# What normal things do you feel no need for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069 "2010-07-17T23:50:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/61 "2010-07-19T15:44:19Z")
> [@PsyXe](#): > > I was reading an interior decoration magazine from the UK when I realised something was very, very strange. Every kitchen featured had a “cooker hood” - an extractor-fan thing that lives above your stove and removes cooking odours. Lately I’ve been seeing them in real people’s houses too. And my mind goes “really?” And then it goes “Wow, I’m glad I’ll never, ever have any desire to spend my hard-earned cash on that.” > > That started me thinking that there’s a specific feeling of pleasant smugness to be derived from the contemplation of things - expensive things in particular - that you have absolutely no desire to own. > > Now I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong or strange about having an extractor fan or whatever - quite the opposite. I’m looking for plain, ordinary stuff that everyone has but that you simply don’t want. Not a matter of _oh, I’m so righteous and earth-friendly for not having air-conditioning / a car / whatever_, but rather stuff that if you were suddenly presented with whatever-it-is, you’d be completely perplexed and wonder if you could get someone to take it off your hands. Immediate disqualification if you think no one else should have it either! I have to admit that this one puzzles me: Without a range hood, how do you get rid of smoke while you’re cooking? If we don’t turn ours on, our whole house fills with smoke if we’re grilling anything. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/62 "2010-07-19T15:47:17Z")
Children. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/63 "2010-07-19T16:02:40Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I have to admit that this one puzzles me: Without a range hood, how do you get rid of smoke while you’re cooking? If we don’t turn ours on, our whole house fills with smoke if we’re grilling anything. Well, if all you do is boil your food\*, or nuke it. \*= referring to stereotypical pre-modern-age British cuisine ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/64 "2010-07-19T16:17:24Z")
I haven’t bought trash bags in over a decade. Why spend money on something just to throw it away? However, my trash collection service is abandoning this county at the end of July. That means I’ll have to tote my trash to the county dumpsters, which requires bags. Bummer. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/65 "2010-07-19T16:33:40Z")
Pets. We’ve got a bunch, but I wouldn’t miss any of them if they were gone when I got home. Can understand why some people enjoy the company of animals, but I personally have no need for them. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/66 "2010-07-19T16:54:35Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I haven’t bought trash bags in over a decade. Why spend money on something just to throw it away? However, my trash collection service is abandoning this county at the end of July. That means I’ll have to tote my trash to the county dumpsters, which requires bags. Bummer. How do you dispose of your trash now? Directly into the can with no bag? ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/67 "2010-07-19T17:07:46Z")
Dry trash, yes. No bag. Wet garbage with stink potential, I use grocery bags. Then it all just gets dumped into the dumpster can out back. Trash guys come and empty the big dumpster thingy weekly. I’m single, so I rarely fill the dumpster. I’m also old enough to remember when nobody used trash bags. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/68 "2010-07-19T19:14:18Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Children. Ooh, good one. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/69 "2010-07-19T19:51:30Z")
Things I’ve stopped using in the last few years: [ul] [li]Home Phone Service (I make all my calls on my cell or on Skype)[/li][li]A Watch (check time on cellphone)[/li][li]A newspaper (read all the news online)[/li][/ul] Things I’m pretty sure I can get along without. [ul] [li]A smartphone (My list of desirable phone features pretty much starts and ends with good reception. I never understood why it isn’t #1 on everyone’s list.)[/li][li]A bathtub. I have a shower and use the bathtub less than once a year.[/li][li]Cable TV. The only reason I have cable is that my roommate pays for it.[/li][li]Oven. I use it about once a year for frozen pizza.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/70 "2010-07-19T23:18:14Z")
I keep a pay-as-you-go cel phone, just in case as I break down. But other than that, I have no use for one. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/71 "2010-07-19T23:51:26Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > My rice cooks just fine in a pot I’m also able to use for countless other things; why would I need a dedicated device for something so mundane as rice? Ridiculous. My rice does not. :mad: I’m actually a pretty good cook but I just can’t cook rice. No idea why but the rice cooker saves a lot of stress. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/72 "2010-07-19T23:58:25Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > My rice does not. :mad: I’m actually a pretty good cook but I just can’t cook rice. No idea why but the rice cooker saves a lot of stress. Sorry to hijack the thread, but: what kind of stove do you have? When I had a crappy gas stove, it was just about impossible to make decent rice, because one of the four burners didn’t work at all, and the other three had ‘hot spots’, a place on the ring of flame that burned a lot higher than the rest. If I turned the flame down low enough so the hot spot wouldn’t burn anything, the rest of the flame died completely. I couldn’t make a decent roux, either, for the same reason. Now that I have an electric range, I can turn it down to med/low or low, and _that_ is where the heat really is! [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/73 "2010-07-20T00:00:59Z")
