# What strange/obscure/useless thing are you really good at? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350 "2011-08-28T03:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/41 "2011-08-29T15:17:16Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > Pregnancy seems to have destroyed my best useless talent. I can open any jar or bottle, or at least I could before I became a baby pod. I hope I get the talent back after the kid is born cause it was a pretty cool parlor trick to be able to open pretty much anything with a screw on lid. Especially when a big macho man can’t get it open, then they hand it to you in frustration and _pop!_ ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/42 "2011-08-29T15:27:28Z")
Back when I worked at Borders, there were three talents for which I was known (as in, whenever the activities came up, someone would usually say “Stu’s reaaaalllly good at that.”) 1. Unplugging the toilet. I had to do this on my first night. My trainer had been working on it for 15 minutes; I had it done before he knew I was gone. 2. Giving massages. 3. Getting customer e-mails. We kept stats on this. My rate was usually three times higher than the next highest person. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/43 "2011-08-29T15:49:40Z")
I can make a loop with my pinky and index fingers. Like, bend over my pinky far enough that I can hook the tip of the index finger over it, without having to grab hold of any of my fingers. Relatedly, I can also bend all of my fingers back perpendicular to my hand, and I can flex the last joint of my index finger without the rest of the finger. Oh, and another skill that’s at least marginally useful for winning bets, if nothing else: You know that trick where you drop a dollar bill between someone’s fingers, and they try to catch it? I can do that. The secret is to not look at the bill itself-- Your peripheral vision has a much shorter response time than your direct vision. I might also be getting some subtle cues from watching the person directly, but I’m not sure about that. One last one: I can beat anyone I’ve played at iterated Paper-Rock-Scissors. But I haven’t done that in a while; I’m probably a bit rusty at it. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/44 "2011-08-29T15:56:55Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > Especially when a big macho man can’t get it open, then they hand it to you in frustration and _pop!_ Yeah, well I softened it up for you. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/45 "2011-08-29T16:51:13Z")
I can read and write upside down and backwards. This gang would be a great party, but how much booze would have to flow before all the skills became apparent?? ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/46 "2011-08-29T16:54:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, and another skill that’s at least marginally useful for winning bets, if nothing else: You know that trick where you drop a dollar bill between someone’s fingers, and they try to catch it? I can do that. The secret is to not look at the bill itself-- Your peripheral vision has a much shorter response time than your direct vision. I might also be getting some subtle cues from watching the person directly, but I’m not sure about that. That reminds me of another one. Back in school, I was the one who could read the clock during a movie. If you look right at it, the combination of a dark room and looking at the TV made it impossible to see the clock. But I found that if I looked about a foot or so to one side of it I could read it. It was tough to make out where the hands where, but I could usually figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/47 "2011-08-29T17:38:40Z")
I can put the back side of my hand against my cheek, and using a finger from the other hand at the web between two fingers of the first hand, I can make a popping sound. (Harder to describe than I thought it would be.) I It sounds just like cracking a knuckle but has the advantage (?) that I can do it as many times as I want. This would probably have been more useful in 8th grade than now, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/48 "2011-08-29T18:49:39Z")
I’m very good at tetherball. I haven’t played more than once in 20 years, but it’s a whole other set of hand-eye coordination from other ball games, so if I were to go up against the average adult, I could beat them without much effort. Especially since they’d have to struggle not to wrap the rope on their arms or give themselves ball burn. ETA: in fact, once at a company picnic I tried to “hustle” some coworkers into playing against me by limply slapping the tetherball around (not that there was a bet involved but if they knew how good I was they’d be scared off.) But that was still better than anyone else, so they refused to play against me because my intentional hustling was better than their regular skills. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/49 "2011-08-29T18:51:06Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > I play a diatonic accordian…same kind as Flaco Jiminez of tejano fame. [Shown here, solo begins at 2:45](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gASQ1_HEEHA). Flaco does it a little better than I do. Kind of a useless skill, but unique in that they are not widely played. > SS Flaco is a national treasure. If you are _nearly_ as good as Flaco, my friend, you are a wonder of nature. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_scC6iFf1Nc/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgTig-MA8=&rs=AOn4CLDWnUBt_vI00NpsT8WuSilYCAZSYw "Ry Cooder - He'll Have To Go") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_scC6iFf1Nc) I have a preternatural ability to remember useless facts. People don’t want to play Trivial Pursuit with me, even if I spot them a couple of wedges. If a fact is useful, though, I probably don’t know it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/50 "2011-08-29T21:27:30Z")
Picking out interesting gifts. Choosing pet names. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/51 "2011-08-29T21:41:06Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > Yo, you SPEAK J?? Git over here! We need J-speaking feral cat trappers! > > And while I’m very impressed that you understood the patient’s Japanese, I’m kinda more impressed with someone who can start talking about events that happened some 60 years ago \*as she’s having cataract surgery. \* Unless it’s like LASIK, aren’t most people under anesthesia for that kind of surgery? You did well, luv, but I think the old lady won that round! 😃 I had cataract surgery and was awake the whole time. They do give you something but it does not completely put you out. Weird experience, though. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/52 "2011-08-30T22:30:09Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Flaco is a national treasure. If you are _nearly_ as good as Flaco, my friend, you are a wonder of nature. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_scC6iFf1Nc&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_scC6iFf1Nc&feature=related) Well…much as it pains me to admit it, I’m not nearly as good as Flaco. When I said “Flaco does it a little better than I do”, it was with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. Nevertheless, I love my squeezebox and get a lot of enjoyment out of playing it with reasonable competence. As noted, it’s kind of an uncommon instrument and there’s a certain feeling of accomplishment that comes with being able to do something that not too many other folks can do. And you’re absolutely right about Flaco. He’s an outstanding folk musician. Thanks for the link; it’s one I hadn’t heard before. I love the way Ry Cooder and his group can take an old shopworn standard and push it to a whole new level. SS ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/53 "2011-08-30T22:50:31Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Its really handy for my friends. When Tony calls me and says that he lost his glasses I can tell him where he put them. Today, M called me and during the call, mentioned that he had misplaced his keys. I told him to look in the veggy drawer in his fridge because he had bought coffee and that’s where he keeps it. I am the goddess of finding things 🙂 > > **Kinky** I can understand Japanese that is way too far advanced to my skills. I can’t speak it well, but when a patient was having cataract surgery and started talking about how the bombs looked as they were falling, I understood her better than her daughter. > > Oh, and I can knit chain maile. That’s about the most worthless skill in the working world. I need your number, because I am phenomenally good at losing things. It doesn’t matter that my home is tidy, that I organise things properly, that I always keep certain items in certain places, somehow I lose things all the time. My daughter does too. We live in The House of Lost Things. I’m very good at ‘understanding’ languages I don’t actually speak, which is similar to what you mentioned, but not quite the same. I’m just good at picking up the basics of the language, understanding the context and bodily cues very well and having the confidence from previous occasions to just go with it. This was very useful when teaching EFL to teenagers, as it gave the impression to them that I did actually speak their native language but refused to speak it in the classroom. It’s also been useful for understanding directions, instructions, all sorts of things; it’s basically recognising ‘here’s what’s probably a verb and here’s a noun and here’s all the context.’ But I bet a lot of people can do this and more could do if they had the confidence to go with it. I can also do one other genuinely weird and useless thing: you know the full lotus position from yoga, where you cross your legs while sitting down with each foot above the thighs? I can do that and then pitch up to vertical and move around and do stuff as if I were just walking. Once, when I was old enough to know this looked stupid but was too drunk to care, I demonstrated this in a pub. :smack: :o ---
**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:** [August 30, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/54 "2011-08-30T23:12:10Z")
In the absence of a timekeeping device, I have a really good sense of the passage of time. Sometimes creepy good, down to the minute. I can tell, for example, the difference between 12 minutes and 15 minutes passing. More than once, after not looking at the clock for a while, I have guessed the time and turned out to be exactly right. I’m also really good at eyeballing measurements. Cups, inches, teaspoons, yards, whatever, I got it. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/55 "2011-08-30T23:23:27Z")
Thanks to hypermobile thumb joints, I can do the “I’m pulling off my own thumb” trick really, really well. Completely useless unless I need to amuse a 4 year old for about a minute. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/56 "2011-08-31T01:12:56Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I can also do one other genuinely weird and useless thing: you know the full lotus position from yoga, where you cross your legs while sitting down with each foot above the thighs? I can assume this position without 1) using my hands or 2) flinging my legs about to gain momentum (although I think that is how I taught myself to do so in the first place, around the age of nine). I do not “do” yoga and am 43 years old, so I think this is pretty neat, but is not something I can really show off much, due to my resolution to try to act like a grown-up when I am around other people. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/57 "2011-08-31T01:31:01Z")
> [@troubledwater](#): > > I can assume this position without 1) using my hands or 2) flinging my legs about to gain momentum (although I think that is how I taught myself to do so in the first place, around the age of nine). I do not “do” yoga and am 43 years old, so I think this is pretty neat, but is not something I can really show off much, due to my resolution to try to act like a grown-up when I am around other people. I think most people who learnt it as a kid can do it that way, it’s just that most people don’t learn it as a kid. I did because one of my brothers was taught it in physiotherapy after a serious accident. And some adults can do it easily too, depending on how mobile their joints are. I don’t think of the full lotus as a difficult position - it’s the walking about in that position that’s odd. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/58 "2011-08-31T01:34:42Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > In the absence of a timekeeping device, I have a really good sense of the passage of time. Sometimes creepy good, down to the minute. I can tell, for example, the difference between 12 minutes and 15 minutes passing. More than once, after not looking at the clock for a while, I have guessed the time and turned out to be exactly right. I can do this too. I can wake up in the middle of the night and without even opening my eyes I can tell you within a few minutes what time it is. I’m also very good at untying knots. Shoelaces, drawstrings, necklace chains, you knot it, I can untie it. This actually comes in handy sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![DaveBfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DaveBfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveBfd)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/59 "2011-08-31T01:52:07Z")
Im pretty good at [guitar hero like games](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE_--DxO5v4). Nowhere near as good as [some people](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gZLpKhxK9w) though. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350/60 "2011-08-31T02:34:10Z")
I have never been even above average at math. But I always was better than anyone in my peer group at finding the solution to puzzles that give you a sequence of numbers and ask you to name the next number, like “18, 54, 4, 12, -38…” I also am VERY good at knowing exactly what time it is within 5 to 8 minutes without a watch. But my accuracy goes way down if I am stressed out, or if I am on vacation or not working. But during a regular work week, I know what time it is and use my watch to confirm. I also travel and compete in tournaments for a specific version of the arcade game Streetfighter 2 that came out around 16 years ago. I wouldn’t call it a talent, just practice because amongst other tournament players I am strong but not amazing, but if you have never competed in tournaments or practiced for years I would manhandle you. 🙂 > [@DaveBfd](#): > > Im pretty good at [guitar hero like games](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE_--DxO5v4). Did you freaking seriously call someone a jungle bunny on youtube? Do you know how that makes you look to civilized people? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strange-obscure-useless-thing-are-you-really-good-at/594350.md?page=4)