# 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:** 14
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/261 "2026-06-01T23:00:41Z")
> [@deltogre](#): > > I could drink anyone out there under the table. I’d lose, but I’d sure like to compete. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/262 "2026-06-01T23:02:45Z")
I’m with ya! He might beat me, but By God! I’m gonna give him a good run and make him _earn_ it! I’ve always thought the term “Joe Six-pack” was a slur against underachievers. Shit! A six-pack don’t even get me to sundown! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/263 "2026-06-01T23:18:21Z")
Hey @Roderick_Femm we have the same hobby. I’ve bound lots of books. ---
**Author:** ![deltogre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deltogre/32/5041_2.png) [@deltogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltogre)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/264 "2026-06-01T23:31:58Z")
Dungbeetle and gato, my guys… Why compete, when we can be a TEAM??? ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/265 "2026-06-01T23:35:21Z")
> [@deltogre](#): > > I could drink anyone out there under the table. An Ensign said that to me once. Once. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/266 "2026-06-02T00:54:37Z")
I’m right there with you concerning cryptic crosswords. Picked this up while working as a hydrographic surveyor with primarily british crew members. Started with the easy ones and then graduated to the published ones from the Times, Telegraph and the Guardian. The prize puzzles still give me a bit of a challenge but I think I could compete with 99 random folks (as long as they weren’t all brits, kiwis or strines !). ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/267 "2026-06-02T02:16:06Z")
I can draw (freehand, from memory) and label an extremely good map of the United States. It’s not perfect–the western states usually come out a little too big and the eastern states a little too small, and I have trouble replicating West Virginia for some reason or no reason–but it’s pretty damn good. I can gussy it up with the Great Lakes and the capitals along with major rivers as well. There are probably a few people out there with a somewhat steadier hand and maybe a better visual memory who could beat me at this, but I think the odds would be well in my favor if we were pulling 99 people out of a hat (so to speak). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/268 "2026-06-02T02:31:18Z")
I can write faster than anyone who can write better, and I can write better than anyone who can write faster. I stole that line from 20th Century sportswriter A.J. Liebling. Being able to come up with an apt quote is important in writing well and fast. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/269 "2026-06-02T13:11:17Z")
> [@deltogre](#): > > Facts, all of them. I love being punctual. The only thing that ever made me late was an ENORMOUS boulder that blocked a road in southwestern VA on my way to a meeting. I didn’t make it. > > My special skill, although i play guitar pretty well, and sing, and really enjoy trivia…is a bit barbarian. > > I could drink anyone out there under the table. > > I am of Irish extraction, and i am 6’5" and over 300 lbs. I’m not a cheap date. > > Ever see the movie “Beerfest?” If you ever find yourself in that situation, by all means, drop me a line. I came to drinking later in life. Developed a taste for Tequilas. Not silver- too bitter/ sharp for me. But show me a nice Anejo and I’m your pal. My Dearly Beloved™ and I went to a house party years ago. It was a Tequila tasting party where there would also be copious amounts of homecooked Phillipino foods. There were 11 different bottles on the table. I determined to taste each one. Self-pouring, without being greedy. We guessed I drank 14-17 shots from about 7pm-2am. I also alternated a big glass of water between drinks. Got good and drunk…then mellowed…then drunk again…we took a taxi home. A personal record. Big glass of ice water before bed. No hangover the next morning. I was…Hmmm… about 52 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/270 "2026-06-04T08:25:59Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > DB: I was the Nebraska State Champion in my senior year in High School. I was one of the Utah state champions in archery my senior year, but haven’t shot since then. Long winded story: > **Summary** > > About 22 years ago, my ex-BIL, a foaming in the mouth uber conservative, took me shooting to show off his skill. He had been going weekly for six months or so. > > Despite the years of inactivity and the difference between a gun and a bow, the concentration and breathing are the same so it was a long ride home for him when this wimpy liberal out shot him with his own gun. The fun thing about being good in a minor sport is that it makes you much more likely to be in the top one percent, where you would have to be much better to have a similar ranking in a popular sport. My son participated in two world championships in a very minor sport and gave that up to play soccer, where he won’t even be at the top in the prefectural level. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2026, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/271 "2026-06-04T11:14:28Z")
😶‍🌫️ In some bizarre but possible world, you shot in the Nationals against my wife !! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/272 "2026-06-16T22:40:01Z")
Write novels. I’ve written over 50 of them and I have a solid fan following who wait for my next one, so I think I’ve got a pretty good shot at beating 99 randos. Even more of one if there’s a short deadline, since I usually take around 3 months to write a 100,000±word book. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/273 "2026-06-19T13:28:52Z")
That’s amazing. For real. ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/274 "2026-07-06T13:52:43Z")
Sound sculpting. Give me any synthesizer (not a sampler) and I’ll make a sound that you imagined, or something close to it, regardless of synthesizing technique (additive, analog subtractive, digital FM, phase distortion, Karplus-Strong, vector synthesis) - if it’s within capabilites of the machine I’m working on, it will be done in an afternoon. Electric guitar with a chain of pedal effects works too (without a dedicated “turn the guitar sound into XYZ” pedal). I’m, however, not a producer, and just mediocre as a player. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 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/1030387/275 "2026-07-06T15:25:24Z")
> [@Moris](#): > > Give me any synthesizer (not a sampler) and I’ll make a sound that you imagined An interesting thought. But how would anyone describe to you what they had imagined? Some words are rather onomatopoeic, but mostly language is not very effective for conveying sound in detail? ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 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/1030387/276 "2026-07-06T18:00:59Z")
Bzwoooooing wowwow, with ping-ping on top. Or maybe “piano that morphs into diesel engine falling from a cliff.” ---
**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:** [July 7, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/277 "2026-07-07T00:01:37Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I was a legal secretary from 1979 to 2023. I learned it as part of a business admin degree at city college They were still teaching it in high school business prep courses (they had already dropped the word “secretarial,” because there was so much more, but if what you wanted was to be a no frills secretary, the classes were very good-- some people found jobs right out of high school). Anyway, they taught shorthand as late as 1998. There was voice-to-text at the time, but it was very poor, and shorthand was still the best way to dictate a letter. They still taught touch-typing, too, albeit, on computer keyboards, so you did not have to learn about the return carriage, etc. In my time, 1980-85, typing was still taught on manual typewriters. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I’ll take anyone on on parallel parking. I’ll take you on parking with a car with stick. I excel at PP a manual car-- can do it better in a manual than in an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/278 "2026-07-07T01:25:37Z")
I just thought of one. “Reciting the full lyrics to REM’s ‘It’s the End of the World’ (as we Know it)’” from memory. Even Michael Stipe needs a [cheat sheet](https://youtu.be/QdtSPhMsl9Y?si=gzv-gxEkwrxWe0cp). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/279 "2026-07-07T01:55:27Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I just thought of one. “Reciting the full lyrics to REM’s ‘It’s the End of the World’ (as we Know it)’” from memory I’ve said it before that one of the goals in my life is to one time sing Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” flawlessly. I’m sure I’ll never succeed. I definitely think “The End Of The World” was inspired by the Dylan song, just like Dylan was inspired by Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business”, but I won’t even think about ever being able to recite they lyrics to the R.E.M. song! ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/280 "2026-07-07T01:59:43Z")
It wasn’t even a conscious goal on my part. I listened to it so many times over the years, I eventually discovered I could sing along with it without missing a single word. Kinda how I learned the preamble to the US Constitution from Schoolhouse Rock. [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=13) [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=15)