# Things that infuriate you well beyond their actual importance **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 4, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712 "2024-09-04T02:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 137
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2721 "2026-02-09T04:24:14Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Personally, I’ll make an exception for Girl Scout cookies. Like I said- we have a supplier, so we dont need them ringing or knocking. But if we didnt we would make that exception. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2722 "2026-02-18T20:53:35Z")
People who open a parenthetical with a comma, but omit the closing comma. eg: Susan Brown, RN, is the newest addition to our staff. In 1975 the president, Gerald Ford, was the target of two would-be assassins Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th, 1809, and lived until he died. Omitting the second comma in each of those three sentences is the same as opening with a parenthesis but omitting the closing parenthesis. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2723 "2026-02-18T22:19:03Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Omitting the second comma in each of those three sentences is the same as opening with a parenthesis but omitting the closing parenthesis. I guess I dont get it, but the examples do have a second comma? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2724 "2026-02-18T23:47:40Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > In 1975 the president, Gerald Ford, was the target of two would-be assassins Omitting the second comma in such cases bothers me a little, but omitting the period at the end of a sentence bothers me a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2725 "2026-02-19T02:22:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > Omitting the second comma in each of those three sentences is the same as opening with a parenthesis but omitting the closing parenthesis. > > I guess I dont get it, but the examples do have a second comma? Of course – I wrote them correctly, I wouldn’t want to confuse people by including only one, and then talking about the second one! > [@markn\_1](#): > > omitting the period at the end of a sentence bothers me a lot more. Gaudere’s Law in action! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2726 "2026-02-19T04:38:23Z")
the Xth century. Why call it that? Why not- the 1900s, the 1300s, etc? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2727 "2026-02-19T18:28:51Z")
The use of the word bartering instead of the correct term, haggling. On a lot of social media sites, travellers (often to SE Asia and other lesser developed regions of the world) gleefully look forward to visiting markets and BARTERING with the local vendors. It makes my teeth hurt. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2728 "2026-02-19T22:01:35Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > The use of the word bartering instead of the correct term, haggling. Yep. Unless they are trading with them, it can also be called bargaining. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2729 "2026-03-09T23:09:29Z")
I’ve finally got one. _Wuthering Heights._ I hate it so much. Every time I see an article about this film I want to smash things. I was forced to read the book in high school and I despised it. Seeing it trending brings back all that bitterness. Why do I hate this story so much? Is it because the trailer to the film called it “the greatest love story of all time”? Is it because so many people mistake it for a romance? Is it because its intensive focus on two miserable and horrible people glorifies misery and horribleness regardless of its actual intent? Is it because the author dared to call such an ugly, narcissistic, obsessive mess of a relationship _love_? There’s no explanation that justifies the depth of my rage. But it probably has something to do with how much I love romance and how much I hated this book for not being a romance. It’s the anti-romance and therefore anathema to me. Fuck _Wuthering Heights._ Even if it gets more people into reading classic literature, it’s not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2730 "2026-03-09T23:18:51Z")
I don’t hate it that much, but I certainly get where you’re coming from! My mom is named Catherine after the story’s heroine. 😮 I said, “Grandma, did you ever read the book?” She said, “No, but I saw the movie.” That doesn’t really make it better! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2731 "2026-03-09T23:19:19Z")
My Mom is also named Catherine! People called her Cathy. Maybe that’s also why I hate it! ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2732 "2026-03-10T00:08:17Z")
But on the other side, there is this incredible song … that has to account for something!!! ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2733 "2026-03-10T14:25:04Z")
Every morning, I have toasted Thompson’s Cinnamon Swirl bread for breakfast. Every time I open a new loaf, I get irritated. The bread is in a regular bread bag with a twist tie, and it is also inside a sealed plastic wrapper inside the outer bag. The seam to this inner packaging is along the side of the bread. It’s a seam like a cereal or chip bag. You have to pull it apart to open it. Why isn’t this seam on the top of the loaf? I have to reach inside, alongside the bread, and try to pull it apart. Then it has to be ripped apart like a raccoon was in the bag in order to access the slices of bread. I know, not a terrible problem in the grand scheme of things, but it irritates me every time. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2734 "2026-03-10T18:14:52Z")
Bought some more socks. Smart Wool ain’t so smart with there packaging. Some of the advertising on the box, that was in a box that was covered in two layers of plastic said ‘Leave No Trace’ Something like that. Uhhhhmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2735 "2026-03-10T18:52:57Z")
Why do people say Ree-_Sees_ peanut butter cups? The spokesperson on the commercial says Ree-Sez, and they should know, right? Plus, Ree-Sez rhymes with Pieces. That’s how you can tell it’s The One True Way. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2736 "2026-03-10T20:06:53Z")
Just an annoyance- “Blue Moon” means something that never or almost never is expected to occur. It is NOT the second full moon in a month. Also this "Wolf moon: and other silly names is also annoying. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2737 "2026-03-10T23:11:51Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I was forced to read the book in high school and I despised it. I’m amazed by all the people here who say they had to read this book, that book or the other book in high school. We read a play and a couple chapters of a book in 11th grade English, and one complete book and large parts of two others in third-year German, but that was it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2738 "2026-03-10T23:16:28Z")
Yikes. We read multiple books every year. ETA: @SCAdian, where and when (approximately) did you go to school? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2739 "2026-03-10T23:25:27Z")
In tenth grade, everything we read was fire. Ray Bradbury, Poe, Shirley Jackson. Shakespeare. AP English my junior year was a total snoozefest. I was subjected to several books I hated, most memorably, _Beowulf_, _Ethan Frome_, and _Wuthering Heights_. The only truly great book I read was _Catch-22_ and it was one of those “pick from this list of 100 books” assignments so we didn’t really get to analyze it in class, I just wrote essays and poetry about it. I passed AP English with flying colors my junior year so I didn’t have a senior year English class. I think I did a dual enrollment psychology course instead. And creative writing. Speaking of other things that infuriate me beyond their actual importance… I’m still mad I didn’t get the AP English award. I was the only student in the history of the school who passed with 5s on my first year of the exam, and according to my English teacher, the award was supposed to go to me. But another overachiever’s parents badgered the principal out of giving it to me because I didn’t take a totally pointless second year of AP English. I’m not the kind of person who holds grudges, okay? But this happened over 25 years ago, I got thirteen other academic awards that year, and I’m still mad. My husband thinks it’s hilarious so he reminds me at every possible opportunity. And it is kind of hilarious because I _hated_ AP English. I should have said, “I don’t want your stupid award, anyway!” ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712/2740 "2026-03-10T23:34:04Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > @SCAdian, where and when (approximately) did you go to school? Northeastern Illinois (north of Chicago), class of '72. The play was _The Crucible_, the “couple chapters” were from _Silas Marner_, the complete book was _Immensee_, and the other two were _Drei Kameraden_ and _Die Verwandlung_. I ended up getting _Silas_ and _Three Comrades_ from the public library so I could read them completely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712.md?page=136) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-infuriate-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1006712.md?page=138)