# Things that are really silly but make you twitch in a bad way **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090 "2010-03-11T08:33:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/81 "2010-03-12T17:52:27Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Get some sheets of sticky labels, big ones, the two per page are ideal. Laser-print “NO PARKING, DICKHEAD” on each one, and affix them to the windscreen of each offending vehicle. Preferably get the labels that don’t peel off cleanly and leave a sticky residue. Sure, it’s childish, but it might make the driver use a couple of their meagre supply of brain cells pondering their actions as they try to scrub it off. I just put my chewing gum under the driver’s door handle. Much more subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/82 "2010-03-12T18:07:48Z")
When someone cracks their knuckles. Also when I’m talking to someone with a booger hanging out of their nose or spinach in their teeth. It’s gross but I can’t bring myself to tell them. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/83 "2010-03-17T07:08:20Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Also when I’m talking to someone with a booger hanging out of their nose or spinach in their teeth. It’s gross but I can’t bring myself to tell them. Can you bring yourself to reach over and take care of if for them? I think I’d pay to see that… I get all twitchy when people on the radio, talking about things that are comfortable, pronounce it “ **Comf** -ter-ble.” Also when they talk about the city of San Pedro and pronounce it “San **Pee** -dro,” instead of “San **Pay** -dro.” ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/84 "2010-03-17T08:22:22Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Commercials that emphasize eating noises, lip smacking, crunching, slurping…gah. Hardees and Kit Kat are the worst but there are plenty of others. > I reach for the mute button as fast as I can so I won’t have to go out and stab somebody. Oh, god, YES! That latest Kit Kat commercial is UNBEARABLE! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/85 "2010-03-17T10:48:14Z")
The flat screen TV and its 4 second delay when switching channels. Stupid commercial comes on Morning Joe, I want to switch it right now, to TCM, FOX, the Weather or anything. WIth the remote I have my desired station dialled up yet I still get 4 more seconds of the stupid commercial until the station finally switches, I mean I could keel over and be dead in 4 seconds and still stuck watching the same channel until the delay is over. it is minor, silly, to most unnoticeable, but me its four freaking seconds of wasted time. Just turn it off! ---
**Author:** ![JuliaSqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/86 "2010-03-17T13:08:52Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Oh, god, YES! That latest Kit Kat commercial is UNBEARABLE! And the Grape Nuts one where the guy is camping and he’s crunching so loudly, he doesn’t hear the bear come up behind him! I grab the romote and mute it as fast as I possibly can. It’s like chewing on styrofoam to me. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/87 "2010-03-17T13:33:35Z")
“Aren’t I?” I understand that given the limits of the English language, that’s about as good as we’re gonna get, but it just sounds wrong. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/88 "2010-03-17T13:34:24Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > It’s Legoi (leg - oy), right? 😛 A grouping of legos (like a herd of cattle or a murder of crows) is called a "block’. Just an FYI. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/89 "2010-03-17T15:05:07Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Also when they talk about the city of San Pedro and pronounce it “San **Pee** -dro,” instead of “San **Pay** -dro.” The one that bugs me is when they pronounce San Pablo as “San PAB-lo” (with the A like in “cat” or “pablum”) rather than “San POBB-lo.” ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/90 "2010-03-18T05:15:46Z")
> [@chela](#): > > The flat screen TV and its 4 second delay when switching channels. Stupid commercial comes on Morning Joe, I want to switch it right now, to TCM, FOX, the Weather or anything. WIth the remote I have my desired station dialled up yet I still get 4 more seconds of the stupid commercial until the station finally switches, I mean I could keel over and be dead in 4 seconds and still stuck watching the same channel until the delay is over. > > it is minor, silly, to most unnoticeable, but me its four freaking seconds of wasted time. Just turn it off! I had the same issue (on a TOSHIBA HDTV), until I realized that I could hit the \ button after selecting a channel. It flips immediately then. I can also cancel a channel selection if I mess up by hitting the \ button. -DF ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/91 "2010-03-18T11:00:38Z")
> [@Dancer\_Flight](#): > > I had the same issue (on a TOSHIBA HDTV), until I realized that I could hit the \ button after selecting a channel. It flips immediately then. I can also cancel a channel selection if I mess up by hitting the \ button. > > -DF Ohmigosh, it works! It’s a stretch for my thumb to hit the OK button (PanasonicHDTV) but no more delay! Even if I scroll then hit “ok” it switches faster too! Thankyou for posting that tidbit! This makes me silly happy, just like finding the shuffle button on my kitchen stereo I never knew was there until recently, or like finding in my car the deep little cubby hole to the left of the steering wheel that I never knew was there until a year after I bought it. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/92 "2010-03-18T12:54:11Z")
