# Tell us about your special talent **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091 "2004-02-19T23:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/21 "2004-02-20T22:35:35Z")
I can do all kinds of interesting things with my feet- open door handles, throw and catch a racquetball (one-footed), even type. I’m working on signing my name… is it forgery if you do it with your foot? ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/22 "2004-02-20T22:37:34Z")
> [@sam239](#): > > “my friend” can wiggle her right nostril independently. . . "_they_ discovered this) hey, I can do that, too! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/23 "2004-02-20T22:50:01Z")
I can make my eyebrows do waves across my forehead. And, since it was mentioned earlier, I have yet to meet a guy I couldn’t outbelch. ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/24 "2004-02-21T00:33:18Z")
You know the scene in Indiana Jones and the temple of doom where he catches the egg while still asleep? Several years ago I was sleeping in a pitch black room with a very annoying blue bottle buzzing around the room. Once it flew very close and _wham!_ still semi-asleep, with my eyes closed I had snapped my hand out and caught it perfectly between forefinger and thumb, just enough pressure to hold it without hurting it. With my _left_ hand, I’m right handed… Impressive huh 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/25 "2004-02-21T00:57:41Z")
I can fit a quarter in my nose. Two, if you count one per nostril. I’ve done up to four in my nose (two in each) but it stung like a sumbitch. “Wanna see a trick? Give me a quarter. I promise I’ll give it back when I’m done.” ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/26 "2004-02-21T01:11:29Z")
I used to be a gymnast, so I can do heaps of things that most other people can’t do. I can walk on my hands, straight, in circles, following lines. I can do forward splits with both legs. I can do lots of tricks that look difficult and painful. Fun! 🙂 (I can also do the “kip” that has been talked about.) ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/27 "2004-02-21T01:27:37Z")
My mom can hum and whistle _Row, Row, Row your Boat_ in a round with herself. That is, her humming is 4 measures ahead of her whistling. It’s awesome. Oh, and **Olive, the Other Reindeer** is one of the best usernames ever. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/28 "2004-02-21T02:32:25Z")
> [@](#): > > I have the ability to cloud men’s minds. The downside is, I have to be topless at the time. Prove it. 🙂 My special talent is that I can spin a basketball on my finger. Not very unique, or useful, but oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Husker\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Husker\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Husker_Dude)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/29 "2004-02-21T02:39:32Z")
> [@Intent](#): > > I can make my eyebrows do waves across my forehead. > > And, since it was mentioned earlier, I have yet to meet a guy I couldn’t outbelch. The eyebrow thing sounds really, really cool, especially if you happen to have a uni-brow. I’ve got a couple of useless talents: - I can do one-armed push-ups. - I can do a somersault, standing still. - I can tie my wang into a knot. - I can down a 0,5 liter beer glass in five seconds. - I can pull both of my legs behind my head. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/30 "2004-02-21T03:02:14Z")
I don’t have the freakish memory that elfje has, but it is good enough at times to be annoying. I remember movie and TV trivia pretty well. Not 100% foolproof, but enough to scare me. I just _know_ who starred in what, and often I know what year. How, I don’t always know. It isn’t like I tried to remember or the actor or actress was a favorite of mine. But I’ll just _know._ I’m not exactly “freakish” with this talent (I don’t know everyone and I do forget some people) but it’s far beyone what most normal people would consider . . . well . . . normal. So all my friends always ask me who was in this and who is that and what else have they done. And I usually know. I’m also uncanny at recognizing people’s faces. An actor or actress that is mostly known for the work they did when they were elderly will be instantly recognizable to me even if I see them in something they did when they were 20 and no one else would recognize them. Same goes for disguises. Disguises, bah! Once again, this skill is not 100% foolproof, but I often recognize people that apparently NO ONE else recognizes, because entire movie plots have been dependent on the entire audience _not_ recognizing so-and-so in disguise. And yet I’ll recognize them instantly and spend the entire film wonder what the hell the big mystery is, because it’s so obvious that so-and-so is wearing a fake beard and isn’t really dead after all. (Another way I recognize them is by their teeth. The teeth are a dead giveaway.) ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/31 "2004-02-21T03:25:08Z")
