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People Break Down Their Weirdest Habits

Photo by My Life Journal on Unsplash

Usually, nobody knows when or why they started to do it. But the strange routine, tendency, or personality quirk surely dug its heels in long ago and shows no signs of going away any time soon.

Many people assumed the habit was normal, just something everybody did and never talked about, like some untapped, relatable example for an observational comic to call on sometime in the future.

But then they had a revelation. Someone, often innocently enough, asked why they did that thing. The question, above all, identified the habit as a thing of its own.

A uniqueness just minor enough to straddle the line between alienating tick and point of pride, the quirk was exposed but doomed to be repeated nonetheless. After all, it was now fully engrained.

The facade of normalcy was destroyed, and the only place to go was a Reddit thread where the other crestfallen weirdos ended up.

BIG_Sensei asked, "Reddit, What's a weird habit of yours you didn't think was weird until someone mentioned it?"

Vampiric Slumbers

"Shared a hotel with a buddy during a trip and he told me I sleep like I'm embalmed... arms crossed, on my back, stiff as a board." -- kukukele

"I do the same thing but sleep on my stomach. I call it reverse coffin." -- kellzyeah__87

"Anytime I travel with friends, my SO reminds me to warn them about my sleeping habits as it's caused some alarm in the past. I don't move, I don't make a sound, and am a very deep sleeper, same position, on my back, arms crossed."

"I've had multiple friends think that I've passed away in my sleep and freaked them right the fuck out." -- AliCracker

Moley

"I sniff every cup before I use it. Don't know why."

"Burrowing in my sleep as well. I have to have my head covered for me to be comfortable. Didn't think it was weird until a college roommate pointed out that he always could tell when I was going to sleep because I just put my pillow or my covers over my head beforehand."

"I've had people come into my room when I'm asleep and thought nobody was there so I guess it's a nice defense mechanism against predators."

-- CinnaSol

"Engage Retraction"

"I sometimes use my tongue like a CD slot when eating chips. Didn't even realise I was doing this until my friend suddenly burst out laughing while we were hanging out." -- Exact_Potato

"I don't quite understand how one uses their tongue like a CD slot." -- SaruCharmed

"You mean catching the chips like a frog would a fly?" -- Maleoppressor

While You're In There

"One day I was taking a shower with my wife and I discover that she washes her underpants in the shower and uses the newly washed underpants as sponge to help to clean her body. I said 'wtf?' and she said that her mom taught her to do that."

"And just like that I found that females on her family have this weird shower tradition."

-- CidVerte

Homeostasis

"Whenever I touch or bump something (especially on accident) I feel like I have to repeat that action on the same spot on the other half of my body. Now it's getting to the point where my brain just does it without consulting me first, and it's gotten me some weird looks/comments." -- Legoleaf125

"Hoooolyyyyy sh** I thought this was just me. I don't do it much anymore but as a kid if I got an itch on my right knee and scratched it, I'd have to scratch the same spot on my left knee or it wasn't 'fair.' " -- icecoldmax

Some Casual Slinkin'

"I sneak up and scare people, unintentionally. I've been given the nickname 'Ninja Nate' because I move in and out of rooms without being detected."

"I close doors quietly. I don't hum, whistle, single, or generally talk when I walk through the house. And I walk so silently that no one can hear my footsteps."

"This has lead to repeatedly scaring people who don't hear me coming, especially when they suddenly turn around or I ask them a question with their back turned to me. I try to get into people's line of sight before approaching them, but inevitably, I will give someone a fright because they didn't see or hear me approaching."

"Sorry to all my friends and roommates that I've surprised over the years - it's something I've picked during my childhood to avoid being seen or heard because I don't want a verbally abusive parent to shout at me for doing something wrong like waking up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water."