I hate when commercials use the term ‘baby’. As in “this toy is fun for baby” or “give baby a good nights sleep”. Why not _your_ baby? You never hear " buy this for child" or “give husband a new car”. It just irritates me. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/93 "2010-03-18T13:24:44Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Wait, AFAIK, “uni” just means “university”. Am I wrong? Does it have an alternate meaning? Because I’ve never heard “university” shortened to “varsity”. Do they do that somewhere? > > I’m confused now. Been that way for over three and a half centuries. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/94 "2010-03-18T13:27:19Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Me, though… my hatred for those blowers outweighed my dislike of picking up paper towels. 😉 That’s where a girlfriend’s long hair can come in handy. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/95 "2010-03-18T13:34:17Z")
Lazy people at the office will actually go out of their way to press the wheelchair access button to open a door. Nothing in their hands. I envision their arms withering away to vestigial stumps. It’s worse in the restroom, where the germophobes will wash their hands, leave the water running while they get some paper towels, dry their hands, then turn off the water. That whole “I can’t touch a faucet” thing is bad enough, but now, these goobers will either open the door with that paper towel in hand, then lob the towel to the trash can (and miss) or they hit the opener button. I’d be willing to bet that their keyboards and mice are far, far filthier than the restroom door. Someone needs to put a sign by the button saying how they wall-hump the button and press it with their stinky ass. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/96 "2010-03-18T13:42:26Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > I hate when commercials use the term ‘baby’. As in “this toy is fun for baby” or “give baby a good nights sleep”. Why not _your_ baby? You never hear " buy this for child" or “give husband a new car”. It just irritates me. Try reading a pregnancy books sometime (actually, don’t, unless you really need to). It’s “good for baby”, “bad for baby” all over the place - and it annoys the crap out of me, too. What’s wrong with “the baby”, or “your baby”? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/97 "2010-03-18T13:43:56Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > When I’m in a food court or fastfood restaurant and I don’t know what I want I’ll stand several feet away from the counter. Frequently the person at the counter will ask if I need any help. No I don’t need any freaking help! If I did I’d come up to the counter and ask for it. Leave me alone. I’m going to the stall next door and get a slice of pizza. Hey, watch your elbows! I’m standing next to you back here! > [@gotpasswords](#): > > It’s worse in the restroom, where the germophobes will wash their hands, leave the water running while they get some paper towels, dry their hands, then turn off the water. I went to a charity event at a local high school Saturday night, and there were signs in the girls’ bathroom with instructions to do just that. Leave the water running while you dry your hands, turn off the faucet with the paper towel, and then throw the towel away. Don’t know if it’s in wake of the H1N1 thing or not, but I do know that school had some cases. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/98 "2010-03-18T14:06:29Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Lazy people at the office will actually go out of their way to press the wheelchair access button to open a door. Nothing in their hands. I envision their arms withering away to vestigial stumps. In the hospital, I get yelled at for _not_ using the handicapped button. They claim it’s bad for the automatic door opener just open it manually. To which I say, that is one shitty automatic door opener if it wan’t designed to avoid that. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/99 "2010-03-18T14:09:39Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > In the hospital, I get yelled at for _not_ using the handicapped button. They claim it’s bad for the automatic door opener just open it manually. To which I say, that is one shitty automatic door opener if it wan’t designed to avoid that. I hate those doors. The ones we have open automatically whether you push them or not, but they’re harder to push open. ETA clarification: If you push the door manually, they open automatically the rest of the way, even if you didn’t push the button. I always press the button when I use the ones in the bathrooms now, because I’ve been smacked in the head a few times from someone on the other side using the button when I’m just about to open it. Or someone who flies in once the door is opened a crack. A note to people using the button - if the door is already opening and you didn’t do it, that usually means someone on the other side is coming out. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090/100 "2010-03-18T14:15:23Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I’d be willing to bet that their keyboards and mice are far, far filthier than the restroom door. I recently read a paper from a Microbiology journal that looked at microbiological flora of an individual’s hands. The authors of the paper cultured swabs from hands. They also cultured computer mice(?) and/or keyboards. Amazingly, they were then able to match the results, almost like fingerprints! It was a very interesting paper. Anyone else read it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-really-silly-but-make-you-twitch-in-a-bad-way/532090.md?page=6)