# Strange, not terribly useful 'powers' that you have **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 15, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390 "2002-10-15T20:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/1 "2002-10-15T20:23:46Z")
Mine is a strange power to be sure, and very far from useful - the dish patterns that I choose become discontinued fairly rapidly. When I got married, I chose a lovely set of everyday dishware from Crate and Barrel, and within 6 months I got a postcard saying the pattern was being discontinued. Over time, the glaze began developing cracks in it, so about a year ago, I picked up a new set of dishes at the same store. Within about 3 months, I got the dreaded postcard - yes, this style was being discontinued too. The one that really makes me sad is my china pattern. I picked Villeroy & Boch’s Cannes (aka Villa Cannes) pattern when I got married, and supposedly it was a rather classic pattern - from what I was told, it had been around for over a decade. Within a couple years, though, it was discontinued, and I hadn’t been able to buy the serving dishes (platters/bowls/vegetable trays) that I wanted. ☹ Online I’ve seen the place settings, which I’m set for, plus a coffee service that I don’t want. And of course, I’ve seen sites in other languages - notably a Russian one - that sell pieces I’m interested in, but I don’t understand them. And Ebay, which supposedly sells everything, doesn’t have any entries for this pattern any of the times that I’ve checked. My husband and I once could also make it rain on any given weekend that we planned ahead to go to a particular beach, but we haven’t tested that one out for a while. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/2 "2002-10-15T20:33:30Z")
I have the awesome, irresistible power to make women completely un-horny. (And not in the good way.) Also I’m pretty good at killing threads. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Frank\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_2)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/3 "2002-10-15T20:40:04Z")
I’ll refrain from the little skills & talents I have, as most of them can be learned. My one ‘power’ is a strange ability to predict a coin that I flip. There is close to 80% chance that after flipping the coin it will show the opposite side it started on. I showed a friend this once and rattled off 10 correct guesses in a row. My theory is that my coin-flipping motion is so consistent that I can predict what I will flip it to. Unfortunately I can’t make any money since no one would bet me when I’m flipping the coin **and** calling it at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/4 "2002-10-15T21:02:14Z")
I have the power of getting people to drink more than they normally would. That and I have the ability to effortlessly scare most children other than my own. That’s about it…oh yeah, that and I am invisible. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/5 "2002-10-15T21:20:47Z")
Now folks, we all **know** the SDMB has the uncanny power to attract trolls; that’s such a passé example. It’s like saying “I wash my car and it rains”. Anyone else have something different to contribute? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/6 "2002-10-15T21:26:53Z")
1. Somehow, whether it’s day or night, any time of year, and even when I don’t have a watch or clock nearby, I can guess the time within fifteen minutes. 🙂 2. I’ll match my spelling ability against any dumb computer spell-check feature… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/7 "2002-10-15T21:30:19Z")
Oh, I forgot one - my husband has the power to be invisible to toddlers and other young children. In shopping malls and similar locations, they will run right into his legs without any apparent attempt to slow down or change course, step on his feet, and otherwise show no realization that he is there, contrary to all reasonable expectations. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/8 "2002-10-15T21:32:14Z")
Hail Hitler? That’s cold and you’re damn stupid. **Denise** , I’m not going to let a villidiot derail your thred… My special powers? I’m a fart magnet. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/9 "2002-10-15T21:37:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > My special powers? > I’m a fart magnet. I’d have guessed, from previous threads, that you just attract weird bathroom incidents in general. 😃 (Thankfully, you seem to have missed encountering **Billy Rubin** ’s coworker who has the infamous “prehensile rectum”.) ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/10 "2002-10-15T21:39:27Z")
Every time I have seriously lascivious fantasies about a doper, he ends up with a girlfriend within 6 months. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/11 "2002-10-15T21:41:32Z")
