People Describe Which Things They Thought Were Totally Normal Until Someone Pointed Out They Weren't
Our minor quirks and mindless tendencies are as old as us.
It may be how we eat, a strange morning routine, or a social tick we rely on for comfort as we navigate the world of people. These quirks anchor us in self-determined normalcy. They offer a predictable sliver in an otherwise hectic daily existence.
And these little, private behaviors are so woven into the fabric of how we behave as to be nearly unnoticeable.
Until some nincompoop points our little habit out, highlights how abnormal it is, and destroys everything.
Once we become aware of the strange tendency, learn how abnormal it is, it loses all that anchoring power. The silent magic is gone and we're left to act like everybody else--at least in that corner of our life.
SenorSpicyPants asked, "What's something you do or used to do that you thought was totally normal until someone pointed it out?"
Hereditary Happy Hands
"My hands shake uncontrollably whenever I get excited about something and I thought it was normal since it happened to my dad too."
"Turns out that isn't the case, but my friends call it my 'happy hands' so it's all good."
-- paperguy20
Second Nature
"Walk and read a book. When I was growing up I lived in a canyon and took the school bus. Long walk with no flat parts. It sucked. So I started reading as I walked to take my mind off of it."
"As an adult, I would always take my breaks at work (a hospital) the same way. People were always impressed that I could do it and not walk into anything."
"Oh, and I can hold a paperback in one hand and turn the page with the same hand while keeping the book open."
This One Needs a Poll
"Pee in the shower."
"I know a lot of people do it but SEVERAL of my girlfriends have been absolutely grossed out by it. I just assumed everyone did it. You're not wasting water either flushing the toilet or washing your hands."
"Water is running so it's not like it marinates in the tub. All the drains go to the same place."
"First girlfriend who told me it was gross I thought was the oddball but by the third I started to wonder if maybe I was the minority. But it hasn't really come up where I want to start taking a poll of my friends to see which ones do it."
A Life of Luxury Comes to an End
"My mom always taught me to put folded up pieces of toilet paper between my butt cheeks, to absorb moisture and make it comfortable. Like 12-16 squares folded up, and just sort of tucked in there. It seemed logical."
"I made the JV football team in my sophomore year, and after the first practice, I was immediately ridiculed in the locker room when I took out my a**-paper. Obviously, I was the only person to do it."
"The razzing continued for the year, but I never f***ing did it again."
Clean Slate
"Do my laundry while naked so I can actually say all my clothes are clean. I'd assumed everyone did this until I moved in with my ex" -- rawr_nickie_rawr
"This is brilliant." -- daggerxdarling
"I don't think my neighbors would appreciate if I used the laundry room naked..." -- hereforthemystery
Dangerous Tingles
"So when I eat raw mango, my mouth tingles, and I'd heard that there were enzymes in mango so I figured it was just because of that, some kind of reaction in my mouth."
"Work used to have ice cream Wednesdays every week during the summer. I grabbed a mango pop, which was like, the 'healthy' option, because it was just frozen blended fruit mostly, and I recommended my friend get one too 'because you can tell it's real mango, I'm getting the mouth tingles'"
"record scratch"
"Yeah, turns out, I'm allergic to mangoes? And I shouldn't really eat them because the next reaction could turn anaphylactic. (I still occasionally eat mangoes, they're so good...)"
-- JoanOfArctic
Hands Free
"Eating peanuts. I didn't know you were supposed to take them out of the shell until I was well into my twenties and went to a baseball game with some friends." -- TheLesserWombat
"Do the shells digest properly or is it like pushing a debranched stick later?" -- Koshindan
"No. They stay in you until you're 70 and then you poop all them out at once." -- paperpenises
Letting Go
"Not me but a friend used to go poop when he wanted to not when he needed to. Like a work break or finishing a movie or game when hanging out. He'd just be like ok I'm bored I'm going to go sh**.
"I didn't know this for years until he was telling me about his hemorrhoids. He would just push out whatever he had on deck."
