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People Confess Which Seemingly Easy Task They've Never Quite Mastered

We can't ace every quiz. Every once in awhile we're going to hit a wall.

The key is to try to not be so harsh to our psyche.

We all learn differently.

But give yourself a break if you can't master everything you try, even if other people find it easy.


RedditorMxchi27wanted to hear about what simple skills others have down pat, that some of us just can't quite get, so they asked:

"What’s a seemingly basic thing you can’t do?"

Math past Algebra.

So many seem brilliant at it.

I gave up.

And the guitar, so frustrating.

Breathe...

"[How to] relax." ~ TeddyDBer

"I feel your pain! 😕." ~ Princess_S78

Giphy

be regular...

"Eat a healthy amount at regular intervals." ~ 300show

"I've had that issue as well due to being homeless multiple times. There are periods where I'm doing well, and other periods where I'll eat everything offered to me because what if I'm homeless soon? Gotta pack on the weight in case I'm homeless again and can't eat. The last time I was homeless, I lost 60 pounds in a little over a month, and gained it right back in a little under a month." ~ Indysteeler

Waterworks

"Open my eyes underwater." ~ HolyAuraJr

"Every time I try, no matter if it is fresh water, sea water, or pool water, it burns. And it burns for days afterwards." ~ Galaxy_Ranger_Bob

"I used to have the same problem. Went to a different eye doctor (for a regular check up) and he took one look at my eyes and asked: do you have trouble watching TV in a dark room? Do your eyes burn when you touch them with your hands? When you're wearing eye make up? Turns out it's an allergic reaction and eye drops made it go away! Do you experience any other discomfort with your eyes?" ~ heythere30

Make a List

"Start things, complete things, finish a todo list." ~ RandomiseUsr0

"I learned this just the other day and I am trying it out. Don't think about doing the whole thing. Just do two minutes of it. Need to get dishes done? Don't look at the stack. Just unload the dishwasher/fill the sink with soapy water. Want to get into the routine of a morning run? Don't think about treading down the street. Just put on shorts/sweats and lace up your shoes."

"Need to go shovel snow? Don't think about the work involved. Just take two minutes to put on your coat, gloves and boots. If after you follow the two minute rule you still don't want to do it then don't. However, most of the time your brain kicks in and says to itself, Well, I made it this far, I guess I'll finish up. So far I'm actually getting things done, now if I can keep my ADHD brain from creating subversive techniques I might actually be able to create the habit." ~ Yup_Shes_Still_Mad

Lips Together

"Whistle." ~ LollipopDreamscape

"I can whistle, but I want to be able to do that really loud whistling." ~ Indysteeler

Giphy

Breathing.

Relaxing.

Whistling.

So basically I'm bad at life.

Silence

"Make conversation, make friends." ~ Jedibri81

"I can respond to, but never initiate a conversation. If my boss and I are in the truck, and we're driving an hour to the job site, and he doesn't speak first, we're sitting in complete silence the entire time." ~ alpacamaster8675309

Giphy

Rise and Shine!

"Wake up easily in the mornings. It doesn't matter how much sleep I have, I always struggle to wake up."

"Edit: Wow, thank you all so much for the upvotes and kind words and advice. I'm going to try the Alarmy app, make sure I wake up in 90 minute intervals (I did this yearsss ago but stopped for some reason), may try one of those light alarms, and will have a drink of water as soon as I wake! I will try these for a few weeks and then consider a sleep test if they don't help. Gosh how much I LOVE Reddit. Thank you all so so much ❤️." ~ emzyyx

Rambled

"I don’t explain myself well so I sound like I’m rambling." ~ atleastistoletheshow

"Same. I think faster than I speak, so I get confused and lose my train of thought, often accompanied by slurred speech. I know concepts without thinking about them, but I can't explain them; I know exactly what I mean, but the words that come out are either irrelevant and/or often misconstrued. Organising thoughts is impossible."

"Doesn't help when I ought to explain something in my native language, but think in English – and vice versa. I know a word in one language and have a hard time finding an equivalent in the other. Does it surprise you if I tell you I talk with my hands a lot? Despite this, I've been a translator since 2012, huehuehue. But I have Google and dictionaries, so it's fine."

