# Mundane aspects of Superman's powers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909 "2014-09-19T04:54:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/101 "2014-09-28T12:10:18Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Oh, he never had any trouble unscrewing the lid off a pickle jar. Once he developed control… I think he went through a lot of pickle jars until his mom stopped asking him to open them for her… likewise, I think there’s a lot of toothpaste on the ceiling. And no, that’s not a euphemism; actual toothpaste, stuck to the ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/102 "2014-09-30T14:46:58Z")
Assuming he has a car, parking is never a problem or cost, even in Metropolis. (Both it and Gotham City are essentially NYC, even though it has a separate comics existence, right down to certain landmarks in each, under different names from real-world. This is according to Fleischer in his well-researched _Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes_.) All he has to do is create a huge distraction with any number of super-powers, and then fly his car to the top of a roof. Even if he has a passenger he can usually use this tactic. Surely in any really crowded city it is understood and expected that a driver will drop you off close to your destination, even a mutual one, before going somewhere nearby, or not so nearby, to park. * * * I’ll leave the “reverse” scenario, which may include giving a passenger a ride back home (or elsewhere) as an exercise for the reader. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/103 "2014-09-30T17:58:46Z")
He can hold his breath until he’s driven past the hog farm or the dead skunk. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/104 "2014-09-30T18:57:41Z")
When he’s on his bicycle, he doesn’t need to wear a helmet. (But of course he wears one, just to set a good example.) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/105 "2014-09-30T19:05:57Z")
> [@FUTBOL!](#): > > Assuming he has a car, parking is never a problem or cost, even in Metropolis. Why would Clark have a car in the first place? He lives in a city in which a lack of one is neither necessary nor odd. Having a car would just complicate his life to no purpose. Both pre- and post-Crisis Supes pretended to get around by mass transit in their civilian IDs. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/106 "2014-09-30T19:39:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why would Clark have a car in the first place? He lives in a city in which a lack of one is neither necessary nor odd. Having a car would just complicate his life to no purpose. Both pre- and post-Crisis Supes pretended to get around by mass transit in their civilian IDs. I respectfully disagree. The television documentary “Adventures of Superman” clearly shows that Clark has an attractive Nash-Healey that he drives. Snazzy car! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/107 "2014-09-30T21:13:31Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > I respectfully disagree. The television documentary “Adventures of Superman” clearly shows that Clark has an attractive Nash-Healey that he drives. Snazzy car! I think we can all agree that that was a rental, obtained for a trip to the country with the luscious Phyllis Coates. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909/108 "2014-09-30T23:47:07Z")
He’ll never know the heartbreak of Psoriasis. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-aspects-of-supermans-powers/698909.md?page=5)