Things you do just because that’s how your parents did it

  It’s a habit that’s become, perhaps, a bit of an obsession.

  The way my father did it, it was a simple stone-aged notebook, where he’d record the details, date, odometer reading, how many gallons, how much it cost, and then he’d calculate and write the miles-per-gallon.

  So, I keep such a notebook in our car. Don’t bother calculating MPG at that point. I also keep a matching record in my Palm TX.

  And then, once I get home, I also update an Excel spreadsheet on my desktop computer; and this spreadsheet is set up to calculate MPG, as well as quite a few other bits of data, and maintains a ten-point moving average of them as well.

  And in case anyone was wondering, our car, a 2016 Dodge Dart with the 2.0-liter I4, which will happily run on straight gasoline, or any mixture of at least 15% gasoline and no more than 85% ethanol, gets about 80% of the MPG on E85 (nominally 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) that it gets on straight gasoline.  E85 is usually significantly cheaper per gallon than straight gasoline, and as long as it’s less than 80% of the price per gallon of gasoline (which it usually is), it works out to more miles-per-dollar to run it on E85 than on gasoline.

  Currently, gasoline is consistently above $5/gallon here in Sacramento, while E85 is below $4/gallon.

also keeps bugs out of the glasses/cups too

Yeah, makes it easier to take a towel off the shelf without it unfolding.

I can understand this, but I’m not sure my dad worried about that.

Yeah, this is what I think I should be doing, but I don’t. I still fold them in thirds and cram them in the cabinet any which way.

Hmm, hadn’t thought about that advantage.

And really, my dad was a little brow beaten by his father, who was a career military man. So I went looking to see if there were any relevant regulations in the US military. My grandfather didn’t serve in the Navy, but it does appear they do have a prescribed method of folding towels. It’s in thirds.

Oh! In! Your! Face! People who fold other ways. :crazy_face:

Hehehe, I’m not even sure what’s going on here. I fold them in thirds and don’t really know why. The Navy is mind controlling me through my ancestors or something.

And I must acknowledge, this is probably the correct answer as to why someone else thought I should do it that way.

Me too. :blush:

It’s laundry day for me, and I just came to the realization that the only reason I use dryer sheets is because my mom always uses them. I’ve never really thought about what benefit they supposedly provide or what would happen if I didn’t use them. I’ve just always used them because that’s how my mom does it, so I just always assumed that when you put a load of laundry in the dryer you’re “supposed to” throw in a dryer sheet.

Me too except in my case my first insurance agent (State Farm) was my Dad. I still have my account at his old office building after 60 years. Several generations of agents have replaced the previous and gone on to retire. When I introduced myself to the latest young agent he had still heard of my Dad. He was an insurance legend. He feels like family already and we often have long chats if I stop by.

Frowned upon by every Italian who hears of it even though they really can’t come up with a good reason.

I don’t think I do much of anything like my parents. But the one thing I can think of is how to put the pillowcase on. I tuck the pillow under my chin and wiggle the case back and forth until it is fully on the pillow. I picture my mom every time.

Is there another way?

I think hotel maids fold the pillow in half lengthwise, slide it in, then unfold it.

I’m gonna try that this very night.

Check your dryer’s lint screen. It develops a waxy buildup from the dryer sheets that clogs up the holes, reducing the air flow and efficiency.

Back when I used dryer sheets, I found that I could use only a half a sheet or even a third of a sheet and still get the same results. (Nowadays, none of my clothes are the kind that wrinkle easily so I don’t need any fabric softener.)

I’d have to say just because my parents like them Ive also developed a fondness for Manhattans after work, eating scrapple on Sundays, and dancing to the oldies.

Honestly I think I fold my towels differently every load. They’re not all the same size! I also tried to take up their habit of smoking tobacco but that never stuck. I know they were keen to try weed well actually they did at a Willie Nelson concert but I could never cross that line with them. God bless them may they Rest in Peace.

Mind. Blown. :grinning:

Glad it was mission accomplished! :grinning:

Nurses are taught a different technique for infection control reasons but I won’t bore you with it since you’re blowing your own respiratory infectious microbes on your own (or your beloved’s pillow-they presumably are exposed to those microbes of yours already in vastly more pleasurable ways).

‘Mass General Hospital made it very clear to nursing students that tucking pillows under your chin to change pillowcases would not be good for your career. Which of course means that to this day I take delight in putting pillowcases in on just that forbidden way when I’m home.