# Personal habits of your family that you hate **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173 "2003-12-20T14:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BellaDellaItalia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BellaDellaItalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaDellaItalia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/21 "2003-12-21T02:49:31Z")
My 10 year old brother puts his feet on the table. I don’t know why, but for some reason this habit drives me CRAZY. Playing soccer in the living room? Fine. Blasting Blink182 so high my ears ring for days? Go right ahead. Using all the hair gel within a 30 mile radius and hogging the bathroom until his hair is taller than a New York skyscraper? Be my guest. But feet on the coffee table? GET OUTTA MY APARTMENT BABY! ---
**Author:** ![BellaDellaItalia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BellaDellaItalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaDellaItalia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/22 "2003-12-21T02:51:23Z")
That’s my second double post this week… ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/23 "2003-12-21T02:56:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lando Griffin \* > \*\*My mom always assumes the worst about me. > A few days ago, she found a Kinko’s card in my room (I got it a few years ago when I needed to make a school project and never took it out of my wallet). > Then one day, I get home from school and she’s standing with her arms folded at the door. > “What are you doing at Kinko’s? When are you going there? And WHAT are you doing there?” (Yes I knew i repeated myself) > I put my arms up in the air and said, > “Congratulations Mom, you caught me. I’m at Kinko’s making copies of drugs” > > She never brought it up again. 😃 \*\* I hate to ask, but what exactly might one imagine you do at Kinko’s? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/24 "2003-12-21T03:01:29Z")
My folks have the TV on _all the freaking time_. They go to another room to eat, and they leave it on. They leave the house and leave it on. They read books with the damned TV on. It drives me stark raving bonkers. Can we not have some PEACE and QUIET in this JOYOUS FREAKING HOLIDAY SEASON?!?! Christmas Day is always the worst. It seems like it’s always John Wayne on Christmas. Last Christmas there was a John Wayne movie that went on for hours and hours and hours… and it’s kinda rude to miss out on all that great togetherness… but I went to the movies with my friends anyway around 7, I just couldn’t take it anymore. Better the noise you pick for yourself with people who never get into fights with you about WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Kempis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kempis/32/19248_2.png) [@Kempis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kempis)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/25 "2003-12-21T03:04:07Z")
My father does the dental floss too; and worse, instead of swallowing excavated food he spits it out. On the floor. My gawd, we should by a spitoon, that’s so offensive. My mother will blow her nose at the dinner table, and be surprised when I ask her to not do that. Other than that they don’t do anything else quirky, but maybe I don’t realize it yet. 🙂 Some things you don’t notice as you are growing up. -k ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/26 "2003-12-21T03:08:20Z")
My family has an unnatural aversion to the electric light. The dimmer switch in the kitchen is at night-light level. The light in the living room is OFF at almost all times, esPECIally if the television is on. But what do I get when I try to read? Don’t read in the dark, you’ll hurt your eyes. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/27 "2003-12-21T03:48:48Z")
My mom is constantly reading or watching TV when she’s on the phone with me. Me: And then we went home and relaxed. Mom:Wow! Would you look at that!! Me: What? Mom: Well, there’s this thing on TV…Huh, I just got the craziest email. It says… Etc. Also, she spams me all the time, and it drives me crazy. I know that all I have to do is hit ‘delete’ and not even OPEN “Fwd:fwd:fwd:This is SOOOOO cute!”, but even just seeing the subject lines irks me. One last thing, I swear. She can’t say a person’s age without adding ‘er’ to the end—A one-year-older, four-year-older, etc. This from the woman who corrects people’s grammar constantly. Oh, I feel so cleansed. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/28 "2003-12-21T04:26:27Z")
My family announces when they’re going to the bathroom. “I have to go to the bathroom…” It bugs me. It took me awhile in the real world to get out of that habit. And my dad just farts. No warning, no getting away from people, just will get a look on his face, fart, and laugh. I hate that. ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/29 "2003-12-21T08:17:21Z")
When my parents want to complain about my brother (there’s just two of us) they lump me in it too. Like: "You guys never want to help us out’ “You guys always leave the swimming pool area messy with your kids towels and drinks” “You guys sleep all day. You need to spend more time with your kids.” My dad swears he has seen every movie on tv or DVD. It could be a brand new rental and he’ll say, “Oh I’ve seen this one, that guy is gonna die” AAARRGGHHH!! He said that in LOTR! My mom saves every container that fiood has come in, such as margarine and cool whip. Her shelves overruneth with plastic. ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/30 "2003-12-21T14:12:10Z")
My Dad likes to whistle along with the car stereo. Of course it is a different tune in a different key at a different tempo. Sometimes it is all that I can do to restrain myself from stuffing a sock in his mouth and screaming ENOUGH ALREADY! ---
**Author:** ![BellaDellaItalia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BellaDellaItalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaDellaItalia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/31 "2003-12-21T15:09:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, she spams me all the time, and it drives me crazy. I know that all I have to do is hit ‘delete’ and not even OPEN “Fwd:fwd:fwd:This is SOOOOO cute!”, but even just seeing the subject lines irks me. My sister does this. I forgot about it. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/32 "2003-12-21T15:10:05Z")
My grandmother knows EVERYTHING. Worse yet, she’ll tell you that she knows everything. I remember being at her house once, and the time came on the television screen during the news. She clicked her tongue and checked her watch. “Their clock is slow.” she said. My mother sings and whistles sometimes when you’re trying to talk to her. If you’re telling her something, and a song she likes starts playing on the radio, television or wherever, she’ll still look at you and nod in the right places, but she’ll be singing or whistling too. I HATE THAT!!! My boyfriend’s sister (does that count as a relative?) drags her feet when she walks in slippers. I can’t stand that. She also talks while she flosses AND brushes. Ew. ---
