# Things you do, that without context... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384 "2019-01-08T01:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/41 "2019-01-14T20:26:17Z")
Another proactive spider-web-air-karate-guy here. This may be TMI, but somewhere along the line I taught myself not to pull at my … er … “bathing-suit area” when things needed to be readjusted but instead to sort of stomp the ground while doing what feels like a subtle hip rock. It usually does the job, but I’ve recently learned from Mrs. ToKnow that to someone who doesn’t know what I’m doing it looks like the potty dance. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/42 "2019-01-14T21:27:35Z")
> [@mmmiiikkkeee](#): > > I watched an old(er) guy getting into his car one time. He didn’t appear to have any kind of mobility problems as he walked to his car, but he got in in a weird looking way. Opened the door, then turned around perpendicular to the car and sat in the drivers seat facing 90 degrees to the left with his feet still on the pavement (facing 9 o’clock when looking at the car from above). He then picked up his feet and pivoted around to face the normal way, and closed the door. I remember a long time ago ( 1970s ) that advice was given as the best way to get into a car without twisting the spine. It does make sense, especially when getting into/out of lower slung sport coupes. The thing is though, many seats are bolstered, some heavily, and make the way that you describe more awkward. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliothecarius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bibliothecarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliothecarius)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/43 "2019-01-16T09:34:41Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Piper Dad and I once used the long hose of our central vac to vacuum our front lawn. I once vacuumed my front porch, front door and the outside walls in the surrounding area. Why, you ask? [spoiler]Spiders. Baby spiders. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. They would hatch underneath the porch every spring and go roaming all over the place. One time they wandered in through a crack by the kitchen window. Had to vacuum them off the walls and ceiling. I don’t think they were the psycho killer Australian kind, I just didn’t want them dropping down on top of me while I was sleeping or anything.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Bibliothecarius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bibliothecarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliothecarius)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/44 "2019-01-16T09:46:03Z")
> [@Bibliothecarius](#): > > I once vacuumed my front porch, front door and the outside walls in the surrounding area. > > Why, you ask? It was kind of like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJlZToYIfLg). ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/45 "2019-01-16T12:26:16Z")
My old apartment was in a complex of small 2 story apartment buildings, so I would park in the lot and walk past a few of the buildings to get to mine. If I was coming home in the evening, I’d walk very loudly, maybe not quite stomping my feet, but definitely making noise. My future wife, during one of our early dates, asked me just what the hell was up with all the stomping. Well, our complex had resident skunks, and the very last thing I wanted to do was surprise one by walking quietly around a corner. So, I figured I’d give them a warning. > [@Athena](#): > > I finally figured out if I put my car keys in the bag with the groceries, there was NO way I’d forget the groceries since I couldn’t drive home without the keys. I do this with my computer bag. If I take my computer home from the office, I drop my keys into the bag, so I can’t leave for the office without bringing the bag with me. Only took me two trips without my computer to learn that one. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/46 "2019-01-16T12:43:17Z")
About 5 years ago I reluctantly removed my plumb tree. I have regretted it ever since. Every morning I used to go outside and pee on the tree while holding my coffee and have a few minutes conversation with the tree. A stranger might think I was delusional but for me it was just a day starter and I guess my form of meditation. I replaced it with a bonsai in progress that I kept on my outdoor coffee table but last year it died. I need to start a new one. I miss our conversations. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/47 "2019-01-16T14:26:51Z")
> [@Bibliothecarius](#): > > I once vacuumed my front porch, front door and the outside walls in the surrounding area. > > Why, you ask? > > [spoiler]Spiders. Baby spiders. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. > > They would hatch underneath the porch every spring and go roaming all over the place. One time they wandered in through a crack by the kitchen window. Had to vacuum them off the walls and ceiling. I don’t think they were the psycho killer Australian kind, I just didn’t want them dropping down on top of me while I was sleeping or anything.[/spoiler] I’ve got to know: What did you do with a vacuum full of spiders? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/48 "2019-01-16T18:16:09Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > About 5 years ago I reluctantly removed my plumb tree. I have regretted it ever since. Every morning I used to go outside and pee on the tree while holding my coffee and have a few minutes conversation with the tree. A stranger might think I was delusional but for me it was just a day starter and I guess my form of meditation. I replaced it with a bonsai in progress that I kept on my outdoor coffee table but last year it died. I need to start a new one. I miss our conversations. Don’t pee on the bonsai, though. Not enough soil to handle the urea/nitrogen load. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/49 "2019-01-16T18:31:31Z")
[Gale Garnett] We’ll pee on the bonsai We’ll laugh every day We’ll pee on the bonsai Then I’ll be on my way. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliothecarius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bibliothecarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliothecarius)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/50 "2019-01-16T22:05:42Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I’ve got to know: What did you do with a vacuum full of spiders? Emptied it, of course. There was so much dust in there already that they all choked and died. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/51 "2019-01-16T22:15:15Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Years ago a friend shared a story about his little girl finding a mouse in her winter boot the first time she wore them for the season. And by “found it” I mean, said, “Daddy, there’s something in my boot” when she was strapped into her car seat. When they got to daycare he took her boot off and…MOUSE!! I read this too quickly initially and couldn’t figure out how you didn’t see a moose (or, for that matter, how it got a boot on). ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/52 "2019-01-16T22:23:46Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > There’s a video going around of a lady vacuuming her front yard. Thank you, for giving two non-insane reasons why! > > Only one of mine I can think of at the moment is I look like I’m occasionally groping my own ass or patting my own butt. > > (Forgot if my phone was in my back pocket or not … ) I call that “the ADD grope”. I’ve left my phone, wallet, keys, etc. behind many a time. I’ve learned to run through a checklist before I leave any public space where I might have had them out. I also take a long look back at any subway seat, restaurant booth, or such, where I’ve just been sitting. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/53 "2019-01-17T03:33:22Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I call that “the ADD grope”. I’ve left my phone, wallet, keys, etc. behind many a time. I’ve learned to run through a checklist before I leave any public space where I might have had them out. I also take a long look back at any subway seat, restaurant booth, or such, where I’ve just been sitting. I’m stealing the ADD grope name. I do the same thing. Two things I do that co-workers have actually asked me about. First, when I go in the break room, I always walk over to the microwave and press the “clear” button (unless it’s running.) The reason is because a lot of stuff I do on my phone at break and lunch obscures the clock and it’s easier to look at the microwave then close out/minimize the app. The problem is that many of my co-workers take stuff out before it ends, leaving a scrolling message instead of the time. The second is my phone’s lock screen. In a very large font, it says “ICE - NAME (123)456-7890.” It’s my wife’s name and number. It seems a lot of people still don’t know about ICE. It stands for In Case of Emergency with name and contact number, so if you’re in an emergency, anybody can know who to contact. I have many other quirks that don’t make sense and that I can’t even explain. ---
**Author:** ![Stuntman\_Mike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stuntman_mike/32/334_2.png) [@Stuntman\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuntman_Mike)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/54 "2019-01-17T22:01:56Z")
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been told I look before I bite into food. I unconsciously, but seemingly deliberately examine the food, and pick an exact spot to bite. I don’t knowingly do it, but since it’s been pointed out to me, I have caught myself doing it. It’s almost like working backwards on some demented puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384/55 "2019-01-18T20:58:28Z")
When I’m walking down stairs, I hit the step with the back of my heel before placing my foot on the next lower tread. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen down stairs, but I’m still afraid of overshooting and this helps me feel like I’m going to put my foot squarely on the next step. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-that-without-context/827384.md?page=2)