# 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:** 12
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/221 "2022-03-15T17:45:37Z")
When we lived in NYC and took our small children to restaurants all the time, that’s exactly what we did. It didn’t happen more than once or twice that i remember, but yeah, if the kid is crying or making a lot of noise, you take them outdoors and walk up and down the sidewalk until they quiet. The time i remember clearly, the kid cried so long that we took turns eating the food we’d ordered, with the other parent pacing outdoors. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/222 "2022-03-15T17:46:09Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I’ve never seen a live snake outside a zoo. Huh. I’ve seen many and caught a few, just because it’s fun to catch snakes. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/223 "2022-03-15T17:51:33Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > All that led me to wonder how gays spot each other in everyday situations? Many years later I encountered the term “gaydar.” I guessed that maybe a gay man lisping (or other affectation) was a way of putting out a signal. If I’m in the presence of a gay man and he isn’t interested in me or any other males in the room, maybe he doesn’t put out that signal or perhaps doesn’t exaggerate it. My understanding is that mostly they don’t. Couples meeting online is steadily growing over other forms of dating. But it’s far higher for gay men. Due to the lack of numbers and venues even in larger cities. ---
**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, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/224 "2022-03-15T17:57:51Z")
Unlike bear sightings that that is something I have encountered. In addition to numerous garter snakes, while hiking and camping I’ve come across rattlesnakes on 4 occasions. ---
**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, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/225 "2022-03-15T18:02:59Z")
[Not a lot of bears here in Georgia,](https://geology.com/stories/13/bear-areas/) but I’ve seen coyotes, deer, red-tail hawks, vultures, opossum and raccoons almost daily. But never once an Eastern Red Wolf or it’s signs. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/226 "2022-03-15T18:04:08Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > My understanding is that mostly they don’t. > > Couples meeting online is steadily growing over other forms of dating. But it’s far higher for gay men. Due to the lack of numbers and venues even in larger cities. I was surprised to see an ad for eHarmony the other day…now they also accept homosexuals. [Gay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k02sWz54Q4) [Lesbian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KXyjdXqlZE) The [founder of eHarmony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Clark_Warren) had a degree in Theology and another in psychology. The company stayed away from matching same-sex for some time. > Warren’s religious views were a reason for eHarmony’s lacking [same-sex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_relationship) matches. In 2004, Warren explained his position by commenting: “cities like San Francisco, Chicago or New York … they could shut [eHarmony] down so fast. We don’t want to make enemies out of them. But at the same time, I take a real strong stand against same-sex marriage, anywhere that I can comment on it.”[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Clark_Warren#cite_note-8) Pre-internet there were classifieds, and so on, and you could try moving to a target rich environment like San Francisco. But people also run into each other at supermarkets or whatever as they always have. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/227 "2022-03-15T18:26:15Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Maybe people in Chicago are just more polite? Speaking of, I’ve lived in the Chicago area all my life and have never seen anyone actually, legitimately, berated for getting ketchup on a hot dog or the wrong pizza or any of the other food related nonsense that’s supposed to happen. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/228 "2022-03-15T18:30:50Z")
People who light up a room when they walk in it. It’s often mentioned in obituaries but no one points it out when they’re still alive. Hey here comes that beacon of light entering the room. Where? Where? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/229 "2022-03-15T18:47:05Z")
I’ve seen plenty of rattlesnakes, and found a cute little grass snake about the size of a thick spaghetti. My first husband was afraid of snakes and got exposure therapy in the form of visiting the snake house at the zoo. By the time he graduated, he could identify any snake in Texas. “Careful honey, there’s a coral snake in that bush 10 feet ahead of us” ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/230 "2022-03-15T19:04:17Z")
