# Things That Are Overrated **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505 "2013-01-27T01:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/61 "2013-01-27T21:12:44Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > New Years Eve Aka “amature night.” ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/62 "2013-01-27T21:38:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Cell phones > [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Wha? Ok. That’s the game we’re playing? Fine. My answer is ‘medicine’. Cell phones _are_ over-rated. People honestly seem to have forgotten that we lived without them for millenia. People die without modern medicine; without cell phones they just watch where they’re going. And cell phone advocates are very much like the gun lobby - they behave as if they’re constantly using them to save lives and avoid danger, rather than stuff like - as one young man did on the Red line recently - loudly explain why his gf doesn’t swallow during oral sex. Yeah, that conversation couldn’t wait for a landline. (Apparently, she’s got an over-sensitive gag reflex, if you’re wondering.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/63 "2013-01-27T21:38:22Z")
Zucchini. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/64 "2013-01-27T21:48:01Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Cell phones _are_ over-rated. People honestly seem to have forgotten that we lived without them for millenia. People die without modern medicine; without cell phones they just watch where they’re going. And cell phone advocates are very much like the gun lobby - they behave as if they’re constantly using them to save lives and avoid danger, rather than stuff like - as one young man did on the Red line recently - loudly explain why his gf doesn’t swallow during oral sex. Yeah, that conversation couldn’t wait for a landline. (Apparently, she’s got an over-sensitive gag reflex, if you’re wondering.) We lived without cars for most of history and people use them to drive to a lot of unimportant places. Stupid overrated cars. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/65 "2013-01-27T21:49:00Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Sex under water - you’re doing it wrong I’m guessing you’re a guy based on this answer. The problem with sex underwater, at least for females, is that our natural lubrication is water soluble, and water is not a great replacement. It’s just not fun enough to try more than once. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The miniseries _Rome_. I was just reading the thread were recommending TV series and several people mentioned this one. Some even said it was one of the greatest shows ever. > > It didn’t work for me. I found it barely watchable. I felt it took really interesting events and reduced them to just a soap opera. I’ve found that HBO and Showtime have a formula that they follow for these types of shows; it works best for _The Tudors_, but you can replace the characters and still have it be plausible. [ol] [li]King Henry has a temper tantrum.[/li][li]Raucous sex occurs.[/li][li]Sometimes it’s with Henry.[/li][li]Other times, it’s not. [/li][li]If someone doesn’t throw a temper tantrum, there’s going to be a fight.[/li][/ol] > [@faithfool](#): > > Absolute vodka Grey Goose vodka sucks too. It’s only marginally better than Smirnoff, IMO. Get Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Reyka or something that’s not marketed as the “in” high end vodka. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/66 "2013-01-27T21:50:01Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Zucchini. When eggplant is outrageously pricey here, I use zucchini as an extender. I’ve even done it with Bubba Ganoush, and got no complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/67 "2013-01-27T21:55:59Z")
> [@nashiitashii](#): > > I’m guessing you’re a guy based on this answer. The problem with sex underwater, at least for females, is that our natural lubrication is water soluble, and water is not a great replacement. It’s just not fun enough to try more than once. That wasn’t my problem with it, it was just too hard to get enough leverage. Kept floating away. > [@](#): > > Grey Goose vodka sucks too. It’s only marginally better than Smirnoff, IMO. Get Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Reyka or something that’s not marketed as the “in” high end vodka. I saw on a show they did vodka taste tests and Smirnoff did just as well as Grey Goose and other high end brands. Smirnoff was their super cheap brand, but once when I had it my friend thought I was fancy. We are not sophisticated. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/68 "2013-01-27T21:58:06Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > We lived without cars for most of history and people use them to drive to a lot of unimportant places. Stupid overrated cars. Especially the Porsche 911 (see above). But there is a difference. Tell people you don’t have a car (and I didn’t for about 15 years) and they’ll accept that with a shrug. Tell people you don’t have a cell phone and you get a reaction similar to what led to the Salem witch trials. The importance of having one is very over-rated when people consider it a necessity, when it’s really a convenience. