Curious to hear about certain expectations, Redditor Gaelic_Gladiator_64 asked:
"What is a basic skill that you grew up thinking everyone had until you saw others do it so horribly?"
When dealing with people, it turns out some people are lacking in social graces.
Respect
"Being polite/having manners."
– Marcella111001
Getting A Point Across
"Explaining things. If I explain something and someone tells me they don't understand, I explain it again, but frame or phrase it differently."
"I will never understand why so many people think just saying the exact same words again in a more exasperated/condescending tone is at all effective."
– GODDAMNUBERNICE
Some people are clueless when looking at the various equipment in front of them.
Reading Instructions
"Following an instruction manual. I heard people say 'I don't know how to build an IKEA cupboard.' Neither do I, that's why they ship it with instructions."
– madInTheBox
How To Clean Dirty Clothes
"Using a washing machine and dryer."
– SamuraiJack815
The Neglected Step
"Laundry, especially emptying the dryer lint. So many places I’ve stayed had 'bad driers' that were packed full of lint! How these people did not start a fire is amazing."
– babybaloneyfriend
Being Self-Reliant
"So thankful for my dad, who grew up dirt-poor but had really made something of himself by the time I was in middle school."
"He ingrained in us that no matter how well we succeeded financially in life, we always needed to know how to do things ourselves, even if just not to get scammed by folks we’d hire to do things for us. As long as I’m physically able, I’d rather DIY just for the learning experience. Except major plumbing and electrical. I’m not that egotistical. Haha."
– ThatSpot0701
How To Clean The Floor
"Mopping/sweeping."
– ThatGuyWithThatFace_
"The best tip I can impart for mopping floors is to use two buckets. One with hot water and the other with hot water and cleaning product. Use the hot clean water to rinse the mop before drinking (dunking) it in the bucket with cleaning product."
"That way you can dump and refill the hot water as it gets filthy without losing cleaning product and without smearing the dirt back on the floor."
– arjo_reich
The Strangest 'Wrong Number' Stories | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Before we all had caller ID, wrong numbers phone calls were commonplace. But now that almost everyone screens their calls, it's wrong number texts that have ...Some people are seriously apprehensive about learning how to use certain electronic equipment.
Intimidating Equipment
"I had a friend who grew up with maids. He was 18 and gay and his family kicked him out. So he got this tiny little run down studio apartment in Los Feliz. He was super proud of it, and invited me to see it. He was using candles to light it when I got there (maybe to save money? Maybe to hide the blemishes?) and had left an ashtray on the floor, which I accidentally kicked and got (cold) ashes all over his carpet."
"He freaked the f'k out. 'What do I do? How am I going to clean that?!'”
“'With a vacuum?' I replied, confused as to why this was a mystery."
"He didn’t have one, so he went to ask the building manager if there was one he could borrow; which there was."
"He pulls this standard upright vacuum into the middle of the room and then stares at it. After a few seconds wondering what he was doing I asked 'do you not know how to use a vacuum?'”
“No, you have to understand, we always had maids, I never even made a bed before last week.”
"So I plug it in, turn it on, and take it a couple times back and forth across part of the carpet."
"Then like a child with the Fisher-Price popper vacuum he went to work. He was over the moon excited. 25 years later it’s a favorite memory of that person."
– moistpup
Computers
"It's still pretty amazing watching how some people use their phones and computers. Like you could give some leeway in the 90s and earlier, computers back then were fairly complicated for a lot of functions."
"But after 30+ years of design refinements to make them about as easy to use as possible, plenty of people, including younger people, interact with them as if they're afraid it will get mad at them personally if they mess up."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
When Everything Is Available At Your Fingertips
"Being able and willing to figure stuff out. A lot of basic skills aren't that complicated. And in this day, if it is complicated, the internet almost certainly has dozens, hundreds, or more, tutorials."
"Quitting because 'I don't know how' should not be the answer. I wish more were taught to figure things out, or seek the help/answers to get it done."
– naphomci
When it comes to hygiene, some people just stink.
Getting The Stank Eye
"This is a big problem."
"My parents didn't teach me good hygiene. I stank all the time and it's not something people will tell you about. They will complain to people around you."
"My wife taught me better hygiene and it has changed my life. I'm doing much better professionally and random strangers are no longer mean to me seemingly for no reason."
