# Thread topics you never want to see again **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2012, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134 "2012-02-27T09:03:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/61 "2012-02-28T00:03:28Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > [Here’s one from 2007.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=419493) But that one was specifically started with the debate in mind. I think a lot of them get started because someone said, “Oh no, what’s next, shoes on or off?” and someone else says, “off, obvs.” and we’re off. > > The answer is off, by the way. Ah-HA! And look at the OP! The plot thickens, **Cat Whisperer**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/62 "2012-02-28T01:06:38Z")
I couldn’t help myself. Turns out my ears don’t smell like anything, thank goodness. I don’t get issues with travel threads. I’ve started many myself and found them extremely helpful. Of course I looked at guidebooks, but that’s different - with you guys I could say “I need things between Portland and Camden in Maine that my dad can see and enjoy even though he can’t get around well” and with just the guidebook we might have missed the maritime museum, which he loved. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/63 "2012-02-28T01:39:16Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Ah-HA! And look at the OP! The plot thickens, **Cat Whisperer**! 😃 Oh oh. Didn’t we have one like, last month, though? ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/64 "2012-02-28T01:45:13Z")
Anything related to abortion, politics, gay marriage, religion and tipping. (For OR against the abovementioned topics.) Done to death, all of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/65 "2012-02-28T02:43:30Z")
Explaining rounding to people who think pennies are a vital part of their personal financial plans. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/66 "2012-02-28T08:37:45Z")
“Why does everyone else speak with an accent, but not me?” ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/67 "2012-02-28T09:03:41Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > DKDC? What is this some new meme I haven’t heard about? Where did it start? Don’t Know, Don’t Care. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/68 "2012-02-28T10:41:40Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > I have no idea where those places are, other than somewhere in Spain because you’re **Nava**. 😃 I think people were talking about things like a Canadian asking what to do in New York, or a Dubliner asking what to do in London. Dude, everyone in North America knows what kind of attractions are in New York. Like greenery? Central Park! Like shopping? Fifth Avenue! Like live entertainment? Broadway! Given your username, should I assume that being tossed from the top of the Sagrada Familia’s tallest tower repeatedly would actually please you? It’s only got to be on the top-10 Most Recognizable Buildings in the World list… _throws Sagrada Familia touristy reproductions at **kushiel** , being careful to miss with any hard ones because Hurting People Ain’t Rite Except If They Have Told You They Like It_ > [@WhyNot](#): > > Y’know, I always hear about this one being overdone. I think I’ve referred to it as overdone before. But now that I think about it…I can’t remember it in actuality. It’s something that was “old and overdone” before I started lurking here, kind of like how Saturday Night Live always used to be funnier. > > So when was the last time/how often does it \*really \*come up? It wasn’t the main topic, but I’m guessing **Pleonast** does wear shoes around the house: > [@Why are beds elevated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/44): > > Well, I’m open to being corrected. Do you not wear shoes indoors, so to not track outside dirt inside? Do the bathrooms have slippers, so to not track bathroom dirt to the rest of the home? Are floors wiped with a damp cloth daily? Because that is what many Koreans do (or at least the ones I know). Posted Feb 23, 2012. (Link to [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=642916)) ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/69 "2012-02-28T11:11:45Z")
Anything about women’s pubic hair and the shaving/waxing thereof. On which I do have a strong opinion so I rarely manage to stay out of it, but even reading the ensuing debates raising my blood pressure. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/70 "2012-02-28T14:17:10Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I couldn’t help myself. Turns out my ears don’t smell like anything, thank goodness… But you can’t tell if your own ears smell. You have to ask your SO. Or better yet, your boss. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/71 "2012-02-28T18:12:17Z")
There is another board that I read but rarely post on that has threads with _warning LONG_ in the title and the post has less than 50 words in it. Or they say “sorry” because they’re asking a question that’s been asked several dozen times before… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![rhythmonly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rhythmonly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhythmonly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/72 "2012-02-28T19:38:54Z")
1. The “Am I…Did I…Was I…?” threads. If you have to ask a question like that in a place like this, you know what? You are…You did…and You were. B) The “How do I” threads for everyday things: “How do I cook a ------------?” What, just started eating recently?!? “How do I wash a ----------?” Looks like that whole cleanliness thing is new to you as well! And when you’re called on it, please be sure that your response is just smug enough to infer that you’re not really an idiot, but that you have some obscure, hip, way-too-cool reason for asking the question in the first place. Additional points if at least 3 Dopers jump in to agree with your arcane reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/73 "2012-02-29T22:46:05Z")
