# What's something mundane you can't do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091 "2008-01-18T23:07:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/81 "2008-01-21T16:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=Count Blucher] Get hired to a decent employer at a living wage. ☹ [/QUOTE] Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/82 "2008-01-21T16:53:53Z")
Whistle, either with fingers or without. Do handstands or cartwheels. Dive- I can’t get enough rotation to get past the belly-flop position. Wear contact lenses, put in eye drops, or let anyone else do eye makeup for me- I flinch really hard when things get near my eyes. Look at something and say “oh, that’s about three feet long”, or whatever. If I try, I will be ludicrously off in my estimate. > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I can’t do mental math without great difficulty. Throw an algebra problem in front of me, fine–but ask me to take away 7 from 42? I did arrive at the answer–35… but I promise, it took me much longer to figure it out than your average person. Also, I’m about 20% likely to come to a wrong answer when I do that stuff. When people tell me what year they were born, my head nearly explodes trying to figure out how old they are. This is me, too. And I have a degree in math. I got a lot better at math classes once I got to algebra and doing arithmetic in your head quickly became less important. I got even better when I got to upper-level math major classes, which involve proofs, not arithmetic or algebra. > [@featherlou](#): > > I can’t see those 3-D pictures. I can’t see those Magic Eye things, either. I don’t believe there actually is a 3-D image in those things. I think my mom was making those up, because she’s jealous that I can pick things up with my toes and she can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/83 "2008-01-21T16:56:24Z")
Lie on my belly for any extended period. I think I might have a slipped disc or pinched nerve or something–whatever it is, it stresses my back a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/84 "2008-01-21T17:04:15Z")
I can’t… [ul] [li]Drive. I never learned (no need when public transit and my feet take me most places I need to go) \*[/li][li]Touch my toes. My hamstrings are too tight (years of yoga and pilates have yet to fix this)[/li][li]Wear contacts. My eyes weld shut at the very thought of them (bad experience with hard lenses as a teen).[/li][/ul] - I will soon be rectifying that little oversight, as it’s starting to feel like a career-limiting move - lately it seems like all the jobs are moving outside the city, where public transit is more of a concept than a reality. ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/85 "2008-01-21T20:18:33Z")
Wink - any attempt results in some sort of horrible tic-y face-scrunchy grimace. Very pathetic. I am the only person I know who can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/86 "2008-01-21T21:36:40Z")
Sit cross-legged. Even as a child I couldn’t do it. I have all the flexibility of a 2x4. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/87 "2008-01-22T00:03:58Z")
Reading these responses, I’m amazed at how many things I \*\*\*can \*\*\*do . . . everything except cartwheels and 2-finger whistles. The one thing I can’t do that really bothers me is singing with a proper vibrato. I can sort of fake it, but it doesn’t sound as good as a vibrato that just comes out on its own. It’s frustrating because I have a really nice singing voice (bass) and excellent pitch . . . but crappy vibrato. ---
**Author:** ![RunSilent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@RunSilent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunSilent)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/88 "2008-01-22T00:05:02Z")
Be at ease in social situations. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/89 "2008-01-22T00:52:35Z")
File my nails. Painting them-no problem. When I attempt to file them, they get all ragged and brittle. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/90 "2008-01-22T01:21:15Z")
Calculus. I still reckon they’re all just making it up. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/91 "2008-01-22T01:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] Lie on my belly for any extended period. I think I might have a slipped disc or pinched nerve or something–whatever it is, it stresses my back a lot. [/QUOTE] It’s probably your snake hips. 😃 Yeah, I figure people are all pulling my leg about those magic eye 3-D pictures, too. There’s a sailing ship in there? Sure. Whatever you say. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/92 "2008-01-22T02:10:00Z")
My wife says I have no idea how to do laundry or clean the house. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/93 "2008-01-22T03:10:01Z")
I never learned how to breathe! G-ack! 1. Drive well - never had the need. 2. That loud 2-finger whistle 3. Hi Opal! 4. I have a hard time refraining from obvious jokes. 5. I cant tie a tie. I used not to be able to snap my fingers, but I got the hang of it last year 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/94 "2008-01-22T04:39:10Z")
[QUOTE=Br’er Lapin] I don’t know the “multiplication table.” Honest to god. What’s 7 x 8? I have no idea. Seriously. I was really sick and missed a lot of school in third grade when we learned this. I have never been able to learn it on my own. Somehow, still I managed to work my way up to calculus in college… [/QUOTE] I skipped grade three. I was in the same boat as you for years and years. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/95 "2008-01-22T11:00:47Z")
a.) The Pill Thing. As a kid it was a nightmare…I couldn’t take prescription pills, I would choke and gag and cry…and then at twelve years old I got menstrual cramps so bad that I forgot I couldn’t swallow a pill and downed 3 Advil like water. This ability has remained with me. But I still can’t take large/uncoated/chalky pills without a large degree of difficulty. Odds are 50/50 that I’ll manage it before I give up. And the more I think about it, the less able I am to finish the job. I know it’s all in my head, but that doesn’t freakin’ help. b.) I don’t remember jokes. Ever. Even really short ones. And I bartend, and I hear them all day, and then I get asked for them, and my brain goes blank. c.) I can’t sleep in a car or on a plane. d.) I don’t know how to sew a button on. And my mother is a seamstress. (I’m sure I COULD, but that’s what people who already know how are for.) e.) I can whistle, but only while breathing in. This means that I can only whistle for very short, largely pointless, periods of time. ---
**Author:** ![Barrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Barrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrington)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/96 "2008-01-22T12:19:52Z")
[QUOTE=Audrey Levins] e.) I can whistle, but only while breathing in. This means that I can only whistle for very short, largely pointless, periods of time. [/QUOTE] Yep, exactly the same here. Also: despite being a competent cook, I can’t crack an egg without breaking the yolk half the time and/or getting bits of shell in with the good stuff. I can (say) prepare a tasty four-course meal for six people all on my own - except that I have to ask someone to break the eggs for me. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/97 "2008-01-22T13:55:17Z")
I can’t icing a cake without it looking like it’s survived an earthquake. I can’t arrange flowers. When painting a room, I can’t cut in a straight line. I can’t bounce a stationary tennis ball by tapping it with my racquet. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/98 "2008-01-22T14:18:26Z")
I can not estimate distance, height, mass or temperature. (Unless its just around the freeze/thaw mark, then I can guess within a few degrees.) I blame being in Grade One when Metric (no, not the band) Came to Canada, and I was taught by teachers who were one chapter ahead in the text book. No one knew a thing… it was the unlearned being taught by the ignorant…I know what a centimetre, kg, etc IS I just cant look at something and have any clue about size. I’ve sort of learned to guestimate height, (um is he taller than Dad…? Shorter than Gordie? Is she my height? But thats in feet and inches, its really just guessing based on memorized values of other people’s heights. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/99 "2008-01-22T14:38:32Z")
- [Squat.](http://www.ventureacademy.ca/graphics/squatting.jpg) When I try to squat down, I topple backwards. Must be my gravity center or something. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091/100 "2008-01-22T14:51:40Z")
\*\*What’s something mundane you can’t do? Lamar\*\*. That’s okay, I don’t think he’d be much into it either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-mundane-you-cant-do/434091.md?page=6)