# People who haven't learned a common skill **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150 "2011-06-11T20:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/121 "2011-06-13T18:52:00Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > It’s minor but I can’t do the Vulcan sign. Actually, can half-ass do it if I concentrate. > > RE: not being able to swim. I remember it taking me about 10 seconds to figure out how to doggy paddle. I don’t understand what those who can’t swim can’t at least pull this off. I could also teach someone how to tread water in a couple minutes. I bet you can’t teach me. Seriously, I’ve had quite a few people try to teach me to float, to dog paddle, etc. I sink, I don’t float. Or at any rate, that’s what used to happen. > [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > I grew up in the US and moved to a new state every few years. Every school I ever attended had a pool with weekly swimming classes. (Actually, I take that back, one school didn’t have a pool; however, we were all bussed once a week to another school that did.) High school and college both required students to pass a swim test for graduation. I assumed this was pretty common but I guess not. No in my schools. I think that the last high school I attended might have had a swimming pool, but if it did, I never knew about it, and we certainly didn’t have required swimming classes, so of course we didn’t have to pass a swimming test to graduate. This was most fortunate for me. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/122 "2011-06-13T19:28:42Z")
I am a dude, but can’t throw an American football to save my life. Spiral? Fuhgeddaboutit. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/123 "2011-06-13T19:46:34Z")
I think that if you’re a guy in Texas, and you can’t throw a football, they make you give up your Man Card. And if you don’t do it voluntarily, they’ll beat you and then take it. I’m not saying that I APPROVE of this, mind you…just that it seems that way to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/124 "2011-06-13T20:06:36Z")
I can’t do car things, like change a tire or change the oil, or drive a stick. However, I do know how to pump my own gas. And my husband showed me how to check the tire pressure and put in air. I’m not real comfortable with computers either. When I first got this job, about ten years ago, I had hardly ever seen a computer. The lady who supervised me had to show me how to turn it on. She also gave me helpful tips, such as minimizing my email to the bottom of the screen instead of completely closing it and logging back in to check it all the time. I’ve also never lived on my own, so I don’t know stuff like how to rent a place, or how to relight the furnace if it goes out. I’ve never used public transportation and would be petrified if I had to. Fortunately, I don’t mind looking like a dumb ass. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/125 "2011-06-13T20:34:20Z")
I once had a small company where I sent out men in trucks to pick up trash tires. One of the men told me he didn’t know how to read a map. He could read and write just fine, but had never needed to read a map. As soon as I sat down with him to try to show him how, all the man gathered round. Later that month, the landlord sent three men to virginia (from Pittsburg) to pick up some furniture. They wound up in Ohio, going up and down, north and south, looking for a road sign for Richmond. They finally got stopped by the police, who called their boss who had to go get them. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/126 "2011-06-13T20:36:00Z")
You have to train yourself to be able to raise one eyebrow or wiggle an ear. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/127 "2011-06-13T20:56:09Z")
Not me, but back in college I had to show one of my roommates how to make instant mashed potatoes out of a box. I also had to explain to my then-boyfriend some of the finer points of doing your own laundry, including a lesson on why cramming in as much as you can mash into the machine - using his full body weight, seriously! - isn’t a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/128 "2011-06-13T21:25:02Z")
While at a college radio station in the mid nineties we had to show freshman recruits how to operate a turntable. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/129 "2011-06-13T21:26:55Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I think that if you’re a guy in Texas, and you can’t throw a football, they make you give up your Man Card.. No, they let you be the starting QB of the Dallas Cowboys. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/130 "2011-06-13T21:51:41Z")
A couple years ago, the power went out in my sister’s subdivision. She went out to see if everyone’s power was out, and was shatting with her neighbor, who was doing the same thing. THe neighbor’s 17 year old daughter came home at that time, and asked why everyone was outside. They told her the power was out. She went into the house and came out again immediately, surprised the lights didn’t come on. The told her again about the power, and she told her mom she was glad the mom was home, because she had no idea what to do if the power was out. No idea where the flashlights were kept. When my sister said to light a candle, she said she didn’t know how to use a lighter or matches. At 17! The girl said she’d probably have to call 911 if she was ever home alone and the power went out. My sister told her just to come over to her house. StG ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/131 "2011-06-13T22:10:43Z")