"After laughing at him for a while I told him he has to wait till it's at the gates then just go sit and let it come out on its own. It changed his life."
-- IrishRage42
More Shower Quirks
"I shake each limb individually like a cat to shake off excess water after I shower before I towel myself dry."
"I learned most people swipe the excess water off with their hand when an ex gf asked me wtf I was doing when I did it in front of her the first time we showered together."
A Dynamic Approach
"Instead of cutting the core out of a head of lettuce my dad taught me to punch it out. Just one well placed punch and the core just pops right out. He said something about how it helps it stay fresher longer, though I have no idea if there's any truth to that."
"I recently was making a salad and had a friend over and she absolutely lost her sh** when she saw me punching the iceberg lettuce."
Stretching Across the Day
"Only eating two meals a day. Growing up my dad and I had next to nothing so food was scarce."
"As I got older and moved in with my husband he started noticing I barely ate and worried it was an eating disorder until I told him about what life was like growing up and how the only time I had more than 2 meals a day is when I was staying with him or our gran growing up."
-- Mother-Of-5
Closure
"Wipe standing up." -- spiralmadness
"That is how you get dingleberries. You wipe standing up and you don't get all the poop particles." -- artsy_fartboi
"I found this out about my husband after 10 years of being together. I was like ?!!?!" -- fermenttodothat
100% Chance of Victory
"Conversation rehearsals for conversations that can't possibly ever happen."
"My interview on the Colbert show went really well & I won that argument about scalectrix with my nan (she dead)."
-- Main-Mammoth
Uh Huh
"Nodding my head a lot while listening to someone. I figured it meant I was following along and understanding. But some people would get confused since I did it the whole time they talked."
"Especially noticed it when I saw videos of myself, and toned it down a lot."
-- JDLinDallas
Greasing the Wheels
"According to my wife, putting water on my toothbrush after I put the toothpaste on is very strange." -- Daddywags42
"It is the only way." -- TheJalele
"One time when I was in my early teens I had a friend over. I went to brush my teeth for whatever reason and when I watered the toothpaste my friend uttered, 'I hate people that do that!' and I was like, 'do you wanna go home?'" -- paperpenises
Suburban Explorer
"Walking through landscaping in shopping areas. Rocks, bushes, grass."
"It was pointed out to me years ago, but I still have an issue remembering to use the sidewalks."
-- humanhomie
Chomping on Cylinders
"I use to eat a lot of things that weren't corn on the cob like corn on the cob. Cheetoh puffs, sausages, burritos, if it was in the relative shape of corn I ate it like it was."
"My brother finally told me that it was unsettling so I stopped. Sometimes I'll do it though, just for old times sake."
-- Chromagic
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Every now and then, we can't help but be proud of certain accomplishments.
Graduating from college or grad school, earning a promotion at work, hosting your first Thanksgiving dinner.
Though it shouldn't be forgotten that pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
Which should serve as a reminder that we should be careful of what we boast over, and that some accomplishments might not be cause for celebration.
A Redditor was curious to hear some of the more questionable skills and/or accomplishments people have boasted about, leading them to ask:
"What are people stupidly proud of?"
Yeah... not cool.
"Being cruel."
"My ex actually said, 'Yeah, I saw this guy in a pub yesterday who tried talking to us so I basically burned his stupid shirt for an hour lol,' which is one of the main reasons I broke up with him."- AnyCurrency6027
GiphyAlways read the fine print.
"Those IQ tests people share but they don't know how to read their results."
"Had some guy just so proud that he was in the top 90%."- 7grendel
Can knowing and doing nothing really be considered an accomplishment?
"Willful ignorance."
"Example: pride in not knowing how to do basic math."- stupidlyugly
"Willful ignorance."- storm_the_castle
"Amazingly and increasingly, ignorance."- vanta_blackness
GiphyDefinitely not the parent who deserves to be celebrated..
"My dad, a father of 7, brags that he's never changed a diaper."
"Like, congratulations on being no help?"- Porrick
...Where do you even start?...
“'I’m proud of myself, I haven’t cheated in a while'.”
