# The Pod people have taken my son! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 19, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535 "2014-07-19T15:58:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/1 "2014-07-19T15:58:29Z")
And replaced him with some weird immataion because he’s in the kitchen… _cleaning_! And I didn’t even ask him to! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/2 "2014-07-19T16:02:56Z")
What does he want? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/3 "2014-07-19T16:10:07Z")
Ha! That was my first thought as well. Maybe I’ll find out later. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/4 "2014-07-19T16:14:26Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > What does he want? Bingo! He either wants something or he’s about to ask you if he can have a few friends or a girl over for dinner. You’ll know it’s the latter if he asks what’s for dinner tonight 😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/5 "2014-07-19T16:16:43Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Bingo! > He either wants something or he’s about to ask you if he can have a few friends or **a girl** over for dinner. You’ll know it’s the latter if he asks what’s for dinner tonight 😃 That was my first thought. What else could motivate a teen to clean? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/6 "2014-07-19T16:55:18Z")
it’s a cover to get extra food. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/7 "2014-07-19T17:21:31Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > What does he want? The more important question: What’s he _done_? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/8 "2014-07-19T18:10:27Z")
> [@Tess](#): > > The more important question: What’s he _done_? Uh oh, Shakes! Did he borrow the car last night?! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/9 "2014-07-19T18:18:23Z")
And that didn’t take long. He wants me to take him to Cheddars for lunch today. 😃 (I agreed.) ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/10 "2014-07-19T18:42:26Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Uh oh, Shakes! Did he borrow the car last night?! [Or maybe he want’s it tonight.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qT_vlbFeKrk#t=2) Whoops - didn’t see that it was resolved. Glad it was just lunch. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pod-people-have-taken-my-son/693535/11 "2014-07-19T19:02:24Z")
Maybe he is smart enough to do it every once in a while at random times, with no particular reason, just to make him unpredictable. Remember experimental psychology? Reinforcement will strengthen an organism’s future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus, which retains potency longer when it is randomized.