# Trivial Things that annoy you **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627 "2018-01-14T20:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/181 "2018-01-19T21:00:55Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > People who think the orientation of the toilet roll _doesn’t matter_. Look, the people who think it should go under are like Muslims or Buddhists or Satan-worshippers or something, just following some weird cult. But the people who shrug it off like it’s no big deal are _so much_ worse, they are evil like atheists or serial killers or something. Sorry, but there is only one orientation that has any logic behind it, and that’s because the cat/dog/toddler pawing at it factor. If goes over toward the back\*, it will just spin around with relatively little damage. If it goes over toward the front, it unwinds with every swipe, and your whole roll of paper is now in shreds all over the house, and probably at the moment it’s most important to have paper available. \*People talking about whether it goes “over” or “under” annoys me. It goes over no matter which way it’s hung. The only way it could possibly go under would be if it somehow could hang up instead of down. And then it would go under no matter which way it was hung. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/182 "2018-01-19T21:03:41Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > People who say “carmel” instead of caramel. I usually respond with “Do you mean caramel? Carmel is a mountain in Israel.” :dubious: Tell that to [Nestle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrRkqGzCC4s). (Link to commercial for $100,000 Bar) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/183 "2018-01-19T21:04:59Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > No, I don’t have a stifled little girly sneeze. I just sneeze - it sounds just like “achooo” when I sneeze. My husband’s sneeze almost has a REALLY LOUD cough sound attached and doesn’t sound like “achooo” at all - which is how a sneeze is supposed to sound 😉 My father’s is something like HAH-RAAH with a barking coughingness to the second part. I’m afraid to stifle my sneezes because I’m afraid either an eyeball or a fart will pop out. > [@Nava](#): > > The same thing with temperatures in what’s supposed to be casual conversation: “he had a fever of almost 104ºF!” You left out the decimals, Mr. or Mrs. Translator. What bugs me is statements like “Over 17 people responded to the survey”. So, 18? “We have over 23 models to choose from!” So, 24? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/184 "2018-01-19T21:23:03Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > What bugs me is statements like “Over 17 people responded to the survey”. So, 18? “We have over 23 models to choose from!” So, 24? At least that sets some kind of sensible boundary. When I run a shop, I’m going to have a permanent sale with banners in the window saying “up to 300% off, or more!” and just sell everything at the regular price the whole time. Sue me, suckers! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/185 "2018-01-19T21:53:26Z")
I suspect that many brake dabbers drive around with their left foot resting on the brake pedal all ready and able to go any time. I wonder if they ever put it together why it is they have to have their brake pads replaced about as often as they rotate their tires? People who can’t turn left out of a parking lot unless there’s at least a half mile of completely clear space in both directions. Good gods, people, it’s like twenty feet, you can do this in much less time than you think–and the middle turn lane is there for a reason! People who come into a thread about trivial things that annoy you to loftily inform everyone of how terribly above all such petty annoyances they are since they achieved zen or what the fuck ever. SO HELPFUL. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/186 "2018-01-19T21:58:21Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > At least that sets some kind of sensible boundary. When I run a shop, I’m going to have a permanent sale with banners in the window saying “up to 300% off, or more!” and just sell everything at the regular price the whole time. Sue me, suckers! I like your style. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/187 "2018-01-20T14:15:27Z")
People who can’t grasp the fundamentals of checking out after their shopping trip. You bring the items you want to the checkout and have payment ready. You do not sort through your full cart and decide what you are buying at the checkout, leaving a half full cart of returns, and you don’t decide you need “one more thing” and go back into the aisles and come back 10 minutes later with seven more items. And you don’t discover after being rung up that you forgot your credit card. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/188 "2018-01-20T14:42:23Z")
