# Things people say they want, but probably wouldn't actually like **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513 "2016-08-30T22:09:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/21 "2016-08-31T09:51:44Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Some people (of both sexes) are so drop-dead gorgeous that people just can’t help staring at them. It’s an esthetic thing as much as a sexual thing, and has nothing to do with being an idiot. Yes, I know. Please see the post I was responding to. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/22 "2016-08-31T10:36:08Z")
Servants. Like people to wait on you, be at your beck and call, like that! Sure it sounds awesome, your every whim indulged! But all servants come with an enormous loss of privacy. As they are underfoot, in your house. Even if they have their own quarters and are forbidden to look you in the eye or speak to you, you’re still not ‘alone’, in your home. Ever! You’re actually just taking on more dependants. Now think about famous movie and music stars with big old houses, with gardens and pools, tennis courts. That’s a lot of support staff to maintain all that stuff! No thank you, I’d much rather my privacy! ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/23 "2016-08-31T10:53:49Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Can’t open the link as I’m in office but of course guys are going to look at boobs. > > I may as well say I have a super handsome male friend and women are such idiots because they keep looking at his face. > > Or is it the way they’re looking? It is a small annual parade (small by NYC standards). There was a flock of guys with cameras following the breasts so that they’d have pictures of bare breasts for their wank banks. It is one thing to look as they pass. It’s another, far more pathetic thing, to follow and record. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/24 "2016-08-31T11:02:03Z")
ok; I agree ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/25 "2016-08-31T11:14:48Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Servants. Like people to wait on you, be at your beck and call, like that! > > Sure it sounds awesome, your every whim indulged! Depends on the person. My sister-in-law’s brother spent a couple of weeks in a vacation resort in which the umbrella drinks were refilled before they’d even been emptied, towels were replaced as soon as you had used one to dry up after exiting the pool, and loved it. His sister’s response to the story was “the first time it happened, I would have gotten paranoid. The second time, I would have gone postal! …Husband of mine?” “Yes?” “If you ever hear me wish for servants, please call the cops, I’ve been abducted by aliens.” “Will do, my love.” ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/26 "2016-08-31T11:52:11Z")
The expression you voice when you’re ravenously hungry, “I could eat a horse,” is probably not all that truthful or desired in actuality. If it is, I wonder how they’d go about it? Baked? Boiled? Fried? Grilled? As is? Sauced? Go-withs? Uhhh… anybody got some TUMS™? Then there’s that guy who wants to be an Oscar Mayer™ weiner. Yeesh! ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/27 "2016-08-31T11:59:04Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Having a " romantic" old house with a large romantic garden. > Oy. The upkeep! I’ve known people who got houses and found this out. You are paying for a crumbling interior with a pretty exterior. Like buying a Jaguar car. I’ll add to the list. Antique furniture. People think it is quaint and nice however I recently talked to a guy who spent time in a house full of antique furniture. He said the chairs were uncomfortable and made his back hurt. Sometimes a modern chair with lumbar support is better than an antique. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/28 "2016-08-31T12:33:20Z")
Oh, there’s comfortable antique furniture, too. It’s just that how well something lasts doesn’t have much to do with how comfortable it is. Along the same lines as being famous, how about being in a romantic relationship with some celebrity or another? Sure, they’re is hot, but is their personality compatible with yours? Do you two have any common interests? Is the celebrity actually interested in you, and will they stay interested for as long as you stay interested in them? And all that is even assuming that they’re sane and stable, which many aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/29 "2016-08-31T12:48:40Z")
Gamers are really prone of asking for things they think they want in their games but which would actually ruin the whole thing - everything should be easier with less hassle and drop rates should be higher and why is this fight such bullshit and so on and on. And if the developers would do all those changes the game would suddenly be too easy and too short and boring. Or if they would listen to the other vocal minority, too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/30 "2016-08-31T13:20:24Z")
