# Stuff You Just Don't Get **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 3, 1999, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885 "1999-08-03T06:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/1 "1999-08-03T06:50:00Z")
This is kind of a spin-off of my Playgirl thread. What stuff out there is popular, but has zero appeal to you? It’s not necessarily something you despise (i.e., Spice Girls, Clinton)…just something that does nothing for you, but makes way too many other people go “oooh!”…and you just don’t get it. **I’ll start:** Playgirl (duh) Cola drinks Tequila shots Soap Operas Chihuahuas SUVs Woody Allen and his movies Uma Thurman Potato Salad Porshes Longaberger baskets Lowered cars Beanie Babies (well…except the cats! 😉 ) _Gone With the Wind_ The funky plastic colorful kitchenware that’s hip now Birkenstocks ## How about ya’ll? “Me fail English? That’s unpossible!” “English? Who needs that? I’m never going to England.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/2 "1999-08-03T08:38:00Z")
I’ll bite: -Celebrities (I just dont see how people get so worked up over them) -Soap Operas -Ricky Martin -The Southeast Asian Decorating craze (Uh yeah, like a balinese peasant sleeps on silk pillows, lives in an expansive “Balinese Villa”, and all the other stuff. It’s nice if you genuinely like the style but dont do it because the Joneses or some decorator are doing it. :)) -Beanie Babies -All of the teenie bopper pop singers -Rice Rockets (Japanese economy cars that are “customized”) -Limp Bizkit -Kid Rock -SUV’s -Choppers -Fast Cars -Vacations to Bali, Indonesia, Southeast Asia -Paris -Euro-Asian cooking (We call that making do in my home) I used to not have a problem with some of those things but since some have become trendy, they all are becoming quite trite. * * * “Let me show you something that you’ve never seen before like a light im gonna shine on you forever is a word i dont often get to say but if you say it loud enough i’ll say it too” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/3 "1999-08-03T08:38:00Z")
-Furbies -Beanie babies -Anime -Marilyn Manson -Star Wars (well, Return of the Jedi was good) -Y2K chaos -Ricky Martin -Little-boy bands (Backstreet Boys and clones) -Golf -Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, and whatever other brand names are charging exhorbitant amounts for kids to walk around everywhere doing free advertising -MS Excel ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/4 "1999-08-03T11:41:00Z")
As for clothing… -Any pair of sneakers costing more than $35 -Any pair of jeans costing more than $30 And I’ll definitely go along with the Woody Allen movies. But I noticed both of you that said SUV are from CA, here in the northeast we get snow and a trip to a real supermarket usually involves a half hour drive. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/5 "1999-08-03T12:19:00Z")
I don’t get: -the allure of fake nails and big hair -why Backstreet Boys and 'NSync are so popular -how people can whine about their life and not do anything to address the issues -Ditto on Woody Allen -selling/trading in a perfectly good car after two years 'cause something ‘new’ is out -the hoopla about _Pulp Fiction_ (that’ll get me some heat! 🙂 ) -consumerism: the need to buy things to make you feel good about yourself;buying into the culture of advertising -Beanie Babies -Elvis memorabilia -country music brain is dead today;can’t think of much! * * * And can it be that in a world so full and busy, the loss of one weak creature makes a void in any heart, so wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth of vast eternity can fill it up! -Charles Dickens “Dombey and Son” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/6 "1999-08-03T12:42:00Z")
- most movie critics - Woody Allen - Kickboxing aerobics - Tae Bo (_sigh_) - bad drivers (well, specfically why are there so many of them, and why do they have to drive when I am driving?) - the judicial system (_double sigh_) - gun control nuts - anti-gun control nuts ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/7 "1999-08-03T12:57:00Z")
-blue-rinse hair -those rubber covers on the front of cars to stop the paint getting chipped or something. -strapping mobile 'phones to your belt when your pocket would do fine. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/8 "1999-08-03T15:21:00Z")
## • Jeans with the crotch down to your knees • Top 40 music • Wedge-shaped cars w/o any styling • Microsoft PowerPoint • Mozart [the top 40 of classical?] • television • cellular phones • virtual business cards in email • guys shorts with the legs down to the knees Designated Optional Signature at Bottom of Post ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/9 "1999-08-03T16:06:00Z")
Gambling - It just doesn’t work for me. I see friends, relatives, and co-workers buying lottery tickets and going to casinos and I just don’t understand the appeal. They tell me they enjoy thinking about the possibility of winning huge amounts of money. Well, I enjoy thinking about the possibility of being rich but I don’t see how spending my money away on Lotto and slot machines has any connection with that. Car crashs - I see a lot of action movies that feature cars chasing each other around and crashing in spectacular fashions. What is the attraction of watching cars drive around fast, crash through fruit stands, flip over, or go over cliffs and explode? My advice - cut the car scenes and add more sex scenes. Austin Powers - A friend of mine says this is the funniest movie he has ever seen. Obviously there are a lot of other people who loved it. I was really looking forward to it because I had heard it was funny, but when I saw it I didn’t think it was anything special. I’m not saying I hated it, but I’d rate it about a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. Coffee - I can drink it but I’ve never understood the appeal it holds for other people. I probably actually drink about four or five cups of coffee a year. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/10 "1999-08-03T16:18:00Z")
- Woody Allen, just to keep the theme going - People who bring their work home - Jerry Springer - Extreme sports - The Weather Channel * * * There aren’t enough days in the weekend. – Steven Wright ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 1999, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/11 "1999-08-04T05:44:00Z")