"I wish there was a good resource I could refer my stinky friends to so they could learn about it."
The Talk With The Manager
"A new woman had started at our company. She stank, and her manager found out when co-workers were doing the middle school mean girl sh*t to her."
"Manager stepped in and took the woman aside to discuss. Turns out that this woman's parents told her never to wash her vagina but failed to explain that she still needed to wash the vulva and area around there."
"She also put a stop to the gossip and whispering. One of the best managers I ever worked with."
– SJExit4
A Rejected Solution
"When I was in management, we had a lady that smelled horrifically like dirty crotch. I spoke to a few others in management and another woman there who was friends with the stinky lady, we got together and figured out she had no way of washing her clothes. So we got together and not only got her a washer and dryer, but picked it up for her and delivered it."
"She still refused to use it because she was, she admitted, too lazy to do so. Everyone was pissed."
– jenguinaf
How To Address The Problem
"As a co-worker and as a 'lead' i've let people know they have an odor and other coworkers have mentioned it. Both thanked me."
"There were reasons for them smelling and I'm just gonna say this; Don't talk about people behind their backs. Have the decency to sit down with them and say, 'Hey, i know no one wants to hear this, but I'd rather you be a little upset with me for saying it than for me to keep my mouth shut.' Say something to that tune and they won't be AS defensive. Cuz yeah, no one wants to be told they stink."
– CaRiSsA504
Result Of Bad Parenting
"As a foster parent, it doesn't surprise me at all. Poor hygeine is so common with the children we host. Bad parenting is never teaching your child to do basic things like washing, wiping your butt, brushing your teeth, or even just using soap in the shower. That kind of teaching requires some basic level of parents caring about their kids and taking some 5-10 minutes to just talk to their kids."
"There are so many bad parents out there, and that is so unfortunate."
– Nix-geek
I know there are some people who don't understand how to use Google maps. That just boggles my mind.
"How do you get there?" "Where is it?" "What train gets me there?" are all questions I've gotten from time to time when planning to meet up with them.
Seriously, go to any app that involves the use of a map, and a path opens up like magic.
I don't know if it's laziness to avoid relying on an app when they can get a verbal answer or if they are so intimidated by technology.
It's time to learn, because it's never too late.
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Every single one of us has a thing we just never really grasped. We all suck at something. All of us. With 100% certainty. There, I said it. Now everyone can relax.
You're among friends here. Clueless friends who, just like you, have gotten really good at the smile-and-nod when it comes to whatever our thing is.
That thing could be different for all of us. It took me way longer than I'd like to admit to learn how to tie my shoes. Some people just aren't good at something like mopping. None of us can fold a fitted sheet.
Reddit user colormeinwords asked:
What is something that you don't know but are afraid to ask because it's supposed to be 'basic knowledge'?
Like I said... you're safe among friends here. Here are some of the more popular "basic knowledge" thing people don't know or know how to do. With answers, of course, cause I'm not a monster.
No there are no instructions here for folding fitted sheets. I'm also not a wizard.
Communication Conundrum
How often do people talk to each other? Like do you just text people every day and let them know about random things that happened to you, and not just talk whenever life happens to put the two of you in the same physical location?
Really depends on the person. With some people I text once every two weeks, others all day every day about the most mundane stuff.
The Mechanics Of Mopping
How the hell you mop the floors. I try to do it properly but afterwards I always get comments like "did you even try to mop" and so on. And this has been going on for 15-ish years, I've evaded it through never mopping. Ever.
- dunk mop in hot (near boiling), soapy water.
- wring most of the water out of the mop.
- don't mimic a sweeping brush. Go side to side in large, shallow arcs.
- start furthest from your sink/exit and step backwards as you swipe.
- Repeat until done or until the water in the bucket is too cold / dirty.
If that still doesn't work: get some other sucker to mop for you!
Darker Colors
I've always been curious about whether black people feel warmer than people with lighter skin tones when they're in the sun because dark colors absorb more heat.
Do tattoos count? I have mostly black tattoos on my rather fair skinned forearms, and they are substantially warmer than the surrounding non tattooed skin. I know it's not exactly the same but I'd imagine it's fairly similar.
Am black, I can't tell if I "feel" hotter than others but I do know you could fry an egg on my shoulder after some sun exposure where as my Scandinavian partner feels like he was been lightly warmed in the microwave after the same exposure.