"Everyone gets bored and changes the subject or ignores me before I can finish, so I don't like speaking. It gets a lot better when I'm tipsy, though. Those who actually listen may catch the thread and finish my sentence for me, or say ‘oh, yeah, I understand what you mean’." ~ DolfK

A Dull R...

"I can’t roll my R’s." ~ BLOME69

"Same here. I feel like a bad Mexican. I can’t even pronounce my last name correctly because of it." ~ spangee85

"OK but that makes me feel a little better, I'm white but I'm trying to learn Spanish, my tutor (who is Latin American) says her own daughter can't roll their R's so it's not a big deal. I still wish I could learn how to do it tho 😭." ~ GeneralEl4

Bad GPS

"Read maps, I have no sense of direction so if you ask me where is -location-? I sometimes don't know how to tell you." ~ IWishToRewriteMine

Giphy

Do they even make maps anymore?

I still struggle with GPS.

Look at me... a master at not much.


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People Break Down The Most Ridiculous Majors They've Ever Heard Of

Reddit user GazelleHistorical705 asked: 'What is the most ridiculous college major you’ve ever heard of?'

College classroom
Dom Fou/Unsplash

Many high school graduates face the conundrum of what to major in when they go on to pursue higher education.

Teens who haven't already sparked an interest in a particular field by the time they graduate wind up buying more time waiting for enlightenment by electing "undecided."

But to avoid any stigma of being an idle scholar, some students settle on majors they thought never existed.

"Fun with pasta," anyone?

While such a major might not exist, I wouldn't put it past some academia for coming up with it.

Curious to hear what those unheard-of specialized fields of study are out there, Redditor GazelleHistorical705 asked:

"What is the most ridiculous college major you’ve ever heard of?"

Majors with one word, please.

Sounds Like A Hard Major

"PENIS. My school offered a major in Political Economy of Newly Industrialized Societies, but eventually realized the acronym and changed the name. Pity. I hope some were able to get their degrees with a concentration in PENIS."

– OhMaiMai

Hidden Objective

"Golf."

"It was made so the Vice Chancellor could buy a private golf course for the university, so he could play on it. I believe it had 5 enrollments ever, and one was a joke that didnt show up or pay. It got cancelled the first year, but he got to enjoy his own personal golf course for some years after."

jadelink88

Just Throwing Ideas

"Frisbee. A friends roommate at Amherst was in some kind of 'create your own major' thing and chose frisbee. His family had momey and college was just a formality."

– hightower65

Certain concepts as a major were hard to grasp.

Seed Of Despotism

"IIRC, like 20 years ago some college in Indiana offered a major in World Domination."

– Rev_Christopheles

"You can only get a job as a henchman with a BS."

"You need a full PhD to be an evil mastermind."

– JimBean823

A Vague Focus

"PhD in general studies."

– dravik

"Tf do you even write your dissertation about."

– Fragile_Line

"Everything."

– ProsciuttoPizza

"Generally."

– cropguru357

Let's Take It Outside

"An old friend has a Bachelor's degree in Outdoor Activities. He was never able to explain exactly what that meant, though."

– EnlargedBit371

"A guy I know majored in Recreation."

– kmsc87

"When I was there, my college had one of the top Parks Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) programs in the country."

"It had the nickname 'Party Right Through May.'”

"It was extremely popular with student athletes, especially football players."

"There’s always a demand for graduates too. It seems like one of those fields where you shouldn’t need a college degree to do the work, but you need one to get in the door."

– JimBeam823

Going At Your Own Pace

"When I was in uni my friend dated a guy who was majoring in leisure studies. I used to joke that leisure studies is a 4 year program, but if you’re good enough at it you can do it in 6."

– Mtldoggogogo

Things went up a notch.

Arghhh Ya Kiddin' Me?

"At MIT you can be certified in being a pirate if you complete the courses of pistol, archery, sailing, and fencing."

– yhdreytaweatrst

"It’s not a major, it’s a certificate. But if I ever get my own office it’s going in a very nice diploma frame and I’m gonna see who notices."