Oh, I’m one of the sneezers. Use to scare the hell out of our cat. It’s called snegasm for a reason 🙂 We all have our own ways. A coworker has these tiny, tiny little sneezes. All in a row. achooachooachooachooachooachooachooachooachoo. (how do you even do that?) I email her gesundheitgesundheitgesundheitgesundheitgesundheitgesundheit. 🙂 We’re buds. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/189 "2018-01-20T15:01:10Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I like this thread. Receipt sandwiches are the worst. > > Bananas that are too green. Bananas that are too brown. Mushy bananas. Banana flavored anything. (perfectly ripe yellow bananas are fine.) > > Any shopping center ever. > > People who don’t turn right on a green arrow. > > **My husband’s obnoxiously loud sneezes**. > > Getting the hiccups - always painful. > > Oh my God this thread is gonna be endless. Oh, that’s rough. I get the eye for that too, but honest to god, I don’t think I can fix that. People that end sentences with SOooooooo. “I went to the store, sooooooooooooo…” ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/190 "2018-01-20T15:19:56Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > More grocery store stuff… > > People who bring the entire damn family with them to go grocery shopping. Husband, wife, three or four kids, driving the giant aisle-blocking kid cart, kids standing around getting in everyone else’s way, clueless parents oblivious to their kids’ behavior. Maybe just one of you should go to the store and the other one stay home with the kids. > > **Grocery store displays that take up half the aisle, making it impossible for carts going in opposite directions to pass each other. The aisles are barely wide enough as it is, you need to fill them with more obstructions? (Yes I know it’s a marketing thing. It still chaps my fanny.)** > > Stocking the store on weekend mornings when the store is chock full of customers. You’re open 24 hours, why can’t you stock overnight when the store is empty? > > Baggers who cram 50 pounds of groceries into two of my reusable bags, leaving the other four empty. I have six bags! Use them all! > > Is it obvious that grocery shopping is a major stressor for me? 😛 Yes, the next time my cart wheel catches one of those flimsy things and I knock the whole thing down, I swear, I am just leaving it. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/191 "2018-01-20T15:26:34Z")
When other people drive. ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/192 "2018-01-20T17:21:46Z")
I become annoyed when students address me with the title Mrs. For one thing, I did not change my name when I got married and I would never use that title. What annoys me even more is that they call all the male professors either Professor or Dr. Also when students send me emails with the salutation “Hey.” Or when they ask me for some particular favor (writing a letter of recommendation or the like), I happily agree, and they don’t bother to send a follow-up email thanking me. Grrr. Hmm, all my current trivial annoyances seem to be student related. Might that have something to do with the fact that the spring semester just started? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/193 "2018-01-20T18:03:43Z")
If I were you, **chaika** , I would correct them each time they do this. In the same vein, I also didn’t change my name when I got married, but many people, including my in-laws, hyphenate my last name with my husband’s last name. Nope, that’s not my name either. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/194 "2018-01-20T20:10:44Z")
> [@chaika](#): > > I become annoyed when students address me with the title Mrs. For one thing, I did not change my name when I got married and I would never use that title. What annoys me even more is that they call all the male professors either Professor or Dr. > > Also when students send me emails with the salutation “Hey.” Or when they ask me for some particular favor (writing a letter of recommendation or the like), I happily agree, and they don’t bother to send a follow-up email thanking me. Grrr. > > Hmm, all my current trivial annoyances seem to be student related. Might that have something to do with the fact that the spring semester just started? 😉 LOL, my colleague who flies off the handle when students call her anything but Dr. Grammatica makes me rolleye. I’ve been teaching 18 years and I don’t care what students call me – 90% default to “prof” or “doc” anyway.\* She had a meltdown when a Rite Aid pharmacy minion called her “Mrs.” when her RX label clearly said dr. She complained to the manager and wrote a two-page complaint to their corporate HQ. I only know this because she ranted about it on Facebook for two weeks. Molehill, meet mountain. \*I’m not impugning you, this situation is maddening when male profs are automatically called prof/doc and women aren’t. I’ve just become sanguine about it. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/195 "2018-01-21T00:04:34Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > People who can’t turn left out of a parking lot unless there’s at least a half mile of completely clear space in both directions. Good gods, people, it’s like twenty feet, you can do this in much less time than you think–and the middle turn lane is there for a reason! **The middle turn lane is there so that people on the road can turn left. Not so that you can use it as an acceleration lane.** Although a lot of people do this, it’s illegal, dangerous, and discourteous to people who have to turn left. I hope you get a ticket. People like you are a **non-trivial** thing that annoy me. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/196 "2018-01-21T00:13:53Z")
