# Would this make you cancel dinner plans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023 "2010-01-07T13:46:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/41 "2010-01-07T21:47:57Z")
It would have bothered me too, but I definitely would have suggested that we either go home so I can change, or just pick up a new skirt/pants. Or I could always go out to dinner another day, it’s not such a big deal to go that canceling it is a big deal at all. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/42 "2010-01-07T21:53:28Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Yep. I wish I could find the thread. Me too! I’m thinking of throwing up in their car _right now_ and I’d like to know where the parties in question plan on throwing it out. And I’m considering spitting on the keys so they get tossed too. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/43 "2010-01-07T22:00:13Z")
It sounds amazingly childish to me, and I’d assume this person is frequently the center of drama and attention. OTOH, “I ripped my dress” might be family code for, “I shit mah pants!” ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/44 "2010-01-07T22:06:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > A bit of an overreaction, IMHO. I wouldn’t have cancelled my plans, under the circumstances. Just try to keep it hidden. > > Heh. There was a teacher at my prep school who was notorious for barfing into a garbage can in the middle of the class, wiping her mouth and then _continuing to teach_ until the end of the class. I doubt her students heard another word she said as they stared, horrified, at the can. Notorious? As in, this happened a number of times? :eek: Flu? Alcohol? Cancer? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/45 "2010-01-07T22:10:12Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > He points to it and I shit you not; it was about 1/3 the size of a US penny. > > “Um, no, I don’t think anyone noticed.” :rolleyes: There was a study quoted in **Nudge** by Thaler and Sunstein showing that people pay a lot less attention to you than you think they do. (Generic you here.) Perhaps the person in question felt like everyone was staring at the tear? As for me, I wear holes in the seat of my pants, never in the crotch. I feel somehow inadequate now. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/46 "2010-01-07T23:00:31Z")
It’s a sign of the times… From the _I Love Lucy Show_ Lucy gets a loving cup stuck on her head. Ethel has to take her to the silversmith to get it cut off and they have to go on the subway. Ethel) Wait here Lucy while I change out my blue jeans Lucy) Well If I can go on the subway with a loving cup on my head you can certainly go in blue jeans Ethel) Lucy, I have never in my life been on a subway in my blue jeans and I don’t intend to start now. ---
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/47 "2010-01-08T12:24:31Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And there have been times when my pants split a little or I had some other wardrobe malfunction. Getting home and fixing the situation became very important to me, to the point where I couldn’t enjoy whatever it was I was doing. I can see that being the case, I’ve split my pants and then worried about it all day, but only when it’s been visible and I haven’t been able to cover up or staple them back together. To be honest though, changing plans when the enjoyment of someone else will be affected? Suck it up, even if it will make it less enjoyable for yourself. Stop being childish, you’re not the only one who wants dinner. I’d find it pretty rude if whoever I was out with canceled on me over something this minor. ETA: Just to clarify, that’s the ‘generic’ you. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/48 "2010-01-08T12:39:38Z")
Actually, this happened to me just before Christmas, at the school fair (except it was a shirt, on a rather viscious projecting spike on the giant slide at the school fair). I can’t say the idea of going home because of it even really occurred to me - we even went up the slide again about a dozen times. I did keep a careful eye on the hazard though. Didn’t make anybody go home when my son tore the entire back out of his shirt climbing a tree at the park last week either (though his shirt did end up as bin fodder, unlike mine) ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/49 "2010-01-08T13:14:06Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Me too! I’m thinking of throwing up in their car _right now_ and I’d like to know where the parties in question plan on throwing it out. My brother and his girlfriend boozed it up to excess at a party one time. On the ride home (they weren’t driving) they both felt the rising urge to hurl and had to pull over. I suggested that the next time, they just open the sun roof, pop their heads out and let loose –a striking visual image, to be sure, that I thought hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/50 "2010-01-08T13:29:56Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > Given that I rarely get adults-only nights anyway, nothing short of tearing the skirt in half or ripping it such that my underwear would be obviously visible would make me stay home. I thought that the purpose of adult-only nights away was for tearing of skirts and ripping away of underwear? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/51 "2010-01-08T14:08:33Z")