**Moderator’s Notes:** The seeming non sequiturs in this thread are in reference to a post I’ve deleted. Please carry on and ignore these folks the best you can. Replying to them in any fashion will end up, well, looking like the non sequiturs here. ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/12 "2002-10-15T21:42:13Z")
My car seems to be invisible. People keep trying to come over into my lane, right into me. I wouldn’t think the car would be invisible - it is quite large - but there it is. I’m constantly honking at people. And I have a trick memory. Ask me about something that happened fifteen years ago, and I can tell you what day of the week it was, what I was wearing, who was around, and all sorts of other minutia. Ask me to remember something that’s actually useful - forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Anubis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Anubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anubis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/13 "2002-10-15T22:08:18Z")
I can pop 18 joints at once, which is actually rather useful for annoying my family members… 😃 Which joints, you ask? Lesse… My 2 big toes my 2 elbows my 2 wrists my 2 knees my neck my back my 2 thumbs (first joint) my 2 thumbs (second joint) my 8 fingers (middle joint) my 8 knuckles (fingers’ first joint) (I know, that’s 30 joints, but the knuckles and thumbs are only 75% of the number of times I try, the rest are guarantees) But actually useless powers, hmm… I’d have to say my uncanny ability to choose the exact moment that the subject changes to say something (and getting me to say anything is pretty rare). ---
**Author:** ![amnesia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@amnesia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amnesia)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/14 "2002-10-15T22:28:37Z")
Well I can smell tomatoes within a 10 radius, I print fairly quickly, and speaking of popping joints, I can pop my hip/butt bone (I don’t know what bone it is exactly…) out of it’s socket. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/15 "2002-10-15T22:54:47Z")
OK, actual skills instead of derailleurs: I can juggle. Only 3 items, but I can do amazing and confounding tricks with them while juggling. And, like **dougie\_monty** , I can guess the time within 15 minutes or so. This skill developed when my watch broke a few years back and I never got around to replacing it. Finally, I have double-jointed thumbs. OK, I know “double-jointed” is a misnomer, but my thumbs can bend really far backward. I always win thumb wars. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/16 "2002-10-15T23:01:19Z")
I can often guess when I’m going to get home down to the minute when I’m driving back from school. I also have the uncanny power to be on the floor of the parking garage that has no vacant spaces. Other powers include always being behind somebody that is getting a parking space, following people who wind up going to their car just to check something, and being the only person who pulls into a vacant spot only to realize there is a NO PARKING sign posted on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/17 "2002-10-15T23:13:15Z")
I too can juggle. Three items, but I’m working on 5. I have the amazing power to match colors in paint. You bring it in, and I can match it. It took me years of hard training to perfect my talent. Some colors may look different than what you bring in, but rest assured, that’s what the color is. Trust me. I’m also _telepathetic_. And I really do mean this. I have this weird ESP thing that I can see rediculously mundane things happen ahead of time. One could call it déja vù if it weren’t so damn pitiful. . . Tripler OooOooOOOOoooh! I can see what you will eat for dinner. . . next Tuesday. OoooOooo! ---
**Author:** ![Savaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@Savaka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savaka)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/18 "2002-10-15T23:16:38Z")
I am freakishly accurate at identifying celebrity voice-overs in animations and TV advertisements. It is a completely worthless talent that amazes and delights absolutely no one. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/19 "2002-10-15T23:33:59Z")
I have an uncanny ability to finish other peopple’s sentences. Generally, they don’t like it. Generally, it doesn’t help. I am outstanding at amusing myself. My only talent useful in the marketplace is some kind of affinity with machines. Things seem to work for me that don’t for other people. It makes me look smarter than I am. Lesser talents: Three ball juggling. Spinning record album jackets on my fingertips (I can to this for hours). ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390/20 "2002-10-15T23:49:03Z")
No matter how few or many there may be, I have the power to carry **all** of the bags of groceries from the car to the kitchen in _one trip_! I am also amazingly adept at rock identification. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-not-terribly-useful-powers-that-you-have/132390.md?page=2)