-- yakusokuN8

A Good Way to Identify French Speaking Dogs

"I talk to every animal I meet/see in French (my first language). I don't know why I do this, but someone pointed it out when I met their new dog for the first time." -- whyImcalledqueen

"Maybe because it's how you're most comfortable speaking and animals make you comfortable and bring out your authentic self?" -- forestfluff

"My Dad always talks to any animal like a dog. We were at the zoo once and my dad saw birds and started going... COME HERE BOI PAT PAT PAT COME HERE" -- Agustin42069

The Last Laugh, at Those Prices

"One of my favorite snacks growing up was cold canned green beans. My mom would just open the can and hand me a fork. I continued eating them like that until my sophomore year of university when my roommates just stared at me and pointed out how strange it was."

"I just thought that was the only way to eat green beans."

-- usd2krw

Fly on the Wall

"In a group conversation I sometimes stay silent for literally 30 minutes and start talking again like nothing."

"Realized with quarantine, were I suddenly talk and people get surprised I was still in the voice chat after 15/20/30 minutes of not even a word."

-- Areallyweirdlatino

Pay No Mind to the Interlude 

"Someone will say something to me like at the end of a work shift and I won't respond until the next time I see them and then they've forgotten about the comment they said just because it took me a few hours to process what they meant."

"For example coworker and I were talking about the gym and I said 'yeah you're just as thin' and she replied 'no, I'm round' and it took me the next day to tell her she wasn't round smh"

-- angelarocky

Skin and All

"Eating kiwi fruit with its skin until i saw my friends eating without its skin then i turned on the incognito mode and searched 'how to eat kiwi?'" -- Mahdi_D

"I had a friend who would eat the entire kiwi (skin included) by fitting it entirely inside his mouth, chewing, and swallowing. In about 5 seconds. He'd sometimes take kiwis to eat in class and we were all bewildered" -- but_uhm

Empathy

"If I bump an object into a wall or a table etc. I say 'ouch' for that object. Not sure when I began doing it and obviously I know my toothbrush didn't feel pain when I hit the faucet with it's head but I can't stop myself from saying 'ouch' on the toothbrush's behalf." -- RAVENMADSAINTSFAN

"I apologize to my car whenever it takes a nasty bump, like a pothole or whatever. I pat the center of the steering wheel like oh baby I'm sorry, and then rub the dashboard soothingly to make sure it knows I didnt mean to, it's doing a good job, and that everything is okay." -- nathanielKay

Screaming at Loved Ones

"Apparently I talk too loud. My hearing is rather poor so I never really noticed, and most of my clients are seniors so if anything they're asking me to speak louder. It was only a couple of years ago that a friend mentioned that his partner at the time was scared because of how loud and deep my voice was."

"My whole life I was unknowingly yelling at friends and strangers."

-- mrdeathchicken

Bring it Around Town

"Something I didnt even realize I was doing until someone pointed it out is I eat burgers/other sandwiches in a circle shape. So if I have a burger, I eat all the way around the edges and then do another circle and another until I only have one bite, the very center, left to eat." -- KeeShlab

"I do that too! I like saving the middle bite (which has the most stuff in it) for last." -- GlassAlgae

"You're a monster" -- ravendarklord76

Primitivism

"I sh** nude. Also rarely use public toilets" -- tewchainzzz

"My exboyfriend could only sh** nude. Literally the only way he could sh**. I feel vulnerable and scared if I try to shit nude LOL" -- cymobymo

"Humans are the only mammals that defecate with clothes on I can respect the nude freedom" -- SnakeBaconator

All This Unnecessary Shaking

"I shake milk jugs before pouring a glass or over cereal. I was raised on a dairy farm so it was necessary with fresh milk. Was about 30 before someone asked why and I had to think for a minute before I realized I didn't need to with store bought milk." -- philosophuncultistish

"I shake everything that isn't carbonated. No idea why. Even like bottled water I'll 'shake well' before I open it" -- dackinthebox

"I always shake milk, even if I don't need to. I like the frothiness." -- AROSES524

In Case Anything's Hiding Under There

"I tap the lid of the can three times before I open it when I drink coke/beer/etc."

"I have no idea why I do it or even that I was doing it until I was at a ring dunk and someone handed me a beer and I tapped it and got asked about the habit. They assumed it was for luck so I went with that instead of me being a weirdo."

-- PM_YOUR_PET_PICS979

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