Well considering that one time I went out commando with a hole about 2 inches in diametre in the crotch of my pants (I didn’t know). I was sitting on the bus wondering why the lady opposite was giving me the stinkeye. Then I realised I was getting a little more air than I should be. Whoops. Just made sure to be careful for the rest of the day… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/52 "2010-01-08T14:13:35Z")
> [@Neverender](#): > > To be honest though, changing plans when the enjoyment of someone else will be affected? Suck it up, even if it will make it less enjoyable for yourself. Stop being childish, you’re not the only one who wants dinner. I’d find it pretty rude if whoever I was out with canceled on me over something this minor. Yeah, I can’t remember ever cancelling plans with someone over something like that. I imagine that I might alter the plans slightly so I can take care of the problem. Maybe “I have to run home for a sec, so I’ll be running about 20 minutes late.” One time I specifically remember was when I was meeting a friend for dinner and a movie. On the way there a pigeon loosed its bowels all over my shirt. I managed to do a bit of cleanup in a public restroom, but it was pretty obvious what had happened. Luckily, the young lady in question was someone I’d known for a long time and she had a good sense of humor about it. Had it been a first date, I don’t know what I would have done. I wouldn’t have stood her up, I just would have made a horrible first impression and the night would have sucked. (I wouldn’t have been able to postpone, as this was before anyone had cellphones.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/53 "2010-01-09T05:13:54Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Me too! I’m thinking of throwing up in their car _right now_ and I’d like to know where the parties in question plan on throwing it out. And I’m considering spitting on the keys so they get tossed too. Hell, I’m picturing people barfing **all over their house** now. Time to move! ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/54 "2010-01-09T05:43:55Z")
Cancel dinner? I recently went out to my birthday dinner wearing jeans with a hole in the ass _on purpose_ because they’re my favorite jeans and damned if a hole in the ass is going to stop me from wearing them. (I wore my knee-length coat over them. Don’t worry, I’m not so trashy.) ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/55 "2010-01-09T06:40:14Z")
Thanks for all the thoughtful responses and the wonderful vomit imagery! She didn’t seem too upset the next day, though she did mentto ion the incident to our boss, and said she was very upset because the skirt was brand-new. I was more concerned about the fact that her husband and daughter, who had just sat through a movie and were hungry, had to wait until they got home and she could make dinner, to eat, when the restaurant was just two floors above us. I just thought that since they were looking forward eating out, that she could have at least discussed it with her husband before she made the decision…I felt bad for him. The daughter…not so much, she’s only 4! One comment she did make was that they had a touch of testiness in the car on the way home over paying for the parking in the parking lot. I won’t bore you with that story, but when she was musing about why he got so over-the-top upset about the incident, I couldn’t help myself…I said, "“Maybe he was just hungry and that’s why he snapped at you” and she actually agreed! She didn’t come close to anything resembling remorse at cutting everyone’s fun short, though. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/56 "2010-01-09T07:07:19Z")
She sounds like a real piece of work to me. What mother would have her toddler go hungry and ruin all their plans over something so trivial? I’ll bet she’s a terror at home, with her husband catering to her every whim to keep her happy. Or I could be overreacting. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/57 "2010-01-09T16:30:38Z")
all this makes me feel strangely prepared… i’ve got an emergency sewing kit in my glove box with safety pins, and an extra shirt and pants in my trunk, in case of bird “attacks”… which i actually used last week for bird attacks. go figure. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/58 "2010-01-09T23:55:22Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > She sounds like a real piece of work to me. What mother would have her toddler go hungry and ruin all their plans over something so trivial? I’ll bet she’s a terror at home, with her husband catering to her every whim to keep her happy. Or I could be overreacting. You’re overreacting. She’s a doting mom who, if anythig, is a little too concerned with making sure her child eats at regular intervals. This child thrives on a tight routine, and would have been excessively crabby if she had been hungry. They live only a few minutes away, in any case, though running home and back was out of the question because only he drives, and they were in a pay parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/59 "2010-01-10T00:40:35Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > No point asking me. I once tore the crotch of my pants at work and went to the toilet and stapled them together to get through the day. Thank god. I now know I’m not the only one who was worn a pair of staple-secured pants for most of a day 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023/60 "2010-01-10T02:30:48Z")
Ha! My work apron is currently stapled…lol. And I own three sewing machines…sigh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-make-you-cancel-dinner-plans/524023.md?page=4)