I’ve never received a dick pick. I totally accept it is a thing that happens way too much to people looking for men to date, or just people unfortunate enough that somebody who possesses a dick and a camera wants to date them. Re: older men and younger women in academia I’ve been in academia my whole life, and it is something I’ve seen, but not something incredibly pervasive around me. A few of the older men who are constantly dating or having affairs with younger women would probably be doing it if they were insurance salesmen instead of professors. Academia does give them a continuous stream of young women to be creepy with, and occasionally one of the women will respond to the attention. (Or, you know, give into the sexual harassment and do what the abuser wants.) I’ve seen a few cases of “trading in for a younger model” with divorce and marriage. In all of the many professors I’ve worked with, though, this is really probably in the low single digits. So I can’t say it’s something I’ve never witnessed, but if somebody said it was happening constantly, I’d say, not in my experience, but I knew this one couple… ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/231 "2022-03-15T19:12:27Z")
My daughter is in college now but when she was younger I spent a lot of time taking her to parks & taking photos of her while she played with other kids. I was never myself, nor saw any other man accused of being a pedophile for hanging around the kids at the park and photographing them. I was also never congratulated by anyone for “baby sitting” my kid or had any other comments directed at me for doing normal parent stuff in a way that implied it was strange for a man to be doing that. I’ve often heard people say, “The average speed on {large highway} is {15 or more mph above speed limit}. If you don’t drive that fast people will hit you from behind!” Many of these roads were ones I commuted on daily near large cities with my cruise control set to the actual speed limit. I’d occasionally be passed but most cars were traveling right around the speed limit with me. The very occasional car that passed at a high speed would often be passed itself later pulled over by a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/232 "2022-03-15T19:21:55Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I’ve never seen a live snake outside a zoo Wow. Stop over sometime on a summer weekend. While doing yard work we see a snake or two most weekends. Garter snakes, eastern and central rat snakes, an occasional water snake by the pond, and a rare copperhead while hiking. I never saw a black bear in the wild until 15 years ago when I saw one in my yard. Since then I’ve seen one every other year or so. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/233 "2022-03-15T19:37:55Z")
As a Volunteer ranger I had to use my staff to scoot a one or two baby rattlers who were sunning on the path off into a safer area per trip. That is just rattlers. > [@echoreply](#): > > I’ve never received a dick pick. My ex said the same thing, although she said too many pics of guys wearing tiny bathing suits that showed off the equipment. Many did not have the body for it anyway, she said. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/234 "2022-03-15T19:56:39Z")
Growing up every single wannabe tough guy had the exact same “So I’m leaving a store/restaurant/club and I see some guy who’s been talking shit about me recently. I went up to him and told him why he was talking shit, and the guy was scared but he still tried to claim he could beat me up but the entire time all his friends were pulling him back telling him I was going to kick his ass so he ran off and stopped talking shit” I’ve heard variations of that story no joke over a dozen times, and I have never seen anything like that happen. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/235 "2022-03-15T20:06:54Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > I was never myself, nor saw any other man accused of being a pedophile for hanging around the kids at the park and photographing them. Same. I was a single parent dad for years and never got any flack (or special praise) for hanging out at the park, playground or in public with my kid. And that includes looking at other kids being cute, in a “just think kids having fun are enjoyable to see” sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/236 "2022-03-15T20:08:35Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I’ve never received a dick pick. On some boards your inbox would now be filled with festering ooze. Just sayin. Oh, and “pic”. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/237 "2022-03-15T20:17:11Z")
I never got actual flack, but I have been questioned a couple times by security guards when I was at playgrounds with my son. They’d ask if I was with anyone, I’d point out my son and they’d leave me alone. Generally this was at playgrounds in the downtown of major cities. Never happened in the suburbs where I actually live. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/238 "2022-03-15T21:03:24Z")
People un-ironically “complimenting” someone’s fedora or trilby. It doesn’t happen, sorry. ---
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/239 "2022-03-15T21:16:23Z")
Yep, same here, and I look (well, am) older than you’d expect a father of a little kid to be. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/240 "2022-03-15T21:50:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Oh, and “pic”. Oh, yeah, I’ve gotten tons of “dick pics”, it’s the “dick picks” I’ve never received. Wait, what are we talking about? [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/07/04/books/review/25Greenberg/merlin_188107737_4ba01537-a671-4c52-a515-cf45f5da97df-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp) ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/07/04/books/review/25Greenberg/merlin_188107737_4ba01537-a671-4c52-a515-cf45f5da97df-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp) [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=11) [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=13)