"Me: 'it’s been 2 months and I’m not f*cking proud of you'.”- Pufferfish4467
They shouldn't be allowed to have pets!
"That their dog weighs so much, but really it's an obese sausage with legs who can't even take three steps without running out of breath."- whiskybidnus
But what's the payoff?
"Long commute times and working hours."- KyotoGaijin
"I'm terrible at my job, let's celebrate!"
"Teachers being proud that their classes are hard and their students are always failing."- GreatXs
GiphyIt's hard to imagine what some of these people were thinking when they boasted about these non-accomplishments.
In all likelihood, they weren't thinking at all.
I love TV!
Some television shows are a part of my DNA. That's why an ending is so important.
In the end we want to be forever satisfied. Which is a near impossible ask. Not everyone is going to love the chosen ending.
But sometimes writers really get it right... Buffy the Vampire Slayer... (save for *@#*'s death!!) is EVERYTHING.
But then they can get it really wrong... Game Of Thrones fans are STILL fuming apparently.
Redditorslice29wanted to discuss all the best entertainment endings we've ever watched.
They asked:
"In your opinion, what TV show had the most satisfying ending?"
I hate and love endings of shows. I love them when they're done well. I hate that it's over. Let's start with one of my favs!!
End of Life
"Six Feet Under."
sweet_jones
"Watched this in real time with my mom. The whole show. Every episode. As they aired. I grew up along with it, and the ending felt like the opposite of a death - I was a grown up. You're right."
ipakookapi
six feet under GIF by HBOGiphyDirty Harry-style...
"Sledge Hammer! For those too young to remember this gem from the 80s, it was a show that satirized the Dirty Harry-style bad cop dramas that were in at the time. The show ended with Sledge trying to defuse a nuke ('Trust me, I know what I'm doing...'), failing."
"And then the camera slow-pans across the charred landscape of the ruined city and you hear the distant voice of the long-suffering police chief yelling 'HHHAAAAMMMMMMMEEERRRRR!!!!!!' Priceless."
ekchew
We Live!
"Blackadder Goes Forth The ending of a comedy set in WWI trenches to end with everyone dying after going over the wall is both sobering and satisfying."
PhreedomPhighter
"When Darling thinks the war is over because all the guns stopped firing. 'Thank God! We lived through it! The Great War: 1914-1917.' But we know there was still another whole year of war to go through."
Jose_Jalapeno
Shocker
"Newhart. No one in America saw that plot twist coming."
soIstartBlasting
"And with the rise of the internet, I doubt any show could pull off a twist like that again and take people by surprise. The Season 1 finale to 'The Good Place"'was a rare exception of this happening post-internet."
WaldoJeffers65
"The twist is that good, and so few people saw the show during its original run, that there are probably tons of people discovering it every week. I don't want to ruin it for anybody."
WaldoJeffers65
Last Call
"Cheers. 'We're closed.'"
Taskerst
"Thought the same thing. Have been going through the series again, usually one a day and about to start the last season."
SnooLobsters4636
Cbs Cheers GIF by Paramount+GiphyAh 'Cheers.' Not my favorite show, but a great end. And 'Six Feet Under?' GENIUS!
Afterlife...
"The Good Place."
gr3ybacon33
"I need to rewatch that show. If someone told me to watch a show about the afterlife, philosophy, morality, interspersed with d*ck jokes I wouldn't be able to take it seriously but somehow they pulled it off."
jn2010
Season 1 Nbc GIF by The Good PlaceGiphyThe Tie Up
"Gravity Falls. Tied everything up nicely, but left me wanting more, but what good show doesn't?"
smugfruitplate
"I want more so bad, but we all know it's better to die a hero than a 25 seasons show nobody wants to watch."
Equivalent_Meal2688
"Agreed. Whether Alex Hirsch does something new in the future or just sods off with his residual checks, I couldn't be more proud."
smugfruitplate
"why we fight"
"'Cherish the memory of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, ‘Grandpa were you a hero in the war?’ Grandpa said ‘No... But I served in a company of heroes.'"
