The little things, it's always the little things in life that we take for granted most. More often than not, it's the little things that bring the best of life's offerings.
Now don't get me wrong, I think a big pool of cash and gold I can swim in like Scrooge McDuck is something we'd all love, but there actually are things money can't buy.
And in this time of adversity it's the little things we should be focusing on, because they are the things that we have most in common. And it's with that we can find common ground.
Redditor u/chesterforbes wanted to know what wonderful things we can all indulge in together, by asking:
What is something that is universally liked by everyone?
Adele. Adele is universal. Who doesn't love Adele? Don't speak to me if you don't. I can't have that toxicity in my life. But Adele is universal, admit it.
GOOOO!!!
peeing myself alex smith GIF by Bleacher Report
Giphy
"The relief sensation from peeing after having to hold it for a veryyy long time!"
- cynaido
Pure refreshments...
"Water on a very hot day."
- RaptorX
"My brother doesn't like water at all. He says it tastes like nothing and I use to be the same way until I cut soda, tea, and juice out completely. I can only drink super cold water or I would rather dehydrate otherwise because warm water reminds me of pee. Anyway, I'm just saying that there are people out there that don't like water at all."
- Ashbug19
Pop!
"When your ears finally pressurize at altitude."
"2 years or so ago, when I was heading home on the plane my ears pressurized but it was too much, and it caused barotrauma which created a hole in my eardrum which hasn't closed up since. It was not a fun experience."
"Meh? I'm one of the weirdos that can voluntarily flex that muscle so I can let the pressure out as it goes. I never understood why my mom kept making me take more gum when I spit mine out on planes. I thought everyone could do it until recently I learned it's my rare human trick."
Hey Jolene
"Dolly Parton."
"She's a pretty cool person. Dollywood is the weirdest freaking place I've ever been though. There's a hologram of her in the walkthrough museum of her life. She flies in as a butterfly and transforms into herself to greet you. Then she transforms back into a butterfly and flies away."
Blow
arrested development buster bluth GIF
Giphy
"The feeling of your nose being clear after being sick."
- cbaichh
I will vote yes to all of those things, especially Ms. Dolly Parton. She is an angel here on Earth. And there is nothing like being able to relieve oneself after holding it in, that is a spiritual experience. Let's hear about more joy...
At Home Reaction GIF by IKEA USA
All good things
"Those rare days when you wake up feeling positive and ready to be productive."
"That happened to me once in my life when I was in grade 5, I have a super vivid memory of that day, almost like I was a different person. I'm 40 now and wake up each day relatively well-rested and happy, but end up browsing reddit all day instead of working. Oh here it goes again."
Money Surprise
"Finding £10 in some trousers you've not worn for a while."
"One time I paid to put $10 in my gas tank. When I was pumping gas the pump stopped at $9.90. I went in to tell the guy his tank is broken. He told me the tank wasn't broken but one of the dimes I gave him turned out being a peso. I don't know why it still bugs me he didn't just give me ten in gas, but I didn't technically give him ten dollars I guess so he wasn't wrong."
Take It...
"Getting free stuff."
"I actually had a friend who had such a "poor people" complex, I tried to pay for his lunch on his birthday and he got angry at me. It was something we all did to each other on birthdays, he even did it to another one of our friends, just felt really embarrassed when it was his turn for a free meal."
People Share Which Social Norms Absolutely Baffle Them | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Relief...
Christmas Chicken GIF by happydog
Giphy
"A good burp that ends a bloated feeling."
- scottwax
More Hours Left...
"Waking up suddenly during sleep usually early morning and hoping that it's not the time you're supposed to get up e.g. 7 am. Then when you check the time it's hours before e.g. 3 am and you get to go back to sleep."
Just Anyone
"Being cared for or cared about."
- schetzo
"Some one who wants to hold your hand would be pretty great."
Words between Us
"For me it's having a really good conversation with my brother. We have a 13 yr difference and my mom poisoned his mind for YEARS that I left the family and ignored them (I was kicked out at 18 and was told I wasn't allowed to talk to my baby brother or sister). Decades later my brother and I started talking about and putting two and two together."
"We now have a fantastic relationship. We talk all the time over texts but the few times I physically see him it's like an adrenalin rush when we talk. It goes on for hours, wanders all over the place and gets louder and louder the longer we talk. It's just fantastic."
- tarnin
The Sky Parted
"Beautiful weather."
