# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/41 "2014-10-22T19:54:02Z")
How to use a turn signal, and how multiple-way stops are supposed to work. ---
**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, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/42 "2014-10-22T20:01:41Z")
If you have to move heavy objects, gravity is either your friend or your enemy. If the object to be moved is at initially higher position than its final position, then it has potential energy which can be used to your advantage, and means that, in theory, you need to exert no energy to move it. Never waste that energy. You need to carefully analyze the situation and use your knowledge of mechanics to maximize your advantage. Never fight gravity unless you absolutely must. Move objects laterally without bending. If you have to move something against gravity, examine the situation to determine how you can use the laws of mechanics to minimize the forces you must exert. The simplest situation is a box which must be moved to a higher level. It has negative potential energy. You will want to raise one edge to tilt it 45 degrees so that the center of gravity is now higher before you lift. If you are carrying a heavy object with another person, give 'em the old Portuguese lift. Never heard of that? Apparently neither has Google. In my old warehousing days, it could often require two men to move an object. If both men carried the load at the same level, their weight was the same. If, however, one man lifted his load to a higher level, part of his load was transferred to the other man. Everyone knew this, of course, so it was only used on new guys. Of course, they eventually caught on, but some would take quite a while, as long as you weren’t too blatant about it. THAT, my friends, is the notorious Porgy lift. 😉 ---
**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, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/43 "2014-10-22T20:07:16Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > Throwing chairs! > > At work, we have to put the chairs upside down on the tables so the floor crew can work overnight. Just by looking at it, you can see that the seat only has to come up less than a foot to reach the tabletop, but _everybody_ seems to lift the chair to chest height (at least) before struggling to turn it over. I’m not sure how many minutes it took me to realize that if you lift the far side of the seat at the back while steadying the near side at the front, the chair will flip into position with hardly any effort, leaving the seat only a few inches above the table. This is not clear to me. I don’t understand what “far side”, “near side” and “at the back” mean. ---
**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, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/44 "2014-10-22T20:14:16Z")
When entering the freeway, get your god damn car up to traffic speed before merging in front of somebody. Merging at 30 mph is just asking for trouble. Also, if you see somebody entering the freeway up ahead, try to move over one lane instead of zooming up on someone’s bumper as they enter. ---
**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, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/45 "2014-10-22T20:14:17Z")
> [@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. It’s easy on flat ground, especially if you imagine holding the trailer’s hitch by hand and maneuvering it like a cart, and then make the car do that job. But, at the local dump, I had to back up around a curve, part of which goes over a berm. The trailer drops from view for several feet of travel. The challenge is to anticipate where it will be when it reappears, but it’s an inherently unstable situation, because once it goes off a little the error rapidly increases with time. That would often mess me up. How much it messes somebody up, though, depends on vertical details of the view their car lets them have of the trailer. I think this is so hard it’s actually… well, unfair. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/46 "2014-10-22T20:21:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > When entering the freeway, get your god damn car up to traffic speed before merging in front of somebody. Merging at 30 mph is just asking for trouble. Also, if you see somebody entering the freeway up ahead, try to move over one lane instead of zooming up on someone’s bumper as they enter. And for gods’ sake never, ever, ever stop at the end of an on-ramp. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/47 "2014-10-22T20:48:08Z")
Since we’re throwing out driving tips… If you’re going to an unknown or new destination, look at a map BEFORE you get in the car. Honey. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/48 "2014-10-22T20:54:48Z")
When moving something long, like a couch say, and you have to take it round a tight corner, like the turn on a stairs, tilt up the couch til it stands on its end. Now you have a _much_ shorter turning radius that will go round the corner with room to spare. ---
**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, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/49 "2014-10-22T20:56:56Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > And for gods’ sake never, ever, ever stop at the end of an on-ramp. Some people think the only response to any traffic situation is to slam on the brakes. I have a friend like this who is an incredibly timid driver. I was a passenger in a ride with her for a couple hours once (freeway driving), and by the end of the two hours she had only just got up the nerve to hit the speed limit. I try to never ever ride with her if it can be avoided. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/50 "2014-10-22T21:43:15Z")
Jumping on the traffic bandwagon… When two lanes are merging into one: 1. one car from lane A 2. one car from lane B 3. Go to step 1 Why do so many have to screw this up? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/51 "2014-10-22T22:06:59Z")
Don’t get me started on grocery carts. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/52 "2014-10-22T22:12:34Z")
