# Things you do every day that most people find astonishing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644 "2010-01-27T14:25:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/21 "2010-01-27T17:39:26Z")
I have to listen to my ipod to fall asleep. 99% of the time I’ll be listening to stand-up comedy. On the days my girlfriend is at work, after she’s gone to work I always move over to her side of the bed. It’s only for this period of sleep that I’ll ever remember my dreams. When I was at school people would be surprised that I’d walk home (45 min ish trip) everyday unless it was snowing, rather than take the bus. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/22 "2010-01-27T17:45:05Z")
I never cook my oatmeal. Cooked oatmeal has a nasty gloppy texture that I just can’t bear, but I like the taste of raw oatmeal. Not every day but two or three times a week I fix myself a big bowl of raw oatmeal, low-fat milk, fresh or frozen unsweetened fruit, and unsweetened cinnamon and other spices. No sugar, no cooking. Trust me, it’s delicious. It used to be that I’d never wear a jacket or sweater unless the temperature was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and I’d never wear a hat unless the temperature was below zero. I can’t take the cold quite as well as I did when I was younger, but I’m still more cold-tolerant than most. People can’t believe it’s for comfort and not to save money that I keep the bedroom at 58 or 60 and the rest of the house at 60 or 62 all winter. I almost never answer the telephone when it rings. I’ll answer it if I’m expecting a call or if the caller ID indicates it’s somebody I really feel like talking to right then. Nine times out of ten I’ll just ignore it as it rings and rings, which most people seem to find odd if not downright rude. Don’t ask me why it’s different, but I do read and answer text messages and e-mails promptly no matter who they’re from. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/23 "2010-01-27T17:47:00Z")
> [@MitzeKatze](#): > > I walk with my dog at least twice a day no matter what the weather (though the coldest so far has been 5 degrees F) for about 45 minutes to an hour each time. Cesar Milan would probably love for you to bear his kids. Though he might have something to say about the bed issue. “The pack leader does not share bed sheets!” ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/24 "2010-01-27T17:54:19Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > I don’t eat breakfast. > > I urinate 8-10 times/day. > > I never say “yes” to an offer of food – ever. > > I eat standing up when at home. > > But the one thing that clearly astonishes people, based on reaction/feedback: I never let my shoe laces touch the ground. If I untie and remove my shoes, I pull the laces such that they cannot dangle onto the floor. What are the reasons for the above? Are any of them a mild OCD thing? Are you slender? I only ask that one because it sounds like (by choice) eating is not important to you (emotionally or otherwise). Furthermore if you urinate so many times in a day you must drink a ton of water. Do you tuck your laces in your shoes at night? (My brother and law does this. The most fastidious man I’ve ever known.) Would you let your laces dangle if your foot were on a step (so that they’re dangling without touching anything)? Are you skweeked out by seeing your shoelace the floor when your shoe comes untied? ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/25 "2010-01-27T18:00:15Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Oh, and most people have one foot slightly bigger than the other, but with me, one of them is actually smaller than the other. Freak. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/26 "2010-01-27T18:03:36Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I never cook my oatmeal. Cooked oatmeal has a nasty gloppy texture that I just can’t bear, but I like the taste of raw oatmeal. Not every day but two or three times a week I fix myself a big bowl of raw oatmeal, low-fat milk, fresh or frozen unsweetened fruit, and unsweetened cinnamon and other spices. No sugar, no cooking. Trust me, it’s delicious. > > It used to be that I’d never wear a jacket or sweater unless the temperature was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and I’d never wear a hat unless the temperature was below zero. I can’t take the cold quite as well as I did when I was younger, but I’m still more cold-tolerant than most. People can’t believe it’s for comfort and not to save money that I keep the bedroom at 58 or 60 and the rest of the house at 60 or 62 all winter. > > I almost never answer the telephone when it rings. I’ll answer it if I’m expecting a call or if the caller ID indicates it’s somebody I really feel like talking to right then. Nine times out of ten I’ll just ignore it as it rings and rings, which most people seem to find odd if not downright rude. Don’t ask me why it’s different, but I do read and answer text messages and e-mails promptly no matter who they’re from. This really caught my eye. There’s a thread elsewhere on the SDMB about steel cut oats. (the thread is now closed because someone was resurrecting an old thread) Anyway, I couldn’t agree with you more on the blech factor of some oats. Instant oats are totally disgusting. I’ve never tried them uncooked, but when I microwave them, I heat them just until hot but no more, because I like the chewier texture of the barely cooked oat. I’d really like to find some steel cut oats (instead of the rolled ones). I’ll be they’re really good. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/27 "2010-01-27T18:06:40Z")
> [@MitzeKatze](#): > > …and I typically sleep for only 3 or 4 hours per night on weeknights. How is that even possible? I thought people went insane if they went with inadequate sleep for too long? ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/28 "2010-01-27T18:19:18Z")
It may not mean anything to you people, but I’ve been married to my wife every day for the last 12 years, 24 days. To people who know her, that’s pretty astonishing. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/29 "2010-01-27T18:31:26Z")
I live in the Bronx. That seems to be astonishing to most people outside of the Greater NYC area. The part I live in is not like what is usually portrayed in movies and on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/30 "2010-01-27T18:36:01Z")
