# What's the coolest insignificant thing you've done lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025 "2018-03-04T21:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/61 "2018-03-08T05:54:19Z")
As for me, I happened to be at my curling club on the day after the gold medal game at the Olympics, teaching some new people how to play. A camera crew from a local station was there getting some local reaction to the U.S. win and I can be seen in some of the shots. I need a haircut. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@MonkeyCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyCat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/62 "2018-03-08T21:18:00Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > And I do mean, “insignificant.” No bragging about rushing into a burning house to rescue a dozen puppies, or building your own reusable orbital vehicle in your garage on the weekends. I mean things that made you feel disproportionately cool relative to how meaningful the event was. > > For me, it was a couple of weeks ago at a food festival. We were standing around with our pre-dinner drinks, chatting with a couple we’d just met and with whom we were getting along fabulously. One of us noticed, and pointed out, a cockroach (excuse me…“Palmetto Bug”) on the floor. Not that big a deal, really - this is South Florida, and it was an outdoor venue. So that was it really. Nobody freaked or was disgusted or anything like that. We just noted its presence and moved on with the conversation. > > Until the wee beastie scurried in my direction, at which point I lifted the front part of my foot and brought it down squarely on the intruding insect. I hadn’t even lifted my heel off the floor. I hadn’t moved from where I was standing to intercept the bug; I hadn’t said, “watch this;” I hadn’t preceded the death blow with anything at all. It all happened incredibly quickly, and with no forethought. I just acted on pure instinct. > > Everyone paused for a quick minute. The other gentleman asked, “did you get him?” My wife just stared at me with a new-found respect for my cat-like reflexes. We discussed my lightning-quick action for a couple of minutes and decided that, yes, in that instant, I was really, really cool. When it came time to be seated for dinner, I topped it all off by pivoting on that foot and stepping off in such a way as to move the carcass into the soil around the base of an adjacent tree so that nobody would see the remains. > > I am not, in general, known for my physical prowess at…well…anything, really. In fact, I’m a bit of a klutz. But for one fleeting, glorious instant I was the vanquisher of vermin. I was the conquerer of cockroaches. I was a man among men. > > What have you done lately? Oh, I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. I’ve been proud of my prowess at doing something I should be ashamed of having gotten into and have had no one I can tell. (Except of course my Ambivalid.) So here, have my annoyingly vague post. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/63 "2018-03-08T22:01:24Z")
Bathed a ferret that is 1/4 European polecat and hates baths. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/64 "2018-03-08T22:03:29Z")
> [@tvaetbjorn](#): > > Oh, I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. I’ve been proud of my prowess at doing something I should be ashamed of having gotten into and have had no one I can tell. (Except of course my Ambivalid.) > > So here, have my annoyingly vague post. That’s what we call TMI here darling. (or at least approaching it). Hush you. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/65 "2018-03-09T00:26:12Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > As for me, I happened to be at my curling club on the day after the gold medal game at the Olympics, teaching some new people how to play. A camera crew from a local station was there getting some local reaction to the U.S. win and I can be seen in some of the shots. We have a curling team? And it beat Canada? One of the things I most miss about living in Canada is watching curling on the TV’s in the sports bars. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/66 "2018-03-09T03:19:15Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > We have a curling team? And it beat Canada? One of the things I most miss about living in Canada is watching curling on the TV’s in the sports bars. We have a curling team, and it beat Canada twice! I did watch a few of the games at sports bars. Not the final, though; are Canadian sports bars open at 4 in the morning? ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/67 "2018-03-09T03:32:55Z")
I accidentally just wound up in an Instagram post that has over a million views and was shared all over the internet. No autographs, please. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/68 "2018-03-09T06:48:02Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Bathed a ferret that is 1/4 European polecat and hates baths. I had no idea they could cross breed. (Pics, plz?) ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/69 "2018-03-10T00:20:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > We have a curling team, and it beat Canada twice! I did watch a few of the games at sports bars. Not the final, though; are Canadian sports bars open at 4 in the morning? They weren’t in Ontario, I wasn’t there during the Olympics. I just liked watching the normal curling that was at the sports bars. You know, Canadian Bundes League or whatever they have. ---
