# Some really random and really trivial pet peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 7, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017 "2004-07-07T21:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/1 "2004-07-07T21:51:18Z")
(Kind of like Andy Rooney on crack) Why do so many Chinese restaurants refer to “steam rice”? It’s STEAMED rice, as in, “I put the rice in the steamer, and now it’s STEAMED.” I understand perfectly that it’s a _Chinese_ restaurant, and that the translation is for the benefit of those who speak English, but why don’t they ever screw up “fried rice”? It’s always “fried rice”, never “fry rice”. Why do they only selectively understand proper verb-form usage on the one word and not the other? (“They” meaning the owners of these particular restaurants - not meant as a disparagement of any particular ethnic group.) Why do some people say, instead of “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…”, “Mondee, Tuesdee, Wednesdee…”? It’s a DAY - it has the word “day” in it. How could you possibly mess that up? Why do people push the elevator and/or crosswalk buttons over and over? You only have to push it ONCE. There is no computer there that calculates the number of repetitions and rate at which you are pushing the button, and correspondingly increases the speed of the elevator. What kind of moron pulls to the _left_ when someone is trying to pass them? I was watching a police chase on the news last night. It took place on a freeway, and as the fugitive and police who were chasing him would come up to a car in the far left lane, frequently the person would pull off onto the LEFT shoulder to get out of the way, even though there was a clear lane to the right. I understand that you might panic in such a situation, but when blind instinct takes over, why would it make you pull to the left? ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/2 "2004-07-07T22:14:00Z")
Why do people have to mess with the radio and AC settings in my car? I know how I want them to be. And don’t get me started on people who turn all the AC vents within their reach toward themselves (including the driver-side vents). Argh. On second thought, this might be a major pet peeve. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/3 "2004-07-07T22:20:34Z")
I must admit, I hit the button numerous times at a cross walk. I don’t think that the button is honestly hooked up to anything, it seems to take about the same amount of time whether I hit it once, twice, two hundred times or not at all. Hitting the button repeatedly just gives me something to do to kill time until the light changes of it’s own accord. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/4 "2004-07-07T23:01:09Z")
> [@malkavia](#): > > I must admit, I hit the button numerous times at a cross walk. I don’t think that the button is honestly hooked up to anything, it seems to take about the same amount of time whether I hit it once, twice, two hundred times or not at all. Hitting the button repeatedly just gives me something to do to kill time until the light changes of it’s own accord. Well yeah. I mean, there’s no satisfying, reassuring “click” when you push the crosswalk button so you are never sure you told the lights that you’re there. Elevator buttons light up. Repeat pushers of these devices clearly have cognitive difficulties. And don’t get me started on people who quote an entire post when their (gratuitous spelling error) only interested in one point. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/5 "2004-07-07T23:43:06Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Well yeah. I mean, there’s no satisfying, reassuring “click” when you push the crosswalk button so you are never sure you told the lights that you’re there. There is a crosswalk just up the road from us that you don’t really press, rather when you ‘press’ it it breaks a beam or something and it makes a noise AND lights up, so you KNOW it works. I still see people standing there ‘pressing’ it all the time. It’s extremely annoying when you are waiting for a light to change and all you hear is this ‘beep beep beep’ of someone pressing it again and again. I want to reach over and smack them. Hello! It’s working just fine! That annoying beep? That _tells you it got the message_. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/6 "2004-07-08T00:10:48Z")
Can I have a go? when focus is on the forum jump and you mousewheel. instead of scrolling the page you hear a rat-a-tat-tat of forum change clicks. When you hear beautiful music on tv and have no clue what it is (so you have no hope in hell of finding it again) the fact that music heard deliberately is not as good as music heard accidentally. ---
**Author:** ![Denis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Denis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Denis)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/7 "2004-07-08T00:48:18Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > the fact that music heard deliberately is not as good as music heard accidentally. Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/8 "2004-07-08T01:09:57Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Why do people push the elevator and/or crosswalk buttons over and over? You only have to push it ONCE. There is no computer there that calculates the number of repetitions and rate at which you are pushing the button, and correspondingly increases the speed of the elevator. 'Cuz I _really_ like pushing buttons. Something leftover from being a kid. And it’s apparently a two-fer. Not only do I get to push the crosswalk button over and over, I’m also pushing _your_ button at the same time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/9 "2004-07-08T01:19:18Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Why do so many Chinese restaurants refer to “steam rice”? For the same reason the aisle-marker signs in supermarkets say “CAN VEGETABLES”? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/10 "2004-07-08T01:34:20Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Why do people push the elevator and/or crosswalk buttons over and over? You only have to push it ONCE. There is no computer there that calculates the number of repetitions and rate at which you are pushing the button, and correspondingly increases the speed of the elevator. Most people know this. But some of them feel better if they have let the people in charge of road management know that the pedestrians havw the true right of way. Having said that, I’ve known, after pushing the button once, that after about a minute it has cancelled it’sef out and I need to press it again. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/11 "2004-07-08T01:36:35Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > For the same reason the aisle-marker signs in supermarkets say “CAN VEGETABLES”? Or “process cheese.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/12 "2004-07-08T01:47:11Z")
Public restrooms: 1. With cutesy or postmodern gender signage on the door 2. Lacking either good ventilation, TP, dispensed soap (no icky bars, please!), or paper towels. Those long cloth towels on the roll are often icky too, because usually the cranking mechanism isn’t working right. 3. With faucets you have to touch with your hands 4. With a doorknob that you have to grip on your way out (particularly annoying if there’s no paper towels; sometimes I’ll grab a towel with which to open the door). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/13 "2004-07-08T01:55:42Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Having said that, I’ve known, after pushing the button once, that after about a minute it has cancelled it’sef out and I need to press it again. I developed a theory as a child that you had to push the button a number of times just to wake it up, and further, you had to push it an odd number of times. ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON get it? I was an odd child. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/14 "2004-07-08T02:25:40Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > For the same reason the aisle-marker signs in supermarkets say “CAN VEGETABLES”? I always assumed that this was to be read as a question, just one with no answer. “I dunno if vegetables can. . .” ---
**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:** [July 8, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/15 "2004-07-08T02:39:54Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > 1. With cutesy or postmodern gender signage on the door I have issues with gender signage to begin with, but where I _really_ draw the line is when the signs read “Men” and “Ladies.” The masculine of “Ladies” is not “Men”. The masculine of “Ladies” is “Gentlemen”. The feminine of “Men” is “Women”. Thank you. ( **dr\_mom\_mcl** once visited a hospital in which the washrooms were very soberly labelled MALE and FEMALE. One pictures the male washroom and the female washroom getting together and making little baby washrooms.) ---
**Author:** ![qcomdrj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a6a055/32.png) [@qcomdrj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qcomdrj)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/16 "2004-07-08T02:48:30Z")
Right in front of my house, there is a intersection where a one way street going west turns into a two way street on the east. Ergo, when facing north you could turn left, when the light is green, or you can turn right. Many people who turn right on red sit there and look left. Down a one way street. That is going away from them. Clearly marked. Sure, glance, to make sure someone with their head up their ass isn’t going to the wrong way, but no need to stare. I counted one person looking for 15 seconds. Was a car supposed to materialize? Therefore, simple stupidity and lack of observing the obvious gets pitted. I have to put up with it every day, so it is a pet peeve. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/17 "2004-07-08T02:49:59Z")
> [@Backwater Under\_Duck](#): > > 'Cuz I _really_ like pushing buttons. Something leftover from being a kid. And it’s apparently a two-fer. Not only do I get to push the crosswalk button over and over, I’m also pushing _your_ button at the same time. 😉 And possibly breaking the whole mechanism so that it can no longer be used at all by others? That’s what I find annoying about those who repeatedly press the buttons at pedestrian lights. I don’t mind if they stand there all day, pressing away madly, if they find it so engrossing. But I do dislike discovering that the button is broken due to their over-enthusiasm. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/18 "2004-07-08T02:54:25Z")
Dearest father, you have a bachelors in journalism and a masters in education. I know you’re an excellent writer, so why the hell can’t you be an excellent writer when we’re chatting on AIM? For the love of Pete, punctuate! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/19 "2004-07-08T02:57:45Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > the fact that music heard deliberately is not as good as music heard accidentally. It’s not just me? If I play something from my collection on my computer, I almost inevitably lose interest in hearing it. Have it come on the radio, and I’m completely thrilled to hear the song. I honestly thought this was some bizarro quirk of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017/20 "2004-07-08T03:23:25Z")
When the date of your birthday comes up in conversation, there’s always _some_ dolt who exclaims “Oh wow!! Your birthday’s on July 5? My brother’s father-in-law’s cousin’s boss’s adopted mom’s is on July 23rd!!” Wait. You’re telling me you know someone with a birthday in the same _MONTH_ as me??? \ :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-really-random-and-really-trivial-pet-peeves/254017.md?page=2)