I can’t cook rice either. I have a great stove. I’m a great cook. Try my pie crust. Mr. Zojirushi makes the rice. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/74 "2010-07-20T00:06:17Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I can’t cook rice either. I have a great stove. I’m a great cook. Try my pie crust. Mr. Zojirushi makes the rice. Fair enough. Sometimes I have these little things called ‘thoughts’ and feel the need to share them. 😉 I’d venture to say that at least half the time, I’m wrong. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![hougaswd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@hougaswd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hougaswd)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/75 "2010-07-20T00:13:04Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Does having a truck that comes and sprays your lawn with poison to make it look nice count? Every other lawn on the block seems to sprout little warning flags every spring. I will see my lawn full of weeds and crabgrass and look like total shit rather than dump chemicals on it. Suck it, lawn nazis. Yay! We say that our lawn isn’t just grass, it’s an ECOSYSTEM! ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/76 "2010-07-20T00:23:09Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I’ll admit I like and/or have lots of things that are mentioned in this thread, but not all (I always thought a salad spinner was something of a joke, for instance). But plenty of people on this board have raved about their rice cooker, and I just can’t see the point. My rice cooks just fine in a pot I’m also able to use for countless other things; why would I need a dedicated device for something so mundane as rice? Ridiculous. Another reason on top of what others have said is that if you eat rice with basically every single meal, it’s actually convenient to be able to start your rice ahead of time and leave it alone while you cook other stuff. The rice becomes something you don’t really have to “cook”. If you prepare it on the stove, it’s one more thing taking up a burner that you have to pay attention to or else it will boil over and/or burn. A rice cooker can be left in the corner somewhere, you press a button and forget about it and after it’s done it stays warm, and people can walk over and help themselves throughout the meal. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/77 "2010-07-20T00:23:40Z")
More Rice Hijack! The microwave is the best rice cooker in the world. One cup rice, two cups water, nuke 10 minutes, ping! We did used to have a rice cooker. It came free with our car - long story ;). Never used it because I couldn’t be bothered _cleaning_ the stupid-arsed thing. See also: juicer, breadmaker. Not sure how common those gadgets are though. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/78 "2010-07-20T00:38:00Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > Sat nav - I always know where I am and where I’m going. And I don’t mind getting lost anyway because you see new places. My partner mused about GPSs and wondered if they would compromise the ability to read and understand maps, let alone take a bearing using “primitive” techniques like a compass or the sun/stars. Her point was brought home when we discovered that our friend’s nephew, who is 16, can’t shuffle a deck of cards. He’d only ever played card games on a computer and couldn’t shuffle a deck at a campsite. I look forward to the days when everyone has lost all the simple skills due to technology. Then when I do something like flip a coin, it will seem like magic! ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/79 "2010-07-20T02:07:18Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I have to admit that this one puzzles me: Without a range hood, how do you get rid of smoke while you’re cooking? If we don’t turn ours on, our whole house fills with smoke if we’re grilling anything. Firstly, I don’t think we grill much. OK, scratch that, I’m not even sure what you mean by grilling. Is it cooking in a thing like a frying pan called a grill pan? Because we don’t have one of those. Grilling in the oven doesn’t seem to produce smoke, and grilling on the braai (BBQ) is of course outside. The only time we get smoke in the kitchen is when I’m cooking steak because that needs to be done at a really high temperature. I cook things on the stove or in the oven or in a big electric frying pan. But the main reason, I think, is because we can open windows at will because of the climate. We don’t have double-glazing or any kind of insulation or heating or cooling, so if there is any smoke, out it goes. P.S. I love rice too! P.P.S. My thread made it to 2 pages! I’m so happy!! \<— Newb. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069/80 "2010-07-20T03:42:29Z")
Hot water, for the most part. I don’t use it for showering anymore unless it’s really cold out. Most everything has been mentioned already; and I live without most of the already given examples. I don’t have a range hood; don’t think I’ve ever had one. We open a window and/or use a fan when Mig fries, which is rare. One thing I recently acquired was a dish washer. I’ve lived 40 years without one but now I don’t know why I never had one. My least favorite chore is dishwashing. I always figures it was trouble enough loading and unloading why bother. Well now I know. I trained my five year old to unload it so half my work is done! I mostly do without appliances. Didn’t have a washer for years so I often tub washed our clothes and had them hanging all over the house to dry. It was just two of us back then though. I couldn’t imagine doing that with four of us in the house. I don’t have a coffee maker or bean grinder or whatever else coffee drinkers get. I love my Folger’s instant. I don’t have a radio/cd/mp3/stereo, not even in the car. I listen on my computer so there’s no need. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-normal-things-do-you-feel-no-need-for/547069.md?page=5)