# What's the most overrated thing, in your opinion? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2008, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540 "2008-09-07T22:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/41 "2008-09-08T15:24:51Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > On the other hand, I probably wouldn’t use a GPS device if you gave it to me free with service. Since I don’t drive to unfamiliar places very often, I just wouldn’t have much use for it. GPS service is free - FYI I use mine for much more than getting me to unfamiliar places. It tells me how far I have left in my trip (in miles and in time) and how far it is to my next turn. Also, at any point in the trip, I can see what is nearby. Got a hankerin for Subway? Push a couple of buttons and see that there’s one at the exit two miles down the road. Need to fill up and want to earn points on your Shell card or BP or Citgo? You can find the nearest gas station and what brands are available. I don’t use my GPS as a necessity, but as a convience. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/42 "2008-09-08T15:43:03Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > I’m going to go with romantic love. > > I strongly disagree with “It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” > > I wish I could have known what it was like to spend my formative years _not_ pursuing the elusive “true love” that we’re all supposed to find, against stiff odds. That is a great answer and something I thought about this weekend. Romantic love is simply an endogenous drug, naturally induced, brain state. It isn’t normal in the sense of being rational and sustainable. You may continue too have affectionate feelings for this person for the long-haul but probably not. If you do end up staying with the person in question, this initial euphoria is still going to go poof at some point and shift over to something else. There is no reason why every other song, movie, TV show and others should have romantic theme as a key plot point. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/43 "2008-09-08T15:45:22Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Similarly, sex. I like it, it’s great fun, I spend a lot of time thinking about it, and I fully believe that the meaning of life is to fuck long, hard, and often, i.e., be fruitful and multiply, but I’ve yet to have that absolutely mind-blowing experience that has been immortalized in practically every form of human expression, and think it’s just the eensiet bit overblown. > > Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, and hope I will be. I doubt it, though. You know, **Aesiron** , you are completely right. And I never realized it until you said something. I’ve had good sex. I’ve had great sex. But it’s never, ever as good as it was in my mind. I’ve never fallen on my back afterward, exhausted, singing praises to the epicness of the legendary coitus I just had. Mebbe I need to find a copy of the Kama Sutra… ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/44 "2008-09-08T16:06:18Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > GPS service is free - FYI > > I use mine for much more than getting me to unfamiliar places. It tells me how far I have left in my trip (in miles and in time) and how far it is to my next turn. > > Also, at any point in the trip, I can see what is nearby. Got a hankerin for Subway? Push a couple of buttons and see that there’s one at the exit two miles down the road. Need to fill up and want to earn points on your Shell card or BP or Citgo? You can find the nearest gas station and what brands are available. I don’t use my GPS as a necessity, but as a convience. For an American driving in Europe it is an absolute necessity! Getting from A to B with all the little no named windy roads going through tiny lil towns… So easy to just dial it in and follow the instructions as you go! Not only is it great for, say, driving to Paris. But when you get there, you can dial in every important “must see” and drive from place to place. Forget thos packed photo tours on some huge bus… do it in your car and take pictures standing out of the sun roof. So much more fun, and if you want to stop at a place, you’re free to do it. Find a place to park, hang out… then when you’re ready you start up your tour again. Fuck a map! ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/45 "2008-09-08T16:21:57Z")
I don’t think sex has to be as good as \*\*Agent Foxtrot \*\*describes in order for it to be thought of as highly as it is. To me, there are things in my life that make me happy, but sex with my wife is about the best of all physical, emotional, romantic and spiritual feelings all wrapped into one. Not every time, mind you, but easily 75% of the time. I don’t think it’s overrated because there’s no other way to spend quality time with someone I love, get a great physical sensation from it, and more importantly, know that what I’m doing is bringing about (or at least contributing to) similar joy on her part, while fulfilling fantasies (even if not for the first time) and it’s all free, and can be done in any number of places in the comfort of our own home, whenever we want. If nothing else has gone well in the course of a day, I know that there will always be at least one bright spot that for that hour, will always make me forget the crappiness of the day. No, not overrated. It’s a staple of my human existence. Computer/video games- now _they’re_ overrated. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/46 "2008-09-08T17:20:57Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > Consumer Choice. Call me a Communist Communist. [spittooey!] No one else has said it, so I’ll say it- Obama. More lightheartedly, SATs/ACTs. Never took a damn one of them. I’ll have a BA in December from Pitt. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/47 "2008-09-08T17:27:18Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Going to the movies, my God. If I wanted to get more annoyed I would just go to work. With cell phones bleeping and inane conversation and the munching sound of everyone in the theater eating popcorn. I’ll just wait for the dvd. > Oh! I forgot about the endless trailers for future movies and now bonus commercials which I kind of thought was the point of paying 9+ dollars not to have to see them. > > Maybe I will start a pit thread on this. If you do, I will join in. I can’t comprehend those who say things like, “Oh, it’s the premiere! Opening weekend! Aren’t you going to SEE IT??” It’s not that important. Sure, there are films I would like to see, but I can wait. They don’t take that long anymore to arrive on DVD. And ditto everything you said. I like being able to control my environment when I watch a movie. ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/48 "2008-09-08T17:36:01Z")
