# What skill can you perform better than 99 random people? Please read OP for specifics before answering **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 25, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387 "2026-05-25T19:13:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/221 "2026-05-30T16:38:15Z")
Perhaps, but the penalty for failure is a lot higher! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/222 "2026-05-30T17:44:43Z")
> [@chela](#): > > , if the competition had spectators I’m sure the bomb diffusers and gun builders would pack the hall over egg flippers and time tellers I don’t want to be in or even near the hall where they’re holding bomb defuser contests! ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/223 "2026-05-30T17:54:39Z")
I’ll take anyone on on parallel parking. One time, I was really desperate to get a scheduled speaker to his talk and found a place that looked as if it might just work. This was in those bygone days that cars had bumpers and I used them to push the forward car just a couple inches forward and then to move the aft var a couple inches back. After much backing and filling, I ended up less than a foot from the curb, parallel to it and touching bumpers of both fore and aft cars. When I returned an hour and a half later, one of the two cars had moved and no one had filled that space. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/224 "2026-05-30T17:57:39Z")
I know you have to flip it over… ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/225 "2026-05-30T18:00:06Z")
That ain’t parallel parking! That’s parking by brute force! Anybody with a big enough car (and cojones to match) could do that! 😀 ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/226 "2026-05-30T18:26:36Z")
Back in the day I would play hacky sack (footbag) at the beach like I was getting paid for it. Today, I would have to spend some time practicing and get back into a stretching regime but I think could outperform 99 randos. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/227 "2026-05-30T21:12:05Z")
And know when to insert and remove the magazine ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/228 "2026-05-30T21:33:24Z")
I can write a song parody on a specific topic better than 99 others. I did so this morning, using “Lonely Goat” from “The Sound of Music” to parody our current US Administration. Tore through 2 verses, posted it, moved on. I grew up on MAD Magazine parodies. Both parents worked with words. It’s in my blood. I cannot monetize this skill because MAD Magazine ain’t what it was. In fact, it ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/229 "2026-05-31T10:06:54Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I can also make killer pie crust, just by eyeballing the ingredients; I never measure. I exceed at eyeball cooking. That’s old-country cooking, which my great-grandmother did exclusively, and my grandmother did with family and holiday recipes, and taught them to me that way so I can do it with things I make on a regular basis. I am also very good at making up things on the spot: if you want “2 nut, 5 berry muffins”; “Half chocolate/half vanilla muffins”; “Artichoke/asparagus tip quiche”; broccoli & cheese challah"; or even gluten-free, dairy-free, seed-free raspberry bagels (that are chewy and moist), I can make them at the drop of a pin, and they will taste good the first time (even the bagels). I know there are hobby bakers who bake practically as much as professionals (and I’m not taking on professionals!) and I’m not confident how I’d do against _them_… but I also don’t know what the odds are of one of these bakers coming up in 99 random people. Let’s say if I were asked to be in the 99 randos, against someone who happened to choose a skill I possessed, and we randos were asked just put in $10 to win $100 (the one choosing the skill puts in 100 for $1000, & when the the chooser loses, the other $901 goes to mmm for organization, but he gets nothing if the skill-chooser prevails). I very might very well chance that I would get lucky, and the ask for would be in my wheelhouse --like maybe just whipping up “baked goods,” or “breakfast food,” in either case I’d put up muffins, and might win. @Mean_Mr.Mustard: The odds favor mmm picking up $901 something more than a coin-flip of times, given that people tend to overestimate their own abilities, and underestimate others, and probably coming out ahead, since a database that allows him to spam-email enough people to come up with contestants is stupid cheap, he probably already pays for internet, and most people accept a gambling challenge (they all overestimate their chances of winning). Hmmm. I’d better watch my mailbox. This could have been a good game show in the 70s, when they were fun and silly. Now they’re kinda mean, so unless mistakes are somehow shoved in the losers’ faces, in some extremely humiliating way, and they get yelled at as they make them, I can’t see this taking off now. > [@Moriarty](#): > > Once I’m warmed up, I can sit with my legs flat on the floor in front of me and touch my nose to my knee. I can do this without warming up, and I’m 59. I can also do it standing up. I can put my feet about 2 feet apart, and get my head between them to the point that my nose is _behind_ my knees, if I don’t lose my balance. I have short legs and a long back. And naturally limber. I also used to be able to get into the lotus position without using my hands. I also used to be able to put my feet behind my head. Can’t do that anymore, but can still touch my heel to my nose without straining. Or warming up. I can also bite my big toe, which is essentially the same thing, but funnier. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Not bragging, but my little Grandson can fart little tunes. @Beckdawrek: Hah! Le [petomini](https://www.blowbacktrilogy.com/who-was-le-petomane/)! > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > My skill-based passions are Pinball If I got to choose the machine, I could beat you. One of the 3 machines I own that I play most often, and have scored the equivalent of 800,000 points on a single ball by late 1970s standards, I believe I could beat just about anyone, who is not a pinball hustler, on. > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > they called me “boychik” and I’m not even Jewish A boychik is anyone under about 25, spoken of by a Jewish person old enough to have their own boychik, and older than the person spoken about; or, someone under 30 spoken about by a Jewish person old enough to be that person’s parent; or someone of any age who is the actual offspring, grand-offsping, or offspring equivalent, of the speaker. A former elementary school teacher of mine belongs to my former congregation is a town about 60 miles from where I am now, and she still calls old students “boychik” and “girlchik,” even though the youngest of us is about 40. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Reading fast and retaining the information. At least for a while. I would take anyone on for this when I was under 30. Sadly, it is no longer so. > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I’ve sometimes wondered how many people can do that [cracking two eggs at a time]. Can anybody here? I have never tried that, but I can crack one egg, one-handed. @I_Love_Me_Vol.I: I could probably crack one in the left, and one in the right at the same time. Is that what you are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/230 "2026-05-31T10:12:59Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I could probably crack one in the left, and one in the right at the same time. Is that what you are talking about? Yes, indeedy-do. It’s fun! It’s eggy! Impress your friends! Amaze your enemies! Better get crackin! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/231 "2026-05-31T11:36:38Z")
Just don’t put 'em all in one basket. mmm ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/232 "2026-05-31T12:12:03Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Just don’t put 'em all in one basket. Hmmm. That might be something I can do better than 99 randos. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/233 "2026-05-31T12:12:59Z")
Don’t fall for this one. It’s a shell game. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/234 "2026-05-31T12:21:25Z")
> [@moes\_lotion](#): > > Not sure that I’d be guaranteed to win in either, but I’d go for target archery or white water solo canoe slalom racing. My Dearly Beloved™ and I were at her parents house in Kansas. At this point we’d been married for about 7 years. Going through stuff in the garage attic because it was time for The Big Downsize. I found a bow. Not a cute plastic thingy. Also not a Compound Bow. But what appeared to be a serious instruments. No arrows nearby. I asked her whose it was. DB: That’s mine. ME: Yeah? I didn’t know you shot. DB: Yes. I did at one time. ME: How serious were you about it? DB: I was the Nebraska State Champion in my senior year in High School. 😲 DB: Everything in its time. ( Delivered with that slight smile which is one of the things that made me fall in love with her. ) In 2 weeks we hit 16 years. There’s STILL shit I’m finding out. It’s kinda magical. Anyway, much respect for Archers. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/235 "2026-05-31T13:54:02Z")
Oh yeah, I forgot. I can take Gregg shorthand still. I’ve been retired for three years now, but I still use it to take notes during phone calls. Even when I still worked, I used it all the time. But it was very uncommon and had been for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/236 "2026-05-31T14:26:09Z")
What context were you using shorthand so recently? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/237 "2026-05-31T15:09:46Z")
**[Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cartooniverse)**[Charter Member](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Charter_Member) [18h](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/228 "Post date") I can write a song parody on a specific topic better than 99 others. I did so this morning, using “Lonely Goat” from “The Sound of Music” to parody our current US Administration. Tore through 2 verses, posted it, moved on. I grew up on MAD Magazine parodies. Both parents worked with words. It’s in my blood. I cannot monetize this skill because MAD Magazine ain’t what it was. In fact, it it ain’t. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* I had a friend who could compose (usually naughty) limericks on the spot (with proper rhyming and meter). Supply a name and some characteristics about the person, and he would give you one within a minute or two. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/238 "2026-05-31T15:25:54Z")
Nobody is going to beat you on this one. I was going to brag about parking with only 2ft longer than my car. I will just tuck my tail between my legs and walk away. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/239 "2026-05-31T16:04:17Z")
Ahem… I can’t say that I would beat @Hari_Seldon for _certain_ in a PP contest (heh), but I once parked a rental car on a busy Philadelphia street that left literally 2-3 inches of space on either end of the vehicle once done. I even got out and photographed both of the gaps in order to preserve the accomplishment. And I did it without touching the other cars. Anyone can fit a space if they are allowed to nudge the existing vehicles out of the way first. mmm ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/240 "2026-05-31T19:04:20Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > What context were you using shorthand so recently? I was a legal secretary from 1979 to 2023. I learned it as part of a business admin degree at city college, and I took to it easily, because I love calligraphy and nice handwriting. I used it every single day of my working life because attorneys like to jabber out commands on the fly and I never would have remembered all their orders if I couldn’t take them down quickly. This was in addition to taking dictation for letters, but letter-taking fizzled out about the time recording devices became commonplace, not to mention emails for everything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387.md?page=13)