# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/281 "2026-07-07T02:06:54Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I definitely think “The End Of The World” was inspired by the Dylan song Michael Stipe has confirmed precisely this. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/282 "2026-07-07T02:17:01Z")
i can probably pick the top ten in the Iditarod better than 99 out of a random 100…. Maybe unless the 100 people are from the interior of AK ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/283 "2026-07-07T02:45:29Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Kinda how I learned the preamble to the US Constitution from Schoolhouse Rock. Heheeh, yeah, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t recite it sans melody. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/284 "2026-07-07T02:49:31Z")
Congratulations, Bill! You’re a law! **OH, YEAH!** ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/285 "2026-07-08T10:51:44Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > …of the goals in my life is to one time sing Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” flawlessly. I do pretty good with Subterranean, but I usually stumble around “_try hard get barred get back write braille get jailed jump bail join the army if you fail_” mmm ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-skill-can-you-perform-better-than-99-random-people-please-read-op-for-specifics-before-answering/1030387/286 "2026-07-08T12:44:27Z")
Back in the 90s I played bass in a small local band. We were a trio and it was usually up to the guitar player or the drummer to sing, since I couldn’t sing and play bass (keeping a melody and a rhythm in my head simultaneously is just very difficult for me). So to give them a break we decided I would sing Subterranean Homesick Blues since the rhythm and melody are basically the same. I was astonishingly good at it, so I suggested adding End of the World to the set list. That one took a lot longer to get down, but I did it. The key is to practice the song one verse at a time until it becomes automatic. Then you only need to memorize the order of the verses. At one gig after we finished with End of the World, a guy came up to me and said “that’s not a song, it’s a party trick.” After that my group of friends starting competing at parties to sing End of the World as far as you can without a mistake. We still do it sometimes, and I’m not as good as I used to be, but I can make it to “vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light” [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=14)