# What pointless things do you do just because? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 12, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791 "2026-10-12T20:39:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/1 "2026-10-12T20:39:20Z")
For my example, in my locale we’re advised not to put spray cans in either the regular trash (goes to an incinerator) or recycling because of an explosion hazard. So I take it upon myself to use the ratchet can opener on my pocket knife to take off the top, so the now open can is safe to put in recycling. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/2 "2026-10-12T21:29:27Z")
Similar to your example, I peel the plastic window off of pasta boxes before I put them in the recycling. They accept envelopes with plastic windows, so pasta boxes with plastic windows are probably acceptable as well, but I peel them off just in case. On a completely different note, I like to play the song “Car Wash” by Rose Royce whenever I go through a car wash. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/3 "2026-10-12T21:46:22Z")
I didn’t know you could peel off the plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/4 "2026-10-12T21:52:56Z")
I recycle my aluminum. It used to be worth it! Not so much anymore. But it seems wasteful to just toss them. It’s about a 40 mile round trip. I used to take a few drums of smashed cans and come home with about $40. No it’s more like $20. Barely covers gas! ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/5 "2026-10-12T22:29:42Z")
Some times when walking, instead of a 90 degree turn, I’ll take a 270 degree turn just because I can. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/6 "2026-10-12T22:33:48Z")
When I was a lot younger and did stair climbing for exercise, going up or down a stairwell six flights would make me dizzy, so I alternated 90° and 270° turns. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/7 "2026-10-12T23:24:45Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I peel the plastic window off of pasta boxes I do this with facial tissue boxes. I open up the box completely flat, and the plastic insert is graspable from the former inside of the box. I’m sure it makes absolutely no difference, that the paper recycling mechanism certainly has a way of dealing with assorted attached plastic bits; it is perhaps a bit of OCD on my part. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderMagnolia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@LavenderMagnolia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderMagnolia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/8 "2026-10-13T00:21:17Z")
When I am done using the computer, I find somewhere to type a blank space (or two), highlight, and copy. I started doing this in the early 2000s. My older brother told me that the computer would be slower if I left an image or video/audio file in the memory. I don’t know how accurate that was, but I still do it out of habit. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/9 "2026-10-13T00:34:47Z")
If I see a time that makes a pattern (e.g. 12:34 p.m. or 1:23 a.m.) I whisper the numbers and say, “Make a wish!” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/10 "2026-10-13T01:26:21Z")
I read in a NY Times newsletter about someone who deals with insomnia by taking the clock time as a number and finding all its divisors. Now I cannot help doing the same. For example, this morning I determined that 713 = 23 x 31. Of all the times displayable on an ordinary 12 hour clock I believer that 840 has most divisors, 32. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/11 "2026-10-13T01:43:40Z")
I say things to people that are only funny to me. I walked into a restaurant to pick up a DoorDash order. This is how the conversation went: Me: Hi, I’m pick- Host: Are you picking up? Me: Yes, for- Host: What’s the order? Me: Oh, looks like it’s a barb- Host: Is it the barbecue chicken sandwich? It’s coming right out. Second waitress comes out … Waitress: Have you been helped? Me: I’m waiti- Host comes out with perfect timing: He’s waiting on a pick-up. So I turned to the waitress who had no idea what was going on and said: I’m not allowed to talk. She looked at me like I was stupid. I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/12 "2026-10-13T07:13:22Z")
I walk a lot; even though I have a car. I’m fortunate that my city doesn’t have the “food deserts” that occur in some cities, so I am usually in walking distance of suitable grocery/liquor/clothing/specialist shops. I don’t walk because it is healthy, I don’t walk to save fuel, I don’t walk to window-shop or watch people - in fact I’m a very fast walker and tend to miss details. I just walk. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/13 "2026-10-13T07:45:37Z")
Walking is fun all right! No one else in my neighborhood likes to walk around but ambling is really my thing! ---
**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:** [October 13, 2026, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/14 "2026-10-13T08:06:44Z")
When my kids were small I read an article about the potential fatal hazards of a child or animal ingesting one of those clips off a loaf of bread. I started ripping them in half before throwing them in the bin. I have always just twisted the bag and folded it over itself after opening anyway. To this day I still do it without thinking though my kids are in their 40s. