You can deduce plenty about people just from the things they have in their home.
Not that I rummage through people's homes... much. But there are certain items that are present or missing that let you know there may be trouble in some areas of a person's life.
For instance... all writers have pens. It's a thing. And a computer. And they have books, because they read and research.
If they're missing more than one of these items, it's a poser.
Redditor Tarrabyte__ wanted to send up the red flags we should be on the lookout for when rummaging in kitchens. There are just somethings only a bad cook would have.
"What food in someone's cabinet screams, 'I'm bad at cooking?'"
There are basics to every field and desire.
You have to have the basics or not have what doesn't belong.
Poisons
"I’ve seen someone store their bleach, dish soap, and bath soap right beside the potatoes." ~ jcn143
Dr. NOOOO
"My mom has had a can of Dr.Pepper flavored beans in the cabinet for about 6 months so I’d have to go with that." ~ mini-maggit
"I bought those once more as a novelty. They weren't good. It's like the sauce is supposed to be made with Dr Pepper. But they just tasted bad. So be glad she left them in the cabinet and didn't serve them to you." ~ Acrobatic_Succotash
"You might be surprised how many BBQ recipes call for some kind of dark soda in the sauce/marinade. Dr Pepper, Cola, Root beer; I've seen everything from beans to pulled pork call for one of those." SocratesBalls
"oh it's still good"
"My parents have spices in the cabinet from before they were married. They just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week. It's a known fact amongst my kids, you don't eat anything in grandmas house without checking an expiration date."
"We've also started a new game of trying to find the oldest expiration date we can. The refrigerator has stuff from the year I graduated high school in 1999. Ice cream toppings and things like that. The response from my mom and dad is always 'oh it's still good.'" ~ oaksso7880
Bad Flavors
"To balance out the 'lack of seasonings.' Only massive amounts of garlic and onion powder. I met someone who insists you'd be a fool to not pack every recipe with these, to the point where everything has this weird, overpowering fake taste." ~ Doobledorf
"They’re easy to lean on because they smell good as is. It takes a little experience and experimentation to learn how to unlock the other flavors through combinations and actually cooking the herbs. Like I could just huff a bag of onion powder all day that stuff is amazing!" ~ Abrahamlinkenssphere
Get Wood
"A glass cutting board. only people who have no clue what they’re doing in the kitchen would use one." ~ kittenswithtattoos
Storage is key.
You don't store chemicals with food.
Choose to live.
What's Missing?
"I think it's more about what's not there. If you don't own a cutting board, you probably can't cook. I'm surprised at how snobby some of these comments are. I'm a great cook, but eat instant/shortcut convenience foods all the time. My time and energy are finite resources, sometimes those convenience items are a lifesaver!" ~ strikingsapphire
Cut it Up
"The lack of a larger, sharp, knife. If all you have are paring knives, I will assume you don’t cook much." ~ Bananaman612
"Whatever size they are, if all your knives are dull, you either don’t cook much or have some kind of weird fetish for frustrating yourself. Lots of people can’t afford fancy knives, but most can afford a sharpener and a few seconds every now and then to give them a quick run through." ~ Fortherealtalk
What's Lacking
"It's more the lack of salt in the cabinet. My family doesn't believe in seasoning food and they don't think it is possible to overcook something. I have heard my mom complain about how pepper is too spicy. They're like the stereotype of white people." ~ Either_Road_5538
"Sounds like my friend when we were growing up his mom cooked chicken by boiling it and don't season it at all. Dude way blown away when I cooked him and myself chicken with a homemade pan sauce one time, that's when he told me about his childhood of bland boiled chicken." ~ subaru_natsuki337
Reasons for Seasons
"I see a lot of people here ragging on instant food but damn I work full time. Sometimes I make Butter Chicken from scratch and other times I make hamburger helper for dinner. I consider myself a good cook but I’m also a person who gets tired. Just because you have lazy meals ready to go does not make you a bad cook." ~ TheCylonsAreHere
I think I may be a bad cook.