- Vara79
"Yeah, that's right. Tbh sunny days make me tired and more depressed and rainy ones calm yet more energetic. Rainy weather is the beautiful weather to me."
"Having worked nights before I can attest that my perspective of beautiful weather changed from warm sunshine to a dark cloud rainy day with great thunderstorms in the background."
Justice
Hot Tea Reaction GIF by Shalita Grant
Giphy
"Watching someone who deserves it get smacked with some instant karma."
Deep Breathes
"Oxygen."
"Was surprised this morning wasn't #1."
"Except for the guy who were in Apollo 1 when the pure oxygen caught fire and burned them all to death. They probably didn't like it."
- bdbr
Noises Off...
"Music? Or is that too general."
- 7th_Crow
"To me it's just noise and a distraction I would prefer not to have to listen to. Doesn't matter what type, I would prefer not to hear it."
"I wouldn't say I dislike music but I don't listen to it often and it seems significantly less important in my life than anyone else I know. If I have down time I'd rather read a book and I can't concentrate on reading and listening to music at the same time. I sometimes make an effort to get more into music because it's such a staple in other peoples lives so I'll go through periods of like shuffling through playlists sometimes but even when I find something I really like it never reaches a day-to-day importance in my life."
- szgl
Fluffy
"Clean clothes out of the dryer. So warm, like a hug!"
"Thank you for reminding me of a happy childhood memory. After a day of swimming at her house, my grandmother would put our towels in the dryer while we got a bath. Getting wrapped up in those warm, fluffy towels was the best. She has pretty progressed dementia now and it feels like she's been gone for a while, but she loved the crap out of her grandkids and that simple gesture was so special."
Praise
fly why thank you GIF by BuzzFeed
Giphy
"Being complimented."
"I can't handle compliments or praise. I don't understand how to react in those situations."
Lungs
"When you're out of breath and you pant for a few seconds and then take that final deep breath that completely fills you lungs."
"Great feeling."
Meow...
"My cat Metal Guru. You'll be like "oh I have allergies" or "Oh I don't like cats" or "oh cats are a nuisance in my hometown/state/country" and then Metal Guru will saunter up to you and go "squeak" and you'll be A-OK with him being your new best friend. One time he just walked around the table while my friends and I hungout, bumping his head on each person in a circle; just kept going around, sayin' hi, givin 'bumps. He's such a good little buddy. Everyone loves him."
Notice how sleep is referenced in several different ways on this thread? Sleep is a beautiful thing. And we take it for granted far too often. Let that fact sink in. We'd all be happier people with more rest.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
But we should also be prepared and ready to ask the right questions to have a leg up on the competition.
"What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?"
A company's history or information about a past employee were suggested subjects appropriate for questioning.
Prior Knowledge
"When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?"
"This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained. She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job."
A Previous Employee
"One that has always gone over well for me:"
"What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?"
"Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this."
Hypothetical questions were suggested as helpful examples of inquiry.
Indicators Of How Companies Treat Employees
"A question that landed me a job once was: 'If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they'd tell me?' Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but got the job.
"In my current interviews I'm asking 'what did your company do for its employees during [the virus] to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.' and I ask 'Is there anything your company adopted during [the virus] that they plan to keep post [the virus]?"
"These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well."
Past Performance & Adjustments
"If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?"
"If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?"
The following questions about a prospective company may not be answered from initial digging on their website.
Measure Of Success & Career Trajectories
"How is success measured in this role?"
"What are some possible career trajectories within the company that could stem from this position?"
Being A Solution
"Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to 'don't think of a purple hippo,' this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position."
Simply The Best
"Who is your best employee and why is he/she the best?"
"You will then face 2 situations mostly:"
"panicking CEO who can't answer you 'Bob who works 17 hours a day for a slice of bread' so the fear in their faces must be a big nono for you"
"entusiast CEO who actually follow their business and can tell you who is an added value for the company and why."
– ThePiz91
My experiences with job interviews are different than others seeking work in office environments.
Having had a years-long career as a dancer, my "interview" was the dance audition, where hopefuls dance in small groups of people at a time after learning a routine and then awaiting their fate after the panel evaluates their performances.
The question I may or may not have asked in such a scenario earlier in my career was: "Did I make the cut?"
I did not make the cut. And I learned never to ask that again.
I remember the worst date I ever had. My biggest regret is that I stayed for the entire thing. I should've left as soon as I realized this was not going well, which was basically at hello. But he was paying so I drank, a lot. I'll keep names and dates to myself to protect the innocent.
