# Things You Shouldn't Need To Tell People **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674 "2021-07-04T19:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/203 "2021-07-21T20:13:04Z")
Thanks. 🙂 > [@minor7flat5](#): > > I live in a relatively urban part of New Jersey… I live in an urban neighborhood, too. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/204 "2021-07-21T20:43:32Z")
To paraphrase Jasper from The Simpsons, the sidewalk’s not for a-parkin’! I live in a suburban neighborhood with nice, wide streets. There’s plenty of room for street parking with enough room left for cars to get by. And yet frequently when I go for a walk I run into cars parked with two wheels up on the sidewalk (There’s no grass strip between the curb and the sidewalk; the sidewalk is right next to the curb). Sometimes that just means I have to walk on someone’s lawn to get past them, but many yards have fences or hedges next to the sidewalk. In those cases I have to either squeeze past, or walk in the street to get past them. Do the people who park like this just assume no one ever actually uses the sidewalk? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/205 "2021-07-21T20:52:09Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Do the people who park like this just assume no one ever actually uses the sidewalk?- This is a manifestation of the phenomenon exemplified by many (not all) of the complaints in this thread, namely, _they think they are the only person(s) alive on the earth and no one else ~~matters~~ exists._ ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/206 "2021-07-22T02:22:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I think they’re talking mostly about people who usually drown themselves in the stuff. Not just a tiny little dab. I’m talking about people who wear any, including a tiny little dab. Perfumes can be pretty toxic, especially to some of us. After being stuck near somebody’s perfume on a crowded 8 hour flight, I was sick for 9 months. I often have to flee an area because of somebody’s perfume. And it doesn’t have to smell strong to hurt. Perfume chemistry often includes nasty compounds that trigger respiratory reactions. I had the misfortune to work near diisocyanate chemistry early in my career and it has given me lifelong respiratory disease, and the most harmful category of threats that attack me is perfumes. The perfumes people drown themselves in, the perfumes people dab on. The perfumes in the soaps and laundry detergents of people who aren’t even conscious they’re wearing perfumes. The perfume in the stupid “contractor trash bags” I need to use. The free perfume people sometimes add to my car when they’re working on it. It’s all dangerous and frequently damages me, for minutes, for hours, for days. And for what? ---
**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:** [July 22, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/207 "2021-07-22T02:40:56Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > the perfumes people dab on. The perfume people _think_ they’re dabbing on, but are actually overdoing it. If I can smell it on you and I’m more than 6 inches away, it’s too much. I don’t want to smell your cologne any more than I want to listen to your music on the bus. I told a woman friend at a group dinner that I was sorry, but I’d have to switch seats because her cologne was overpowering my dinner. She said, “Oh, I’m not wearing it for _myself_, I wear it to honor my late mother, because it’s the perfume she wore.” No, you wore it for yourself, asshole. ---
**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:** [July 22, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/208 "2021-07-22T12:20:42Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > No, you wore it for yourself, asshole. And you still had to switch seats - the reason she was wearing too much perfume didn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/209 "2021-07-23T03:42:52Z")
It doesn’t matter how pretty or interesting you find “exotic” (read: either ethnic or red or especially curly) hair, you don’t touch strangers without permission. You _especially_ don’t come up behind them to do it. This still applies even if you’re old. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/210 "2021-07-23T04:12:22Z")
Then can we add that a pregnant woman’s belly is not public property? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/211 "2021-07-23T04:23:01Z")
Totes! ---
**Author:** ![Franklymydear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Franklymydear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Franklymydear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/212 "2021-07-23T04:24:12Z")
Antibiotics do nothing for colds and flu (or covid) ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/213 "2021-07-23T04:28:06Z")
But are needed if the cold, flu or COVID are causing pneumonia so talk to your doctor if symptoms last longer than they should. ---
**Author:** ![Franklymydear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Franklymydear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Franklymydear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/214 "2021-07-23T04:35:58Z")
Antibiotics do nothing against a virus. Or viral pneumonia… ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/215 "2021-07-23T04:48:11Z")
Thank you, I often don’t know the right words. Hubs never gets the flu shot, but once he had the flu, was really sick for a week and stayed weak. His doctor gave him antibiotics and he started recovering. I have since heard of the same thing happening to other people who like hubs were unvaxed. I don’t know about the other folks, but I do know that hubs was very insulted that the doctor thought his immune system was so weak that it took a few days until he felt crappy enough to actually take the antibiotics. So, besides hubs being an idiot, what do you think was going on? Birds of a feather and all, most of hubs’ friends tend to be idiots so the same thing was probably happening with them. ---
**Author:** ![Franklymydear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Franklymydear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Franklymydear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/216 "2021-07-23T04:51:26Z")
fungi and bacteria can also cause pneumonia. I am not a doctor. But…Antibiotics do nothing against a virus. Or viral pneumonia ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/217 "2021-07-23T04:54:18Z")
I agree that antibiotics do nothing against a virus. I guess I was just confused because I thought the flu virus had caused the pneumonia. I am not a doctor and hubs isn’t a very good reporter when it comes to doctor visits. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/218 "2021-07-23T05:04:44Z")
Your husband probably had bacterial pneumonia. Sometimes when a virus causes the body to produce mucus, that creates a breeding ground for bacteria. My dad used to get bacterial sinus infections almost every time he caught a cold, until he started using decongestants to keep things clear. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/219 "2021-07-23T05:11:05Z")
Thank you very much. I knew there was a connection, I also didn’t have any sort of clear understanding as to what it was. Besides the idiot factor, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/220 "2021-07-23T07:37:21Z")
> [@Franklymydear](#): > > Antibiotics do nothing against a virus. Or viral pneumonia… Antibiotics do a lot against bacteria. Including bacterial pneumonia, which is a/the major cause of death for people with viral influenza. I’ve been cured twice by antibiotics. Once following a ‘cold’ of unknown aetiology. Once following influenza. The effect is magical. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/221 "2021-07-23T13:48:00Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > It _freaks me out_ when someone comes barreling left out of a parking lot when there’s clearly no room for them to merge, and it looks like there’s going to be an unavoidable collision—and then it turns out that they’re merely heading for the center lane, where they’re going to hang out until traffic clears. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON’T DO THAT! 😠 I agree, and would generalize the request to read “Don’t aim your car in a direction where a collision seems imminent then swerve or brake at the last second. The other driver does not know your exact intentions, and will be on alert / freaked out.” Instead, move in a manner which does not put other drivers on high alert. How do you know what to do? Just remember what it looks like from the other driver’s perspective. This is what you are supposed to be able to do as an experienced driver, using your experience to make driving better for everybody, not just you. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674/222 "2021-07-23T13:54:14Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Just remember what it looks like from the other driver’s perspective. As I said somewhere, many of the items in this thread would be moot if the offender could “see what it looks like” from the other person’s perspective. That ability (or willingness) is lacking in many, many individuals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-shouldnt-need-to-tell-people/945674.md?page=12)