Dunno where you live but where I live that’s exactly what that middle lane is for, especially in an area where the streets are a half mile apart. It’s there for waiting to turn left and it’s also there for when you turn left out of another street and you can clear the oncoming traffic in the near lanes but not the far ones. That’s its purpose. Show me the Oregon driver’s license that indicates you’ve taken a driver’s test here, please. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/197 "2018-01-21T02:02:03Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > When other people drive. You win. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/198 "2018-01-22T03:05:00Z")
They remodeled our local Mickey D’s, and after a month of missing my terrible junk food I went to partake. They now have giant video touch screens where you place your own order, and then you go to the counter to pick it up. Setting aside any discussion of machines taking over human jobs and such, I have one major complaint against this… …The user interface SUCKS! The video screens are tall and skinny, and suspiciously match the aspect ratio of iPhones, so it’s like you are standing in front of a 4-foot iPhone screen. That’s not the problem. The issue is that it looks like they used an iPhone app to drive the whole thing. In order to purchase a burger, fries, side salad, and some cookies I had to tap the slightly unresponsive screen about fifty times. Choose “English”…choose “take-out”…choose “burgers”…choose meal 2…choose size…choose type of soda…review portion of order…add to cart…go back to main menu…and so on. I had to individually choose the type of the three cookies in my “three cookies” order. Then after each item I was shown a “shopping cart” screen with “1 item” and little plus/minus buttons to increment or decrement the number of burgers. I felt like I was using a website for ordering plumbing supplies. You guys have a four-foot-tall screen. Don’t try to use your iPhone app for this. Just show all of your stuff on the big screen and let me tap the pictures. Once I tap, put a big circle around the things I tapped. Have “more” buttons for special options, but make the regular order flow just a few taps. You guys have oodles of money, invest it in a really good UI design. And the soda flavor thing, you know you are just going to hand me an empty cup, so please remove that stupid bit from your user interface, or make it customizable for those odd restaurants that still don’t have customer-side soda machines. First world problems, really. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2018, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/199 "2018-01-22T06:36:02Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > People who, when they don’t like your answer to their question, keep repeating the same damn statement. I had this exchange the other day after ringing up a person’s items and she handed me an American Express Gift Card: > > Me: I’m sorry, we don’t take American Express. > Her: It’s gift card. > Me: We do not take American Express > Her: It’s gift card > Me; (same sentence) > Her: It’s just like cash > Me: (same sentence) > Her (loudly): IT IS A GIFT CARD > > The head cashier comes over > > Her: She won’t take my gift card > HC: We do not take American Express > Her: But it’s a gift card > HC: But we do not take American Express > Her: Not even gift cards? > HC: No. Sorry. People who, when you ask them a question and it’s apparent that you’re not grasping their answer, just keep on repeating that same answer over and over and over and over again instead of simply explaining it. All you had to do was tell them that even though it’s a gift card and not a credit card, you still can’t take it because you can’t process anything American Express, whether a credit card or a gift card. Instead, you caused so much anxiety that the head cashier had to come over. You refused to even attempt to explain, just repeating THE SAME SENTENCE, 4 TIMES. I’ve bought AmEx gift cards as gifts, never considering whether a store would have to accept AmEx in order to honor a gift card. It wasn’t such an absurd misconception on your customer’s part – they thought that you assumed they were presenting a cc, not a gf. Your response wasn’t connecting with their misconception. Customer service really doesn’t seem to be your strong suit. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627/200 "2018-01-22T14:31:32Z")
Really? I would think “We don’t take American Express” would cover it. You’d be amazed at how many people think that, while we don’t take American Express, we should be able to take theirs. People who barely understand or speak my language who tell me I should speak and understand their language. The idea that no one should have to speak any language cuts both ways. ETA: Dealing with idiots is not my strong suit. If course, for me and my I.Q., that’s about 98% of people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-things-that-annoy-you/806627.md?page=11)