Thirty_Helens_Agree
"Band of brothers is GOAT. Even reading that line gave me goosebumps I stumbled across 'why we fight' the other day, must have seen it 20 odd times, watched it again, still amazing. In fact, my missus is out tmrw, you've inspired me to start episode one again."
Curahee!
Realities...
"M*A*S*H, still the greatest final episode in TV history. It made it clear that nobody would be the same after the war. Winchester couldn't love music like he had before without being reminded of the war. Father Mulcahy lost his hearing as a result of the war. Hawkeye lost some of his sanity."
"Margaret had to lose her self-reliance and realize that it is okay to accept help. Potter had to lose his beloved horse, which was his #1 way to stay sane. BJ had to learn to say goodbye. And, of course, Klinger had to give up his dream of leaving Korea at least for the foreseeable future."
"There are times (most times for me) when being in the military totally sucks. Living in deplorable conditions, spending 24 hours a day with the same people; working, playing, and sleeping together with people you like and people you hate. Missing your family and loved ones. Yet, when you have to separate, the feeling of loss is like nothing else that I have experienced in civilian life."
NoFunHere
Beyond
"Star Trek TNG. The episode itself was great, but that ending scene was phenomenal."
"'Nothing is wild and the sky is the limit.'"
HaCo111
annoyed star trek GIFGiphyThose are definitely some incredible endings. And endings are hard to pull off.
Friendship is not something that can be forced.
As with any kind of relationship, it all depends on compatibility and chemistry, and thus must happen organically.
On the flip side though, it can be pretty clear when people will not end up being your friends, owing to a fundamental difference in personality or beliefs.
Redditor Chola_Bhatora was curious to hear the type of people the Reddit community would never become chummy with, leading them to ask:
"What kind of person would you never be friends with?"
Basically, people who aren't nice
"People who don't apologize for their mistakes, blame others for their problems, and generally complain without doing anything about their situation."
"Oh, and generally a**holes."- NerdyDadGuy1981
"People who are overly rude and constantly laugh it off and call themselves 'a**holes' as if it is an uncontrollable character trait."- Business_Grand7665
Don't you twist my words around!
"People that distort what you said."- Mystery_I
real housewives lies GIF by leeannelockenGiphyJust take some responsibility!
"People who can never admit they're wrong about anything."
"No matter how blatantly wrong."- Rachfo44
Say it to my face!
"The kind that talks behind your back."- 0breanna0
Are you sure about that?
"Someone who thinks they already know everything."- Fragrant-Crow-4513
know it all boomerang GIFGiphyThen why aren't I laughing?
"Someone that puts you down in front of your other friends.. 'as a joke'."- motherfugher
How well do you actually know them?
"People who abuse your trust and honesty to manipulate you, especially when they disguise it so well."
"Had it one too many times, thankfully gets easier to spot but some people are freakishly good at it."- nothingjustk
Yeah, well mine's better!
"One uppers."- BasedChickenTendie
kristen wiig television GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphySomeone needs a lesson in self respect...
"I'm a woman."
"Had a classmate strike a conversation with me for the first time."
"2 minutes in said she doesn't have female friends because all women are b*tches."
"Why are you talking to me then?"
"What do you think you are?"- Minimum_Greedy
As Jane Austen famously explored in Pride and Prejudice, first impressions can often be misleading.
But every now and then, they can give a crystal clear depiction of who someone really is.
Which could easily be someone you do not want to be friends with.
Age is just a number.
We all hope to stay sexy until the end.
And even when we don't feel sexy, maybe there will be people who still think we are.
Redditor Debonair-Redditor21wanted to hear about famous crushes that enter into the "Harold & Maude" territory. They asked:
"Who is the oldest celebrity that you still find attractive?"
All Hail Dame Helen Mirren. Is there anything else to say?
How Old?
Viggo Mortensen Peace GIF by Golden GlobesGiphy"Viggo Mortensen. Very handsome at 63."
Sidewalk_Tomato
"Damn, he is 63? Time flies."