You’re all free to keep posting them, but I am a bit puzzled by all the “how do I get from [X airport] to the center of [X city]” threads. Take a train, or a taxi. It’s not rocket science (well, usually). Is it really worth a whole thread? Especially if it’s somewhere like Paris, which has rail infrastructure coming out the wazoo. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/74 "2012-03-01T00:53:16Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > You’re all free to keep posting them, but I am a bit puzzled by all the “how do I get from [X airport] to the center of [X city]” threads. Take a train, or a taxi. It’s not rocket science (well, usually). Is it really worth a whole thread? Especially if it’s somewhere like Paris, which has rail infrastructure coming out the wazoo. I believe everyone knows you can take a cab, bus or train between downtown and the airport. The question is usually meant in the sense of which is the best strategy vis-a-vis cost, safety, convenience, or if there’s only one realistic choice – e.g. between Manhattan and JFK/EWR I have variously used cabs, shuttle buses, and rail+AirTrain, depending on my specific needs for the particular trip. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/75 "2012-03-01T02:10:33Z")
> [@](#): > > The “How do I” threads for everyday things: > > “How do I cook a ------------?” What, just started eating recently?!? > > “How do I wash a ----------?” Looks like that whole cleanliness thing is new to you as well! Actually, I recently started a thread about how to cook a prime rib steak. I’ve eaten them before, at restaurants. But I’d never cooked one before, and it was expensive enough to want to do it right, rather than take a chance on it and have to get takeout Chinese on Valentine’s day. And some items are a bit more complicated to clean. Just about all of my dishes and pots and pans are dishwasher safe. Just about all of my clothes and house linens can be thrown in the washer and dryer. However, not everything can be handled by one of those appliances, and some things that can physically fit in them shouldn’t be put in them. I have a world map that belonged to my grandfather, for instance. It’s from the 1940s, so it’s not an antique, but it’s a piece of family history. My grandfather had it behind his desk…and he was a chain smoker. I’m not really sure HOW I should clean the tobacco film off of it. Should I just take a chance on using Windex, do you think? Remember, this map can’t be replaced. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/76 "2012-03-01T02:39:17Z")
(1) “Hey, have you ever noticed that a bag of groceries on TV always has a baguette sticking out?”, and cliches of that ilk. This bugs me partly because it’s been done so many times before, and partly when people, seemingly quite seriously, totally overstate how universal these occurrences are. Sure, there have been plenty of sitcom babies born in elevators, or whatever, but people love saying “and if a pregnant mom gets on an elevator you just KNOW it’s going to get stuck and she’ll have the baby right there”. Really? Honestly? Seems to me that in this day and age the only way a pregnant sitcom women would get on an elevator is if they’re about to make fun of the cliche themselves. (2) Threads in which people talk about tastes they have that they believe are unusual or unique or uncool… ie, “I didn’t like Titanic” “Well I didn’t like the Princess Bride” “Well I don’t like The Simpsons”, etc. Particularly comical when you end up with two people on the same thread proclaiming themselves to be unusual and uncool for being on the opposite sides of the same issue (“I know it’s not cool to dislike Titanic” and “I know it’s not cool to admit to liking Titanic”). (3) Come and see the liberal hypocrisy threads, particularly ones in which the hypocrisy comes from a perceive lack of outrage about something that happened a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/77 "2012-03-01T03:27:20Z")
> [@rhythmonly](#): > > 1. The “Am I…Did I…Was I…?” threads. If you have to ask a question like that in a place like this, you know what? > > You are…You did…and You were. > > B) The “How do I” threads for everyday things: > > “How do I cook a ------------?” What, just started eating recently?!? > > “How do I wash a ----------?” Looks like that whole cleanliness thing is new to you as well! > > And when you’re called on it, please be sure that your response is just smug enough to infer that you’re not really an idiot, but that you have some obscure, hip, way-too-cool reason for asking the question in the first place. Additional points if at least 3 Dopers jump in to agree with your arcane reasoning. That seems kind of mean spirited to me. I mean, just because I know a few ways to cook butternut squash doesn’t mean other people don’t, and those threads are usually really fun because everybody posts their favorite method or stories about how they didn’t used to know how to clean a pot and set the house on fire or something. ETA - Yesterday I had to Google “how do you eat a kumquat” because I’d never eat eaten one, although I’ve eaten lots of stuff. I actually watched a YouTube video from the growers’ association about it, and found out that the way I’d gleaned from the packaging was suboptimal. I almost asked the SDMB. I’m glad I didn’t, now knowing somebody would have been all eyerolling. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/78 "2012-03-01T03:44:15Z")
you wouldn’t be able to start any threads on the Dope if it is eyerolls you fear. if that was a whoosh however, an eyeroll smilie tacked in the end would have made it clear. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/79 "2012-03-02T02:00:30Z")
The ones that the poster says “Is this the greatest…?” and it’s something pretty boring, and I saw/heard/ran over/threw away/saw a bum throw away something like it only exponentially better, 45 times before going to work that day. Or, the ones who say something like “Is XXXX (Unknown, except to local drunks) band the new Beatles?” Or, in a similar vein, “Wow, the Not \*MY \*Political Party just made fools of themselves today!” threads. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134/80 "2012-03-02T05:46:35Z")
“How did you get your username?” Any thread with “sequential” in the title. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-topics-you-never-want-to-see-again/614134.md?page=5)