> [@elfje](#): > > I’ve freakishly good memory. > > I only need to be told things once, and I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. > Not just that, I’ll remember the day I was first told, and the circumstances of the moment. > My mind is a bottomless well of (useless) information. I can repeat 2 to 3 minute phone conversations verbatim. I’ve a photographic and auditive memory. > It can be pretty annoying, sometimes. > > Nobody ever believes me when I say I remember as much as I do. > > It’s pretty tiring. > Both the repetition (as I don’t forget stuff, a lot of things ar said to me over and over again. It wouldn’t register with most people that they’ve heard/said it before) and the disbelief. Sounds familiar, except my memory is not quite photographic. I can, however, remember almost every thing I hear and everything I read. And I can, um…well, if I _wanted_ to, I could touch my nipples with my tongue. Can I say that here? \ Three glasses of Merlot…I’m sorry if I offend… Anna Belle ---
**Author:** ![PucksRaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecd19e/32.png) [@PucksRaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PucksRaven)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/32 "2004-02-21T06:33:45Z")
**elfje** I have the same thing! **Obsidian** will back me up. She calls me freak when I show it off. I can remember where everything is in every room of our house. When taking my AP test in high school I quoted passages from a book I’d read three years before. I can quote conversations and book passages verbatim. I remember the phone number of a friend I had in 3rd grade. It’s useful at times, annoying at other times and sometimes I wonder what’s going to happen when my brain is full of all this stuff and I can no longer remember my name or phone number or something. I can also put both feet behind my head, bend my thumb behind the knuckles of my other fingers and (thanks to the dentist who took my wisdom teeth out) I can dislocate my jaw at will. ---
**Author:** ![PucksRaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecd19e/32.png) [@PucksRaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PucksRaven)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/33 "2004-02-21T06:36:31Z")
Oh. I don’t know if this counts as a talent, but it’s another thing that gets me called freak. I see/associate words, letters and numbers in color. Friends will say random words or names to me to find out what color they are. Dammit I’m not a party game! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/34 "2004-02-21T07:08:51Z")
I can do a few interesting things with my top finger joints and my right toes. I can wiggle one ear, but not the other. I have an excellent memory for fabric patterns, and can just about always remember any fabric I’ve seen before. I’m pretty good with faces, too (except for middle-aged white men–they all look the same to me) and have been known to identify people I’ve only seen once, years later. And I can roll my tongue, too. **PucksRaven** , I’ve read that Rickard Feynman did the same thing with the colors and numbers. It’s evidence of an odd brain quirk, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/35 "2004-02-21T07:19:05Z")
Hüsker Düde: Fortunately, I do not have an unibrow. It’s still a neat talent though, I always win staring contests, because I can do that and make people laugh. PucksRaven: I associate things with colors as well! It was briefly mentioned in my psychology class, and it has a long complicated name. Apparently, only 2% of the population do that. I think it helps my memory. I’m 19, and I just found out a few months ago that not all people do this. It was a momentous discovery, I honestly believed that everyone remembered things this way! ---
**Author:** ![Dawne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Dawne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dawne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/36 "2004-02-21T16:55:30Z")
I’m really fast at minesweeper. ---
**Author:** ![Dawne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Dawne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dawne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/37 "2004-02-21T17:00:08Z")
I’m really fast at minesweeper. Just discovered while i was waiting for this post to be submitted (sorry if it’s a double, I don’t think it will be) that i too can lick my own left elbow! Woo. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/38 "2004-02-21T17:24:06Z")
> [@raz](#): > > You know how its a FACT that it is impossible to lick one’s elbow? > > My best friend can lick her elbow. If she can do that without moving her arm, I’d **love** to meet her. Is she single by chance? Me? [ul] [li]I can roll my tongue.[/li][li]I can cross my eyes, but move either one independently (ask me about watching tennis)[/li][li]I can touch my nose with my tongue[/li][li]I can drink copious amounts of alcohol without a hangover (sometimes this fails)[/li][li]From what the doctor tells me, I’m double jointed, although I don’t know what that means and I’ve never explored the possibilities[/li][li]I can skate, and I play ice hockey. I’ve lost teeth because of it.[/li][/ul] Tripler Yep. You can call me “special” if you want. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/39 "2004-02-21T19:30:39Z")
> [@Ex Machina](#): > > How many of us can tie a cherry stem into a knot inside our mouths? I can, and so can **withaK**. ---
**Author:** ![RainKing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@RainKing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainKing)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091/40 "2004-02-21T19:41:47Z")
I can move my ears. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-special-talent/230091.md?page=3)