> [@SpeedwayRyan](#): > > 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. . Yep, likewise. But I do notice a difference and it is a tad easier with an automatic. It’s most apparent on vehicles with high rolling resistance or when coming to a stop uphill. When driving in San Francisco, you pretty much have to give the car a bit of gas when coasting a car uphill to a stop. To be honest, this is one case where I don’t bother being extra-smooth; it’s not trivial with a manual and I have enough other distractions in the city. Since driving things are popular, here’s another: turning left. Specifically, turning left from a stop in a turn lane. I see so many people start their turn far too early; they end up making a 45-degree bee-line to the lane they want to end up in. The trouble is, by the time they get to that lane, they’re going pretty fast and their car is at a 45 degree angle to the lane. So they either have to swerve, slam on the brakes, or just veer into the adjoining lane (or drive _over_ the median curb, which I’ve also seen). It’s not a big deal if there’s only one turn lane, but if there are parallel lanes then the cars on the outside have to watch out (which I always do). The obvious answer is… just follow the road markings. Make a rough quarter-circle. That way you arrive at the other lane nearly parallel to it and you don’t have to make any crazy maneuvers. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/53 "2014-10-22T22:25:25Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > 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. Well, not to hijack my own thread, but I _just_ finished reading on this topic in _The Cambridge Medieval History_. According to that source, one of the primary motivations behind the ban on clergy marriage was a classic case of “one guy screwing it up for everybody”. Well, it was more than one guy, but you get the point. Too many married priests at that point in medieval history were trying to enrich themselves financially in order to have something significant to pass along to their sons. There were also some who were creating little “dynasties” of priests, which went against the idea that the Christian priesthood was not supposed to be a hereditary position. So the Church finally said, “Okay, no more of that.” > [@Icarus](#): > > 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). The original Mickey Mouse Club TV show (which I watched in reruns in the 1970s - I’m not old enough to have seen it in first run!) used to run a serialized story about a summer camp. The only scene I remember from the entire serial involved a teenaged boy walking along, staring off to his left at the teenaged girl he had a crush on. The result was that he ran smack into a younger boy walking the opposite direction. He looked down at the younger boy and yelled, “Why don’t you look where you’re going?!” To which the younger boy responded, “Why don’t you go where you’re looking?!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/54 "2014-10-22T23:03:05Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > The original Mickey Mouse Club TV show (which I watched in reruns in the 1970s - I’m not old enough to have seen it in first run!) used to run a serialized story about a summer camp. The only scene I remember from the entire serial involved a teenaged boy walking along, staring off to his left at the teenaged girl he had a crush on. The result was that he ran smack into a younger boy walking the opposite direction. He looked down at the younger boy and yelled, “Why don’t you look where you’re going?!” > > To which the younger boy responded, “Why don’t you go where you’re looking?!” > > 😃 In one short Spanky and Alfalfa were trying to sneak into an adult only show by having Spanky on Alfalfa’s shoulders wearing a long coat, with a fake mustache made by snipping off Alfalfa’s “personality”. Alfalfa bumped into something. Alfalfa: Why don’t you look where I’m going? Spanky: Why don’t you go where I’m looking? ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/55 "2014-10-22T23:33:04Z")
When when trying to catch a hard to catch horse/dog do NOT beat the animal (when caught) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/56 "2014-10-22T23:52:59Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > > [@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? What you’re missing is the millions of users who don’t know “More scrolling wanted, click the bar”. To move down 5 pages they click the arrow two hundred times. They don’t know any other way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/57 "2014-10-23T03:57:19Z")
When you’re moving something with wheels over a bump (like a curb or the edge of a driveway), it’s usually easier to pull than to push. If the wheels are different sizes, it’s also easier if the larger wheels go first. Once you’re over the obstacle, you can turn around again so you can see where you’re going. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen someone trying to push a wheelchair over the lip of a driveway when it would be easier to turn around and pull it. This also applies to wheelbarrows, office push carts and wheeled luggage. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/58 "2014-10-23T04:56:02Z")
I’m always baffled by the ways people have of opening a stuck jar lid. I just take a screwdriver and gently pry it at a couple of places around the lid. As soon as I hear the vacuum break, it’s loose. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/59 "2014-10-23T05:17:06Z")
I was in my 30s when I realized that when people left out of their planning things which to me were obvious it was not because they’d considered them unimportant or highly improbable, it was because they hadn’t thought of them. Case in hand: the coworkers in the Idiot Team have to load a database. The information is linked; if your table B uses data from table A, you need to load table A first. You also need to make sure that any data you want to pull from table A has indeed been added to table A. Idiot Team just found out they never added to table A, oh, about 80% of the items they need for table B. Not only had they not thought of cross-checking the two tables, they hadn’t realized it was possible to have missing data. Idiots: “but… how did this happen?” MyBoss: “I’m guessing none of you ever checked.” Idiots: “Check? Why should we have checked? Checked what?” MyBoss: “Checked that you had all the data you needed for every table. Who do you think should have checked it?” Idiots: 😕😕😕 (MyBoss is on loan to that zoo, thankfully she’s good at “not my circus” because otherwise she would have broken the ceiling by now) Another: sometimes there are two ways of doing something. And sometimes, the best way involves mixing the two. Only, it’s not “the best way” for everybody: I can mix two methods without getting dizzy, but for most people, it’s best to just stick to one method, because mixing two leads to terminal confusion, I/O error, Abort, Retry, Fail? It’s a case of “yeah yeah, that way is faster _if you don’t get lost_” - what for me is a shortcut, for them is being in the middle of the mountains without a GPS signal. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099/60 "2014-10-23T05:35:52Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > When moving something long, like a couch say, and you have to take it round a tight corner, like the turn on a stairs, tilt up the couch til it stands on its end. Now you have a _much_ shorter turning radius that will go round the corner with room to spare. “Pivot!” “Shut up!” > [@xizor](#): > > Jumping on the traffic bandwagon… > When two lanes are merging into one: > > 1. one car from lane A > 2. one car from lane B > 3. Go to step 1 > > Why do so many have to screw this up? Here’s why: assume that lane A is the one that keeps going and that B is the one that “stops.” The people in Lane A don’t want to let anyone from Lane B in because they figure they were in the “right” lane all that time and that the people in Lane B are “cutting” unfairly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-obvious-to-you-not-so-obvious-to-others/702099.md?page=4)