- rkspm
A New Doctor
GiphyHow do you get a "doctor"?
My family doctor retired 5 years ago and now I don't know how to get a new one.
Do I just go to a random office and ask to become a patient?
Go on your health insurances website. Most of them have a "find a doctor" link somewhere and you can look for a new primary care physician that is accepting patients. From there call the office and make your first appointment.
- nkdeck07
Never Been Kissed
How to kiss. I've never kissed someone and I REALLY don't wanna screw up my first time.
- Zoh41b
- Place one hand on the small of their back
- place the other on the upper back lower neck
- while your doing this and going in start taking a big inhale from your nose (to help you relax)
- use their nose to line your nose up. You want your noses touching, but to be side by side not squished against each other.
- that will ensure that your lips will connect, which is what a kiss is. lip contact.
- keep your eyes open until you make contact, then close them. Because that way you can be present. And that's what makes a good kiss. Being present with someone you wanna be intimate with.
- A good kiss is different for everybody and a "good kisser" is someone you're compatible with. There is no definitive criteria for what makes a good kisser or bad one. It's all about compatibility and most of that comes from learning over time. It's not something you're supposed to know
- Go get'em tiger!
Cabs And Curved Arrows
What does that button on your car dash/control panel do that is like a picture of the cab with a curved arrow inside the cab?
- Brancher
It shuts the vents so that no air from outside comes in, useful when you're driving somewhere the air is really bad, tunnels and such. The arrow symbolizes the air staying in the car.
Basically, if it's on, you are not bringing in hot outside air through the ac system. You are recirculating the already cool air in the cabin - think of it like max a/c.
Coffee Talk
GiphyIs there a difference between regular coffee grounds and espresso grounds?
Barista here - the difference is how fine the grounds are. Espresso grounds are very fine. Regular coffee grounds are medium grind. Half-way between course and fine.
The reason why espresso grounds are fine, is because of how espresso is made. Espresso is very fine grounds of coffee very tightly packed into a small filter. You add very hot and very pressurized water over the grounds to extract the coffee very quickly. Your regular house coffee uses medium grind, with not-as-hot or pressurized water, and takes a few minutes to brew. Espresso (usually) takes under a minute to brew. To get the coffee quicker, you need smaller particles of coffee beans, packed tightly together under very hot water and lots of pressure.
No Toilet Paper
In countries that don't use toilet paper, but instead offer you a bucket of water and a ladle ... are you ... supposed to use your hand to wipe, then you wash your hand off??
I don't know if it's "basic knowledge" but it is in those countries (I'm looking at you Asia/India) it must be.
If you're at the lower middle class to poor end of East Asian countries, then it's somewhat basic knowledge. And this is how you do it: position one hand on your bum, the other hand will hold the ladle which you should position behind your back, just a bit above your crack. Start wiping your butt with your hand and slowly pour the water out so that it streams down to the hand your using to wipe. Rinse and repeat until you feel sufficiently cleaned.
The other comment says bidets, but not every household has them so it's good to know how to do this if you're considering visiting East Asian countries.
Global Warming
Whats actually wrong with global warming? This is a genuine question because its never been explained to me. A warmer climate would mean a longer growing season. If it was warmer out, then the homeless would have an easier time making it through the winter.
- Rising sea levels means flooding and melting ice caps, which is a form of habitat destruction for polar bears, penguins, etc. And for people as well as water levels rise and some islands and coastal cities are lost.
- More drought s= more food shortages for growing population.
- If the air is hot and dry it becomes easy for bushfires and forest fires to start and get out of hand.
- A warmer climate means more tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes etc. And thunderstorms too.
- The gases that cause global warming are pretty toxic and harmful to living beings. Carbon monoxide, etc etc can damage the human body on prolonged exposure.
- Greenhouse gases that cause GW dont stop the sun's uv rays from reaching us tho, unlike ozone which is being depleted in our atmosphere. This can lead to skin cancers and sunburns
Hope this helped.
But Which Train?
How to ride a train. I've been on one but never knew how to decide which train to get on. I'm always with someone else that does.
Usually just use Google maps with the public transport option and it tells you what to take. Usually trains have some kind of tracking board at the platform so you know what train is coming (or sometimes on the front of the train.)