# Stuff obvious to you, not so obvious to others **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099 "2014-10-22T02:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/21 "2014-10-22T14:20:46Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > People don’t understand how to stop their cars. It’s almost universal: the ass end of the car rises as they press on the brake, which they press harder and harder as they slow, and then once the car comes to a halt the rear slams down, annoying all the passengers. > > The solution is incredibly simple and obvious: you let off the brake slightly as your car reaches 0 mph. This allows the deceleration of the car to gradually drop to zero instead of doing so instantly, minimizing jerk (both in the colloquial and technical sense). Once at a complete halt you can press the brake hard again to prevent rolling. > > I learned how to do this when I was like 15 because it was completely obvious. People do notice–occasionally people say I’m like a limo driver. Well, thanks for the compliment but I don’t understand how everybody else hasn’t figured this out already. I do that too. For fun, drop the car into neutral before you roll to a stop and this trick become much harder. As it turns out, to make this work, you actually need the engine pushing the car forward against the brakes. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > If I saw something for .99¢ I’d give a penny and say “keep the change!” 🙂 As much as it annoys me, I don’t think, in all my years, we’ve ever been called out on it. Of course, I’m under no obligation to sell you anything. Remember, just bringing something up to the counter doesn’t create a debt that you owe me money for. You’re simply making an offer that I can refuse. FTR, we don’t have scanners so we don’t fall under that law. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/22 "2014-10-22T15:08:05Z")
When two people approach a door from opposite sides at the same time, the person on the “pull” side should hold the door open and let the person on the “push” side walk through first. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/23 "2014-10-22T15:11:04Z")
I work in a high rise, and every day I see people start to get on the elevator as soon as the door opens, surprised every time that _other people might need to get out first_. I always want to go up to those oblivious people and tell them, “other people exist, you know.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/24 "2014-10-22T15:12:05Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > When two people approach a door from opposite sides at the same time, the person on the “pull” side should hold the door open and let the person on the “push” side walk through first. What? You mean it doesn’t make sense to do that weird “I’ll push it then you do that weird walk under my arm thing so I can pretend like I’m being helpful but really I’m just trying to get through first” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/25 "2014-10-22T16:02:58Z")
When there are two doors at an entrance/exit, when people are streaming into the building through one of the doors, you DO NOT have to wait for them and then use the same door to exit. USE THE OTHER DOOR! ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/26 "2014-10-22T16:23:33Z")
When I buy five of the same big heavy item (think bags of cat litter) and only put one up on the checkout conveyor, and tell them that I have “a total of five of this item”, it is obvious to me that this includes the one on the conveyor belt. However, because otherwise they sometimes ask, “including this one?”, I have learned to say “…including this one”. At work we often deal with flat belts traveling over flat rollers or pulleys. It is obvious to me that the belt is traveling at the same speed regardless of what point across its width we measure it. Some have argued with me that I don’t know that because I haven’t done an experiment to test my idea. They mean, do the measurements at a bunch of different locations. However, because I have personally witnessed that the belt does not shoot off to the side and form a giant helix or annulus, I think I actually _have_ done the experiment. I have an interpretation of the stories built into various religions (creation stories, what gods want or don’t want, et cetera) which invokes human imagination and misunderstanding and, sometimes, the taint of unspoken ulterior motives (such as why priests are not to marry, and what that means for inheritance of church wealth). It’s obvious to me. But there are HUGE disagreements. Not that I intended this as a drive-by aimed at religion; it seems to me to respond to the OP question. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/27 "2014-10-22T16:26:37Z")
When walking along a busy street and coming to a side street that I need to cross, I always look over my shoulder to see if a car coming up behind me is turning onto the side street. Almost nobody else I see does this, but it seems like a common sense safety thing to me, what with drivers using cellphones, car blind-spot problems, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/28 "2014-10-22T16:34:13Z")
Backing a trailer. Last Sunday we took our pontoon boat out of the water for the season. I only use the trailer twice a year, spring and fall, yet it is a fairly simple task to learn. However, at the public ramp where people launch and retrieve weekly, it is sad to watch people attempting to back their trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/29 "2014-10-22T17:31:02Z")
It seems quite obvious to me that the freezer doors at the grocery store are made of clear glass and are therefore see through. However, all the time people open the door and stand there staring at the ice cream flavor labels to see which one they want, letting cold air roll out everywhere and causing all the doors nearby to get condensation on them. Good job. Stellar. You couldn’t just look through the glass. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/30 "2014-10-22T17:35:33Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > It seems quite obvious to me that the freezer doors at the grocery store are made of clear glass and are therefore see through. However, all the time people open the door and stand there staring at the ice cream flavor labels to see which one they want, letting cold air roll out everywhere and causing all the doors nearby to get condensation on them. > > Good job. Stellar. You couldn’t just look through the glass. That’s not always the users fault (kinda). There’s plenty of times where I grab a few things I want, but I know I want more and know the door is frosted over from the first time I opened it. I can either wait 5 minutes OR I can just hold it open while I stare at the shelves. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/31 "2014-10-22T17:51:02Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Backing a trailer. Last Sunday we took our pontoon boat out of the water for the season. I only use the trailer twice a year, spring and fall, yet it is a fairly simple task to learn. > > However, at the public ramp where people launch and retrieve weekly, it is sad to watch people attempting to back their trailer. Some people just naturally get that, others not so much. I think for me the key was learning it in an area where I wasn’t being observed. The problem most people have is that their first experience with backing a trailer is usually around time sensitive areas (City traffic, boat launch traffic) and they become intimidated. Mine: Cut your task down into its basic components to look for efficiencies. For instance I got stuck having to stuff 100 envelopes a week with paper that needed to be tri-folded. Typically it was a long task, but I broke it down to folding 100 papers, then stuffing 100 papers. Not a big difference but there are efficiencies to be had by concentrating on one task at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/32 "2014-10-22T17:57:40Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > The top of the fridge is filthy. I’m the only one tall enough to see it. Never clean higher than your tallest friend. I seek out short people. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/33 "2014-10-22T18:26:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > When walking along a busy street and coming to a side street that I need to cross, I always look over my shoulder to see if a car coming up behind me is turning onto the side street. Almost nobody else I see does this, but it seems like a common sense safety thing to me, what with drivers using cellphones, car blind-spot problems, etc. I do this too, and I rarely see anyone else do it, which blows me away. It surely saved my life at least once that I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/34 "2014-10-22T18:53:40Z")
All other things being equal, stay to the right side of the sidewalk/hallway/path/double doors. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/35 "2014-10-22T18:55:43Z")
To the best of your ability - point your face in the direction you are traveling. This applies to: walking, running, biking, skateboarding, wheelchairing, driving, boating, and any other type of conveying yourself that ends with -ing. Really, it’s amazing how often someone gets into trouble by moving in a direction that their face is not pointing (think of the stereotypical guy turning his head to look at a girl and walking into a pole). ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/36 "2014-10-22T19:11:52Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I do that too. For fun, drop the car into neutral before you roll to a stop and this trick become much harder. As it turns out, to make this work, you actually need the engine pushing the car forward against the brakes. I guess I must practice this every single day, since I drive a car with a manual transmission and always have the clutch in by the time I am coming to a complete stop, thus decoupling the engine from the rest of the drivetrain. I’ve never really noticed the difference when occasionally driving an automatic and leaving it in drive, although making the switch the other way (learning to drive a stick when one normally drives automatic) might be tricky. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/37 "2014-10-22T19:20:25Z")
When using the scrollbar on a computer, don’t click on the tiny arrow at the top or bottom. Click on the bar itself, either above or below the marker (or just drag the marker). No one seems to know this trick. The rules of supermarket lines: People often overlook lines for registers that are further toward the front of the story; they are shorter. If you have a small order, don’t automatically go to the express aisle. If there are eight people in the express lane, and one with a big order in the regular lane, you’re better off in the regular lane; slow lines are caused by the number of people, not the number of items in an order. In any checkout situation, look for “hidden lines.” People often line up where other people are lining up, while there’s another register with far fewer people if you seek it out. When using a dolly/hand truck, push on the object to be moved to tilt it an inch or two and slide the dolly beneath it. When you reach your destination, put your toe under the axle and pull it toward you (while pushing on the item) and the dolly will come free. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/38 "2014-10-22T19:31:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > When using the scrollbar on a computer, don’t click on the tiny arrow at the top or bottom. Click on the bar itself, either above or below the marker (or just drag the marker). No one seems to know this trick. I’m not understanding this trick. If I only want the page to scroll up 2 or 3 lines, i click the arrow. More scrolling wanted, click the bar. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/39 "2014-10-22T19:38:21Z")
Anytime you have to do anything repetitive, try to make every move count and to be as efficient as possible. Watch others and improve on their technique. Become familiar with the thinking behind THERBLIGS and Taylorism. If you are doing this at work,it is best not to let the boss see you work. He will pile on more as you become more efficient. That was the original idea behind Taylor’s work. > **[Therblig](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therblig)** > > Therbligs are 18 kinds of elemental motions, used in the study of motion economy in the workplace. A workplace task is analyzed by recording each of the therblig units for a process, with the results used for optimization of manual labour by eliminating unneeded movements. > The word therblig was the creation of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American industrial psychologists who invented the field of time and motion study. It is a reversal of the name Gilbreth, with 'th' trans... > **[Scientific management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management)** > > Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes to management. Scientific management is sometimes known as Taylorism after its pioneer, Frederick Winslow Taylor. > Taylor began the theory's development in the United States during the 1880s and 1890s within manufacturing industries, especiall... ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/40 "2014-10-22T19:53:40Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m not understanding this trick. If I only want the page to scroll up 2 or 3 lines, i click the arrow. More scrolling wanted, click the bar. What am I missing? I can’t think of any time I’ve wanted the page to scroll up two or three lines that it hasn’t been easier just to use the mouse’s scroll wheel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099.md?page=3)