What do you say when someone says it's raining because they washed their car?

I hear this a lot, practically every other rainy day.
Some people say it simply for something to say, sorta like “Wet enough for you?”
But some say it like they just invented a great joke, and expect you to react.
And some poor souls actually seem to believe it.

So I say different things, like:

Yeah, rain sure is wet.
Did you just think that up?
Maybe you bought a devil car. Or God hates you. Have you done something lately to destroy your kharma?

I say “Well what did you do that for, ya selfish ass? I had picnic plans today!”

Well, heck, the only time I wash my car is when it’s raining. :smiley:

I just smile at them, like children with invisible friends.

You could say: [stonerese]“Whoa, man, that’s like spooky, you know” [/stonerese]

Jim

As a cashier I hear far too many “jokes” that people think are clever and new.

LOL. I remember those days. It was long ago, but I remember them. And at the time my dad was one of those people who made those kind of jokes. I would always cringe.

Them: “It’s raining because I just washed my car.”

Me: “No, you probably just don’t remember all of the times you washed your car and it didn’t rain because it wasn’t anything noteable.”

Tell them that unless they drive a pickup truck, no it isn’t.

It only rains when you wash AND wax your truck. Seen it happen way too many times.

Yah, it’s abso-frickin-lutely hilarious when something doesn’t scan, and they say “It must be free!”. Hohoho! And it’s always 40-something women. And they do say it like they were the first person to ever say it. And look all huffy when you don’t laugh. I got so tired of it I’d just deadpan a long explanation: “Oh no, sorry, it’s the barcode, sometimes when prices have recently been updated it does that. We don’t actually have any free items here, sorry.” And the person in line behind them would be snickering. And I am a total bitch, but hey.

12 buzz, I’ll usually respond to the “I made it rain by washing my car” schtick by cocking an eyebrow, and slowly saying “It’s Vancouver.” That’s really all you need to say, though sometimes “Do you wash your car everyday?” can be added. (To those who don’t know the climate of Vancouver, think: Seattle, but rainier).

When I worked in retail, it was always 40- and 50-year old men who said it. And of course, like they were the first one to ever say it. :rolleyes:
But I worked in the type of place where I had to play along and smile like it was the first time I’d ever heard it.

These little social comments are almost always offered in a light hearted spirit. For example the clerk rescanning an item for the 4th or 5th time might have a frown on their face, the “It must be free” is probably offered to imply that it’s not really worth fretting over and meant to inject humor, however inane, to lessen the stress.
“Wet enough for you”, “Think it’ll rain” (when it’s already pouring), “Nice weather for ducks”, etc., etc. are more in the vein of casual social greeting than true attempts at humor. I think that the people who take issue w/ these simple remarks are the ones who are being anal.

Wow have I heard that one 8.3 million times. I never even thought about it until you just mentioned it. And I never even responded when they said that. I just kept on with my business until I got the price into the system one way or the other.

No wonder it bothers you so much, you bothered to respond. :slight_smile:

Here’s one from when I was a teller at a credit union, back in the 80’s. The computer network tended to be “down” (the boss actually told us once not to use that word, because it was “too negative”) once in a while, but not nearly as often as the members (customers) perceived. They’d always groan and say something like, “Again? Wow, aren’t computers great - when they work?”

It was all I could do not to point out that the same thing could be said of the flushing toilet.

Wow. If having to deal with mundane comments of strangers is so irritating that feel the need to come up with a bitchy retort, you really ought to get out of retail.

Technically, it’s the other way around.

d&r

I guess it depends on which side of the remark you’re on. When I worked in retail, way back in the Dark Ages, scanning was relatively new, so the “It must be free!” comments were still new, but quite common.
I don’t want to insult anyone here, but let’s just say the comment tended to come from people with very low-brow humor. An item wouldn’t scan, they start in with that “Hardy-har-har” laugh and say, “I guess it’s free!” And then laugh like a donkey on crack, thinking it’s the funniest thing in the world. When you’ve heard it a thousand times, it’s just not funny.

And maybe I’m just too logical, but the first few times I heard it, I thought a good response would be, ‘Just because it doesn’t scan doesn’t mean it’s free. If it was free, it’d ring up $0.00.’
I decided that would get me in trouble.

I always ask 'em if they’ve considered taking their car and carwashing tools to the latest area having a drought.

Try growing up as the tallest kid in your class and ending up at over 6’4 before graduating highschool; you hear all the tall jokes all the time. Car washing/rain jokes are refreshing.

Spaghetti, better than down there, not lately - are all common answers to common questions :slight_smile:

My wife says it when we’re out together, and I’m ashamed.
I used to be able to fix it, too, but now we have updated software and I haven’t cracked the admin password.