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/69 "2013-01-27T22:00:03Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > People die without modern medicine; without cell phones they just watch where they’re going. This doesn’t quite make sense, especially since people died due to lack of cell phones, too, whether the lack was on the part of themselves or on the part of those who would otherwise have been called in to save them. The analogy to cars is good: They’re most commonly used for the trivial and mundane, but without them a lot of vital emergency work would remain undone or badly-done. You can say precisely the same thing about landline phones. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/70 "2013-01-27T22:32:58Z")
Movie popcorn. Always seems to smell better than it tastes, to me. St.Patrick’s Day. Another New Years type amateur night. Lobster. Too much work & mess for not a lot of food. Showering w your SO. Just doesn’t do anything for me. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/71 "2013-01-27T22:39:37Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > This doesn’t quite make sense, especially since people died due to lack of cell phones, too, whether the lack was on the part of themselves or on the part of those who would otherwise have been called in to save them. Eh, that’s a muddy area. In a novel I read recently, they discussed “The Hero Effect.” Some psychologist would fake someone going into seizures in front of various numbers of people. If there was one person there, that person would rush to help, but the more people available the longer it took for someone to step forward - they waited to see if someone else would first. Their definition of a hero was that first person to take action. I think cell phones kind of do that - everyone calls 911 and they’re done. Last year there were two similar car accidents within a week with someone trapped under a car, one in NYC and one in Utah, I think. In Utah, the people rushed forward, lifted the car and pulled the guy out. In NY, everyone stood around and whenever someone suggested moving the car off the person, someone would shout “we called 911!” The guy died before help arrived. And people filmed it with their cell phones. With cell phones, people often seem to focus on the help that’s on the way rather than the help that’s already on the scene - the cell phone owners. So I’m not as certain the effect is positive overall. Sorry for the derail. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/72 "2013-01-27T22:50:30Z")
I’ll second(plus some) the whole pop culture thing. I don’t know, or care, who most of these people are. Particularly the ones who are some oddball hangers on in the pop culture world. Weirdos who somehow weaseled their way into a popular starlet circle, or are “internet stars” and have become famous for being famous. It seems as if there is always some sort of “shocking news” about one or another of these people. I am occasionally sucked in by those little Yahoo articles on their home page and frankly these people almost always sound really stupid. Example: Nicky (sp? don’t care enough to google it or remember) Minaj on some American Idol blip. She was explaining about a disagreement she’d had with the other pop star on the panel. Girl seems to have a working vocabulary of about 25 words, and badly pronounced at that. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/73 "2013-01-27T22:52:02Z")
ehh, nm ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/74 "2013-01-27T22:53:54Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > ehh, nm I’d have gone with “Romantic love” myself… ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/75 "2013-01-27T23:03:37Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I’d have gone with “Romantic love” myself… Yeah, that would have been better. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/76 "2013-01-27T23:07:39Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Especially the Porsche 911 (see above). I do think fancy cars are overrated. But I’m just not a car person. Or a fancy person. But I’m also not a bus person. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/77 "2013-01-27T23:22:03Z")
Bottled waters; especially the small ones. What a waste. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/78 "2013-01-28T01:26:15Z")
> [@nashiitashii](#): > > Grey Goose vodka sucks too. It’s only marginally better than Smirnoff, IMO. Get Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Reyka or something that’s not marketed as the “in” high end vodka. I thought about saying Grey Goose, but decided against it because it would just be hearsay for me. I’m more of a “Whatever vodka is under $10!” kind of gal. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/79 "2013-01-28T02:04:19Z")
Bacon. Cruises. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505/80 "2013-01-28T02:37:00Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Bacon. The whole bacon thing confuses me. Bacon tastes the same as it’s always tasted but it never used to be considered the best fucking thing in the world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-overrated/648505.md?page=5)