# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/61 "2010-01-28T04:35:37Z")
> [@StoutHearted](#): > > I take two buses and two trains to get to work. This shocks the hell out of many people I know, who can’t even imagine taking one bus or train to work. The whole commute takes around an hour, give or take 15 minutes depending on if SEPTA feels like keeping to its schedule. I don’t mind it, except during extreme weather conditions. I can get reading and schoolwork done, or even a nap. I’ve been doing the commute for so long that my body knows when to wake up before I miss my stop. I also take 2 trains + 2 buses, but it takes 5-6 hours, depending on the direction. (I only live with my wife on the weekends.) Some weeks, I actually take Train+Train+Bus+30min Walk+Car Pool in one direction. > [@mnemosyne](#): > > 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 am not a morning person, and I have a hard time waking up in the morning, but I _make_ breakfast every morning. I don’t just mean cereal. I make tea and miso soup with noodles, scallions, and wakame. I was meeting some people closer to my apartment than theirs, and I said that I still had to get up at such a time to make breakfast, and they said “_make_ breakfast?” ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/62 "2010-01-28T04:58:05Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ve kept a daily diary from the day I turned eight. I’ve yet to meet anyone under thirty who wants to do this, or over forty that doesn’t wish thay had done it. That _is_ impressive. If you’ll pardon a longish quote… [QUOTE=Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad] At certain periods it becomes the dearest ambition of a man to keep a faithful record of his performances in a book; and he dashes at this work with an enthusiasm that imposes on him the notion that keeping a journal is the veriest pastime in the world, and the pleasantest. But if he only lives twenty-one days, he will find out that only those rare natures that are made up of pluck, endurance, devotion to duty for duty’s sake, and invincible determination may hope to venture upon so tremendous an enterprise as the keeping of a journal and not sustain a shameful defeat. One of our favorite youths, Jack, a splendid young fellow with a head full of good sense, and a pair of legs that were a wonder to look upon in the way of length and straightness and slimness, used to report progress every morning in the most glowing and spirited way, and say: “Oh, I’m coming along bully!” (he was a little given to slang in his happier moods.) “I wrote ten pages in my journal last night—and you know I wrote nine the night before and twelve the night before that. Why, it’s only fun!” “What do you find to put in it, Jack?” “Oh, everything. Latitude and longitude, noon every day; and how many miles we made last twenty-four hours; and all the domino games I beat and horse billiards; and whales and sharks and porpoises; and the text of the sermon Sundays (because that’ll tell at home, you know); and the ships we saluted and what nation they were; and which way the wind was, and whether there was a heavy sea, and what sail we carried, though we don’t ever carry any, principally, going against a head wind always—wonder what is the reason of that?—and how many lies Moult has told—Oh, every thing! I’ve got everything down. My father told me to keep that journal. Father wouldn’t take a thousand dollars for it when I get it done.” “No, Jack; it will be worth more than a thousand dollars—when you get it done.” "Do you?—no, but do you think it will, though? “Yes, it will be worth at least as much as a thousand dollars—when you get it done. May be more.” “Well, I about half think so, myself. It ain’t no slouch of a journal.” But it shortly became a most lamentable “slouch of a journal.” One night in Paris, after a hard day’s toil in sightseeing, I said: “Now I’ll go and stroll around the cafes awhile, Jack, and give you a chance to write up your journal, old fellow.” His countenance lost its fire. He said: “Well, no, you needn’t mind. I think I won’t run that journal anymore. It is awful tedious. Do you know—I reckon I’m as much as four thousand pages behind hand. I haven’t got any France in it at all. First I thought I’d leave France out and start fresh. But that wouldn’t do, would it? The governor would say, 'Hello, here—didn’t see anything in France? That cat wouldn’t fight, you know. First I thought I’d copy France out of the guide-book, like old Badger in the for’rard cabin, who’s writing a book, but there’s more than three hundred pages of it. Oh, I don’t think a journal’s any use—do you? They’re only a bother, ain’t they?” “Yes, a journal that is incomplete isn’t of much use, but a journal properly kept is worth a thousand dollars—when you’ve got it done.” “A thousand!—well, I should think so. I wouldn’t finish it for a million.” His experience was only the experience of the majority of that industrious night school in the cabin. If you wish to inflict a heartless and malignant punishment upon a young person, pledge him to keep a journal a year. [/QUOTE] ---
**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 28, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/63 "2010-01-28T05:29:04Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > 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. Are you sure? It sounds like he’s not even digesting it if he can, um, tell what the food is. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/64 "2010-01-28T12:06:53Z")
> [@Taenia\_spp](#): > > I haven’t been doing this for very long, but I’ve been baking bread nearly every day for myself. I’m working on getting up a couple hours earlier so that I can have a freshly baked loaf for lunch that day. i bake every couple of days … I prefer to make my own bread because high fructose corn syrup that is everpresent in commercial foods is a migraine trigger for me. I am hot for king arthur flour’s artisanal european bread flour. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/65 "2010-01-28T14:06:46Z")
Several times a day I nurse a child older than 12 months. (She’ll be 2 next month!) Sometimes I have to remind myself how much this freaks most people out, since it seems normal to me and most of my close friends are cool with sustained nursing. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/66 "2010-01-28T14:14:52Z")
Every day I astonish the world by surviving in close proximity to a pit bull and a pit bull mix, both of them formerly starved and mistreated. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/67 "2010-01-28T14:38:44Z")
