# Mundane things you've done but probably will never do again **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 18, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519 "2011-07-18T23:46:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/21 "2011-07-19T13:04:38Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > How about…unpack a tube TV from a box? Or test a TV vacuum tube for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/22 "2011-07-19T15:46:05Z")
Look up a phone number in the yellow pages. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/23 "2011-07-19T15:55:31Z")
Do research in a law library Use carbon paper wear a condom ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/24 "2011-07-19T15:59:40Z")
Put film into or take it out of a camera. Put a card into or take it out of a library catalogue. Use a typewriter. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/25 "2011-07-19T18:12:02Z")
I will probably never pay for cable again. I will probably never pay 20+% interest on a loan again. I will probably never file bankruptcy again. I will probably never live with my mom again. I will probably never balance a checkbook again. (I write one check a month, for rent, and I don’t need a register to keep track of that) I will probably never use an overhead projector again. I will probably never buy a cassette tape or tape player again. I will probably never buy a dvd again. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/26 "2011-07-19T20:43:36Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Or test a TV vacuum tube for that matter. A few years ago I was watching an old low budget sci-fi movie. It wasn’t on MST3K but it was that calibre of movie. A flying saucer had been discovered and a Military Stock Character is wondering if it’s from outer space or earthmade, and the Scientist Stock Character tells him it’s definitely alien: he’s examined their computers and the gases in the vacuum tubes are of a type not found on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/27 "2011-07-19T20:55:58Z")
Untangle a casette or reel-to-reel tape. Wear kitty spikes (sprinting grips, not heels.) Roll down a car window. Sharpen a pencil Change the wood shavings in a rodent cage. Muck a stall Trade a garbage patch kid card. Watch M_A_S\*H Condition a new pair of pointe shoes. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/28 "2011-07-19T22:11:21Z")
Live in NYC. Pay 25 cents/gallon for gas. Stack several records on a turntable spindle. Get a dental implant, root canal or extraction. Own a pet other than a cat. Have sex with 10+ guys in a single night (or even 2). Eat haggis or limburger cheese. Have my wallet stolen on vacation. Drive in a non-English-speaking country. Wear size 29 jeans. Pee in two oceans in the same day. Splice a cassette tape. Have my appendix removed. Have a “best friend” who isn’t my partner. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/29 "2011-07-20T06:32:43Z")
Get married Have sex Ride a bicycle Test vacuum tubes at my local convenience store Build a radio receiver out of surplus electronic parts Decipher a capacitor’s value using the old color code As above for resistors Live another fifty years Drive an automobile with a standard transmission that has the shifter handle on the steering column. Drive an automobile that has a foot operated starter switch Drive an automobile that has a foot operated headlight dimmer switch As **Sampiro** said, watch a black and white TV Drink from a “Whites Only” public water fountain Wait for a bus/train/plane in a “Whites Only” waiting room Listen to adults claim that rock and roll was part of a communist plot (I’m not making this up) I’m sure there are a few more ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/30 "2011-07-20T14:40:36Z")
Use a pay phone. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/31 "2011-07-20T14:48:00Z")
Adjust the choke to start a car. Pump the gas. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/32 "2011-07-20T15:07:28Z")
- Type an essay/paper for school… - …on a typewriter ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/33 "2011-07-20T15:11:26Z")
Lick a stamp. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/34 "2011-07-20T15:16:09Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Go to restaurants/gas-stations with 3 bathrooms (or if I do, the third one will now be for family or handicapped). I was going to ask about this > [@LouisB](#): > > Drink from a “Whites Only” public water fountain > > Wait for a bus/train/plane in a “Whites Only” waiting room But then I read this and the lightbulb went on. It’s astonishing that something so recent historically is so far beyond comprehension that it didn’t even occur to me as a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/35 "2011-07-20T15:31:12Z")
Buy vacuum cleaner bags Burn a CD ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/36 "2011-07-20T15:31:52Z")
Use carbon paper splice magnetic tape replace a vacuum tube carry a pager record songs off the radio go deer hunting in the Adirondacks write a program in BASIC drink moonshine climb a transmitter tower ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/37 "2011-07-20T16:00:26Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > I was going to ask about this > > But then I read this and the lightbulb went on. It’s astonishing that something so recent historically is so far beyond comprehension that it didn’t even occur to me as a possibility. It took me a while too - I guess I just always assumed there would be four. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/38 "2011-07-20T17:10:04Z")
Change typewriter ribbon Get married Use a condom Burn a music CD Change a phonograph needle Play with sparklers Use a modem Burn incense ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/39 "2011-07-20T17:53:13Z")
Remain in my car while the gas is filled and the oil is checked by an attendant ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519/40 "2011-07-20T18:01:26Z")
Slammed on my coaster brakes [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-things-youve-done-but-probably-will-never-do-again/589519.md?page=3)