0/10
Big Brother Reaction GIF by Big Brother After DarkGiphy"Went to brewery, date said I had hairy arms and that meant I was horny, said "you look really awful in this light" and then tried to dig out of that hole by saying in his native language that was a term of endearment long term couples said to each other. 0/10 did not date again."
Lucky 13?
"My wife wanted to plan our 13th wedding anniversary. I was excited because usually, I plan it. She bought us some new disc golf discs and after a quick supper, we went to play. We hadn't played in forever. We were laughing and I had a great time. She served me with divorce papers and told me that the date was a test to see if she still had feelings for me. I also learned that she was having an affair that started well before our anniversary."
- rmorlock
Two Hours from Home
"Not necessarily a date but a person I was dating invited me to his parent's house for the afternoon. He wanted to introduce me to them and show me the house he grew up in. I thought it was super sweet and had no problems going. He was also in the middle of moving and needed to pick up a few things, so it really didn't seem that unusual."
"Yeah, we got there and it was awful. His entire family was there. They traveled from hours away too. This was not just meeting the parents, it was meeting the ENTIRE family. Even worse? At some point, this idiot told his parents that he had proposed. We had been dating TWO months. I spent the entire afternoon dumbfounded and just playing along."
"We were two hours from home and I had no cell service, no way to leave at all. We ended up spending the afternoon brainstorming wedding ideas and planning an Alaskan honeymoon that his parents planned to gift us. His brother even called to say congratulations! We drove back to his apartment in silence. When we got there, I got in my car and left, didn't even bother grabbing my stuff. Weirdest experience ever. I have no idea how he broke it to his parents that we weren't getting married."
You're Cut Off!
"Got set up on a blind date once between mutual friends. She shows up to the restaurant already a little tipsy, orders multiple appetizers and only takes like one or two bites from each one. Then she proceeds to order 3 or 4 more drinks and is visibly drunk at this point. She gets up and says she's going to the bathroom and staggers off. About 15-20 minutes go by so I try to call her several times but no answer."
"Finally I decide to pay the check and just leave. About 2 hours later I'm sitting at home and I get a call from an unknown number. It's the police department. She was picked up on a DUI on her way home after she ditched me and gave the cops my number to see if I could go bail her out!"
- mox44ah
Sorry?
Bbc Three Idk GIF by BBCGiphy"Well, I gave this answer on a different topic, but it ties in with this. We were out on a date, we had been seeing each other for a while, close to a year maybe. She gets a phone call. Suddenly she looks destroyed. Her fiancé had just died in a motorcycle accident."
What in the world? I mean how can we ever expect to pair off with the dating pool being inundated with liars and nut jobs? I'm going to delete my apps.
Girl, Bye.
Sassy Beyonce GIFGiphy"Had a girl openly flirt with the bartender in front of me. She says she wasn't. But handing him her own phone and asking for his contact info in front of her date seems like it to me."
Crazy!
"Came out from a movie, late at night, and date's Camaro was stolen. Apparently, he called his WIFE (that I did not know he had) and let her know where he was and what happened. She showed up and realized he was on a date! She started chasing ME around the parking lot telling me she was going to kill me. Saved by the cops who showed up just in time to take the auto theft report."
Hey Mom
"Met a girl at a country bar one night in my 20s. We were both pretty drunk but hit it off pretty good. Ended up getting her number and we agreed we'd go on a real date. Fast forward to the date, she gets in my vehicle and... she looks almost identical to my mom. I was mortified. I was polite and we went for lunch where I found out she also had a boyfriend she "wasn't sure if she was into". Never talked to her again."
- SgtGo
Liars...
"When I was in college many years ago, before the advancement of cell phones and social media, I was chatting with a girl I met on a BBS who lived on Long Island, NY. I was 18 at the time, but lied and said I was 22 because she said she was 25. We spent a few weeks emailing each other, as well as calling each other."
"We even exchanged pics. When we finally met up, things blew up. Turns out we both lied about our ages: She was really 33, and lied because she thought she looked younger. She admitted she sent a college photo to me. We still had dinner together, but it was awkward as hell. We never spoke again."
Doubles
Kill Me Now Season 1 GIF by FriendsGiphy"It was a double date. She was more interested talking to the other girl throughout the whole thing. Found out later from the other guy that his girl cheated on him with my date."
Ummm... I think I'm just going to stay single. That is a handful of crazy. Why can't people just be honest? I swear the search for love warps people's brains. Be careful out there people.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.