I sleep in a hammock. Every night. And I have not had a backache or anything similar since I bought my hammock. I’m sleeping better than I ever did in beds. It’s an indoor hammock, which hangs from a metal frame. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/68 "2010-01-28T15:02:41Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > 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. Pardon my French, but isn’t that what **Mangetout** means? (And, to your other comment about your feet, I assume that’s just a joke. On the off-chance it’s not, how is one foot bigger than the other different than one foot smaller than the other? It sounds like something Steven Wright would say.) ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/69 "2010-01-28T15:35:54Z")
I teach Taekwondo. It’s still amazing to me how that freaks people out. And every damn one of them thinks it’s so funny to say “Oh, don’t beat me up” or some variation of that, as if it were the most witty and original thing ever. I hear it 4-5 times a week; it ain’t funny no mo’. ---
**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, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/70 "2010-01-28T15:59:22Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I sleep in a hammock. Every night. And I have not had a backache or anything similar since I bought my hammock. I’m sleeping better than I ever did in beds. > > It’s an indoor hammock, which hangs from a metal frame. I used one as my only bed for about a dozen years. Loved it. ---
**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, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/71 "2010-01-28T16:24:51Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Pardon my French, but isn’t that what **Mangetout** means? Certainly is. > [@](#): > > … how is one foot bigger than the other different than one foot smaller than the other… I’d have thought that pretty obvious - the two things are complete opposites! ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/72 "2010-01-28T16:39:39Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I probably listen to some version (i.e., different live versions) of Be My Baby by the Ronettes/Ronnie Spector every day…a not huge number might be ten to fifteen times each day. So, more than I pee. Not just Brian Wilson but some other musicians I respect have lavished some very high praise on that particular tune…so you’re in good company. ---
**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 28, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/73 "2010-01-28T16:51:50Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Not just Brian Wilson but some other musicians I respect have lavished some very high praise on that particular tune…so you’re in good company. Heh, yeah. I’ve read that, about Brian Wilson in particular. Of course, comparing myself to Brian Wilson doesn’t help people’s opinion of my sanity but my music taste is definitely awesome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/74 "2010-01-28T16:56:49Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > [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. Ooh, could you share your recipe? I also don’t like quick cook oats, but I do like regular rolled oats. There is a brand at Trader Joe’s that is lightly toasted or something, and they’re really good. They have microwave directions that only take a couple of minutes, so maybe they are quick cook or something. I dunno. They’re tasty in any case. I thought I was buying those the other day, and when I got home, I discovered that they were steel-cut instead. I cooked them up on the stove, and WOW! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/75 "2010-01-28T17:23:04Z")
By the way, it’s really interesting to see how many people have unusual habits! Especially sleeping habits. I’ll share something that I don’t think most people would find astonishing, but my mom sure did! She’s pretty much impossible to shock, but I managed it with this one. I brush my teeth in the shower. She looked at me like I had just announced that I was secretly the grand wizard of the KKK or something. She said “That is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard of!” And she shook her head with resignation, because fortunately she believes that parents should accept their children as they are, regardless of how distasteful they find their habits or lifestyle. Of all the weird crap that I do, I can’t believe that brushing my teeth in the shower was the one that freaked her right out. ---
**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 28, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/76 "2010-01-28T17:30:30Z")
Brushing your teeth in the shower is unusual but not gross. Now, washing your face with regular soap is the kind of thing that would make me shudder. Also, no-poo. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/77 "2010-01-28T17:37:17Z")
I walk my dog no less than 6 miles daily over 3 walks (he gets one additional one during the day but not by me) no matter what the weather. ---
**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, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/78 "2010-01-28T18:39:39Z")
I use the bathroom in the shower. I have to use my heel to get the big pieces down the drain. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/79 "2010-01-28T18:54:58Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Now, washing your face with regular soap is the kind of thing that would make me shudder. What’s wrong with that? :dubious: > [@](#): > > Also, no-poo. Not really astonishing, but I wash and condition my hair every single day. It’s very long, and if I don’t give it the full treatment daily it’ll get so snarled up I’ll rip half of it out trying to comb it. Whenever I mention this to people they always say “but that’s not good for your hair!” or “your hair would be healthier if you only washed it every other day” or some-such. Yeah, whatever. To me, healthy = being able to run a comb through it. ---
**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 28, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/80 "2010-01-28T18:56:37Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > What’s wrong with that? :dubious: Well, I use cetaphil. I haven’t used regular soap on my face since before puberty. Except maybe once or twice at someone’s house who didn’t have it–it sucks! My face just feels greasy and unclean. I have to have my cetaphil, man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=5)