I work with giant robots and killer death beams. Really. Pretty much 5 days a week. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/31 "2010-01-27T18:56:53Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I tried sleeping with earplugs for a while, and I was astonished at what a difference they made in the quality of my sleep - instead of waking up every couple of hours, I slept straight through. I’ve stopped using them because they’re so damned hard to get in my ears properly - I suspect I’ve inherited my mom’s small ear canals. There are places that will make custom ear plugs. A friend of mine who is a sound engineer and musician had a pair made for him for when he went to concerts. They work like a charm and never fall out. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/32 "2010-01-27T19:06:57Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I go for hour-long walks in -30ºC weather. Heck, it seems like people are astonished that I walk outside in -5ºC weather - I barely need a jacket for _that_. 🙂 And once I’ve been walking really fast for long enough, I open my jacket to let my extra body heat escape. People look at me funny then, but honestly, if I was cold, I’d have my jacket done up, don’t you think? I walk outside at least an hour a day, every day. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/33 "2010-01-27T19:18:24Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > This really caught my eye. There’s a thread elsewhere on the SDMB about steel cut oats. (the thread is now closed because someone was resurrecting an old thread) Anyway, I couldn’t agree with you more on the blech factor of some oats. Instant oats are totally disgusting. I’ve never tried them uncooked, but when I microwave them, I heat them just until hot but no more, because I like the chewier texture of the barely cooked oat. I’d really like to find some steel cut oats (instead of the rolled ones). I’ll be they’re really good. I found Steel Cut Oats at Bulk Barn - you may try the bulk foods store closest to you… ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/34 "2010-01-27T19:27:30Z")
Answering questions: 8-10 time urinating per day = clean bill of health. Prostate, Diabetes, etc = no issues. Refusing food: It’s a rule. It’s a good rule. At work, at a party, at a restaurant or gathering…if someone offers food, I refuse. I only eat what I consciously decided, in advance, what I want. It doesn’t matter if 25% of the offering are actually good offerings. I feel it’s a good rule to refuse food. It’s a heckuva lot of calories. Shoe laces: Started when I was a kid and wanted my white laces staying white, because sneakers look much nicer with clean laces. But now, I just like knowing my shoe laces don’t touch the ground. Go figure. I don’t tuck them into the shoe, I just pull them up in a way that the slack keeps them off the ground/floor (even off my feet and in the closet). ---
**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:** [January 27, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/35 "2010-01-27T19:33:01Z")
Keeping your laces off the ground doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me, actually; I’m thinking of the times I’ve had soaking wet laces, burrs in my laces, stepped on my laces… ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/36 "2010-01-27T19:39:41Z")
TMI- Food often becomes waste in my body and expelled must faster than anyone I’ve ever spoken to. And no, it isn’t “just the food you ate yesterday being pushed out by the food you ate at your last meal today.” It’s the the food from my last meal leaving my body a few hours later. I can tell from the …contents and smell. Record was an hour and a half. Had a three course meal at a restaurant- First dish was a spinach salad. At the end of the meal, I stopped to use the rest room. IT was ALLLLL spinach. I said often because this isn’t always the case. Spicy foods and ‘greens’ heavy meals tend to do this. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/37 "2010-01-27T19:42:57Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Record was an hour and a half. Had a three course meal at a restaurant- First dish was a spinach salad. At the end of the meal, I stopped to use the rest room. IT was ALLLLL spinach. > > I said often because this isn’t always the case. Spicy foods and ‘greens’ heavy meals tend to do this. Is that healthy? I’ve never smelled or noticed my waste having recognizable food in it. Unless I’m having horrible diarrhea or something. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/38 "2010-01-27T20:01:29Z")
I sleep with earplugs AND a white noise machine. An ex once called me the Leona Helmsley of sleep. Also, I can get up and get out the door in the mornings in five minutes flat with no artificial stimulants. It’s wacky because most nights I have dreadful insomnia so you’d think that I’d be a slow starter but nope. Once my eyes open I’m wide awake. Brush teeth, pull on clothes and off I go. It’s sort of like that one scene in Ghost in the Shell. BTW, the “Sleep Pretty in Pink” earplugs are smaller, just for the female ear canal. I find them in just about every drugstore around. **Cat Whisperer** , I don’t know if they sell them in CA or not. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/39 "2010-01-27T20:04:07Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > How is that even possible? I thought people went insane if they went with inadequate sleep for too long? They do! Which explains most of my posts, don’t you think? 😃 Really though, I don’t know. I have been an insomniac as long as I can remember, nothing phases it…sleeping pills, etc. just make me feel bad. So my current weekday schedule is up at 6:00 AM and usually in bed around 2:00 AM with sleep not coming sometimes until 3 or later. On weekends I get to sleep in a little longer so I am in bed around 2, sleeping by 3, and then waking on my own around 9-10:00 AM. The plus side of it is that I can get all of my housework and chores (with the exception of vacuuming and noisy chores) done while everyone else is asleep and not bugging me, leaving my days free to play. 🙂 ---
**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, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/40 "2010-01-27T20:11:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Oh, and most people have one foot slightly bigger than the other, but with me, one of them is actually smaller than the other. OMG!! Me 2!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=3)