# Merry Rantmas! (December Mini-rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 1, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249 "2017-12-01T14:59:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/161 "2017-12-12T06:03:33Z")
Why does a mancold seem so much worse than a woman cold? I too have a sore throat, headache and bodyaches. And yet I worked my butt off. How’s the bed sweetie? Comfy enough? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/162 "2017-12-12T06:19:33Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Why does a mancold seem so much worse than a woman cold? Same-sex couples must have it easy, since they’re exactly alike in every way. Or at least, if they’re not, they can’t blame it on one of them being a man and the other being a woman. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2017, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/163 "2017-12-12T07:43:24Z")
Men are just so dramatic, it must hormones or something. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/164 "2017-12-12T09:39:40Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Not really a rant, but since there isn’t a random things int MPIMS. Yes there is, it’s called the MMP. I promise we don’t bite unless you happen to like it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/165 "2017-12-12T14:08:31Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Oh, man, that is harsh. Even Grandma? > > **Sr. Weasel** , I must add, is actually the slowest person ever recorded in human history. Any time we need to go _anywhere_, he is all about taking ten minutes to tie his shoes and then spending 30 minutes in the bathroom. I won’t say he’s ever caused catastrophic lateness, but we never leave the house at the time I would have liked. I am insanely impatient and very anxious when I’m running late. And when it looks like we’re going to barely make it on time, that counts as late. You could have traffic, or have a collision with a moose, you never know! I believe that we have footage of your husband: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tFADFSI7Z4Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Night Court - C'mon, Speedy!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFADFSI7Z4Q) Rant the second of mine: My laptop - which is so old that its calculator function is an abacus - has decided that the power button will no longer work. I know what the issue is. The connector from the power button to the mother board has a loose connection. I usually just keep it hibernating and open the lid to turn it on. I accidentally unplugged it while moving it (the battery doesn’t work), and now it’s not powering on at all. Been trying to jump start it until after the holidays and I can replace it, but it’s not cooperating. While I was trying to screw with the power connection, my cat, Fish, thought we were playing, and has ripped the connecting wire out of the unit, and I can’t find it to attempt to rig it to allow me to limp into the new year. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/166 "2017-12-12T14:34:51Z")
I only lost one strand of lights this year due to a suspected bad connection. On the plus side, I now have a baggie full of spare bulbs. > [@Kimballkid](#): > > I don’t know what is with Microsoft constantly breaking stuff. I can’t believe that the only official fix for some seemingly simple --and apparently common – problems is to “reset” the computer. I’m still in the process of getting the computer back up and running after a reset was required to make the Start button work again. I did finally manage to get the right driver for my sound card, but somewhere in the setup process I managed to mix up the email addresses associated with the administrative and user accounts, which took most of Sunday morning to fix. Also, the last time I checked, I no longer have the ability to watch DVDs on this computer, even though it was originally upgraded from 8.1 to 10. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/167 "2017-12-12T15:45:16Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > which is so old that its calculator function is an abacus I wanted to let you know that this line made me smile. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/168 "2017-12-12T15:46:12Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Why does a mancold seem so much worse than a woman cold? I too have a sore throat, headache and bodyaches. And yet I worked my butt off. > > How’s the bed sweetie? Comfy enough? Because you have estrogen and he doesn’t. [Video on USA Today has the story.](https://usat.ly/2BgtnbU) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/169 "2017-12-12T17:00:18Z")
Goddammit uterus, will you just fucking give up already? I’m tired of this mess, and doing it twice in one month is just fucking unfair. Stop it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/170 "2017-12-12T17:13:27Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Why does a mancold seem so much worse than a woman cold? I too have a sore throat, headache and bodyaches. And yet I worked my butt off. > > How’s the bed sweetie? Comfy enough? He is not crazy: > **[Is ‘man flu’ real? | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/12/health/man-flu-study/index.html)** > > A man is more susceptible to complications from respiratory illness than a woman, and his immune system is generally less robust than hers, a new study finds. ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/171 "2017-12-12T17:41:27Z")