– PoorCorrelation

Veritable Hodgepodge

"My university had an Interdisciplinary Studies department that served mainly to get super duper seniors graduated. They would cobble together the random credits people got because they changed majors every semester into a 'degree.' You get some wild majors like a BA in Culinary Traditions and Music in the Former British Empire."

– pinelands1901

Sapphic Education

"My college briefly had a major in Nordic Lesbianism."

– WhizzleTeabags

"I've read many of the responses on here where most of them weren't ridiculous imo but you gave the best one!"

– 90DayTroll

"HUH."

– OP

Make It Up

"At a graduation at the University of Redlands. They have a degree whereby you basically take the classes you want and call it what you want."

"The degree conferred was, I kid you not: 'Still trying to figure out who I am.'”

– dmur726

Clearly there's a major for all occasions.

But at the end of the day, does it really matter as long as you have a BA in something to show you were academically tenacious?

Now go out there and carve out your own path, young scholars!

Just make sure you can pay off those student loans.

Maybe there should be a major on how to avoid debt.

human robot illustration

Possessed Photography on Unsplash

Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as:

"the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages."

AI is broken down into four types—from most basic to most advanced:

  1. Reactive machines
  2. Limited memory
  3. Theory of mind
  4. Self-awareness

The first two—reactive machines and limited memory—currently exist.

Reactive machines AI have no memory—it responds directly to current information. An example is a recommendation based on your streaming activity.

Limited memory looks into the past and monitors specific objects or situations over time, and adds the information to adapt responses. Self-driving cars are a good example of limited memory AI.

The other types—theory of mind and self-awareness—don't exist yet.

Theory of mind AI would be able to understand intentions and predict behavior while adjusting its own responses, simulating human interpersonal relationships.

The final step in AI is self-awareness. These would be systems that have a sense of self, a conscious understanding of their existence.

As AI advances, some human work functions will be done cheaper or more efficiently by AI.

Keep reading...Show less
man and woman holding hands

Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

According to the General Social Survey, 20% of married men and 13% of married women reported having sex with someone other than their spouse.

In the United States, 17% of all divorces cited adultery on the part of either or both parties.

But 70% of married women and 54% of married men reported they didn't know of their spouses’ extramarital affair until their spouse confessed.

And how did the other 30%-46% figure it out?

Keep reading...Show less

I was very fortunate that my parents were able to pay all expensive not only through adolescence but even through college. However, they made it very clear that once I graduated, I was on my own.

I made every effort to make sure I could afford to live once I graduated. I made copies of all the recipes my parents got when they bought stuff for me, and started saving my own receipts, something I didn't do through high school. I calculated monthly expenses and created a budget for the future.

When I graduated, I had accounted for all the big expenses: take-out food, the expensive skin care essentials I needed to keep my acne at bay, and utilities (heat, AC, electricity).

What I didn't realize was that small expenses are not so small. Microwavable meals went up by $2. Gas, which was pretty steady while I was in college, seemed to shoot up daily. And things that don't seem expensive at first glance, such as toilet paper, become big expenses as they add up.

I'm not the only one who had these realizations. Redditors have too, and are eager to share what items they didn't realize were expensive until they became an adult.

It all started when Redditor ForeignReviews asked:

"What item did you not realize was expensive until you became an adult?"

Yummy, Yummy

"Food is both more expensive and goes bad quicker when you're an adult."

– BriSnyScienceGuy

"I know right! I honestly love grocery shopping, so when I started driving I would go grocery shopping when I had the car and so nowadays I do maybe half of the grocery shopping. But, it's just so expensive. I often look for deals and will buy generic/store brand on most items but, still."

"My biggest tip for "goes bad quicker" is to always get from the back, because usually that's where the longer lasting stuff goes and when it's stacked, get from the bottom. When it's stuff with longer shelf life like cereal and canned stuff, I don't usually bother. But I mostly do that with bread and dairy products. My mom taught me that when I was little."

– ariana61104

"Yes! Having to feed yourself and your household is getting too expensive and so tedious. I really admire my mom for making dinner every night when I was growing up. Thankfully I don't have kids so me & my husband are okay with just eating snacks sometimes."

– WildMoonWitch

So Sweet

"My parents split up when I was a kid in the 90s, and I remember going to my dads apartment in another city, and him cooking us steak on the grill. I always loved that."