Socialism / communism ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/31 "2016-08-31T13:36:31Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Sailboat. _\_ This was my first thought. We had sailboats for most of our marriage, but when I retired 5 years ago, we did the math and decided there were things we’d prefer to spend our limited income on, and the boat wasn’t one of them, so we sold it. And, honestly, except for the rare day when we say “Wouldn’t it be nice to go out on the Bay?” we actually find we don’t miss the maintenance, the haul-outs, the worries when storms come thru, the periodic trips to the marina to make sure all is OK. We might buy one if we hit the lottery, assuming we’d have won enough to be able to hire someone to do all the dirty work. 😃 The other thing is the big dream house. I’ve known people who buy the big house they always wanted when they were a young couple crammed into a small place with kids and dogs and all that. The kids are on their own, and you’ve got 2 people in a huge place that has to be cleaned, maintained, heated, cooled, insured… I have to wonder how often the kids visit that they need all those spare bedrooms, and how long till they realize that two people just don’t need 5000 sq ft. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/32 "2016-08-31T13:43:24Z")
Higher minimum wages. It sounds good on paper, and it makes us all want the poor working-class mother to afford to feed her family… …but the added cost will either end up eliminating jobs or it will cause your burger that previously cost 1.08 to cost 4.95. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/33 "2016-08-31T13:45:23Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > A Ménage a Trois. I was going to say this. I know couples who have done it and it was not what they expected. Caused problems for some of them. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/34 "2016-08-31T13:49:27Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Socialism / communism Also free markets. Sure, everyone is about the free market until their job gets outsourced or the price of a drug skyrockets. Then it’s all “someone should do something”. Well that “someone” is “government” and that “something” is “regulation” which you didn’t want. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/35 "2016-08-31T14:01:26Z")
I suspect **msmith537** and **Chimera** to name two will be familiar with these… In every project where I’ve worked, there has been someone who wanted things “tighter”. One of my favorites, both because it comes up often and because that particular monkey cage is someone else’s to clean, “zero tolerance” on deliveries. You set an order for 22 tons of sand, and the sand in the truck weighs 22153kg? Rejected! Another, “people must only have access to exactly what they need”. OK, so you want us to make sure that the lab tech who analyzes raw materials is the only one who can analyze raw materials? “Yes!!! What, wasn’t I clear?” Oh yes, very clear. So, what happens when he is on vacation, or gets a real bad case of the flu? I’ve encountered people who still insisted that yes, that had to be the only person who could inspect raw materials. If the guy was off, well, Production would have stopped dead (not in the physical world, but in the computer) and so would Sales, and Shipping, and oh yeah, Mr. Genius, are you familiar with “invoices”? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/36 "2016-08-31T14:02:16Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Topless women (any more than many men who would be better off with a shirt). Guys say this, in their mind’s eye all topless women would be Victoria’s Secret models or centerfolds (just like most guys aren’t Chippendale dancers). Some males and females might be best to leave things to the imagination. Having been raised a nudist, this is absolutely true. Most people are not particularly attractive naked. Do not go to a nudist camp to get your jollies unless you’re really into pot bellies and National Geographic-style pendulous dugs. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/37 "2016-08-31T14:19:56Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Being a farmer. Salt of the earth, live close to nature, self-sufficient, healthy, rhythm of the seasons, see what you produce and know its unassailable value… all true, but it’s easy to romanticize away the un-fun aspects of a farmer’s life if you don’t actually have to do them, day in and day out – or so I’ve been told. Back in the 60’s, there was actually a multi-year documentary on TV about that very issue. > **[Green Acres (TV Series 1965–1971) ⭐ 7.3 | Comedy, Family](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058808/?ref_=nv_sr_1)** > > 30m | TV-G ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/38 "2016-08-31T14:35:29Z")
Owning your own business. A lot of people dream of quitting their crappy job and starting their own business (myself included) but you may wind up putting in twice the hours that you did at the old job, for far less money. Not to mention the toll it takes on your family. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/39 "2016-08-31T14:36:43Z")
A pony. 😛 As I learned doing the Call Center thing; “You can give some people a pony and they’ll just complain that it craps on the carpet.” ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513/40 "2016-08-31T14:47:01Z")
Moving “out to the country”. Done it; it kinda sucks. Need anything that’s not sold at the one store in town? That’s a 20 minute trip, each way. Gas prices went up? Now every errand trip is an extra $10. You tend not to see your friends much anymore, either, since they don’t want to use their whole day to visit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-they-want-but-probably-wouldnt-actually-like/764513.md?page=3)