**Author:** ![BellaDellaItalia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BellaDellaItalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaDellaItalia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/33 "2003-12-21T15:17:18Z")
Oh yeah, did I mention they’re LOUD? Because the are LOUD. ON A GOOD DAY THEY’LL TALK LIKE THIS. ---
**Author:** ![Kempis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kempis/32/19248_2.png) [@Kempis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kempis)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/34 "2003-12-21T15:42:06Z")
My parents will try to hold conversations through a bathroom door. I always found this puzzling. Bathrooms are usually tiled so voices echo, or water is running so you can’t hear anyways, or colon sculptures are being created so thoughts are elsewhere. Never is the topic important enough to wait, either. Once my mother was taking a math test for a college exam, and she started reading a word problem through the door to me. ??? Does having children make you forget that there’s other people in the world? -k ---
**Author:** ![BellaDellaItalia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BellaDellaItalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaDellaItalia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/35 "2003-12-21T16:01:01Z")
My Nonna and Nonno don’t seem to think you need a lock on the bathroom door. Luckily I’m thier favorite and managed to convince them to get one before anything tragic occurred. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/36 "2003-12-21T16:26:28Z")
I love my dad, but never sit across from him at mealtime. Trust me on this. He refuses to wear his false teeth and chews with his mouth open. Not a pretty sight. And be careful if you phone my mom. Halfway through a conversation you’ll hear the toilet flush. I hate that. And speaking of things you don’t notice until you’re away from home… My older brother, the deacon, has this nervous habit. Hubby, after first spending time with the deacon, came back to me and asked if deacon did this all the time or if there was a problem. I had never noticed, but yes he does this all the time. Incessantly. Deacon adjusts his “package” all the time. Truly, about every 3 minutes he checks and wiggles the boys. This is a 43 year old professional and it doesn’t matter where he is or what he’s doing. Ewwwww. ---
**Author:** ![insomnia4AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@insomnia4AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insomnia4AM)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/37 "2003-12-21T16:57:26Z")
My mom drags her feet BADLY. It doesn’t matter if she has boots on or is barefoot, she will drag those feet. Dad will hum in the morning while he is making coffee. Nothing specific, just humming. My brother has a LOUD speaking voice, and no matter what time of the day it is, he will use it. And he likes to swear too. A lot. At that loud volume. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/38 "2003-12-21T18:46:29Z")
> [@](#): > > My dad swears he has seen every movie on tv or DVD. It could be a brand new rental and he’ll say, “Oh I’ve seen this one, that guy is gonna die” AAARRGGHHH!! He said that in LOTR! My mom is the same way with sitcoms on TV. If I’m watching, say, Will and Grace or King of the Hill and she doesn’t want to watch it, she’ll say “This episode was _just_ on last night!” No mother, its actually a brand new episode, meaning you haven’t seen it. Sheesh. Said mother also uses the bathroom with the door wide open. I’ll just casually walk past the bathroom and HELLO! She won’t even have the light on or anything so its impossible to tell that someone is actually in there. Both of my parents say “ham-booger” instead of “ham-burger”. Drives me _insane!_ I correct them whenever they say ham-booger, and my mom always says “you think you know everything, what makes you think that your way of saying it is right?” And neither of them can pronounce Massachusets. It comes out like “Matcha-tooches”. ---
**Author:** ![BellaDellaItalia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BellaDellaItalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaDellaItalia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/39 "2003-12-21T22:59:50Z")
Did I mention one of my cousins who puts ketchup on everything? Corn-on-the-cob, eggs, mashed potatoes, apples… ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173/40 "2003-12-22T00:04:35Z")
My mother is not young, but she’s done this since the day Ma Bell first put a phone in her hot little fist. She will NOT shut the eff up in a telephone conversation. She talks endlessly! She will ask me, “So how are the kids doing?” and before I can part my lips to answer, she continues on with how her cat wouldn’t let her sleep well last night, how mad she is at Billiethestupidcow, what television shows she watched and how the whole g-d world is going to hell in a handbasket. This goes on for **hours**. Literally. I have put the phone down, gone to the bathroom, washed my hands, put hamburgers in the pan to fry, washed my hands, checked my email and come back to hear her still rambling on about her next-door neighbor’s son not being able to take out the garbage and when is my sister going to ever grow up? (Another question I don’t get to answer.) Mind you, she is nothing like this in person. We have great, fun, stimulating conversations in person. But on the phone, she makes me so damn mad that I _have_ to yell at her to PLEASE shut up a minute so I can at least answer one of the 200 questions she hasn’t let me answer yet. Sometimes she’ll let me finish that sentence. Sometimes not. Considering she is 74, I don’t see this dreadful, infuriating habit ever going away. And folks wonder why I hate the phone! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-habits-of-your-family-that-you-hate/220173.md?page=3)