# Nails on a chalkboard, balloon-rubbing, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611 "2005-04-28T20:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/1 "2005-04-28T20:23:59Z")
Who is bothered by these things and which ones? And why are we bothered by them? Squishing eyeballs? No problem. Metal utensils scraping on a plate? A bit annoying but no problem. Balloon rubbing? No problem. But run your nails down a chalkboard and I will probably break my leg trying to get you to stop. Even talking about it hurts. Why am I so bothered by it? What about you guys? What are some other things that drive some people crazy and not others? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/2 "2005-04-28T20:31:32Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Squishing eyeballs? No problem. Where the hell do you _work?_ Do people actually walk by you with a handful of eyeballs and then squish them when they pass you, just to see if you’ll squirm? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/3 "2005-04-28T20:42:40Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Where the hell do you _work?_ Do people actually walk by you with a handful of eyeballs and then squish them when they pass you, just to see if you’ll squirm? Holy crap, **Eve** , I about fell over laughing reading this. I’m still trying to smother my giggles. My coworkers, them of the squishing eyeballs, are looking at me funny. _giggle_ _snort_ ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/4 "2005-04-28T22:09:39Z")
Here it is, **Anaamika**. My deep, dark secret. If you want to make me curl up into a quivering foetal ball - poke my belly. Bellybuttons just squick me out. Talking about 'em is bad enough. But touching my own? **Anyone** touching my bellybutton drives me nuts. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/5 "2005-04-28T22:22:14Z")
People who chew gum with their mouths open, expecially if they’re crackling it. The sound of someone clipping their nails. Guess I’ll have to add squishing eyeballs, if I ever encounter it. Especially if it’s my own eyeballs. How about incessant basketball dribbling. Some of my neighbor’s kids play basketball for hours at a time, and after a while it bugs the hell out of me. BTW, I once heard of a study (sorry, no cite) about fingernails on a blackboard. They found that nobody was bothered if they heard the sound, but wasn’t told what they were hearing. It only bothered them after they were told it was nails on a blackboard. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/6 "2005-04-28T22:33:29Z")
The sound of long nails scratching new, stiff denim. The _swish, swish, swish_ of really shiny cheap windbreaker pants legs rubbing together as someone walks. Audible mastication. Literally gag-inducing. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/7 "2005-04-28T23:09:06Z")
Another vote for chewing, slurping, lip-smacking and so forth. I have to turn off the car radio if there’s anything like that. Oddly enough, though, it doesn’t bother me when babies or very young children do it. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/8 "2005-04-28T23:26:24Z")
Another vote for hearing someone eat…I always say, “does that taste as good as it sounds?” Also people who eat with their mouth open - but that isn’t a “noise” and I think you are refering to noises that drive you crazy. I would give up government secrets to stop a dripping water faucet - especially at night. And cars that drive by with 3 ton bass speakers in the back seat…almost make me change my mind about stricter gun control laws. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/9 "2005-04-28T23:49:45Z")
Styrofoam rubbing together. I cannot pull a piece of electronics out of its box, nor can I handle packing peanuts. Incoming fax noise. The noise BART makes when it comes out of the Transbay Tube. Nail file / sandpaper. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/10 "2005-04-28T23:51:36Z")
Folding a sheet of paper in half, then running your fingers or nails along the edge to make a sharp crease. Over and over and over again. I have a weekly meeting and there’s one guy that will occassionally do this with the agenda, and it’s all I can do to sit still in my seat and not go screaming from the room. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/11 "2005-04-29T00:01:42Z")
The sound of concrete being swept with a broom. It doesn’t irritate me as much as nails on a blackboard, but it still makes me feel uneasy for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/12 "2005-04-29T00:15:37Z")
My hidden phobia: balloons. Well, as a child I hated balloons, and I was literally frightened of them. If I saw one I’d discreetly try to slip away from the scene. As I got older, it grew into a hatred of people who purposely squish and squeeze balloons, making noise with them. I didn’t attend my graduation march, but it was aired on local public access, and I watched in horror as, at the end of the ceremony, hundred of balloons were dropped from the ceiling onto the gymnasium floor, and my entire graduating class, all dressed in their finest - ballroom gowns, smart tuxes, pretty prom dresses, cocktail dresses, suits, ties, and all - began stomping on and popping the balloons. My mother took my hand at that moment, as I sat in wide-eyed horror, and told me she was glad I didn’t have to be there to go through that. These days, I like balloons. I hate the people who rub them, squeeze them, or pop them. I refuse to stay in a room with someone who does that, _especially_ if they know how I feel about it. A balloon belongs on a _string_. In the _air_. Floating _nicely_ where everyone can _see_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/13 "2005-04-29T00:42:08Z")
The only thing in this thread that bothers me: > [@Dooku](#): > > Styrofoam rubbing together. Yep. That’s it. Fingernails on chalkboard, balloons, chewing, all of it no problem. If I knew what squishing eyeballs was, I’d probably be okay with that too. But styrofoam-on-styrofoam: man, that just makes my spine clench. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/14 "2005-04-29T01:03:18Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > The only thing in this thread that bothers me:Yep. That’s it. Fingernails on chalkboard, balloons, chewing, all of it no problem. If I knew what squishing eyeballs was, I’d probably be okay with that too. But styrofoam-on-styrofoam: man, that just makes my spine clench. The sound is mimicked perfectly by my friend’s station wagon. Some sort of loose piece in the hatchback area. I can’t ride in his car. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/15 "2005-04-29T01:07:09Z")
I can’t even type the word out. So I’ll say “fly larvae.” Do not ever say the “M” word around me. I’ll flip out. I hate worms and will scream like a little girl if you chase me with one. I can’t stand the feel of anything gritty like sand or glitter. Blech! ---
**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:** [April 29, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/16 "2005-04-29T01:23:20Z")
> [@Seeker74](#): > > I can’t even type the word out. So I’ll say “fly larvae.” Do not ever say the “M” word around me. I’ll flip out. You’ll think [this](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7658216/) is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/17 "2005-04-29T01:32:14Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > You’ll think [this](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7658216/) is funny. I’m not clicking on that… there are probably "M"s all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/18 "2005-04-29T01:51:25Z")
I am extremely annoyed by nails on a chalkboard, styrofoam rubbing together, and…well, maybe I’m just wierd, but reading about, or seeing, someone with snot coming out of their nose makes me feel sick. Which is why I’m not good at babysitting toddlers. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/19 "2005-04-29T02:00:33Z")
> [@Seeker74](#): > > I’m not clicking on that… there are probably "M"s all over the place. You are wise, Padawan. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611/20 "2005-04-29T03:23:07Z")
I immediately thought of two things when I saw this post: A fork scraping on a stoneware plate. A metal lawn rake on a sidewalk. I had forgotten about styrofoam on styrofoam. Thanks a lot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-on-a-chalkboard-balloon-rubbing-etc/301611.md?page=2)