That's ok, I have DoorDash.
And I'm temperamental with spices so take that as you will.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Be it for reasons out of our control, or simply because we didn't allow enough time, all of us have shown up to something late at least once in our lives.
And the only thing that could make us feel worse than we already do about our tardiness, is being told "you're late."
Naturally, the obvious response to the obvious reminder would be a simple, "I'm sorry."
Though it's fair to say that when someone so blatantly states the obvious, maybe they deserve a somewhat more original response?
Redditor ReddBolt511 was curious to hear the best retorts people have given, or recieved, to being told they were late, leading them to ask:
"What's the best response to 'You're late'?
I learned my lesson.
"The first time I was late in over two years, HR wrote me up."
"In the evening I went home on time and HR asked me why I was already heading out."
"I told them I have learned my lesson and won't be late for the second time."- atot806
Tell me something I don't know.
"I know, thank you for your patience."- dayglo98
Priorities...
"Sorry I didn’t want to come."- HonestSapphireLion24
Gonna have to do better than that!
"A bloke in my high school had a cracker that I’ll never forget."
"Teacher: 'you’re 10 minutes late'."
"Student: 'yeah sorry I was walking slowly'."
"It did not go down well."- Rosemount3051S
Catch me up, why don't you!
"Why?"
'What did I miss?"- rwubmc
Be one step ahead.
"Don't give them a chance to say anything."
"Walk in and say: 'I see you have started without me'."- JustBeingDylan
Be like the superhero they are...
"Walk past them and say:"
'"Well, now we’re waiting for you'.”
"RDJ as Iron Man".- miguelmoen
Maybe just be honest?
"I remember a guy was late for grade 12 chemistry class and our chemistry teacher was really strict and when the teacher asked him why are you late he quickly spat out"
"'Because I didn't make it here on time'."
"It's a great line but he didn't do it on purpose."- nardpuncher
You knew it was coming...
"How do you know my menstrual cycles?"- ThisAnswerIsLit
Next time you find yourself running late, rather than worrying about it the whole time, maybe spend it thinking of a clever response?
You'd be surprised how much is forgiven by a good laugh.
People Break Down Which Topics They Could Talk About For 30 Minutes With No Preparation
Everyone has their own areas of expertise.
Not necessarily something related to their professional field, but more one of their great interests or passions, which they almost unknowingly learned about over time.
And as a result, should said topic arise during a group gathering or dinner party, they'll be able to talk about it for hours.
Much to the delight, or dismay, of their friends and family.
Redditor NikonDexter was curious to learn people's hidden knowledge on which they could provide an impromptu lecture, leading them to ask:
"What topic could you talk about for 30 minutes with no preparation?"
People believe anything I say.
"Anything, as long as nobody’s fact-checking me."- Left_Complaint1604
You think the werewolves in Twilight are scary?...
"Why most modern interpretations of classic folklore creatures, werewolves, faeries, vampires, etc., are less scary than the original stories."- Applesintheorchard
Don't even get me started...
"Why people who don't use turn signals are f*ck heads."- scotsworth
Whenever I need to vent...
"All the stupid sh*t my coworkers do."- DerpWilson
Tell me it's just a game...
"Video games most likely."
"I could easily talk about one of the Ace Attorney cases for 30 minutes."- zettasyntax
"Warhammer 40000."
"It won't be a quick 30 minutes."- Son_of_steven19
The force is strong...
"How f*cking incompetent the Jedi order are."- species-baby
Just listen
"Music."- Love-In-Veinz
Varied interests...
"Metal."
"Both the fabrication material and the music."- Faythlessly
Everyone has a passion that they will never tire of learning.
But, don't be surprised or offended if your friends and family don't seem as interested.
That just means you don't have to pretend to be interested in what they start talking about...
Who hasn't taken part in a fad that became passé before the year was out.
