# 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:** 5
**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, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/81 "2010-01-28T19:25:12Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I use the bathroom in the shower. > I have to use my heel to get the big pieces down the drain. Is this the shower in the on-set trailer? I’ve heard you did that. ---
**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 28, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/82 "2010-01-28T19:27:52Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I use the bathroom in the shower. > I have to use my heel to get the big pieces down the drain. I’m not astonished so much as dismayed. In case you’re actually being serious, showers make grey water; toilets make blackwater. Grey water doesn’t need the same level of treatment that blackwater needs. You’re turning your shower water into blackwater, but it won’t be treated as such. From [this site,](http://www.greywater.com/) > [@](#): > > Medical and public health professionals view feces as the most significant source of human pathogens. Keeping toilet wastes out of the wastewater stream dramatically reduces the danger of spreading such organisms via water. ---
**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, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/83 "2010-01-28T19:50:25Z")
It’s an old joke. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/84 "2010-01-28T19:52:41Z")
Not every day, but fly a heavier-than-air aircraft with no motor that can go hundreds of miles at speeds over 100 mph and stay aloft for several hours, possibly higher than the cruising altitudes of airliners. When I tell people about this hobby they are quite often amazed. Its no big deal, really. But it is ALOT of fun. ---
**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 28, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/85 "2010-01-28T19:52:48Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > It’s an old joke. Alrighty then. Remember folks, water safety is up to all of us! ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/86 "2010-01-28T20:01:34Z")
It’s more a question of what I don’t do… I only use the Playdoh fun factory at most twice a week. I’ve been this way my whole life. The concept of a daily bowel movement is alien and strange to me. I’ve literally had people grab me yelling “Get to a doctor now!” convinced that there must be something wrong. I’ve been to a doctor, and some people are simply just plumbed that way. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/87 "2010-01-28T20:02:49Z")
There may be “grey water” and their may be “black water.” In all the systems I’ve lived with, however, (sewer and septic tanks) everything gets mixed together. Still, I’m not supporting feces in the shower. my every day oddity: I urinate in the morning when i get up, and sometimes not again until before I go to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Pandoranoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce73a5/32.png) [@Pandoranoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandoranoid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/88 "2010-01-28T20:35:39Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > 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. Maybe you already know this, but there are a couple of chain grocery stores-and quite a few independent health food stores, of course-that do not carry anything with high fructose corn syrup. Whole Foods, which most people know, and also Earth Fare, which is a regional store in the Southeast. I can recognize any song on my iPod in under a second. It’s a full iPod. I can do this with any song if I hear one particular recording of it more than a couple of times. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/89 "2010-01-28T20:43:01Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > 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. 1up: A friend of mine got a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, then decided he actually wanted to practice medicine, so headed for med school. The two fields aren’t even slightly related: he got his Ph.D. studying diesel fuel injector sprays, and is now practicing internal medicine. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/90 "2010-01-28T20:46:49Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m not astonished so much as dismayed. In case you’re actually being serious, showers make grey water; toilets make blackwater. Grey water doesn’t need the same level of treatment that blackwater needs. You’re turning your shower water into blackwater, but it won’t be treated as such. From [this site,](http://www.greywater.com/) Very, very few places are plumbed that way. 99.999% goes to the same place through the same drains. ---
**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 28, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/91 "2010-01-28T21:12:32Z")
Hmm, I even researched before I posted. Maybe they were just talking about grey water recycling systems. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/92 "2010-01-29T00:01:38Z")
> [@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. > > 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”. The gasterocolic response is when a recent meal triggers you to move your bowels. Emphatically NOT when a meal you ate recently has already passed through your system virtually undigested. ---
**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 29, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/93 "2010-01-29T00:11:28Z")
Remembered another one: I drink a gallon of water a day. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/94 "2010-01-29T00:28:55Z")
It’s not so much what I do, but what I \*don’t \*do. I don’t watch TV. None. Zip. Zero. People look at me like I’m from another planet when I tell them this. When I told my technician that I haven’t eaten fried food in over 20 years, he was astounded. “What?! How can you not eat fried food? What do you eat, then???” I don’t carry a cell phone with me. I jog a couple times a week at lunchtime. Even if it’s raining. Even if it’s 10 °F out. My coworkers think I’m crazy for doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/95 "2010-01-29T01:09:15Z")
I don’t own a car either. I’m 39. People find that weird. To all you people sleeping with ear plugs and noise machines: how do you wake up? I have 4 alarms to make sure I get up. But I guess if I’m that heavy of a sleeper I don’t need ear plugs. ---
**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 29, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/96 "2010-01-29T01:22:07Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Ooh, could you share your recipe? I use a [double boiler](http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll135/WithButterflies/posted/oatsincrock.jpg)/[bain-marie](http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll135/WithButterflies/posted/oatsincrock2.jpg) method because if you put the oatmeal right into the crockpot, it will stick and burn. So instead I put 1 cup of oats, 3 cups of unsweetened apple juice and 1 cup of non fat milk (or 1/3 cup oats, 1 cup apple juice, 1/3 cup milk if it’s just one serving) into a bowl that is resistant to high heat. Then to add a little more taste and sweetness I throw in a few candy redhots for a cinnamon flavor. I set the bowl into the crockpot and then pour water around the bowl. Put the lid on and then cook overnight on low. It takes less than five minutes to set up at night and by the time I wake up they’re perfect. ---
**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 29, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/97 "2010-01-29T01:35:56Z")
> [@Pandoranoid](#): > > Maybe you already know this, but there are a couple of chain grocery stores-and quite a few independent health food stores, of course-that do not carry anything with high fructose corn syrup. Whole Foods, which most people know, and also Earth Fare, which is a regional store in the Southeast. And the bunny huggy stores are more expensive than regular stores. I will continue making my bread by hand cheaper than buying it in a bunny huggy store for 3 times what it costs me to make it at home =) We are now a one income family in one of the most expensive COL states in the continental US. We don’t have the money to play with expensive foods. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/98 "2010-01-29T01:51:20Z")
Mr. Alpine has a special talent with time. He gets home or to a destination within about 2 minutes of when he says he will. It’s happened more than once on a 6 hour drive. “We’ll be there at 6:15pm” and we get there as the car clock ticks 6:15. We went snowshoeing once and he said, “It’ll take us 2:15 to get to the top and reach an altitude of 12,010 feet”. Smack on. It’s kind of uncanny how often it happens. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/99 "2010-01-29T01:53:46Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > 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. Coincidentally, I also got a B.Sc. in biology and then switched to a Ph.D. in musicology (i.e. music history). People are mostly astonished that I have a wild side. I guess I come across as very straight laced. Surprise! ---
**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 29, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644/100 "2010-01-29T01:57:50Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And the bunny huggy stores are more expensive than regular stores. I will continue making my bread by hand cheaper than buying it in a bunny huggy store for 3 times what it costs me to make it at home =) We are now a one income family in one of the most expensive COL states in the continental US. We don’t have the money to play with expensive foods. Did you know that hoodies are called bunnyhugs in Saskatchewan? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-every-day-that-most-people-find-astonishing/526644.md?page=6)