# Things That You Would Really Like To Know That Are None Of Your Mollyfocking Business? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591 "2011-01-31T01:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/81 "2011-02-01T00:31:30Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > There is a house down the street from me where the people have put removable spikes in their driveway to block their cars in (or block others’ out). They have to move them every single time they leave and they’ve been there now for easily almost a year. I’d like to know why they put them up and what purpose they are supposed to serve in general. Are they located in a spot where people might be likely to use their driveway to turn around in? (Or if not, perhaps their last house used to be such a place.) Irrational hatred of someone using their driveway for a Y-turn might explain the spike strip. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/82 "2011-02-01T00:45:45Z")
That’s possible, but we live on a fairly crowded street and I don’t think people would be more apt to turn around in their driveway versus any other. Also, I think the spikes are far enough back that you still could if you wanted to. Definitely a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/83 "2011-02-01T00:49:28Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > I want the details on the finances of other families. I constantly scrimp and save and we do end up sort of ahead but we’re making damn good money and living on the cheap. How do these people afford their fancy cars and houses and clothes? They seem to have a near infnite supply of cash. Are they just up their ears in debt? That is the one that throws me off as well and has for years. I wondered about it before the housing bubble got in full-swing and people that I know for a fact made much less than we did were buying huge houses that they couldn’t afford in the long-term. We all know how that worked out with the collapse of the housing industry. Some of them lost everything when the payments ballooned but many didn’t. I can understand how people get in severe debt to finance their lifestyle but you would think it would come crashing down at some point and they would become destitute and have to pay it back to make up for their transgressions. Apparently not. Some people seem to be able to pull it off consistently throughout life and never seem to suffer for material things despite clearly not having the money to pay for it. I have known so many of them as friends and family that I have lost count. I would probably faint if I got a close look at their financial records but they make it work and someone is out there helping them do it. We are talking about big money stuff, not just a few thousand dollars. Call me old-fashioned, but I just spend less than I have but apparently that isn’t the smart way to do it. I would love to see how they are doing it. It makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/84 "2011-02-01T03:10:07Z")
I just want to know why some members of the SDMB are banned. My wants are simple. Like my mind. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/85 "2011-02-01T03:14:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Posted by\*\* jsgoddess\*\*: > 1. > Two friends of mine married each other. They left for their honeymoon. They got to their hotel, were there for a couple of hours, the female friend left and filed for divorce. Didn’t something like this happen to a fairly significant historical figure in the USA? Was it Sam Houston? Whoever it was, he would never speak of it and I don’t know if the secret was ever revealed. I’ve now found something else to be curious about; I’ll have to dig into it. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/86 "2011-02-01T03:21:24Z")
What on earth was that nice lady on the light rail doing? She had a document on her laptop (word, or maybe powerpoint…not sure) and she was copying the same exact flyer over and over and over. She must have had a 40 page document, and each and every one said, in bright blue, “Caution, Hand Tools MUST be placed in Appropriate Holder”. ??? Why not just make one, and then print that many copies? What reason would a person have for making such a document? None of my business of course, but I’m burning with curiosity. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/87 "2011-02-01T03:29:49Z")
That reminds me. What do some of my IT coworkers do all day? I am not talking about the ones that are obviously goofing off. I understand those. I am talking about the ones that always frantic on the phone, IM, and e-mail plus the meetings. They eventually seem to get things done but it takes an unusual amount of time. I have taken over their jobs when they went on vacation or quit and there is only about 2 hours of work a day there at most. I have sat right beside many of them for years and never figured it out. They are busy little beavers and get rewarded for looking that way I have no idea what they are spending their time on. Most things in the IT world simply aren’t that difficult. You just identify the problem and fix it. Done. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/88 "2011-02-01T04:24:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > That reminds me. What do some of my IT coworkers do all day? I am not talking about the ones that are obviously goofing off. I understand those. I am talking about the ones that always frantic on the phone, IM, and e-mail plus the meetings. They eventually seem to get things done but it takes an unusual amount of time. I have taken over their jobs when they went on vacation or quit and there is only about 2 hours of work a day there at most. I have sat right beside many of them for years and never figured it out. They are busy little beavers and get rewarded for looking that way I have no idea what they are spending their time on. Most things in the IT world simply aren’t that difficult. You just identify the problem and fix it. Done. You know, I think there are a certain subset of people who manage to stretch out even a small amount of work into something that takes a long time. And it’s not necessarily that they’re lollygagging, at least as far as they’re concerned . . . it’s just that even small tasks are overwhelming to them to the point where they stress out and overreact. I mean, almost everyone would describe their lives as “busy” and “stressful.” How many of them actually have jobs that take a lot of time vs. just being neurotic and poor at time management? That is to say, maybe you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, where you’re fundamentally more relaxed and focused and can’t see why everyone else is in a tizzy. You’re whole, “You just identify the problem and fix it. Done” statement makes me think that you just have a mentality that allows you to better handle a given workload. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/89 "2011-02-01T04:29:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > A friend of the family was commenting that one of the kids had spilled something on the oriental rug…but at least it was the small one, only $20K. Ummm, that’s more then I make in mortgage payments in a year…and you spent it on a rug? They have a beautiful house, nice cars, decked out theater in the basement etc. They certainly live like rich people, but FCS she’s a part time social worker (who spent about 3 of the last five years out of work due to an illness) and he’s a dentist. I’m sure they’re doing ok, but I can’t believe they’re raking in millions. I have to wonder if at least one of them is a trust fund baby. Or lying and in hock up to their eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/90 "2011-02-01T04:58:55Z")
I want to know what happened to my previous supervisor. She was there when I left on medical leave. I returned to work last week, and she had been replaced by some guy. He’s a good supervisor, as far as I can tell, but I still would like to know where she went. I get the feeling I shouldn’t ask, since no one will talk about it. Maybe she got fired? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/91 "2011-02-01T05:26:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > That reminds me. What do some of my IT coworkers do all day? I am not talking about the ones that are obviously goofing off. I understand those. I am talking about the ones that always frantic on the phone, IM, and e-mail plus the meetings. They eventually seem to get things done but it takes an unusual amount of time. I have taken over their jobs when they went on vacation or quit and there is only about 2 hours of work a day there at most. I have sat right beside many of them for years and never figured it out. They are busy little beavers and get rewarded for looking that way I have no idea what they are spending their time on. Most things in the IT world simply aren’t that difficult. You just identify the problem and fix it. Done. Studies are showing that the more electronic distractions you allow in your day, the less efficient you become. Maybe that’s part of their problem - they don’t manage their day, their day manages them. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/92 "2011-02-01T06:03:47Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > There is a house down the street from me where the people have put removable spikes in their driveway to block their cars in (or block others’ out). They have to move them every single time they leave and they’ve been there now for easily almost a year. I’d like to know why they put them up and what purpose they are supposed to serve in general. Maybe they’re afraid of their cars getting stolen? I want to know why the (presumably) crazy lady sits in a chair on the sidewalk next to the police station, overlooking the patrol car parking lot every single day for hours and hours and hours, just staring at the parking lot. What is she watching? How can it hold her interest for so many hours every single day? I’ve thought about going into the station and asking at the front counter, but I doubt they know, either. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/93 "2011-02-01T08:16:05Z")
I want to know if the following two stories related to the Jackson family are true: In the seventies, Joseph Jackson was suspected to have had an affair with somebody who worked around him, a younger woman. According to this story, his wife Katherine and his youngest children Randy and Janet (both of whom would have been quite young at this time, I recall that Janet wouldn’t have been older than about 14) cornered the woman in the building she worked at and Katherine beat the shit out of her while the children kept watch. Apparently a security guard wandered through and asked “What’s going on?” and Janet said “Get out of here, mister”, and then he _obeyed the small girl_ and walked away. That part of the story seems so unbelievable, but is it an embellishment on an otherwise true story or is the whole thing made up? I know the Jacksons are crazy but are they really _that_ crazy? Years of infidelity could have pushed Katherine over the edge and the kids would have been impressionable but _really_? I’d love to know if it was true. Janet was married at 18 and divorced by the age of 20, back when she was just another Jackson and before she became hugely successful. According to rumor, around this time she gave birth to a child in secret and gave it to the oldest Jackson sibling, Rebbie, to raise as her own. It’s not known whether she supposedly did this because the marriage dissolved so quickly or because her career was quickly taking off or because the family thought it would be bad for their image (which was still quite wholesome in the mid-eighties, this was before LaToya posed for Playboy and before Michael’s image went to hell). In addition, I hate blind items on Dlisted and blogs like that. I want to know who the blind items are about, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buckler_of_Swashing)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/94 "2011-02-01T08:56:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Did Pat Sajak and Vanna White ever do each other? Ditto George W. Bush and Condi Rice. What does Kaley Cuoco look like topless? Why doesn’t the Man vs. Food dude weigh about 600 lbs? What does George HW Bush _really_ think about his son’s presidency? > > Ditto the one about Charlie and Harry. I often wonder if the Royal Postman had red hair. Not quite the postman, but check out the first few results of [this google image search](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1680&bih=914&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=%22james+hewitt%22+%22prince+harry%22&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=). Hewitt had an acknowledged affair with Diana and a lot of people believe he is Harry’s real father. Anyway, I would like to know who keeps putting handwritten and poorly spelled bible quotations in my letterbox (and WHY??? 