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2026, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/15 "2026-10-13T10:59:22Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I peel the plastic window off of pasta boxes I do similar for carded products with plastic blisters. AA or AAA batteries being a common example. Easy (usually) to peel the stiff plastic bubble off the cardboard. Then the plastic goes into the plastic / glass / metal recycling bin and the cardboard into the paper bin. If the darn thing fights me then the whole item goes into the trash. FYI increasingly it seems they’re putting the plastic between two layers of cardboard with large “ears” to trap it in there. Presumably to foil shoplifters who can more easily peel the plastic off the front of single-layer cardboard to dump out the product into their thief bag. Anyhow these dual-layered packages pretty much all go in the trash. > [@LavenderMagnolia](#): > > I don’t know how accurate that was, but I still do it out of habit. It was bunk then and is still bunk now. > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > When my kids were small I read an article about the potential fatal hazards of a child or animal ingesting one of those clips off a loaf of bread. I started ripping them in half before throwing them in the bin. Makes me think a half-clip is easier to swallow and still will get stuck in a small throat. And now there are two of them. You made the hazard worse, not better. Me? I’m fussy about FIFO use of my kitchen stuff. I live alone and have about a dozen random coffee cups acquired over the years. Which go from the dishwasher onto a shelf in 2 neat rows that fill the shelf. And are _always_ used front to back working left to right. When I’m almost out of clean cups I run the dishwasher then put the clean ones away. Being careful to move any unused ones to the front left so they’ll get used before any of the newly washed ones. It’s not a crisis if this silly process goes awry or is skipped, but somehow it’s satisfying to go through it. Feels _organized_. 🤪 This used to apply to lots more than just coffee cups, but I’ve slowly killed that habit as to plates, flatware, etc. Mostly because I own way more of that stuff than I use before the dishwasher needs to be run again. So fussing with FIFOing their put-away process would amount to largely rearranging the shelves or drawers each time. Too hard for increasingly lazy me. Separate matter: I do diligently recycle my tiny flow of recyclables as our city requests. But the whole recycling enterprise feels increasingly pointless. I see how much trash my neighbors freely dump into the recycling bins. I know that most contaminated recycling streams are diverted directly to landfills. I also know there’s no market to buy much of the fountain of recycled material that is created. So lots of it ends up in ecologically sound landfills here or in ecologically disastrous open dumps in other countries. Are we actually doing good, or actually doing bad while feeling virtuous about it? Increasingly hard to say. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/16 "2026-10-13T14:28:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m fussy about FIFO use of my kitchen stuff I do this with so many things. Bathroom towels, kitchen towels, underwear, sheets, plates, glasses, and probably more that I don’t even realize. Many times I think I should take out all of the silverware and rearrange it so the items on the bottom of the stack get moved to the top of the stack for a while. I only do it when the tray that they’re in needs to be washed. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/17 "2026-10-13T15:41:08Z")
After I fill my weekly pill organizer each Sunday I place the bottles back on the top shelf in a specific order. Tall one in the left corner, then the 3 other fat ones. Then the square Xarelto bottle tucks neatly into the front row, left corner. Then the couple of vitamin bottles in the front row facing out. So at a quick glance it just looks like I take vitamins instead of several life-extending medicines. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/18 "2026-10-13T16:16:48Z")
Now that’s an … interesting … motivation. Like most of us geezers I take a bunch of pills. Some meds & many supplements. Most 1/x day but some 2x/day. All doctor suggested or prescribed. I break my 21 (!?) daily pills into 3 tranches. Wake-up, post-breakfast, and post-dinner. It’s not perfectly even around the clock, but none of these items are time critical. To facilitate refilling the pill organizers I store the bottles in 3 matching rows: the wake-up row, the breakfast row, and the dinner row. They’re in an open-top bin so each bottle is readily accessible without trashing the whole arrangement. This makes doing the weekly refilling task nearly foolproof. Nearly. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/19 "2026-10-13T16:27:06Z")
Moving away from responsible recycling behavior into the truly pointless: Every time I get the mail, I sing the Blue’s Clues song. > Here’s the mail, it never fails > It makes me wanna wag my tail > When it comes I want to wail “Maaaaail!” There seem to be other instances where I can’t help bursting into song, another of which is any time I hear the word “Oklahoma.” Then I have to sing the final chorus (including O-K–L-A-H-O-M-A) all the way to the end. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791/20 "2026-10-13T16:28:28Z")
Yep. Towels, bed sheets, workout clothes, swim gear, etc. Have more than I need, probably have more than I want, but gotta FIFO 'em. Wear leveling doncha know. I organize my ordinary hanging clothes like shirts and pants into broad categories (e.g. short or long legs or sleeves) and store each category FIFO. To get dressed I pick a style or color I feel like today from near the FIFO oldest e.g. long pants category, then pick the FIFO oldest suitable shirt from its category. So sorta FIFO lite. When I find a couple of [whatevers] are stuck as barnacles being perpetually skipped over at the FIFO oldest end of a category queue, that’s my clue to donate / trash them. Back when I did FIFO with my flatware my habit was to gather the entire handful of clean, e.g. teaspoons, from the dishwasher, then pick up the stack of teaspoons already in their drawer tray slot, put the newly clean ones into the tray on the bottom, and replace the old ones on top. No harder or slower really than dumping the newly clean ones back on top. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pointless-things-do-you-do-just-because/1033791.md?page=2)