# What's the least important thing that you're really, really good at? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166 "2010-02-23T20:57:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/141 "2010-02-26T16:19:58Z")
I’m good at deciphering those 3D Magic Eye photos. I just mess up my vision and sort it out, I don’t have to bring the picture close and far and close again to my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/142 "2010-02-26T16:51:10Z")
> [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](#): > > I can smoothly flip almost any coin back and forth over the tops of my fingers. I’ve never quite been able to get the hang of this. I can roll the coin backwards and forwards on my hand, not always very smoothly admittedly, but I just can seem to get how to get to coin from the last knuckle to the first one. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I can poop in perfect silence. Do you also roll it into little balls? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/143 "2010-02-26T16:56:43Z")
Nah, I usually leave that to those who write on bathroom walls. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@Big\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Blue)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/144 "2010-02-26T17:03:24Z")
I am excellent at spotting leopard slugs in the dark. > **[Limax maximus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limax_maximus)** > > Limax maximus (literally, "biggest slug"), known by the common names great grey slug and leopard slug, is a species of slug in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs. It is among the largest keeled slugs, Limax cinereoniger being the largest. > Limax maximus is the type species of the genus Limax. The adult slug measures 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in length and is generally a light greyish or grey-brown with darker spots and blotches, although the coloration and exact patterning of the body of this sl... I also have a very steady hand. I can paint adjoining walls and ceilings contrasting colors with an incredibly sharp edge exactly at the seam where they meet. I can also paint a straight line along seams and edges that are completely irregular and achieve the illusion of an absolutely straight line. Comes in handy living in old, plaster walled houses. Saves me a bundle on painters tape, too. I guess it’s not a completely useless talent. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/145 "2010-02-26T17:26:47Z")
I can fart like no other. My mother-in-law, sitting two rooms and closed doors away, says: “how can a human make such a sound?” ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/146 "2010-02-26T17:34:04Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > 😃 > > No, I’m just not good at anything. ☹ > > Trying to think of talents I have that are in no way useful… Uhh, I can gift-wrap like a MFer! Also very useful . . . I find gift-wrapping to be tedious and painful and I’m bad at it and then always feel like a terrible human being when I present my awkwardly-wrapped gift to the giftee and OHMIGOD but they must be noticing the crooked tape and how is everyone else’s wrapped so much better than mine??? Only dancing makes me more anxious and self-conscious. Oh, and sport-playing. But I can avoid the latter pretty well. Yup, am clearly social force to be dealt with. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/147 "2010-02-26T17:54:55Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > **Gleet**? > Um. That’s… special? Don’t mind me, I’m going to edge nervously the hell away from you and your _projectile gonorrhoea discharge_. Wow, you kinda had to dig for that one. [Here](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gleet)’s the first google entry: > [@](#): > > \*\*1. gleet \*\* > > The ejection of saliva directly out of ones salvatory [_sic_] glands and out of his/her mouth. The technique is hard to master. You must quickly press the tip of your tounge [_sic_] against the back of your front teeth, while doing so you must “push down” on the lower part of your toung [_sic_] where the elastic-like tendon that connects the tounge [_sic_] to the bottom of the mouth joins the tounge. [_sic_] It is hard to do, but once done, it it’s even harder to master. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/148 "2010-02-26T17:56:53Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I’m going to assume he meant [gleeking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleeking), but I confess I’m going to think of projectile gonorrheal discharge every time I see his user name for a good long while. Even your link gives “gleek” as a secondary definition of “gleet.” I’ma stick with my original usage. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/149 "2010-02-26T18:00:35Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Wow, you kinda had to dig for that one. [Here](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gleet)’s the first google entry: Wow, I kinda didn’t. That’s pretty much every entry that came up with a Google search \*for the term’s definition \*(anything I deleted was more of the same), and I can’t get to [urbandictionary.com](http://urbandictionary.com) from work. Some dialects may have come to use gleet as a synonym for gleek, but it sure didn’t start out that way. Not to mention, the only entry in [an \*actual \*online dictionary](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gleet) (as opposed to the “shit people make up” entries you can get on UD) agrees with the definition I pulled up. If anybody’s digging here, it’s you. Note: Which isn’t to say that your definition for gleet isn’t equally valid–just that it’s the less commonly accepted one. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/150 "2010-02-26T18:08:15Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Even your link gives “gleek” as a secondary definition of “gleet.” I’ma stick with my original usage. I don’t know from either “gleet” or “gleek” but we used to call spitting through your teeth as “skeeting” and I was pretty good with that in high school days. The cool wore off by the time I was in college, though. I always wanted to be able to fart on cue, but burping is as good as I’ve been able to get. Just for laughs, do any of you other Burp Experts have favorite words you burp with? Mine include “Gack” and “Zarf.” Occasionally I’ll use “Framp.” And how often have you burped, farted and sneezed at the same time. More room out than in, sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/151 "2010-02-26T18:39:55Z")
