# What's something that people claim happens a lot, but you have rarely, or never, witnessed it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965 "2022-03-13T00:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/201 "2022-03-15T05:38:57Z")
Yeah, someone could wear quite a few hankies if they were so inclined. I’m not aware of a similar code for heterosexuals. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/202 "2022-03-15T05:40:22Z")
Of course it’s a myth. As I said, service members are just that–members of the service; they are not the property of the government. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/203 "2022-03-15T07:38:45Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > From this point forward, i shall claim that this happens all the time just > so that it does count! Nice one ! I have a hell of a temper, but an amazingly long fuze, it really takes a lot to get me pissed enough to raise my voice, and serious amount to get me violent. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Men standing in the parking lot of Home Depot in order to get hired for day jobs. Both Rochester NY and Manchester CT Home Depots. > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > UFO’s and alien abductions. Claims - yes My mother and I were headed from Rochester to Caledonia NY in the mid 80s and saw a green streak coming from behind us and going before us on the more or less right side of the car. Since I never attempted to contact any agency to discover what it was, it remains and unidentified flying object =) > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Many women I know report that they have been told by a man to smile. I’ve never seen that, or anything like it. I guess they don’t do it in front of witnesses? Been told to smile, and told I need to wear makeup and a dress. I was headed in to a convenience store to get a jug of milk … I was on my way home from a chemo infusion session and had a death pod attached to my power port. I flashed the asshat my pod, which displayed my port and told him I had stage 3 cancer and was all out of fucks for his opinion about my appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/204 "2022-03-15T11:27:00Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Many women I know report that they have been told by a man to smile. I’ve never seen that, or anything like it. I guess they don’t do it in front of witnesses? This is like many other things that men do to women that other men don’t see. I don’t observe these done to other women much either. The men, I believe, feel that it is an intimate interaction between them and their sex object, and instinctively or deliberately find a way to be secretive about it. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/205 "2022-03-15T11:45:14Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Sure there is EBT fraud. It most often involves unscrupulous owners of corner stores or small family owned grocery stores. The idea that there are throngs of “welfare queens” importuning shoppers in the parking lot of Whole Foods and Wegman’s to use their EBT cards for 80 cents on the dollar seems pure fantasy. actually, I have a confession as someone who has frequently benefited from this I know it’s done like this … someone needs cash for something and it’s 2 or 3 for every cash dollar… Now the reason this happens is California has a policy of giving EBT amounts like water but rarely gives out actual cash unless you jump through 90 hoops and even then you might not get any So a neighbor who needs cash for her electric bill or car etc would approach me about said deal and id usually accept … I did try not to do it with the ones that were obliviously using it for booze or pot but it depended on what was (or wasn’t) in my kitchen at the time ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/206 "2022-03-15T12:52:35Z")
As a 19-year-old in the service I wouldn’t have wanted to test the waters about what was a myth and what was real. An officer or chief chewing your backside is definitely real, even if one of their myriad threats might not have passed the “well, actually…” test. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/207 "2022-03-15T13:29:03Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Which makes me wonder how any baggy decaying English professor could look at some aggressively adoring grad student half his age or worse and _not_ clearly see that she was likely just using him for something – something other than sex, intimacy, and and an actual relationship. The way prostitution generally works is that hookers need to be upfront about what the deal is. Gold digging works differently. But that’s even assuming that the adoring grad students are really using these baggy decaying English professors for “something other than […] an actual relationship”. I’m not so sure. Within the confines of the little English scholarship world, these baggy decaying professors are Big Stuff, and that has an attractiveness and appeal of its own. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/208 "2022-03-15T13:32:36Z")
I think the official designation of “destruction of government property” was a myth, but When we sailed into the exotic flesh pots of the East, some of the Marines would earn themselves restriction after getting VD a second time. (But red toilet seats for them was a thing of the past by the 80s). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/209 "2022-03-15T13:53:08Z")
For the Home Depot comment, here is a Google Street View of a Home Depot near my house with some day laborers waiting for work. There are a lot more early in the morning: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sEZ-0FP-lQNdBGEgkkZjMbQ%212m2%211d41.808954%212d-87.6824058%213f19.91%214f8.479%215f0.75 ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/210 "2022-03-15T14:08:23Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > Within the confines of the little English scholarship world, these baggy decaying professors are Big Stuff, and that has an attractiveness and appeal of its own. Power, however one defines or perceives it, can act as an aphrodisiac. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/211 "2022-03-15T16:08:06Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Power, however one defines or perceives it, can act as an aphrodisiac. It’s not just power. If you are immersed in English scholarship (for example), and live and breathe it, then that professor who is a Great Authority on the subject and has published Important Works about it and enlightened you personally about it etc. etc. etc. might be someone you genuinely respect and admire. A person who lives outside that world and has little interest in or concern for English scholarship would have a hard time visualizing that professor that way. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/212 "2022-03-15T16:17:33Z")