"Once I moved out I was like "wait steak is how much? Why the hell did Dad keep feeding us this?""

"Then I realised he was eating poverty meals all week to treat his kids on the weekend."

"For his 60th birthday us kids pooled our money and took him to arguably the best fine dining restaurant in my province for the full tasting menu. Seeing him light up at trying things like caviar and truffles for the first time made me realize how much he has sacrificed for us."

"So yeah, steak is expensive."

– KFBass

"You guys are awesome; what a nice story. He raised y'all right."

– Augustus58

Where Do I Sit?

"Gotta be furniture."

– harrisrichard

"When I bought my house I only had a bed in the master bedroom and all my friends kept saying “you make good money just buy furniture, you could have it furnished in a month.” Then they themselves bought houses and now understand why it took me a year to furnish my house."

– Stetikhasnotalent

They Don't Need To Be That Nice!

"Rugs. Why did no one tel me a ‘nice’ rug was $18,000."

– BenSadfleck

"But it really ties the room together."

– alittlec4

"Dude, you could fly to Morocco and get a hand made wool rug for that much. What the heck are you buying?"

– mofukkinbreadcrumbz

"My dog isn’t going to want to butt scoot on anything cheaper than 10k."

– iamaliberalpausenot

Car Accessories

"New tires. Most unexciting $1,000 purchases I have ever made."

– PRCraig

"Also why the hell are oil changes so expensive now!?"

– johnstonb

"Bro fr I swear they were just $20 just a second ago now it’s like $60?? I asked my dad to teach me how to do it myself as a teen and he said it was so cheap that I might as well pay someone else. That didn’t last."

– greeneggiwegs

Walk It Off

"A good pair of shoes will set you back a bit, especially if you need more specialized ones for whatever reason."

– sedition-

Part Of The Family

"Pets."

– TeacherLady3

"They have gotten a lot more expensive due to expected care changing dramatically, and how we feel about them."

"The idea that you would put a pet down because a vet treatment costs too much is horrible now, but was pretty common in the past. Outdoor cats were the norm so they pretty much fed themselves and you had far fewer litter changes - litter was just clay, and you tossed the whole thing."

"Dogs ate table scraps and whatever they hunted down, or cheap as dog feed made of whatever ended up on the slaughter house floor (bones and all)."

"While purebreds were probably still super expensive, most people had a mutt or tabby, that the found/were given, instead of buying."

– RandomChance

"All true. But I waited until I was in my 50's and had raised my kids until I could afford a pet. Like kids, I wasn't going to be a pet owner until I could provide the care they deserve."

– TeacherLady3

The Cost Of People

"Kids."

"I'm amazed how my parents could afford me."

– only_stupid_answers

"My parents had 5 of us. It amazes me to this day, that my fathers paultry salary at the time had to support it all. How the f**k could anyone do that today?"

– The_REAL_McWeasel

Vroom, Vroom

"Cars, all grown-ups had them, maybe even multiple. I still think its insane that some cars are more expensive than a 2 bedroom apartment."

Tommer_nl

"I remember people restoring cars all the time when I was growing up. I would love to do it but even a rough condition rolling rust is super expensive now for even common things people aren’t super after."

Pup5432

"Yeah what the hell!? I feel like everyone's dad (mine included) had a project car that they were tinkering with."

"All of my 'tinkering' is to keep my single, daily driver running!"

disisathrowaway

Shiny Teeth And Me

"My teeth."

– Bumfuzzled_Hobgoblin

"Teeth are luxury bones, don’t ya know? Why on earth would regular health insurance cover them? Hahaha. The fact that vision and dental are separate from the rest of your body is absurd."

– Blackfoxx907

I See You!

"Glasses. I have awful eyesight and an astigmatism and got quite a shock when I had to pay for my own prescription glasses for the first time."

– Heavy_Mycologist_104

Time Flies

"Free time."

"As a kid I had loads of it and gave it away. now I can't afford even a minute !!"

– TokenFeed

"I took a toll road home today for an extra hour of free time and it was the best money I ever spent."

– squidkiosk

What I wouldn't give -- or pay -- for some extra free time!