# What are some things that you absolutely cannot have someone else do for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592 "2025-07-07T15:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/1 "2025-07-07T15:02:42Z")
I was thinking the other day of how I’d live my life if I were exhorbitantly wealthy, and one of the things I thought of would be having a valet do shit that I don’t want to do. He or she could, for example, schedule my cruise on command, sparing me from having to sort through the website and fill out all the forms and yada yada. He could pay my bills, handle household paperwork (like renewing my insurance and all that), be in charge of hiring the household help without me having to fuck around with it, etc. But there are also things he couldn’t do for me no matter what. Like, he couldn’t get a driver’s license for me - someone is going to want **me** to take the test and **me** to pose for the photo. Similarly, getting a passport is going to require **me** to show up in person somewhere and probably sign a couple of things myself. What are some other things that one will encounter in daily life that absolutely, positively cannot be pawned off on someone esle? Understand that I’m not talking about mundane realities – no one can take a shit for me or go to my medical exams by proxy. I’m talking about things where, probably the government but I suppose private enterprise can play a role here as well, says to you, “YOU have to do this, your valet can’t do it for you.” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/2 "2025-07-07T15:15:44Z")
Jury duty; nobody can do that for you and you can’t hire a substitute. Voting in an election. Signatures on many legal documents, like you said. Biometric data like retina scans and fingerprinting. Providing testimony in court or via deposition. Psych or competency evaluations. Taking licensing exams or other exams. etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/3 "2025-07-07T16:26:07Z")
Medical tests? Oh, I guess you covered that. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/4 "2025-07-07T16:42:13Z")
Doing community service or similar punishment (or even I guess actual prison sentence). Plenty of celebs have [tried](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/in-the-news-mark-morrison-pop-star-takes-the-ultimate-rap-for-a-life-of-living-dangerously-1152244.html) but never heard of anyone getting away with it (though of course you wouldn’t) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/5 "2025-07-07T16:43:54Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Medical tests Specifically drug and alcohol tests for legal purposes, which would obviously have a much more pressing reason to have someone do it on your behalf ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/6 "2025-07-07T16:59:30Z")
Serving in the armed forces, at least recently. (In the Civil War, someone conscripted into the Union Army could pay someone else to go in their place. It didn’t work well. Some men would take the money, then desert and take someone else’s money, and repeat the process.) ETA: the Confederate Army had a similar arrangement for some time, but repealed it. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/7 "2025-07-07T17:02:04Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Specifically drug and alcohol tests for legal purposes With sufficient wealth, you could probably finesse that. Bribe or threaten the appropriate people. Be anonymous, with lots of body proxies so nobody knows what you really look like, etc. Fake ID is probably not that difficult if you have unlimited wealth. I was thinking more of tests for actual medical conditions you have yourself that would need treatment to keep you alive… ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/8 "2025-07-07T20:04:26Z")
Well, we did get some folks to clean the house for us. But we currently have two rather large houses 120 miles apart, and we are both working full time, and trying to move and sell one of the houses. We needed help. ‘Run the vacuum’ sort of help. We’ve two active dogs that don’t help with cleanliness, and they can’t vacuum worth a shit. No opposable thumbs. We do all our own lawn mowing and stuff. I plan on continuing that as we get older (good exercise). We shall see. My wife and I pass on the highway. She is staying at one house, I the other. Hopefully that won’t last very long at all. We sort of switch once a week. She can’t work from home, I can, and the new house still needs the lawn mowed and stuff. And we are going to get PV Solar, that should come soon. I need to be here for that. For myself though, it may be picking out clothes for the day. Um, no. I don’t want ANY help with that. But I’m easy. Shorts, tee-shirt and a top of some sort. Hiking shoes. Done. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/9 "2025-07-07T20:32:57Z")
I think there are categories of restricted stock which cannot be sold or transferred without the physical presence of the owner. And no one can sign you up for some forms of life insurance without you taking an exam. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/10 "2025-07-07T22:42:02Z")
Lots of the admin stuff upthread can be finessed by fatcats. E.g. DMVs do have a VIP system, just not one that’s well-publicized. Medical-ish hings that require your physical body are different. But that also depends on whether the fatcat wants to cooperate or to resist. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/11 "2025-07-07T23:46:46Z")
I feel like this is an episode of family feud. I’m going to go with “get in shape” [supportive family] “Good answer!” “Good answer!” [/sf] Survey says… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/12 "2025-07-07T23:51:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Lots of the admin stuff upthread can be finessed by fatcats. E.g. DMVs do have a VIP system, just not one that’s well-publicized. [This thirty-year-old article from the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-05-we-28195-story.html) says, no, there’s no special treatment for celebrities at the Los Angeles area DMV offices, though [this two-year-old article from US Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/news/kim-kardashian-brings-glam-to-dmv-to-take-drivers-license-photo/) describes Kim Kardashian bringing a hairstylist and makeup artist with her to get her license photo taken (although apparently the office stayed open late to accommodate her). ---
**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 8, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/13 "2025-07-08T00:09:09Z")
Sneeze? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/14 "2025-07-08T00:47:52Z")
[Walking that Lonesome Valley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85BvT5X6WSo&list=RD85BvT5X6WSo&start_radio=1) ---
**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 8, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/15 "2025-07-08T00:55:12Z")
Good one. 👍🏽 ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/16 "2025-07-08T02:07:36Z")
Go through airport security. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/17 "2025-07-08T03:37:58Z")
Fall in love. Lie in your own coffin. Mourn your loved ones when they die; you can’t pay someone to do that for you. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/18 "2025-07-08T04:18:38Z")
Put your pants on one leg at a time. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/19 "2025-07-08T04:27:49Z")
Grow your hair out. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592/20 "2025-07-08T04:45:04Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I’m going to go with “get in shape” Although a personal chef and personal trainer would make this a lot easier… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-that-you-absolutely-cannot-have-someone-else-do-for-you/1020592.md?page=2)