# Things I just can't help **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237 "2008-10-09T21:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/1 "2008-10-09T21:37:55Z")
…when I leave any building, I pull my keys out of my pocket, even if I’m not driving. …when I walk over or near a sewer grate, I hold on tightly to my keys in case I drop them. …when I go to bed, I always close the door. …when I put peanut butter on a piece of bread, I always scrape the knife on the side of the jar… even if there’s no peanut butter on it. …when I stub one toe, I always feel like I need to stub the other one, so it’s balanced. …when I get in the car, I put on my seat belt, even if I’m not going anywhere. …when I get home I lock the door behind me, even if I’m only stopping there for a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/2 "2008-10-09T21:43:12Z")
If I have a ‘little fragment’ of something in one eye, and I blink it to relieve the fragment, and then I have to blink the other eye, ‘just to be sure’. Likewise, if my (say) left shoelace comes untied and I have to re-tie it, I also have to re-tie my right shoe lace, so one isn’t tighter than the other. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/3 "2008-10-09T22:11:07Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > …when I walk over or near a sewer grate, I hold on tightly to my keys in case I drop them. > > …when I put peanut butter on a piece of bread, I always scrape the knife on the side of the jar… even if there’s no peanut butter on it. > > …when I stub one toe, I always feel like I need to stub the other one, so it’s balanced. Yup, yup and yup. …when I’m approaching my car, I have to hit the “unlock” button on the key fob about 30 times, even if I’m close enough to hear it unlock. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/4 "2008-10-09T23:16:05Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > …when I get in the car, I put on my seat belt, even if I’m not going anywhere. I definitely have my obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but what does this one mean? Why would you get in your car and not go anywhere, but still put your seatbelt on? Just grabbing something out of your glove box? Cleaning the dashboard? I’m genuinely curious. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/5 "2008-10-09T23:30:34Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I definitely have my obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but what does this one mean? Why would you get in your car and not go anywhere, but still put your seatbelt on? Just grabbing something out of your glove box? Cleaning the dashboard? I’m genuinely curious. Yeah, pretty much. Or getting in the car but we’re not leaving for another 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/6 "2008-10-09T23:52:56Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > …when I go to bed, I always close the door. I do this too and it drives my husband nuts. He finally demanded why and I blurted “uh…so the rest of the house doesn’t get in.” ---
**Author:** ![PandaMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PandaMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaMom)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/7 "2008-10-10T00:40:35Z")
When I make the bed, the top sheet MUST be level on both sides, even if I have to go to each side and readjust the sheet until it is even. 5 ice cubes must be in the glass of ice water. Not 4, and not 6… FIVE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/8 "2008-10-10T01:16:52Z")
I am right handed, and apparently right side dominant, because when I am walking, I HAVE to lead off with my right foot. I have to make the first step up a stairway with my right foot. When I leave work at night, I have to take the first step down the steps with my right foot, even though far more often than not, it’s my left foot that is there (does that make sense?). I only became aware of this in the last few months. I’m weird. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/9 "2008-10-10T04:38:18Z")
When dressing I always put my right sock on before the left one, but then the left shoe before the right one. Wife pointed this out to me. I explained that if I did it any other way I would walk funny all day. Previous wife asked me why I scratch my right eyebrow with my right little finger when said eyebrow is not itching. I don’t know, but it just seems like the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/10 "2008-10-10T04:50:05Z")
when I exit my car and lock it, I always have to turn around a few feet away and re-lock it with the remote just to make sure. This is a car that has a 30-second self-locking function, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/11 "2008-10-10T16:28:20Z")
I’m constantly checking to make sure I have my keys. Usually they’re in an outside pocket on my purse, so it started as me making sure they hadn’t fallen out. Sometimes they’ll be in my pocket or my hand and my brain is freaking because they’re not in the pocket. It’s gotten better since I’ve stopped carrying a purse (I moved the essentials to my backpack so I don’t have to carry both). When I’m copying something, I hit ctrl-c three or four times to make sure it copies. I often do the same for saving. After one too many times accidentally shocking myself, I’ve started touching the back of my hand to the keypad at work before I enter the entrance code. Even now that it’s humid and I don’t have to worry about static, I can’t stop doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/12 "2008-10-10T16:35:02Z")
I MUST check for my wallet, my cellphone, and both sets of keys. At least once every ten minutes, or every time I think about it. I have my work keys and home keys on distinctive keychains I can distinguish by brief touches from the outside of my pocket specifically so I don’t look like a perv or moron groping in my pocket every five minutes. =P ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/13 "2008-10-10T17:17:04Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > …when I get home I lock the door behind me, even if I’m only stopping there for a few minutes. Could be worse. I lock \*every \*door, even at my friends’ houses. They mock me, and I understand why, but I still can’t stop. The doors at my office drive me crazy, because they have this weird-slow-moving mechanism (so handicapped people can use them, I guess) and they take forever to close. I can’t lock them, or close them any faster. Adds a little stress to my morning every day. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/14 "2008-10-10T17:37:30Z")
> [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](#): > > I am right handed, and apparently right side dominant, because when I am walking, I HAVE to lead off with my right foot. I have to make the first step up a stairway with my right foot. When I leave work at night, I have to take the first step down the steps with my right foot, even though far more often than not, it’s my left foot that is there (does that make sense?). I only became aware of this in the last few months. I’m weird. What are you, a rightist fundie? I’m definitely a leftist. I think the habit formed when I was in marching band in HS. Always lead with the left foot. This, incidentally, made learning ballroom dancing easier, as men always start off with the left foot. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/15 "2008-10-10T17:56:38Z")
If I’m carrying a ball-point-pen, the type with a button you press to click out the business end, I’m always clicking it. It’s not a “gotta click” habit; I need to ensure that the writing point is not deployed so I don’t accidentally mark up my clothes. Unfortunately, I constantly forget what position it’s in as I walk along, so I’m constantly pressing it to remind myself that it’s un-deployed. ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/16 "2008-10-10T21:33:06Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > What are you, a rightist fundie? > > I’m definitely a leftist. I think the habit formed when I was in marching band in HS. Always lead with the left foot. This, incidentally, made learning ballroom dancing easier, as men always start off with the left foot. I was in the marching band too. My only conclusion is I am weird, then. A rightist fundie weirdo, thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/17 "2008-10-10T22:59:44Z")
In my last car, I was constantly making sure the parking brake was not engaged. It was the handle type between the front two seat that you pull up on. i was always pressing the button and making sure it was all the way down. Always doing that without even noticing it. _Other_ people would notice though… ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/18 "2008-10-12T05:52:18Z")
I just noticed today that I check my zipper to make sure that it isn’t down whenever I get out of the car. It never is, and never has been. Why do I do that? Weird. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/19 "2008-10-12T11:21:07Z")
I can’t say I have any recognisably “OCD” type behaviours at all. About half of these things I wish I did do, then I wouldn’t do boneheaded forgetful things all the time. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237/20 "2008-10-13T00:42:09Z")
“… falling in love with you.” Thank you, thankyouvery much. Elvis has left the building. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-just-cant-help/467237.md?page=2)