# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/41 "2010-01-27T21:16:59Z")
> [@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. [Steel Cut Oatmeal](http://www.amazon.com/McCANNS-Steel-Irish-Oatmeal-28-Ounce/dp/B001EO5U3I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1264626745&sr=8-2). That is a four pack but you can buy it in other sizes and amounts, obviously. Personally, I take less than five minutes at night to throw it in my crockpot (I think I’ve perfected my recipe finally) at night and it’s perfect in the morning. I cannot stand instant oatmeal, but this is really good. As for the OP: the only thing I can think of that I do every day that surprises some people is exercise. I do kickboxing for about 30-40 minutes and work with free weights for about 15-20 minutes for toning. Then throughout the day I work in 1000 inverted crunches at different intervals. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/42 "2010-01-27T22:04:45Z")
> [@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. Me too - just rolled oats in cold or very slightly warm milk - I don’t mind cooked oats in recipes (flapjacks, cookies, breads, etc), but oatmeal/porridge is like wallpaper paste when ‘properly’ cooked. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/43 "2010-01-27T22:22:37Z")
Agree on the oats thing. I don’t cook oatmeal for myself (I’m a kasha girl), but I like it raw as a snack, mixed up with some other stuff. I wish I had not taught that trick to my kids, since they leave oats all over the place now. I homeschool my kids. I’ts not really a big deal, though it’s a big committment of time and work. It’s my job, and that’s how I treat it. Usually it’s fun, unless my 6yo is being a booger like she was today, but she recovered. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/44 "2010-01-27T22:51:40Z")
I’m still a whiz at Gregg shorthand and I use it every day at work. My bosses, after some initial surprise, find it easier to quickly dictate the outline of a letter or memo to me standing in their office than to use their Dictaphones. Other than a couple of secretaries my age, most folks I work with find this astonishing. Wow, super-fast code language! ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/45 "2010-01-27T23:24:44Z")
> [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](#): > > Once my eyes open I’m wide awake. Brush teeth, pull on clothes and off I go. I do that too. Some people wake up like a rheostat. I wake up like a switch. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/46 "2010-01-27T23:57:34Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I’m still a whiz at Gregg shorthand and I use it every day at work. My bosses, after some initial surprise, find it easier to quickly dictate the outline of a letter or memo to me standing in their office than to use their Dictaphones. > > Other than a couple of secretaries my age, most folks I work with find this astonishing. Wow, super-fast code language! I sometimes write notes to myself in shorthand, especially when I don’t want anyone else to know what I’ve written…This is OT, but I remember taking dictation, 20 letters in an hour or more, in shorthand. They always tended to mumble on Dictaphones, I’d sometimes have to guess what was said, and as for how-do-you-spell-that - forget it! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/47 "2010-01-28T00:05:25Z")
I never get lost. Hell, I once boarded a plane for Hartford, CT, drove to Albany, NY (trust me, I didn’t make these travel arrangements), and found a specific warehouse _without having the address_. I’ll go to places once, won’t go again in years, and be able to just drive there at a moments notice. My wife finds this a very useful talent - pretty much ensures that I’m going to do most of the driving. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/48 "2010-01-28T00:06:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Me too - just rolled oats in cold or very slightly warm milk - I don’t mind cooked oats in recipes (flapjacks, cookies, breads, etc), but oatmeal/porridge is like wallpaper paste when ‘properly’ cooked. Just realised this looks a bit contrary to my earlier claim that I had no real food dislikes. I guess what I meant is that I can’t think of anything much that I cannot or will not eat. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/49 "2010-01-28T00:27:40Z")
Most people are astonished that I’m going to school for a second undergraduate degree, in a field pretty far removed from the one my first one was on. I’m now in Mechanical Engineering, and my first degree was Biochemistry. I simply discovered a field I enjoy more, and know what kind of career I want, while the first time around, I just did something more or less at random because I didn’t know what I wanted. One guy today was amazed that I have time to shower in the mornings before class. I pointed out to him that the class started at 10:30am, but still, for him, it’s really hard to wake up that early! I can pipette using a [bulb](http://www.canemco.com/images_11/370-1.jpg)with either hand. That seemed to blow the minds of most of my former coworkers. I just had to develop a lab method once which involved about 60 test tubes, with 3 solutions pipetted into them. My arms would get tired, so I learned to switch! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/50 "2010-01-28T00:49:03Z")
Straight lines, free hand. Painting, drawing, cutting, I can do a very good and long virtually straight line. When I put it up against a straight edge, tho, you can see some variance. But for most of my work purposes, it’s as straight as needs to be. Saves time more than anything else. I’m ambidextrous too, so I can continue this almost straight line from hand to hand. I rarely get lost. Even when I AM lost, I know where I need to be heading, so I end up not lost. Like the dragon slaying Oscar, I seem to have a “bump of direction.” I have a cousin with perfect pitch. That always just kind of freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/51 "2010-01-28T01:05:55Z")
