of me than my wedding pictures. For a couple of years it looked like I was a super typhoon magnet. We had a more of them hit landfall within spitting distance of our new house than would hit the rest of the country. Fortunately the weather gods have gotten bored of harassing us and let us off with only replacing floors in two rooms. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2021, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/46 "2021-02-17T11:36:53Z")
I’m invisible to motion detectors. The lights go out if movement isn’t detected after 30 minutes. I’ve found myself working in the dark many times. Waving my arms isn’t enough. I have to actually stand up and walk around. My invisibility makes doing my desk job challenging. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/47 "2021-02-17T12:36:48Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > > [@blabbermeister](#): > > > > We don’t really possess the magic powers we think we do. > > You probably don’t. Maybe this was intended as a joke, but it comes across as rather hostile and personal for this light-hearted thread. And your initial post about people leaving rehab was pretty harsh, too. Please take a couple days off from posting in this thread. And I recommend you read it and get in the spirit of the thing before you post to it again. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/48 "2021-02-17T14:16:16Z")
People have remarked about The [CalMeacham] Effect\* at several places I’ve worked, and at home. I can get a machine or process working (usually a pretty complex thing), and it will continue to work as long as I’m around. But if I leave, it suddenly stops. And if I’m not around, they can’t get it started again. \*Using my real name, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/49 "2021-02-17T14:19:40Z")
This you? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hv0tiBLkCZA/hqdefault.jpg "DiFilm - Publicidad Auto Renault Clio - Versión Agua Lluvia (2003)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0tiBLkCZA) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/50 "2021-02-17T14:23:00Z")
I have that power too (the good one, repairing computers), as I say when people looks at me astonished by the magic: “You can’t fix a computer just by looking at it without knowing what happens inside”. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/51 "2021-02-17T14:33:05Z")
I can make a company or product go defunct within weeks just by discovering and liking it. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/52 "2021-02-17T14:37:01Z")
Stolen from here, of course: [Some AI Koans](http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/koans.html#id3141171) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/53 "2021-02-17T15:28:00Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I can make a company or product go defunct within weeks just by discovering and liking it. Years ago some friends and I discussed starting a market research company. We planned to name it “Kiss of Death Marketing”. We could conduct market research on your product ideas much faster & cheaper than any competitor. How? Easy. Have your product folks pitch their new idea / gizmo / service / ad campaign to our expert panel of 4. If we love it, you’re screwed; back to the drawing board. If we hate it, run with it; you’ve got a sure-fire big hit on your hands. We can deliver our verdict in a couple minutes flat with near total reliability. 😉 Sadly we never actually launched the company. It might have been a big hit. Or maybe the fact we thought it’d be a big hit means it wouldn’t be. But we didn’t do it, so maybe the opposite of _that_ holds. DOES NOT COMPUTE!!! BOOM!!! 💥 💥 ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/54 "2021-02-17T23:19:46Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Years ago some friends and I discussed starting a market research company. We planned to name it “Kiss of Death Marketing”. Reminds me of my friend’s and my idea for a novelty museum called the Museum of Failures. It would display terrible products, business ideas, war campaigns etc. that ended in disaster. But we realized if this museum were any good then _it too_ should fail. So we decided it’s a non-starter 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/55 "2021-02-17T23:22:35Z")
That’s great. It’s negations all the way down. 😉 ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/56 "2021-02-18T06:34:13Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I can make a company or product go defunct within weeks just by discovering and liking it. Yep. Can’t tell you how many brands of deodorant I’ve put out of business. Maybe I just don’t stink enough? (Hint: That’s not it) ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/57 "2021-02-18T08:32:01Z")
I can fade into the background without even trying. People rarely if ever remember or notice me. I figure I’m safe in a hostage situation - they’ll never even notice me. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/58 "2021-02-18T09:58:26Z")
Slightly more seriously: I can decide to wake up at a time I’ve chosen. eg I need to be up at 3.30 am, so I wake just before 3.30. Been doing it since I was a child: then I used to bang my head on the pillow 6 times to wake at 6am. That’s it: apart from that I’m ordinary, and common too, just like him and the same as you. I’m everybody’s brother and son: I ain’t no different than anyone. So it ain’t no use talkin’ to me… ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/59 "2021-02-18T11:14:40Z")
I have two powers. 🕶 1. If the sky is cloudy and I wear a heavy raincoat or carry an umbrella, it will **not** rain. Conversely, if I am not so burdened, there will be a downpour (usually some distance from the nearest shelter. 😨 2. If I am strolling through a city or waiting in a queue, then tourists will single me out to ask for directions. 🤓 (To be fair, I have had some pleasant conversations because of this.) ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990/60 "2021-02-18T14:22:30Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > I can fade into the background without even trying. People rarely if ever remember or notice me. I figure I’m safe in a hostage situation - they’ll never even notice me. You know who we haven’t heard from in quite a while … is @kitap 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-powers-you-apparently-have/932990.md?page=4)