# Things of Earth shattering insignificance **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271 "2004-06-14T12:45:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/21 "2004-06-14T17:51:01Z")
Sheets that have been put on the bed about 6 hours ago. They need to age properly. If there’s a thunderstorm going on, all the better. I don’t know why, but I enjoy cleaning the lint screen on my dryer. It’s soft and there’s just something satisfying about taking something so dirty and making it clean with little or no effort. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/22 "2004-06-14T18:03:03Z")
- A new pencil puzzle book - Watching the chickadees and wrens in the birdfeeder 3’ away from me - Clean sinks - Baby powder smell of a freshly changed bed (I sprinkle a bit of talc under the fitted sheet) - Feeling freshly cut grass under my bare feet - The first peony bloom - Feeling hot and sticky, then a cool breeze flutters past, just whisping across the back of your neck. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/23 "2004-06-14T19:00:21Z")
There is going to be a book sale in the lobby of the building later this week. I am looking forward to it in a way that embarrassed me when I think about it. I haven’t mentioned to anyone how much I am looking forward to it. Last time I bought 67 books for twenty dollars. I’ve been to half price books once to sell the ones I’d already read to that point and they gave me forty dollars for about half of the books I’d spent only twenty purchasing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/24 "2004-06-14T19:38:37Z")
Waking up really early on weekends, before anyone else is awake and when it’s still not completely light. Hearing the victory song in Final Fantasy 1. Chewing gum and ice at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/25 "2004-06-14T20:41:11Z")
Finishing the Times Sunday crossword without having to Google _anything_, all by yourself. Fried green tomatoes with roasted pepper sauce and whatever that crab filling it is they put on them at Meritage. Mmm. When you think you’re out of Coke and you find a stealth can left. Ditto, when you find money in the dryer and even though you surely earned it somehow it’s like free money. When you get absorbed in something at work and you look up and it’s time to go! It’s like free money in a different way! ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/26 "2004-06-14T23:40:18Z")
The smell of rain. Caramel Hershey kisses. My cat sleeping on my chest. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/27 "2004-06-15T02:03:33Z")
The smell of the tire store. Finding a checkout lane at the grocery store with no waiting. Hearing the “hiss” when biting into a new can of coffee with the can opener. The first drag on a cigarette after being deprived all day on a transcontinental flight. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/28 "2004-06-15T02:15:45Z")
The quality of sunlight in the middle of January, when snow blankets the ground. A clean shower curtain. Springing a massive invasion in Civ II, quickly overrunning an enemy continent. Yes, I still play Civ II. Having more than a half tank’s worth of gas. Better still: having remembered to bring my sunglasses! Hearing a few seconds’ worth of music somewhere, thinking it’s cool, then recognizing it as something in my collection, then recalling just what it is (or at least which album it’s on.) Bonus: being in the company of somebody for whom I can show off my music geekery. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/29 "2004-06-15T02:45:28Z")
When my dog sleepily ‘settles her gums’ Coming home to the smell of dinner cooking ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/30 "2004-06-15T03:14:44Z")
I started it, I can add another (you can too.) The sound as my HotRod’s 383 lights off after a fortnight’s sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/31 "2004-06-15T07:50:07Z")
Opening the dryer and taking out a big fluffy heap of clean cotton diapers. I always feel wealthy somehow, stacking them up and knowing we won’t run out for another four or five days. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/32 "2004-06-15T13:34:56Z")
Digging in to a mound of mashed potatoes with gravy. /drools ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/33 "2004-06-15T13:54:24Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Finishing the Times Sunday crossword without having to Google _anything_, all by yourself. As someone pointed out in an old thread , difficulty-wise , the Sunday puzzle resembles the Thursday puzzle , only larger. The real hard one is Saturday’s. When I successfully complete _that_ by myself , unassisted , I’m compelled to say “Yes , I am truly God-like!” Another thing I like is brushing my teeth and dislodging something I didn’t even realize was stuck to my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Eliphalet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eliphalet/32/9563_2.png) [@Eliphalet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliphalet)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/34 "2004-06-15T14:43:12Z")
Coming home on a cold night, starting a fire in the fireplace, and reading a book while watching the snow fall outside. Watching a campfire on a warm summer night. With no bugs. Listening to a child laugh. Tickling them, and making them laugh even more. Getting a big smile, a shouted “Daddy!!!” and a hug from your kids when you come in the house after a long day. Watching my 15 month-old light up and crawl over to me when I come in. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/35 "2004-06-15T14:53:51Z")
A fresh razor right out of the package, especially after retiring the old one before it. It glides so cleanly across my face and in one or two strokes it leaves behind a baby-bottom smoothness-- no stubble, no pulling, no nicks or cuts. That first hot, steamy slice of pizza. If only the cheese could remain so gooey and stringy after the fourth slice. A CD you can listen to from end to end without wanting to skip over any songs, because they’re all good. I also agree with the pleasant realization while waking up that it’s Saturday or Sunday and you _don’t_ need to go to work after all. On the other hand, I’ve also had the _opposite_ situation happen; that’s a real downer. Being able to enjoy a thunderstorm, complete with lightning, from a safe and dry viewing point. The smell of freshly baked bread. Even better, the smell of my grandparents’ house when we’d first walk in on Thanksgiving. The arrival of fall after a hot, dry summer. That first chill in the air and the hint of leaves changing color with the promise of a spectacular array of yellows, oranges and reds, gives me a lot to look forward to. A fresh blanket of snow on the ground, especially when it’s on a quiet Sunday morning and nobody is out to spoil the beauty of it. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/36 "2004-06-15T14:59:19Z")
Random Wolfie smiles while nursing. The smell of a match being lit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/37 "2004-06-15T17:16:19Z")
Steak. Sirloin, well done. Hashed brown potatos, double serving. Texas toast. 2 slices. Hot tea. Very strong, very sweet. Hershey’s Chocolate Bar. Dessert. Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/38 "2004-06-15T18:42:46Z")
Those miraculous bowel movements where the toilet paper is clean on the first wipe. Seeing my hated co-worker’s office unlit. YES he’s out for the day! Those unpopped but split open popcorn kernels, wet with butter and a little salty. Nirvana for the molars! Feeling wide awake, rolling over in bed and seeing that you still have another two hours until the alarm goes off. Taking the last city from another civilization that picked a fight with me in Civ III. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/39 "2004-06-15T19:50:19Z")
The little dollop of margarine at the very top of a new tub. A spoonful of peanut butter dipped in sugar or chocolate chips. New towels. Running the air conditioning with the windows down in the car on a hot day. Grocery shopping with my mom. She always buys something new and we open it in the car before we get home. Same thing with putting away groceries, something always gets opened, and the first few bites of ice cream get consumed. Keeping the house cold in the summer and wearing sweatshirts all day. Waking up to blueberry muffins cooking. Used bookstores. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271/40 "2004-06-15T20:09:56Z")
A firm, smooth crap that fairly glides into the bowl and leaves me feeling five pounds lighter. That little chirp/miao the cat makes when he comes back inside after having been out for a couple of hours: “I don’t want anything, I’m just saying hello.” That orangey/peachy color common to the flowers on one particular variety of azalea. I don’t know why, but that color just makes me happy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-earth-shattering-insignificance/250271.md?page=1)