A lot of these are interesting, but they’re more like “odd things you can do” rather than things you actually do every day ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/52 "2010-01-28T02:59:58Z")
Not own a car or a telephone - obviously this means my life is lived differently than most people I know. Have 3 dogs and 3 cats in a small apartment. Eat a diet that’s 90% animal products. That’s about the extent of my (daily) weirdness. > [@](#): > > Food often becomes waste in my body and expelled must faster than anyone I’ve ever spoken to. I hope you have been to various specialists? Because that’s really very bad. I also have issues with fiber which is why I now eat almost none and have the best poop of my life. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/53 "2010-01-28T03:11:11Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Uh, dude - I’m not a doctor, but maybe you should talk to one? As I understand it, frequent urination can be a sign of diabetes, prostate problems, or other assorted unpleasantness. Oh, don’t worry…I do that too, have for years…not a huge deal. It’s called “normal” for many of us. Though the pooping 7 times a day lately…not so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/54 "2010-01-28T03:16:52Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Most people are astonished that I’m going to school for a second undergraduate degree, in a field pretty far removed from the one my first one was on. I’m now in Mechanical Engineering, and my first degree was Biochemistry. I simply discovered a field I enjoy more, and know what kind of career I want, while the first time around, I just did something more or less at random because I didn’t know what I wanted. > > One guy today was amazed that I have time to shower in the mornings before class. I pointed out to him that the class started at 10:30am, but still, for him, it’s really hard to wake up that early! > > I can pipette using a [bulb](http://www.canemco.com/images_11/370-1.jpg)with either hand. That seemed to blow the minds of most of my former coworkers. I just had to develop a lab method once which involved about 60 test tubes, with 3 solutions pipetted into them. My arms would get tired, so I learned to switch! I know an even more extreme example: My cousin first got a B.S. in biology, then realized that wasn’t her main interest, so went back to school and got a Ph.D. in history. She’s now a history professor at a small college. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/55 "2010-01-28T03:37:09Z")
That for 8 years I have not really had a home, but have only had to spend one night without a hotel room, apartment or on transport. When I left the US in 2002 to obtain health insurance overseas, I had only a one-year visa for the Republic of Georgia. Since then I have moved countries as often as every 30 days, though more often 90 days. This means I only have what I can carry, and I run my software company from where ever I can get online with my Mac laptop… be it a cafe in Laos or an apartment in Germany. I’ll be in this country for about another month, and then will be on the road again… spending March to June in the Balkans, Turkey and hopefully Iran. It’s often hard not having a real home (and short term apartments are expensive), but at least I have health insurance and am my own boss. ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/56 "2010-01-28T03:38:01Z")
"Also, I can get up and get out the door in the mornings in five minutes flat with no artificial stimulants. " My dentist wants me to **brush my teeth** for 5 minutes twice a day! I usually only do 4 minutes- my toothbrush has a 2 minute timer, so I go two rounds-I find it easier to do if I sit in my rocking chair-I get too impatient when I am standing. I had some gingivitis when I started seeing her, so my previous efforts were not enough. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/57 "2010-01-28T04:00:16Z")
May not seem astonishing, but more like downright strange. **I listen to Disney music everyday.** Not all the time, but on my way to work during the busy commute. Also, I only listen to music/soundtracks from the Tokyo Disney Resort theme parks, not the feature films. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/58 "2010-01-28T04:20:44Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I don’t blat it around, it’s a ‘family secret’, but I sleep on my (overstuffed, super- comfy) couch every night. There are a few reasons for this that I won’t get into, but everyone assumes the “proper” sleeping arrangement is for a married couple to sleep naked and intertwined on a a massive king bed. I, being a rebel, spit in the face of propriety! My husband and I often do this, because I’m a restless sleeper and he’s not always ready to go to bed with me. If he comes in later, I’ll wake and find it difficult to get back to sleep. He also will spread way out and awaken me with an arm on my head. He doesn’t mind the couch, and we have a loving relationship and a very healthy sex life. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/59 "2010-01-28T04:21:30Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > TMI- > Food often becomes waste in my body and expelled must faster than anyone I’ve ever spoken to. IANAD, but I am the daughter of a gastroenterologist, I can tell you that you have a very good [gastrocolic reflux](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrocolic_reflex), which is a very good thing. I vigorously\* exercise almost (5-6) days a week, barring illness. The only other people I know who have this regimen are my younger brothers and my SO. It shouldn’t be as rare as it seems. \*I don’t count generic yoga or just “walking”. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/60 "2010-01-28T04:22:27Z")
> [@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. I have tried unheated oatmeal with milk. To me it’s just barely palatable, with the “gloppy texture” you ascribe to the cooked. > [@Philster](#): > > 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. How do you deal with people who persist in offering? Or if they actually set food down in front of you anyway? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=4)