OK so what skills still need to be represented? Can anyone– \*\* \*\*tie a cherry stem in a knot inside your mouth? \*\* \*\*walk on your hands until you’re tired of it? \*\* \*\*part your hair perfectly in the dark? \*\* \*\*wrist-flip an egg without breaking the yolk or getting it on the ceiling? \*\* \*\*balance a chair on your nose? \*\* \*\*step through your clasped hands like a jumprope? \*\* \*\*consistently skip a stone 6 or more times? \*\* \*\*mysteriously make any baby stop crying? \*\* \*\*walk a tightrope? \*\* \*\*predict the weather? \*\* \*\*do a perfect Phyllis Diller impression? \*\* \*\*identify which Wisconsin town someone comes from by accent? \*\* \*\*fart a melody? \*\* \*\*fold a map perfectly every single time? \*\* \*\*find actual needle in an actual haystack? \*\* \*\*shell a walnut without breaking it every time? (or pecan?) \*\* \*\*gauge distance by eyeball alone? \*\* \*\*spit with deadly accuracy? \*\* \*\*put makeup on while driving, including eyeliner or it doesn’t count? \*\* \*\*speak cat? \*\* \*\*catch an M&M in your mouth every single time? \*\* \*\*spin toss pizza dough to paper thinness? \*\* \*\*guess the number of beans in a jar? \*\* \*\*make a perfect martini every single time without measuring? \*\* \*\*explain directions to a stranger without any ambiguity or confusion? \*\* \*\*whip together a gourmet meal using nothing but the contents of the refrigerator door? \*\* \*\*read a Tolkien book aloud with distinct voices for every single character? \*\* \*\*land a paper airplane exactly where you intended to? \*\* \*\*lie your way out of any situation? \*\* \*\*make a bed tight enough to bounce a dime off of with no fitted sheets? \*\* \*\*get along with any date’s parents? \*\* \*\*fold an entire load of laundry without looking at it once while you watch TV? \*\* \*\*other\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/152 "2010-02-26T18:47:22Z")
I’d forgotten one I used to be able to do without fail. I could make one of those paper water bombs the exact size of the amount of piss that was in my bladder. It was for tossing out the window of the 13th floor of our building without regard for what it might hit. It was for the thrill, you understand. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/153 "2010-02-26T19:05:43Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > \*\* \*\*speak cat? I’m not sure if you can count it as ‘speaking’ cat, but I can make cat noises that sound remarkably realistic. I mostly use it to further annoy one my parents’ cats when she wants down and I don’t want to let go. I imitate her. It’s funny as hell, and thus not at all unimportant. 😃 I’ve also used it (making nice sounds) to get stray / outdoor cats to come over to me before we had cats. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/154 "2010-02-26T19:26:41Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > I’m not sure if you can count it as ‘speaking’ cat, but I can make cat noises that sound remarkably realistic. I mostly use it to further annoy one my parents’ cats when she wants down and I don’t want to let go. I imitate her. It’s funny as hell, and thus not at all unimportant. 😃 > > I’ve also used it (making nice sounds) to get stray / outdoor cats to come over to me before we had cats. Yeah me too. I’ve bottle raised a couple rescue newborn kittens, and I kind of “learned” the vocabulary as they did. I could honestly communicate very specific things with them. It freaks stranger cats out sometimes, when I’m walking down the street and give them the “Yo dude whut up” [meh?]. I can do that territorial warning kind of gobbly \*miararararrrr \*thing too. It’s really funny to do that out of the side of my mouth when I pass a cat in the neighborhood; they do actual double takes. I can also make little bird sounds into my fist, so that my cat thinks I’m clutching some tiny little prey animal. Freaks their shit out when I won’t open my hand so they can get at it, and then even moreso when I do open it and it’s “escaped” before they can get it. One cat would, when I opened my hand, swivel-jerk her head in all directions trying to see where it went, then look for it for a while, figure out where it was hiding. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/155 "2010-02-26T19:34:17Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > \*\* \*\*balance a chair on your nose? I’ve never done it with a chair, but I’ve done pretty well with a peacock feather. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/156 "2010-02-26T19:47:56Z")
I can’t balance a chair on my nose - but I used to be able to balance various things on my head. ---
**Author:** ![Woozy\_Pin\_Bin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Woozy\_Pin\_Bin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woozy_Pin_Bin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/157 "2010-02-27T01:19:02Z")
OK, I’ll bite…not bragging, mind you. Just helping the cause. > [@](#): > > tie a cherry stem in a knot inside your mouth? ---
**Author:** ![LAV25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@LAV25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAV25)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/158 "2010-02-28T23:24:33Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > OK so what skills still need to be represented? Can anyone– > \*\* \*\*explain directions to a stranger without any ambiguity or confusion? Worked at 9-1-1 for a few years, directions are easy **IF** the stranger in question knows concepts like North, South, East and West. Let me tell you, that’s a big if. -val ---
**Author:** ![History\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/67e7ee/32.png) [@History\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Monk)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/159 "2010-02-28T23:55:28Z")
I can fold gas stations maps back up fairly quickly and easily, and untangle string. Also, if you show me a two-dimensional paper pattern of any solid shape (cone, cube, rhomboid, whatever) I can tell you what shape it will be when it’s cut and folded and glued. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166/160 "2010-03-01T00:49:55Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Back in the day, I was a cashier at a supermarket. I was a fracking wiz typing in the prices and departments of the items on the keypad. My fingers would absoloutely _fly_. A fracking wiz, I tell you. Customers have told me they purposely sought out my line. Others pored over their receipts, certain that I could not have been accurate. > > This was, obviously, before price scanners. > > Useless-enough, skill-wise, for ya? Useless? No. Will you please come out of retirement and work at my local supermarket? Even with scanners, seems like everything is wrong when I look at the receipt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-important-thing-that-youre-really-really-good-at/530166.md?page=9)