# Perfectly ordinary things that strike you as marvelous when you think about them **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 24, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588 "2009-03-24T15:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [March 24, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/1 "2009-03-24T15:20:47Z")
Well, maybe not _marvelous_. You can just say “cool” if you want. I’ll start with kinesthesia. The fact that I can, without seeing either hand, flawlessly lead my right index finger to any knuckle on my left land, or guide my tongue to whichever incisor or molar I choose, and so forth, is faintly remarkable when you think about it. But that’s just me. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/2 "2009-03-24T15:47:28Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’ll start with kinesthesia. The fact that I can, without seeing either hand, flawlessly lead my right index finger to any knuckle on my left land Not to derail your thread but how well can you do this? If I close my eyes and move my hands far apart, trying to bring my index finger over in a short time I fail pretty miserably at landing right on any specific knuckle. I have to slow it down and let the finger hover close to my hand for a moment to get it exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/3 "2009-03-24T15:52:01Z")
Water. How can it be clear but “visible”, you can out your hand through it but feel it and see it, it blobs into droplets… The fact that you can be driving along and while you are still registering what’s going on, you can see a second view of completely different things in your mind’s eye. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/4 "2009-03-24T16:10:04Z")
Bread always amazes me, even though I’ve been baking it for nearly half my life (on and off, purely recreationally). The most basic old-school methods call for nothing more than flour and water and salt, which any shmo with a little time and patience should be able to transform into a delicious edible substance… with the help of little microscopic critters _pulled right out of the air_, that is. If that ain’t magic, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/5 "2009-03-24T16:21:03Z")
Radio and Television. I wanted to work these into a separate thread earlier this week, but this seems the right place. To think that with the right gizmo you can get music, people talking, pictures, movies, football games and all that stuff _right out of the air_! Just think what all (foreign spy shit, radar, cosmic rays) is passing through you or by you at this very moment! ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b782af/32.png) [@Lavender\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/6 "2009-03-24T16:37:46Z")
I am in awe of the fact that life even exists on this planet. We keep looking for signs of life elsewhere, and it could be out there, but so far, Earth is the only place we know of with all these plants and animals everywhere. When you start thinking about the complexity and diversity of life, it is truly staggering. What a gift. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/7 "2009-03-24T16:40:05Z")
Nature. \* Planet Earth \*is airing again on Discovery Channel, and I think my favorite episodes are Caves and Jungles. How amazingly cool is Earth!! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/8 "2009-03-24T16:46:40Z")
Music. We may, at more or less any time, induce vibrations in the atmosphere that make us move, sing, or cry. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/9 "2009-03-24T16:50:59Z")
I’ve always marveled at the human brain’s ability to do quick calculations though we don’t know we’re doing it. Like throwing a baseball to a friend. Your brain has to calculate the distance, angle, direction, and strength all in a fraction of a second for a successful throw, and that’s for a target that’s not moving. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/10 "2009-03-24T17:00:43Z")
This right here. This thing of ours. The fact that I can type a message while sitting in my recliner in my living room and it can instantly be viewed by everyone in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/11 "2009-03-24T17:09:35Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Music. We may, at more or less any time, induce vibrations in the atmosphere that make us move, sing, or cry. And we just never seem to run out of ways to combine those 12 tones (and their octaves) into ever more impressive patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/12 "2009-03-24T17:10:40Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > This right here. This thing of ours. The fact that I can type a message while sitting in my recliner in my living room and it can instantly be viewed by everyone in the world. Fuckin’ A, Bubba! ---
**Author:** ![imfloating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@imfloating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imfloating)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/13 "2009-03-24T17:12:55Z")
Take someone from the jungle or wherever who has never heard any form of music other than a drum. Play a simple musical scale on any instrument but with one sour note in it and they will be able to tell which one it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/14 "2009-03-24T17:16:04Z")
Pets. Specifically dogs. We tamed wolves, and they sleep with us in our beds at night. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/15 "2009-03-24T17:16:37Z")
I sometimes sit on my front stoop, watch traffic roll by, and am amazed that we get along with so few accidents. I mean, we all climb into these heavy metal objects, blow around the roads at common speeds almost unreachable a few hundred years ago by any means, and manage to not just turn the whole thing into a massive, horrible game of bumper cars on a daily basis. Wow! ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/16 "2009-03-24T17:17:12Z")
I love looking down at urban areas while taking off or landing in an airplane. The traffic looks so orderly and cooperative, the cities looks so organized. Neither of these things look that way close up. I actually feel extremely impressed that everyone drives as well as they do. You’ve got millions of people, all with different goals and destinations, all with their own distractions and thoughts, yet when you look at it at a distance everything is orderly and 99.99% of the time all the rules are followed. A light turns green, a collection of cars start moving, a light turns red a collection stops. To see that all over the city all at the same time, is quite awe inspiring. We’re talking tons of steel hurtling around at 55MPH, yet you can throw yourself into all that and be reasonably assured of ending up where you want to go. I guess it sounds stupid but I really enjoy seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/17 "2009-03-24T17:19:00Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > I sometimes sit on my front stoop, watch traffic roll by, and am amazed that we get along with so few accidents. I mean, we all climb into these heavy metal objects, blow around the roads at common speeds almost unreachable a few hundred years ago by any means, and manage to not just turn the whole thing into a massive, horrible game of bumper cars on a daily basis. Wow! Gah! I swear your post wasn’t there! At least I’m not the only one who thinks that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/18 "2009-03-24T17:19:23Z")
Every day we get into one of the most expensive, heavy and dangerous thing we own and go speeding down the road just trusting that everyone else will play nice. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/19 "2009-03-24T17:30:09Z")
Evidently we all thing traffic is pretty amazing. Not sure what that says about our personal driving abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588/20 "2009-03-24T17:32:44Z")
The heart pumps something like 50 million gallons of blood in your lifetime. Rain or shine, sleeping or waking. All the time, every day. What the FUCK! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-ordinary-things-that-strike-you-as-marvelous-when-you-think-about-them/490588.md?page=2)