2020UsernamesBeLike
Personas
"Elvira. Cassandra Peterson. Just turned 70 and still breaks out that amazing personality at every appearance."'
darkoath
"Omg. I saw the BEST suggestion for a movie ever. Elvira & Dolly Parton playing their stage personas as estranged sisters who must team up to fight evil."
ClothDiaperAddicts
Fatale
jane seymour call me kitty cat GIFGiphy"Jane Seymour. 71 and still stunning."
MrWiggy89
"Live and Let Die. Incredible, and she'll always be in my mind as Elise McKenna, the woman so beautiful that Christopher Reeve's character went back to be with her in Somewhere in Time. I totally get the desire."
pcserenity
Hey Su...
"Susanna Hoffs (63)."
analogtapes
"Plot twist: She sang 'Walk Like an Egyptian' because she's immortal and actually lived in Ancient Egypt."
RealisticDelusions77
"She was my first crush. As a child, I used to watch MTV for hours just for that moment when she cut her eyes in the 'Walk Like an Egyptian' video."
3lon_Mu5k
I am loving this list. I didn't think I would.
Maddy
mads mikkelsen hannibal GIFGiphy"Mads Mikkelsen."
Valuable-Mango368
"You mean my daddy issues? Damn I love that guy. Death Stranding really nailed how he can come through a medium without much hassle."
This_User_Said
My Biological Clock
"Marisa Tomei."
LiveShowOneNightOnly
"Jesus, I was so confused watching the new Spider-Man movies with Marisa as Aunt May. Marisa Tomei is perpetually the hot 80s chick in my head, also Jennifer Connelly. I was watching Morbius and seeing Requiem for a Dream and Career Opportunities. I AM OLD, I GUESS."
Forge64
Oh Captain
"Christopher Plummer, right up until the day he died at 92."
amodernjunecleaver
"I first saw ‘The Sound of Music’ as a child, watched in many times, know if off by heart etc. I didn’t watch for many years."
"Then as an adult I wanted to introduce a friend’s kid to it, put it on, and spent the next couple of hours absolutely dumbstruck by how hot Christopher Plummer was. It had never struck me before that time but go**amn have I never forgotten. No wonder Maria chose the Captain, if I had to choose between him and God I know who my pick would be."
niconiconeko
Hey Tim!
"Timothy Olyphant. Idk what it is about him. He's so funny, charming, and handsome that I don't care how much older than me he is."
throwaway-getaway122
"I do NOT get tired of watching him; he is so expressive. In Catch and Release there's a scene where he and Jennifer Garner are having a conversation that consists entirely of gestures and facial expressions. Hilarious!"
BugsRatty
"He is amazing in Justified and Deadwood... hell, pretty much everything. I think I just found out I may have a man-crush on the dude lol."
Captain-Hornblower
Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh No GIF by RegalGiphy"Michelle Yeoh."
ThinkIGotHacked
"Ugh she was a vision in Everything Everywhere All at Once. And if she doesn't win all the awards then there is something really wrong with the voting system."
HoaryPuffleg
YUM YUM
"Oof that's kind of a hard one. Without looking up a bunch of older actors I think I'd have to go with Ken Watanabe. I think he's in his early 60s now and the last time I saw a recent pic of him he was still looking fine AF. And an honorable mention is Steve Carell... I don't know what it is but he keeps getting hotter with age. I was never attracted to him until he did that silver fox photo shoot with the paint brush 'n shi*t."
total class act...
"Stanley Tucci. As my mom says about handsome men, he just looks like he smells good."
vonye25
"He visited our hotel a few weeks ago. As the Restaurant Manager I was specifically told that my team and I were not to treat him any different to other guests, which we don't."
"The guy was a total class act polite, courteous, and always keen for a chat. Never mentioned his movies, his career, but was there to enjoy time with his family, and they themselves were also a joy to be around. Can confirm he always had a slight aroma of warm cinnamon."
valdezverdun
Well that is a long list of sexy. Cheers to growing sexy with age.