Children of the 90s probably wish they spent much less time and effort obtaining Pogs and Magic Cards than they did.
But while some frivolous fads are an almost instant flash in the pan, sometimes they are only the beginning of a pop culture phenomenon which continues to this day, with no end in sight.
Much to the dismay of many.
Redditor FalloutFan4207 was curious to hear the things people can't believe are as popular as they are, leading them to ask:
"What should never have gotten popular?"
Did anyone find this funny?
"The stupid public pranks on strangers where it's more or less just harassment."- Laptraffik
"Doing stupid sh*t for clout."- Unknown_Captain
More like "Toddler and Exploitation"...
"Toddlers and Tiaras. Child beauty pageants."- spaceassorcery
Just a cruel tease...
"Micro transactions."- Jerrybeshara
Why pay for something you can get for free from a tap?
"Bottled water for like $3 as an alternative to soft drinks."- Tuesday2017
Not everyone deserves to be famous
"Giving obnoxious people a platform."
"See Dr. Phil and his gaggle of guests who are famous for being stupid."- glitchystitchy
"Making stupid people famous."- whitecity011
Just how "real" are these shows?
"Reality TV/celebrity obsession/Kardashian style shows."- dogsquad81
Is there really anything wrong with monogomy?
"Being a side chick/dude."
"Essentially glorifying cheating."- OhJeezItsCorrine
One can only hope that these will all be things of the past before too long.
And will make way for another trend which people will spend years wondering why it became as popular as it did.
When we move into our first apartment, get our first job, and begin living independently for the first time, it's equal parts intimidating and exciting.
There's always the realization that you are now an adult.
But there are very few early to mid-twenty-somethings who don't stop and have a moment where they question if they are, in fact, an adult.
Many responsibilities that come with being an adult will take us by surprise, as there was no college course to teach us how to deal with them or prepare ourselves for them.
Redditor Palarity was curious to hear some of the rude awakenings people had as they entered adulthood, leading them to ask:
"What were you grossly unprepared for as an adult?"
Who's the boss here? Wait, me?!
"The slow realization that I am the adult in the room who's supposed to help out everyone else."- lapsangsouchogn
Not relying on your parents anymore
"Trivial in comparison to many things, but keeping up familial social obligations."
"Like, it's now on me to check in with aunt M and how she's recovering after her recent surgery, send a gift to cousin K's new baby, congratulate 2nd cousin T on his graduation, etc."
"Gone are the days when my mom did all of that and I just had to sign my name on the card or whatever."- InannasPocket
No more chilling on the quad...
"Going from having tons of friends to really having no one."- ZachariahCasey
Wondering if you have, in fact, "grown up".
"How much I still feel like a kid on the inside."- RosesSpins
Life is precious and unpredictable.
"Loss."
"As time passes and you become an adult, there are two guarantees:"
"1: the adults that shaped you, whom you love and adore, also get older."
"Older and sicker and will die, hopefully later but sometimes so much sooner than you would ever imagine."
"And 2: Peers and folks younger than you will die too, often with little to no rhyme or reason."
"My parents would say growing up that 'death is a part of life'.”
"But I’m not sure there is any way to prepare for really UNDERSTANDING that fact until you experience it yourself as you grow up."- Mbathrowaway202two
Taking care of yourself
"Dealing with a chronic health issue."- Square_Tangelo_7542
It's not all fun and games
"How little time in a week there is to enjoy 'life' after working full time."- Ser0t0n1n
That some people don't grow up.
'How insecure and incompetent other adults are."- ducvette
Bullies aren't only found in high schools.
"Bullying at the workplace by other 'adults'."- MathematicianOld1117
The truth is, nothing can prepare anyone for adulthood.
Primarily owing to the fact that no one follows the same path, so there is just no telling what life has in store for you.
But maybe the best part of being an adult, is that you are always learning, only now you don't have to show up to class or hand in homework to prove the lesson has sunk in.