Homeland Security. I felt safer as a child, huddled underneath my school desk sucking my thumb; than I do now. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/49 "2008-09-08T17:39:40Z")
My center penis. Women see it and say “Oh my god! I’ve got to have some of that! Hold on just a second while I get my kneepads!” when, as my wife could tell them, the LEFT penis is the really noteworthy one. I mean, JUST because the center penis is 14 inches long and bifurcated… ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/50 "2008-09-08T17:40:57Z")
Radiohead. I even like them well enough, particularly their older, more-rock-less-“experimental” stuff, but jeez. Some people act like Radiohead is the second coming of the Beatles or something. Thom York really just sounds kinda like a whiny bitch. I’m enough of a whiny bitch that I don’t need Thom’s help. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/51 "2008-09-08T17:41:54Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > My center penis. Women see it and say “Oh my god! I’ve got to have some of that! Hold on just a second while I get my kneepads!” when, as my wife could tell them, the LEFT penis is the really noteworthy one. I mean, JUST because the center penis is 14 inches long and bifurcated… And this is the being who keeps trying to take over the world. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/52 "2008-09-08T17:44:06Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And this is the being who keeps trying to take over the world. Hmm. Oh, kwityerbitching. I’ll go ahead and let you have Vancouver Island after the bees are done with it. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/53 "2008-09-08T17:47:10Z")
Texas Face it, with a few small exceptions, the state is a wasteland. Flat, boring, monotonous. The beaches are dirty and the water is too hot. The big cities are ugly and soulless. The small towns are insular and unfriendly to outsiders. Church there is a like a football game played in an amusement park. The people have no concept of style or sophistication - the way Texans express themselves individually is by size. Bigger house, bigger car, bigger belt buckle, bigger hair. And by talking louder than any other group of humans on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/54 "2008-09-08T17:47:57Z")
Tabbed browsing. Sure, it’s nice that I have only one icon in my toolbar, but I don’t see why that triggers raging hard-ons in some people. When I shifted to Firefox, it was because IE6 was painfully slow and had massive security holes that let the CoolWebSurfer Trojan install itself on my machine. Being able to open a new tab instead of a new window was pretty low on my priority list. ---
**Author:** ![Teaira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9d8465/32.png) [@Teaira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teaira)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/55 "2008-09-08T18:04:04Z")
Alcohol. Whenever I drink too much I feel anxious and sick, and can’t wait for the feeling to go away. But a lot of people love it so it’s probably just me. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/56 "2008-09-08T18:06:31Z")
> [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](#): > > Faith. I see it touted everywhere as this fundamental necessity of existence that mankind would wither and die without. > > Don’t really get it, to be honest. You are my new god. I don’t have anything original to say, but I will second the following: Television: a great time- and energy-sucker (and not it a good way) Movies in theaters: just not worth it Oh, and maybe I am the first one to add specifically: Brand Name merchandise (especially clothing, bags, shoes, and that sort of thing). If I never see another Polo/Versace/Louis Vuitton whatsit again, it will be way too soon. Especially that meretricious crap that expects me to wear their name plastered all over my being in order to further advertise the fact that I am a dork. I don’t need it, you can see just by looking. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![MsFancyPlants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@MsFancyPlants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsFancyPlants)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/57 "2008-09-08T18:17:23Z")
Football. And I’ve spent the majority of my life in the midst of SEC mania and I still don’t get it - not at all. The bright side is I can skip the sports section of the paper for the next 4 months knowing I haven’t missed anything plus the streets, stores and restaurants in my city are deserted on Saturday afternoons/evenings. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/58 "2008-09-08T18:31:07Z")
HDTV. For the paltry sum of $1,000 minimum you can watch the same stuff I can watch, only BETTER!!!11! Enjoy your better picture, suckers. I’ll be watching the game same as you. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/59 "2008-09-08T18:47:04Z")
On the music side, I’m going to throw in Tool as being on of the most overrated bands ever. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540/60 "2008-09-08T18:49:04Z")
Smells Like Teen Spirit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-overrated-thing-in-your-opinion/462540.md?page=4)