Well, the thread’s title is “What’s something that people claim happens a lot, but you have rarely, or never, witnessed it?” That doesn’t make it about the thing but about the witness. For whatever reason, I’ve never seen workers waiting. Maybe I get there too late. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/213 "2022-03-15T16:19:37Z")
It may well be a function of where you live. Typically, around 7-8 a.m. or so is when I see the biggest crowds, but usually there’s a few left throughout the day. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/214 "2022-03-15T16:25:58Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > If you are immersed in English scholarship (for example), and live and breathe it, then that professor who is a Great Authority on the subject and has published Important Works about it and enlightened you personally about it etc. etc. etc. might be someone you genuinely respect and admire. > > A person who lives outside that world and has little interest in or concern for English scholarship would have a hard time visualizing that professor that way. Exactly so. Having sat at the feet of the masters myself in my time, I do not doubt the attraction on the young lady (or perhaps gentleman) side. I also see how a menopausal wife who knew you when you were a struggling student nerd might not seem as appealing to hold fast to when there is this so-tempting alternative. I imagine this scenario is far more prevalent in majors where women are a substantial percentage of the student body. Like I said, not so common in the hard sciences. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/215 "2022-03-15T16:31:15Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Been told to smile, and told I need to wear makeup and a dress. I was headed in to a convenience store to get a jug of milk … I was on my way home from a chemo infusion session and had a death pod attached to my power port. I flashed the asshat my pod, which displayed my port and told him I had stage 3 cancer and was all out of fucks for his opinion about my appearance. I’ve been all out of fucks for his opinion about my appearance since I was in my 20’s and entirely healthy. (There were certainly people whose opinion about my appearance I did care about; but he wouldn’t have been one of them.) But that may have shut him up for a while. Hope so. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > > > Many women I know report that they have been told by a man to smile. I’ve never seen that, or anything like it. I guess they don’t do it in front of witnesses? > > This is like many other things that men do to women that other men don’t see. I don’t observe these done to other women much either. The men, I believe, feel that it is an intimate interaction between them and their sex object, and instinctively or deliberately find a way to be secretive about it. I’m not sure that they’re being secretive about it. I think it’s more that it’s often a momentary interaction, often by someone walking past you at the time, that’s unlikely to be noticed by anyone other than the person it’s directed at. > [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > If you are immersed in English scholarship (for example), and live and breathe it, then that professor who is a Great Authority on the subject and has published Important Works about it and enlightened you personally about it etc. etc. etc. might be someone you genuinely respect and admire. > > A person who lives outside that world and has little interest in or concern for English scholarship would have a hard time visualizing that professor that way. Also: quite a lot of people in college are actively looking for a partner; and most of their exposure is to other people in college. While it may look to most people like the better choice is another undergrad or grad student, and indeed that’s the choice most people make, bear in mind that many in that category are busy getting their first release from adult supervision out of their systems. Anyone attracted to people who are more mature may indeed be genuinely interested in a professor. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/216 "2022-03-15T16:45:32Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I basically never see kids being allowed to run amok and scream in public places while their parents make no effort to control them. People complain about that, sometimes on this board, all the time. I certainly see children behaving badly, but AFAICT \>99% of parents respond appropriately. What do you think is an appropriate response to a child screaming in a restaurant? If it’s a single scream as opposed to an ongoing tantrum, telling the kid to shush is good enough the first time. But IMO, if the kid keeps screaming, the only appropriate response is to take him outside. And in my decade of restaurant work, I saw a hell of a lot of parents who refused to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/217 "2022-03-15T17:26:33Z")
Yes, I agree, if the kid can’t be quickly quieted, they should be taken outside, and that applies even to “kid-friendly” restaurants. And again, basically every parent I see does that. Maybe people in Chicago are just more polite? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/218 "2022-03-15T17:28:05Z")
I was born in Chicago and am polite as fuck, so checks out! ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/219 "2022-03-15T17:31:06Z")
They are also quite common where I was, I just had the bad (good?) luck of never being around when they made an appearance. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/220 "2022-03-15T17:35:48Z")
I’ve never seen a live snake outside a zoo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965.md?page=12)