# Things you do just because that’s how your parents did it **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474 "2024-04-18T20:53:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/81 "2024-05-13T07:38:09Z")
As more and more years separate the present day from my childhood, I do it less often, but I still occasionally find myself shaking the milk jug before opening it. Any milk I might buy has been reliably homogenized, rendering the shaking pointless. Moreover, it was already pointless when I was a kid. Just a hard habit to break, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/82 "2024-05-13T14:40:14Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I just always assumed that when you put a load of laundry in the dryer you’re “supposed to” throw in a dryer sheet. I never use dryer sheets, yet my clothes come out fine, which drives my gf batty. (I think because she uses them my laundry picks up some of what she’s left behind on the dryer drum) ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/83 "2024-05-13T14:45:57Z")
Static isn’t fun. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/84 "2024-05-13T15:18:54Z")
My husband HATES dryer sheets and would be quite annoyed if I used them. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/85 "2024-05-13T18:45:22Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I think hotel maids fold the pillow in half lengthwise, slide it in, then unfold it. I too learned the “hold pillow with chin” method, and never thought about any other way of doing it - so, ignorance fought! Something I’ve seen in recent years in hotels is that the bed comes with a bunch of SQUARE pillows. I only recently learned that they are actually traditional rectangular pillows, specifically folded in the case somehow, to make them square, and a little untucking turns them back into the more usable, squashable rectangle. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/86 "2024-05-13T19:16:49Z")
There’s a very old story about a young woman preparing a roast for dinner, starting by cutting the ends off the roast. When asked why she said it was just the way her mother did it. She asked her mother who said her own mother did it that way so the young woman called her grandmother and asked why she cut the ends off the roast first. Her grandmother told her she did that because she had a small oven and the roast wouldn’t fit unless she cut the ends off. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/87 "2024-05-13T21:11:18Z")
I hadn’t known about folding the pillows but I don’t think I will try it out, since if I succeed in holding it with my chin it will go smoothly, and my alternative is to grab a hold of one side of the pillow like I was grabbing the nape of a kitten and shove it into the case, but that all but guarantees the pillow will get folded and I will have to fish it out again with my hand to flatten it. If I folded the pillow deliberately then it would remove the “all but” from the equation, unless the process somehow is different from my haphazard method in a way that makes the pillow spring into shape on its own. Whatever works for you I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/88 "2024-05-13T22:48:59Z")
Reading the Miss Manners thread reminded me of various tics of table manners I got from my parents. Though I’m sure I eat like a pig in most other ways, you’d never catch me, say, buttering a whole slice of bread at once. No, you have to tear off a bite-sized piece and butter just that, one at a time; it actually bugs me when I see people doing otherwise, because How My Parents Did It is obviously the right way. Much of this is 100% unconscious, too, like which side of the place napkins and silver and glasses go, even though my parents’ rules about such things were likely idiosyncratic and probably not the “proper” way according to the etiquette mavens. It’s just how they did it, and by gum, that’s how I do it. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/89 "2024-05-14T08:44:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I am happy to report that the answer is absolutely nothing. “My parents did it that way” is synonymous with “It’s the wrong way to do it” to me. I’m very similar. If I do things in similar ways to my parents it’s generally because I figured out through practice that it works, but that’s very few things. There’s nothing I do just because they did it that way. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/90 "2024-05-14T12:19:28Z")
I use dryer sheets because if I don’t, the clothes come out all staticky and stick to one another. It’s not fun getting dressed in the morning and finding an odd sock lurking inside your shirt sleeve. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/91 "2024-05-14T15:08:59Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > I’m sure I eat like a pig in most other ways, you’d never catch me, say, buttering a whole slice of bread at once. No, you have to tear off a bite-sized piece and butter just that, one at a time; it actually bugs me when I see people doing otherwise, because How My Parents Did It is obviously the right way. Wow, and I can’t even keep my elbows off the table. I’d never even heard of this one. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/92 "2024-05-14T15:41:11Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > No, you have to tear off a bite-sized piece and butter just that, one at a time; Seems a bit impractical. A lot of these picky formal etiquette rules (see current thread about Miss Manners) seem designed to make life as inefficient and artificial as possible. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/93 "2024-05-14T15:52:39Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > No, you have to tear off a bite-sized piece and butter just that, one at a time; The fully correct way is to cut off a piece of bread with a fork and knife and then butter it while on the fork. A graceful arc to the mouth completes the ritual. And now, here is how to eat soft serve ice cream with chopsticks: [https://imgur.com/a/9FEay2y](https://imgur.com/a/9FEay2y) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/94 "2024-05-14T18:41:17Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > > [@Gatopescado](#): > > > > > [@bibliophage](#): > > > > > > breaking dry spaghetti in half before cooking it… > > > > Smaller pot needed to cook it. Takes up less space in the dishwasher. Less messy to eat. > > Frowned upon by every Italian who hears of it even though they really can’t come up with a good reason. I mostly leave it long, now. They did it for “convenience.” I think that was code for “the kids make less of a mess this way.” My kids are grown, so unless I need to get the ends tucked into the water fast, I leave them intact. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/95 "2024-05-15T10:45:58Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > so unless I need to get the ends tucked into the water fast, I leave them intact. That’s mostly why I do it. Everything cooks evenly that way. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/96 "2024-05-15T12:23:21Z")
I don’t tear the roll and butter it for the sake of good manners, I do it that way to maximize the butter coverage. (_Keep your hands and fingers away from his mouth!_) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/97 "2024-05-16T10:49:22Z")
supposedly these days it makes your clothes smell nice and helps them not to wrinkle ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/98 "2024-05-16T16:33:41Z")
I’ve only every used it for clothes that had a propensity to static cling. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/99 "2024-05-17T10:19:56Z")
Likewise. The sock in the sleeve made me believe that socks really do escape. I KNEW it had to be in the house. Between the dryer and the closet. But it was GONE. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2024, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/100 "2024-05-18T05:28:59Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’ve only every used it for clothes that had a propensity to static cling I was with an older woman friend one day when a pair of nylon granny panties dropped out of the leg of her pants onto the floor. Static cling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474.md?page=6)