I have to chime in on the ‘lateness’ thread. My brother is always late. The family brushes it off as “he lives down south now… they do things different”. Um… No. When he and his wife say they will be here for Thanksgiving at 1:00 so we plan dinner for 2:00, and they show up around 4:00, I get mad. I get even madder when they tell me the reason they’re late is they stopped to ‘go have a run’ or to ‘check out this place along the way to my house that they always wanted to see’ or… _insert excuse here_. He is capable of being on time. He just doesn’t seem to give a crap about being here when he says he will. Another time he was supposed to take my kids out to dinner. Didn’t show until hours after they said they would, the kids were starving, and the snow storm had started. They went anyway and we ended up having to come rescue them in the 4x4. I wish I knew why they do this to us. Last time they did, we ate anyway, at the time we specified. They ate warmed up food when they finally got here. (note: luckily we only see them on the occasional holiday) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/172 "2017-12-12T17:54:26Z")
> [@ENugent](#): > > I wanted to let you know that this line made me smile. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/173 "2017-12-12T18:33:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yes there is, it’s called the MMP. I promise we don’t bite unless you happen to like it. Mini Rants is the MMP for people who like to say “fuck.” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/174 "2017-12-12T18:39:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > He is not crazy: > > [http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/12/health/man-flu-study/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/12/health/man-flu-study/index.html) Truth is, colds suck. They may be common, but they are unpleasant and sometimes quite debilitating. If you absolutely must work through illness, that’s doable, but I’ll be on the couch with my husband. (who never gets sick, BTW. I honestly think that’s why he freaks out so much about it. He’s not used to it.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/175 "2017-12-12T19:26:13Z")
I object to this slanderous characterization of the male of the species! When I was a kid, getting a cold was actually kind of nice because I usually didn’t have to go to school, and spent a lot of time in bed with storybooks and generally being catered to. Now that I’m old[er] – and I do stress the “er” – I hardly ever get colds, so nothing to complain about. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/176 "2017-12-12T19:34:48Z")
I remember reading once that men have a higher pain tolerance for damage to the extremities and women have a higher pain tolerance for internal/systemic problems. It’s not that one is weaker than the other but that each are weak/strong in different ways. The other day, I was thinking of old school agricultural life and wondering how in hell anyone got the idea that women were weak. Popping out babies then jumping out into the fields to work? It was a grueling time for any gender. Maybe that weakness stereotype started in the Victorian era with the fainting couches. But, you know, squeeze the life out of someone with a corset, and starve them, and they will probably faint a lot. Kinda wish fainting couches were still a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/177 "2017-12-12T19:45:35Z")
It was improper dietary habits that caused the fainting. From Beach’s Family Physician, 1861. The proper dietary regiment involves (for melancholy) _“Before getting out of bed in the morning, rum and milk, or egg and sherry; breakfast of meat, eggs, and café au lait, or cocoa; beef-tea, with a glass of port, at eleven o’clock; and a good dinner or lunch at two, with a couple of glasses of sherry; at four, some more beef-tea, or equivalent; at seven, dinner or supper, with stout or port wine; and at bed-time, stout or ale, with the chloral or morphia.”_ ---
**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:** [December 12, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/178 "2017-12-12T19:56:55Z")
They were just wasted, I could live like that if there was A.C. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/179 "2017-12-12T19:59:32Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > It was improper dietary habits that caused the fainting. > From Beach’s Family Physician, 1861. > The proper dietary regiment involves (for melancholy) > > _“Before getting out of bed in the morning, rum and milk, or egg and sherry; breakfast of meat, eggs, and café au lait, or cocoa; beef-tea, with a glass of port, at eleven o’clock; and a good dinner or lunch at two, with a couple of glasses of sherry; at four, some more beef-tea, or equivalent; at seven, dinner or supper, with stout or port wine; and at bed-time, stout or ale, with the chloral or morphia.”_ That would cure anyone’s melancholy. Or else they just wouldn’t notice any more… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249/180 "2017-12-13T07:04:22Z")
> [@Boggette](#): > > I have to chime in on the ‘lateness’ thread. My brother is always late. The family brushes it off as “he lives down south now… they do things different”. Um… No. When he and his wife say they will be here for Thanksgiving at 1:00 so we plan dinner for 2:00, and they show up around 4:00, I get mad. Allow me to teach you some Navarrese Spanish: _dar capote (a alguien)_. Lit. “to give a small cloak (to someone)”; in this case, the cloak refers to a cover on a plate. It means to start eating at the agreed-upon time, and whomever was late can’t complain. If they want to start at the same time as everybody else, all they have to do is be on time. That way people who can’t calculate time or who actually and for once have a legit excuse don’t make everybody with a Swiss-watch stomach go into the low-sugar GRRRRs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merry-rantmas-december-mini-rants/803249.md?page=10)