# Tell me something you can't/don't do, that most others do/can. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493 "2004-12-07T04:17:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/41 "2004-12-07T14:37:47Z")
> [@AntaresJB](#): > > I can’t ride a bike. I just never learned. I’m 21 and I’ve never ridden a bicycle without training wheels in my life. Me either and I’m 31! My excuse is that I got a horse around the same time I got a bicycle and riding a horse was far more exciting than riding a boring old bike. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/42 "2004-12-07T14:48:15Z")
I can’t snap the fingers on my right hand. I also can’t whistle, and can’t make the Mork sign with my right hand. I find this hand thing odd, since I’m right handed. I can’t ice skate. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/43 "2004-12-07T15:16:21Z")
I can’t open plastic bags. Really. They defeat me every time - **Crusoe** reckons they’re my nemesis. I also can’t say words with “ths” sounds in them. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/44 "2004-12-07T15:23:16Z")
I have never knowingly heard any part of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” as played by the band itself - although I am aware of what it sounds like having had the misfortune to have heard the version by Rolf Harris. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/45 "2004-12-07T15:28:05Z")
> [@gouda](#): > > I can’t bargain to save my life. For anything. I try, sometimes, but I just suck at it. 5 year olds can bargain better than I can. Betcha five bucks you’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/46 "2004-12-07T15:36:56Z")
I can’t post to [TMI threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=290453). I can’t swim or ice skate. Well, I’ve never tried the latter, so maybe I can. ---
**Author:** ![Emony\_Dax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Emony\_Dax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emony_Dax)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/47 "2004-12-07T15:42:42Z")
I’m SO glad I’m not the only adult on the planet who can’t swim 🙂 I also cannot tolerate the glaucoma test, but I am double-jointed (left side only) which is very cool for freaking out grown-ups and impressing little kids. ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/48 "2004-12-07T15:42:44Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > I don’t drive. I can, but I don’t, and I don’t have a licence. > I can’t swim, and automatically, for some inexplicable and uncontrollable reason, _inhale_ when my face hits the water. My body is plotting against me and trying to drown me. > I have very little depth perception. I’m not sure to what extent, just that it’s the part of my driver’s test I always fail, often bump into walls, and watching leaves fall can make me go cross eyed. If I am in the passenger seat of a car, I’ll freak out and yell “STOP!” at a vehicle or pedestrian crossing the road… about 10 miles away… (yeah, I’ve learned to just keep my mouth shut and hang on to the holy sh\*t bar). :smack: > > To make up for it, I’m ambidextrous, “double jointed” at the elbows and fingertips, and can see sounds. (There’s a name for it, there was even a thread about it, but I don’t remember what it’s called). Holy )\*& - you can SEE SOUNDS? what do they look like? ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/49 "2004-12-07T15:50:27Z")
I have trouble remembering how to lace up a new pair of shoes. After a couple tries I “get it” again, but I don’t do this often enough to have committed it to long-term memory. It took me awhile to learn how to whistle, so I can do that, but only through my lips. I can’t do the type of whistling where one sticks two fingers in his mouth. I also can’t do the type of whistling that involves cupping the hands together. I cannot cross my eyes. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot do it! I can’t swim. My mom emrolled me in swimming lessons several times, but I could never get past the doggie paddle. Nowadays I never go to the pool or the waterpark. Nobody would want to see me in swimming trunks, anyway. Trust me on this one. Oh, and I can’t get a date, either. ☹ I’m nearly 35, if that makes **CynicalGabe** feel any better (is that why you chose the name “Cynical”?) ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/50 "2004-12-07T15:50:47Z")
I can’t sleep, most of the time. I can’t eat chicken-- that stuff is vile, I don’t know how you people do it. On the other hand, I find turkey, duck, goose, rabbit, and frog all have very distinctive tastes that are only remotely similar. I can’t whistle. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/51 "2004-12-07T15:53:07Z")
> [@Emony Dax](#): > > I’m SO glad I’m not the only adult on the planet who can’t swim 🙂 I also cannot tolerate the glaucoma test, but I am double-jointed (left side only) which is very cool for freaking out grown-ups and impressing little kids. It impresses Trek geeks that find it appropiate considering your user name too. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/52 "2004-12-07T15:54:14Z")
I can’t turn my feet outwards. I was very pigeon-toed as a kid and had to wear braces to correct it. When I walk my feet point straight ahead, when I’m lying on my back my feet face inwards so my toes are facing each other. My feet just aren’t oriented the same as most everyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/53 "2004-12-07T15:57:14Z")
I can’t bend at the waist and touch my toes. I’ve never been able to. I was a dancer for 13 years, and I couldn’t touch my toes then, either. I think my hamstrings are just too tight. Or maybe my arms are really short. I don’t watch TV. I turned on the Illinois/Wake Forest game a week ago (_GO ILLINI!_), but that’s the first time I’ve sat down to watch anything since about May. My boyfriend is 24 and doesn’t drive, but that’s mainly because insurance is too high. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/54 "2004-12-07T16:01:01Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I can’t use eyedrops. Even my doctor can’t get ‘em in. That puff o’ air glaucoma test? It’s never been successfully performed on me. My blink reflex is too fast. That’s one of the few tests I don’t really mind. But there’s another one which I absolutely can’t take. It involves goopy yellow eyedrops that numb and relax your eyes. Can’t do it. I get nauseous and light-headed. Yes, from eyedrops. I haven’t figured it out either. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/55 "2004-12-07T16:03:13Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I can’t see those 3-d hidden picture thingies. Me either, and I’ve actually had my optomotrist explain that I am physically incapable of seeing them and never will be able to. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/56 "2004-12-07T16:04:24Z")
I can’t make raspberry noises. You know, the “thhbbpht.” That one. Can’t do it. My mom makes fun of me. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/57 "2004-12-07T16:05:13Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > I can’t ice skate. I broke my kneecap ice skating, so “can’t ice skate” isn’t strong enough. I am a danger to myself and others! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/58 "2004-12-07T16:51:38Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I can’t see those 3-d hidden picture thingies. Ooooh, I can’t see them, either. When they were all the rage a few years ago, it was quite frustrating. I kept looking at them, thinking, “WTF is it? What am I supposed to see?!?” Never did figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/59 "2004-12-07T16:54:55Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I can’t see those 3-d hidden picture thingies. Oooh, I can’t either. When they were all the rage a few years ago, I kept looking at them, thinking, “WTF is it? What am I supposed to be seeing?!?” Never did get it. They just look like a fuzzy design to me. ---
**Author:** ![EmeraldGrue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@EmeraldGrue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmeraldGrue)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493/60 "2004-12-07T17:08:02Z")
I can’t snap, whistle, sit cross-legged, get a date, or sing in tune. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-you-cant-dont-do-that-most-others-do-can/278493.md?page=4)