# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/381 "2022-03-22T23:48:50Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I have no idea what he was actually doing - but he said he was charged as a sex offender… Let me guess, he also claims he was Special Forces, right? But can’t tell you where, or reveal any specifics. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/382 "2022-04-04T00:12:40Z")
Grossout warning for this post. I just thought of another one, although I’ll admit that just because I haven’t ever witnessed it doesn’t mean it never happens, and it’s this: People who smear their bodily discharges, whatever they may be, all over the walls, etc. in a public restroom. The closest I’ve ever personally seen to this was somebody in an office (and they did eventually find out who it was) who was picking her nose and smearing her boogers on the restroom wall. Apparently it was the same woman who was suspected of leaving her used tampons on the restroom floor, until people started talking about it. I didn’t personally know the person, nor do I remember what happened to her, job-wise. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/383 "2022-04-04T00:19:51Z")
You’ve been lucky. I’ve occasionally seen it in a restroom I wanted to use, but when I worked in fast-food restaurants and had to clean the restrooms, at least once a week I encountered stalls smeared with bodily discharges - I was happy when it was only boogers. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/384 "2022-04-04T00:29:21Z")
I’m not going to spoiler this one, because it isn’t really shocking, considering the context. I was a hotel banquet server in college, as was my then-roommate, and we were working at a wedding reception and heard that someone had, shall we say, let it rip from both ends at the same time, and it smelled heavily of alcohol. It turned out to be a teenage girl who was running around the room, drinking out of glasses people had left on the tables. (A friend of ours who didn’t work there said, “Chances are, her parents tossed her into the back of a pickup truck and ran her through a car wash.”) My roommate and I both agreed that we would quit rather than clean than up - and even before management heard about this, two teenage dishwashers said, “We used to work at the McDonald’s near campus and had to do this all the time” and they put on long gloves and got plenty of rags and mops, and cleaned that up without batting an eye. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/385 "2022-04-06T01:53:05Z")
As someone who also posts on Reddit, there’s something people talk about a lot (keep in mind that it seems the average Redditor, at least on the boards I frequent, is about 20 years old, male, and Australian, FWIW) that airplane masturbation thread reminded me that I have never, to my knowledge, seen a man of any age doing that in public, and that includes a (junior) high school classroom. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/386 "2022-04-06T04:21:43Z")
DC too. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/387 "2022-04-07T04:16:33Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > [@Jay\_Z](#): > > > > Also happened in Go Dog Go. > > Naw, you’re remembering it wrong. Not a fedora or trilby. > > [Reddit - Dive into anything](https://i.redd.it/q4isbp64c2r01.jpg) I can’t resist this opportunity to post one of my all time favorite pieces > **[An Open Letter to the Female Hat-Wearing Dog From “Go Dog, Go” | The Ugly Volvo](http://theuglyvolvo.com/an-open-letter-to-the-female-hat-wearing-dog-from-go-dog-go/)** > > Attempts at Adulthood ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/388 "2022-04-07T04:25:52Z")
with spending 80 of my late childhood in various video arcades all over the country … I never saw a drug deal or booze being sold to anyone underage or underage people turning tricks or anything illegal like the 80s-90s tv would lead you to believe happened in then on a regular basis other than an occasional fight or someone getting tossed out because the game beat them and they kicked it or something Even underage smoking was a rare occurrence ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/389 "2022-04-07T12:50:36Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > I never saw a drug deal or booze being sold to anyone underage or underage people turning tricks or anything illegal like the 80s-90s tv would lead you to believe happened in then on a regular basis other than an occasional fight or someone getting tossed out because the game beat them and they kicked it or something Did you just go in the arcade, or did you go around back behind the building? I never saw underage people turning tricks, but the rest of it, absolutely. > [@nightshadea](#): > > Even underage smoking was a rare occurrence Yeah, we were all out back smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/390 "2022-04-07T14:18:58Z")
That’s great! Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/391 "2022-04-07T23:16:14Z")
Here’s another one: When a newly married couple cuts the cake and feeds it to each other, they smash it in each others’ faces. I have never seen that, although I’ve known a few couples who had it happen (usually the husband smashing it into the wife’s face) and those marriages didn’t end well. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/392 "2022-04-07T23:20:11Z")
One of my cousins had her new husband do it to her. It was definitely an omen. They were divorced less than a year later. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/393 "2022-04-08T13:35:53Z")
26 years ago, my wife did that to me. We’re still married. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/394 "2022-04-08T13:40:32Z")
My sister did that at her first wedding. The marriage ended, but after 13 years, 3 kids, and with reasonable amicableness. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/395 "2022-04-08T15:58:48Z")
That seems to be more of a sense of humor conflict than anything else. I wouldn’t think it very funny to smash cake into my new bride’s face. My wife shrieks with involuntary laughter when she sees someone (including me) slip and fall. Can’t help herself. I cringe seeing the same thing. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/396 "2022-04-08T15:59:41Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > A cup of water, microwaved, that afterwards suddenly bursts into boiling This just happened to me! It’s happened before, but only under “testing” conditions, where I deliberately tried to make it happen. I was heating a small amount of water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. The water was hot and steaming, but not at a rolling boil. As I went to pour the water, it started to violently boil. Not just a few bubbles, but splashing, and throwing water out of the cup. It was the type of explosive boiling that is warned about. The violent part probably lasted less than a second. Fortunately it was a 2-cup container with only \frac{3}{4} of a cup of water in it, and the boiling point here is about 202F, so only small drops hit me, and after flying through the air they were below scalding temperatures. I should start putting the salt in the water, not onto the dry oatmeal. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/397 "2022-04-08T21:55:32Z")
I don’t find Fatty Arbuckle shorts, which TCM plays a lot, funny, at least not in this manner. His shtick was 90% falling down, which I realize a lot of people think is funny, but I don’t, not in itself. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/398 "2022-04-09T06:46:09Z")
If you went to adult theaters back in the day of Deep Throat and other 35mm masterpieces, you would see men masturbating, most kinda sorta hiding it under a jacket. I wouldn’t call that _in public_, but I think the police did. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Here’s another one: When a newly married couple cuts the cake and feeds it to each other, they smash it in each others’ faces. I was told it is Good Luck if a _little_ of the icing gets on the nose, or whatever. But not _smashing._ ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/399 "2022-04-09T14:11:56Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > with spending 80 of my late childhood in various video arcades all over the country … I never saw a drug deal or booze being sold to anyone underage or underage people turning tricks or anything illegal like the 80s-90s tv would lead you to believe happened in then on a regular basis other than an occasional fight or someone getting tossed out because the game beat them and they kicked it or something > > Even underage smoking was a rare occurrence We would travel to all the arcades that were in bike riding distance. And what I mean by bike riding distance I would now consider an extreme distance and the route we took to be extremely dangerous. I never saw any of that activity at the arcade. However my 1980s high school had a smoking area so underage smoking was unremarkable. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-something-that-people-claim-happens-a-lot-but-you-have-rarely-or-never-witnessed-it/960965/400 "2022-05-20T20:58:11Z")
I swear I am the only person in existence who has not seen a UFO nor a ghost. ☹ [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=19) [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=21)