😕). I have checked with my neighbours and they haven’t had any, but I have received about one a month since last October. My parents also live nearby and haven’t had any. I’m not offended or anything, just super curious. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/95 "2011-02-01T08:58:41Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > …Janet said “Get out of here, mister”, and then he _obeyed the small girl_ and walked away… I have no idea whether it was her case, but a 14yo doesn’t usually look like a small girl and may look (specially in the right light) very much like a grown woman - in this case, an extremely angry grown woman. If she was able to pull the Voice of Authority (something I’ve had myself since my age was in single digits), the combination of two extremely pissed women, a youngster and the Voice could have been enough to make the guard reconsider his options. Depending on what the options actually were, perhaps walking away did look like the wisest choice. **Shagnasty** , one of the reasons I hate presentialism is that, IME, the people who spend more time being busy little buzzy bees are the ones who suck at doing/managing their work: we have a programmer right now who makes more busy noises than the whole rest of the team, but who hadn’t even started reading the documents he should have been looking at on day one until he’d been here for several weeks. Sounds like you have a few buzzers at your job. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/96 "2011-02-01T10:39:58Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Something weird is going on with the people in the house next to us. At one time, a man and woman lived there. They had some loud fights, apparently divorced, and moved out. Recently, the woman has reappeared. We suspect that she was squatting, because although we knew she was in there, she never had the lights on or came outside. > > One night, she did come out. She was super drunk and passed out in the yard of the neighbor on the other side of us. Paramedics took her away. > > Just a couple of weeks ago, there was yet another incident. This time she was super drunk, called the paramedics herself, and when they came, she was so belligerent that the cops came and took her away. The next day, the man who used to live there called us and asked us to make sure the front door was locked (but he didn’t give us any details, and damn it, the door _was_ locked). > > Now she’s back again, with a man we don’t know. They have electricity, and aren’t shy about being seen outdoors, so I guess it’s okay. However, a few days ago, a man came to our door. He told my daughter he was from the bank, and asked if she’d seen anyone living there. She told him yes. > > What the hell’s going on? Whatever it is, I’m glad we have an alarm system and a big scary dog. Their house got foreclosed on, they couldn’t take the financial pressure and he left. She tried to drown her sorrows in booze and wouldn’t leave the house because she wanted to cling to her broken dreams and life. ☹ Now the bank has legal possession of the house and wants her gone so they can sell it. At first she was hiding so no one would think the house was occupied, but now she’s so depressed she doesn’t give a shit anymore. It’ll eventually end with the Sheriff giving her notice she’s being evicted. Then after 48 hours it’ll be police knocking on the door, her being ousted, and lots o stuff strewn out on the lawn. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/97 "2011-02-01T11:22:00Z")
I really, really want to know who staged that Max Headroom stunt in Chicago in the 80s and why. It makes me crazy that there aren’t apparently even suspects. The same with the Tylenol killer. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/98 "2011-02-01T11:34:15Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I really, really want to know who staged that Max Headroom stunt in Chicago in the 80s and why. It makes me crazy that there aren’t apparently even suspects. Oh YES! There are a whole host of unsolved things like this that I’d love to know. One of the most interesting to me is the [Taman Shud case](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud), what I’d give to know what the answer to that one is. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/99 "2011-02-01T12:04:10Z")
> [@GiantRat](#): > > Heh. Reminds me of a similar story that happened to a friend’s father (a lawyer). LawyerDad is the best man in his buddy’s wedding. Newlyweds go off to the Bahamas or whatever for the honeymoon. The following morning Lawyerdad’s phone rings. “LawyerDad, draw up the papers! I’m done with this bitch!” > > One can only imagine… I always wondered how this one turned out … not Bahamas, but they came here and got married, he got blind drunk on the wedding night and she ended up half way down the beach screwing a water sports guy in the bushes. We all knew about it because another couple went to investigate, they heard squealing and though some poor animal had got stuck in the undergrowth. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591/100 "2011-02-01T12:10:50Z")
> [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](#): > > Not quite the postman, but check out the first few results of [this google image search](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1680&bih=914&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=%22james+hewitt%22+%22prince+harry%22&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=). Hewitt had an acknowledged affair with Diana and a lot of people believe he is Harry’s real father. To be fair, [Harry](http://london.jollypeople.com/files/2010/08/Prince-Harry55.jpg) also strongly resembles Diana’s brother [Charles Spencer](http://www.londonspeakerbureau.co.uk/managed/images/speakers/351--Charles-Spencer.jpg) (who is ginger) so it could be that he got the Spencer genes, but he really doesn’t seem to have many of the Windsor genes unlike his brother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-would-really-like-to-know-that-are-none-of-your-mollyfocking-business/569591.md?page=6)