How can you go to school every day and not know if there’s a swimming pool in the building? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/132 "2011-06-13T23:00:10Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > I never learned how to flirt. I can’t tell when guys are interested in me in that way, either. Back before I met my partner, I was totally incapable of flirting . . . and I only realized someone was interested in me after the fact, when it was too late. Even when someone was being fairly obvious, I just didn’t pick up on it. The only reason my partner and I got together was his unyielding persistence. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/133 "2011-06-13T23:34:56Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > Then there was the time on CNN, several years ago, when the news-crawl at the bottom of the screen warned of a hurricane threatening “TX, LA, and MI”. A tiny hijack, but after the Joplin tornado recently, I saw a news report that mentioned the “destruction in Joplin, MS” while showing a map with Montana highlighted. The rare double screwup. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/134 "2011-06-14T01:08:58Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Not me, but back in college I had to show one of my roommates how to make instant mashed potatoes out of a box. I also had to explain to my then-boyfriend some of the finer points of doing your own laundry, including a lesson on why cramming in as much as you can mash into the machine - using his full body weight, seriously! - isn’t a great idea. Dude, the potato instructions are right there on the box. What was there to teach? Joe ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/135 "2011-06-14T01:19:02Z")
How to think critically, and how to be a knowledgeable consumer. They go hand in hand a lot of times, too. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/136 "2011-06-14T01:31:34Z")
I can’t whistle. I’ve been trying for over 40 years, but I just can’t seem to make noise when I pucker and blow. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/137 "2011-06-14T01:45:09Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > It never really occurred to me how much basic training I got by being a Girl Scout, having family who hunted and fished, and who had a big garden in the back yard growing up. I may not grow my own veg or eat meat these days, but I certainly know how to do all these things if I needed to. Including making the fire to cook them. I do think these things are basic skills, that I guess I assume everybody knows until they tell me otherwise. I actually don’t think hunting and fishing are basic skills. I don’t think butcher work is basic skills either. All three take practice and knowledge. I think people who think they go to the store and buy the ingredients are less dependent are mistaken. Some people acted like you’re not an adult if you eat out or cook ready food. To some extent (unless you totally live all off the land) all food is kind of ready food. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/138 "2011-06-14T04:00:29Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I bet you can’t teach me. Seriously, I’ve had quite a few people try to teach me to float, to dog paddle, etc. I sink, I don’t float. Or at any rate, that’s what used to happen. The reason you can’t swim has nothing to do with your ability to float or otherwise. Firstly you can float. You do not have lead in your bones, and air in your lungs is exactly as light as it is in anyone else. People who dive have to wear very heavy lead belts to achieve neutral bouyancy. There are no exceptions to this. Secondly floating well is a bit of a learned skill: it’s about relaxing and balancing. I always used to say that I couldn’t float but other kids could, till I learned to swim. > [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Dude, the potato instructions are right there on the box. What was there to teach? Comprehending written language is a common skill that many don’t have. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/139 "2011-06-14T04:22:44Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I think that if you’re a guy in Texas, and you can’t throw a football, they make you give up your Man Card. And if you don’t do it voluntarily, they’ll beat you and then take it. > > I’m not saying that I APPROVE of this, mind you…just that it seems that way to me. I, too, cannot throw a football, and yes, that is part of the reason I had to leave Texas. That plus I can’t “mosey.” ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/140 "2011-06-14T06:26:23Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’ve never used public transportation and would be petrified if I had to. This seems to be surprisingly common - I ride the bus quite a lot and quite often I see someone who doesn’t seem to have a clue what to do. Where does the money go? What do you do with the transfer? When do you ring the bell? How do you make the back doors open? It’s all very amusing to me, but then I remember that the reason I’m on the bus in the first place is because I don’t have a drivers license (although I do know how to drive, even stick), so it’s hard to be too uppity about knowing how to ride the bus. I have recently realized that I don’t know how to ‘shake it’. I’ve been doing Zumba at my gym, and this comes up fairly frequently. All the other girls seem to be able to do some kind of at least semi-sexy boob-shaking, but I am just chronically incapable of doing it. Like others in this thread, I also cannot really snap my fingers. I tried to teach myself to do it in my early 20s, and I got to be somewhat okay at it (but just with one hand). Then I had surgery on that hand/arm that involved rearranging some tendons, and now I can’t even do the half-assed finger snap. At least now I can point to the scars and claim it as some kind of disability. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150.md?page=8)