**Author:** ![ProudPuppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@ProudPuppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProudPuppy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/70 "2018-03-10T02:08:05Z")
One time I was traveling across the US. I went into a Walmart to buy some things and when I got back to my car, for some reason I don’t remember, I took a good look at the receipt. The cashier had undercharged me. I checked my math and I was sure of it. I could have just got in my car and hit the road. Instead I went back in and showed it to the guy, gave him my credit card and he charged me the correct amount. I’m not a perfect person by any means, but I always felt good about that. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/71 "2018-03-10T09:54:21Z")
I switched my Tivo’s from unreliable WiFi to reliable Moca (in spite of Tivo’s unreliable instructions). My dog considered this insignificant. I disagreed. An argument ensued. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/72 "2018-03-10T15:46:29Z")
Caught a cold from a student Thursday evening. I was already feeling the scratchy throat a mere 2 hours later. Woke up with it burning like hell. But my GP had given me an “HCL” nasal spray (tho I think it has salt and not hydrochloric acid in it) to help me kill the sinus infection I got from my last cold 2 months ago. Started snorting that twice a day right off the bat-and woke up today with all symptoms in rapid diminishment. No idea if it helped kill any viruses/bacteria, but not complaining… ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/73 "2018-03-10T16:16:34Z")
I was taking a class (at a knitting retreat) that involved a bunch of math. Basic arithmetic mostly. Teacher said you should get out your calculator. Everyone else pulls out phones. My phone is in my room on the charger. So I start doing math on the margins of the pattern sheet. Teacher notices and asks if I need to go get my phone. No, I say, let’s see if I can still do basic arithmetic. People start offering me their phones. No, I say. I’m good. At the end of the exercise the teacher asked me to read my answers. They were all correct. Class gave me a round of applause. Well, I may be old and slow but I can still do basic arithmetic. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/74 "2018-03-10T17:40:20Z")
I cashiered for two young (20’s) young women who wanted to split the bill. Before one could take out her device, I gave them the correct answer. After verifying the answer on the device, they looked at me in total awe. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/75 "2018-03-15T16:53:24Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I was taking a class (at a knitting retreat) that involved a bunch of math. Basic arithmetic mostly. Teacher said you should get out your calculator. Everyone else pulls out phones. My phone is in my room on the charger. So I start doing math on the margins of the pattern sheet. Teacher notices and asks if I need to go get my phone. No, I say, let’s see if I can still do basic arithmetic. People start offering me their phones. No, I say. I’m good. > > At the end of the exercise the teacher asked me to read my answers. They were all correct. Class gave me a round of applause. Well, I may be old and slow but I can still do basic arithmetic. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I cashiered for two young (20’s) young women who wanted to split the bill. Before one could take out her device, I gave them the correct answer. After verifying the answer on the device, they looked at me in total awe. Asimov wrote a story ([The Feeling of Power](https://urbigenous.net/library/power.html)) about an age in which people are so dependent on computers that no one knows anymore how to do math on paper or in their head. When the technique is accidentally rediscovered, a breakthrough is made when someone realizes that instead of trying to put a huge computer (the story was written in the 1950s) on a missile to calculate its trajectory, they could use much smaller missiles with humans taught to do the math and send them on the suicide missions. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/76 "2018-03-17T18:50:27Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I had no idea they could cross breed. (Pics, plz?) Domesticated ferrets are the [domesticated form of the European polecat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret). and can readily breed with the wild version. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025/77 "2018-03-17T23:25:05Z")
I had my picture taken with [Michael Fishman](http://roseanne.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Fishman), DJ from **Roseanne.** He was in town for SXSW plugging the show’s revival. He promises that the return of Dead Dan will be satisfactorily explained in the first ten minutes. Nice guy. Very adept at answering questions pleasantly without holding up the line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-insignificant-thing-youve-done-lately/810025.md?page=3)