# Small skill that you are better than most people at doing. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401 "2004-08-25T04:19:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paulies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@Paulies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paulies)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/1 "2004-08-25T04:19:29Z")
It can be typing, reading fast or you just rock at this one flash game no one heard of. Nothing that has mainstream competition counts. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/2 "2004-08-25T04:26:56Z")
Color, style fit. I can pick out a color that will perfectly match or blend with something else I own, even if the other item is at home. And upon getting the new item home? Yes, it is a PERFECT match or fit. This applies whether it’s clothing or interior decorating. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/3 "2004-08-25T04:28:20Z")
I can roll a mean ball of yarn. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/4 "2004-08-25T04:30:53Z")
I don’t think it’s that small, but my writing usually has perfect grammar and spelling without my having to check it. ---
**Author:** ![Anduin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Anduin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/5 "2004-08-25T04:31:11Z")
I read incredibly fast. I go through novels (600 pages +) in two hours, max. While this fact astonishes people when they see me doing it, it actually sucks. I’m constantly running out of authors to read! I have a running list of books to read, but I have to change it every couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/6 "2004-08-25T04:34:28Z")
Flick playing cards up to ~150 feet, and draw blood within 30 feet (if the card is new). It can cut bananas, stick into apples, and kill any insect that unfortunately crosses paths with it. The poker players envy me for my card skills. I’m pretty good at killing flies with rubber bands too, usually from 5-15 feet. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/7 "2004-08-25T04:52:45Z")
> [@Anduin](#): > > I read incredibly fast. I go through novels (600 pages +) in two hours, max. While this fact astonishes people when they see me doing it, it actually sucks. I’m constantly running out of authors to read! I have a running list of books to read, but I have to change it every couple of days. That used to be me. Then I started learning Japanese. It takes me _forever_ to read even a few pages in Japanese. Plus, I have a whole new set of words to learn! My secret skill is parallel parking. I am amazing at it and can park a car with only on extra foot of space on either end. ---
**Author:** ![LiquidCougar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6f9a4e/32.png) [@LiquidCougar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiquidCougar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/8 "2004-08-25T05:07:13Z")
Haha… there’s this one flash game… [http://www.sticky.tv/game/cyrkam\_airtos/](http://www.sticky.tv/game/cyrkam_airtos/) I sat on it for many hours one day at work… got REAL good at it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/9 "2004-08-25T05:28:19Z")
I am really good at reading out loud. And it’s not just kids who like to listen. I think I could actually make a living reading for books-on-tape. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/10 "2004-08-25T06:28:52Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Color, style fit. I can pick out a color that will perfectly match or blend with something else I own, even if the other item is at home. And upon getting the new item home? Yes, it is a PERFECT match or fit. This applies whether it’s clothing or interior decorating. I wish I could do that. I have absolutely no sense of color or style. My skill? I’m a natural born navigator with a built-in compass. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/11 "2004-08-25T06:56:12Z")
> [@Sharky](#): > > I wish I could do that. I have absolutely no sense of color or style. > My skill? I’m a natural born navigator with a built-in compass. Heheh. Well, that’s interesting. I am severely directionally challenged. I could get lost turning around in my own bathtub. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/12 "2004-08-25T07:47:03Z")
I can type unusually fast with One hand. I have clocked in at about 50 WPM, and can beat most of my friends when they use BOTH hands :p. (I first developed this skill while playing Diablo, and I would type and play at the same time. It then moved to Starcraft, but it doesn’t Drastically affect my gameplay, it is just more convenient.) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/13 "2004-08-25T12:55:19Z")
Drainage. I am an absolute wiz at eyeing the lay of the land and scraping channels to drain puddles and minilakes from downpours, thus demudding paddocks and stableyards. One or deft flicks of the shovel or pitchfork, and I can unjam a torrent of drainage. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/14 "2004-08-25T12:57:21Z")
:smack: “One or _ **two** _ deft flicks…” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/15 "2004-08-25T13:06:21Z")
Been a while since I played it, but I used to kick ass at Whack-A-Mole. Apparently it was really funny watching me play it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/16 "2004-08-25T13:11:31Z")
I can find really small things. Dropped your lucky penny in that field? I’ll track it down down in a couple of minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/17 "2004-08-25T13:24:38Z")
I’m good at tying the appropriate knot for the job. If theres something that needs to be tied off, lashed on, tied up, or bound to something else, I know the proper knot that will hold it. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/18 "2004-08-25T13:27:43Z")
> [@Dragwyr](#): > > I’m good at tying the appropriate knot for the job. If theres something that needs to be tied off, lashed on, tied up, or bound to something else, I know the proper knot that will hold it. And I can usually untie it pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/19 "2004-08-25T13:49:12Z")
> [@Yeticus Rex](#): > > Flick playing cards up to ~150 feet, and draw blood within 30 feet (if the card is new). It can cut bananas, stick into apples, and kill any insect that unfortunately crosses paths with it. The poker players envy me for my card skills. Forever in my mind, you will be known as _Gambit_. I can type as fast as I think, usually with a pretty good degree of accuracy and no looking at the keyboard. And if I’m tied up by an amateur, I can usually escape inside five minutes. Small hands, big wrists. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401/20 "2004-08-25T13:54:21Z")
I’m good at tetherball…if there were an Olympic competition, I wouldn’t win gold, but I wouldn’t be laughed off the field either. Now, HOPEFULLY, tetherball won’t count because there’s competition…please tell me there is competition and where to find it! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-skill-that-you-are-better-than-most-people-at-doing/261401.md?page=2)