Friends (TV show) Diet Soda - Why do people drink this foul crap when unsweetened iced tea tastes so much better? KoRn - I was forced to one of their concerts and I just don’t see what the big deal is. People who drive pick-up trucks, but never put anything in back. Religion ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 1999, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/12 "1999-08-04T05:59:00Z")
- Leonardo DiCaprio (C’mon, he looks like he’s 12 years old) - Stuffed animals propped up in the rear windows of cars - Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and about half the bands who were at Woodstock - George W. Bush - Wearing pants so low they’re almost falling off and your underwear is on display. Get a belt, for chrissakes! - Ally McBeal * * * ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/13 "1999-08-03T18:34:00Z")
- ditto on Ricky Martin - ditto on Ally McBeal - anything ever produced by Aaron Spelling - golf - hip-hop/rap - aLtErNaTiNg UpPeR aNd LoWeR cAsE tYpInG - baked beans - Star Trek - materialism - high school mentality among people in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s - 60-80 hour work week = necessary for success - Julia Roberts - good looking = talented - MBAs - the stock market - Cher - artificial humming birds (I saw these at the pool store) - 4X4 vehicles driven by people who freak out if they get dirt under their fingernails (Thanks for screwing up the demand curve people! I would actually make good use of a 4X4 if I could afford it!) - ditto on Leonardo DiCaprio - people who think “y’all” is spelled “ya’ll” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/14 "1999-08-03T19:30:00Z")
–The crappy movies that Hollywood puts out and paying $8.75 to see them –Breast Implants –Women who are constantly on a diet or “watching what they eat” –Stephen King, Daniel Steele, John Grisham, etc. –Ditto on Backstreet Boys and N’Suck ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/15 "1999-08-03T20:04:00Z")
– George W. Bush: even if I were republican I wouldn’t understand why money’s being thrown at the vaguest candidate in the field. – Reality Bites – Pi (movie, not the number) – Clueless – the British Royal Family ( I get why the Brits obsess, but _Americans_?) – rock/rap hybrid bands – gaudy, tacky jewelry – people who can have fact upon fact upon fact thrown at them and refuse to compromise when they believe something contrary to those facts (and I’m not just talking religious fundamentalists here… stubborn people in general) – Jimmy Buffett – this Wavy Gravy character I’ve seen in every Woodstock retrospective this month. Who is he and WHAT is that thing he’s carrying? – anal sex – hot dogs ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/16 "1999-08-03T20:30:00Z")
Pardon my “ya’ll,” Strainger. I’m a displanted hillbilly (born in West Virginee, thank y’all very much!) who never quite learned the correct spelling of such euphenisms. Still, when I think about it for 3 seconds, DUH. 🙂 * * * “Me fail English? That’s unpossible!” “English? Who needs that? I’m never going to England.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 1999, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/17 "1999-08-03T22:12:00Z")
Platform shoes. What is the deal? They’re horrible. They were ugly in the 70’s, and they’re ugly now. Strainger said - “4X4 vehicles driven by people who freak out if they get dirt under their fingernails (Thanks for screwing up the demand curve people! I would actually make good use of a 4X4 if I could afford it!)” I agree. I can’t stand people who spend thousands of dollars lifting their trucks, getting huge mud tires, buying a winch that can lift a bus, and then only driving them around town, being real careful not to run over a little curb or anything. What a waste. Hey Strainger, get a 4X4! A good used Toyota truck or 4Runner is not very expensive, they’re easy to work on, and they are so much fun! You have trails all over Arizona, too. You can’t believe what you ever did without one (I felt the same way when I got this damn computer). Mine has a permanent coat of mud on it and sees the trails at least once a month. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 1999, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/18 "1999-08-04T03:13:00Z")
- Zima - the X-Games - Woodstock '99 - Woodstock '69 - That DJ Jesse on MTV - The stupid new Saturn with a third door on the (street?) side - Rosie O’Donnell - Differences between “Vegans” and “Vegetarians” (like us carnivores really care…) * * * “…send lawyers, guns, and money…” ``` Warren Zevon ``` ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 1999, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/19 "1999-08-04T03:49:00Z")
Gee…I sooo don’t fit in here…people have posted things that they don’t like, and I like most of those things! * * * MaryAnn Sometimes life is so great you just gotta muss up your hair and quack like a duck! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 1999, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885/20 "1999-08-04T05:14:00Z")
Ditto on these: Soap Operas Chihuahuas SUVs Longaberger baskets Lowered cars Beanie Babies -Golf -Old Navy -Elvis memorabilia -country music the British Royal Family ( I get why the Brits obsess, but Americans?) And let me add these: Hunting for sport Forrest Gump Caffeine free diet Coke Holocaust denial Camping (let’s go be uncomfortable for several days and nights) Office parties on Dec. 24, with a guy dressed up as Santa, lots of red and green decorations, and a gift exchange, and insisting on calling them “Holiday” parties, and expecting the Jews to join in and feel truly included, as everyone wishes you “Happy Hanukkah,” when Hanukkah ended a week ago. Brad Pitt Tom Selleck Romance novels Floating basketball art People who drive to the gym to work out ## People who will give money as charity to disabled people, but won’t let them work to earn it. * * * –Rowan Shopping is still cheaper than therapy. --my Aunt Franny [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-just-dont-get/13885.md?page=2)