What’s something you’ve done your whole life, only to realize recently that everyone else does it completely differently?

[u/Psychological_Sky_58]

[u/Cold-Guidance6433]

Rinsing out clean glasses and cups before using them. Found out not everyone does that.

[u/Particular_Bass3577 → u/Cold-Guidance6433]

I smell cups before using them if someone else washed them. I grew up with a brother that couldn't wash dishes correctly. 

[u/iamhollybear → u/Particular_Bass3577]

I also sniff cups lol my dishwasher betrayed me once and I never forgot it.

[u/really-upsetting → u/iamhollybear]

Hello fellow cup sniffers. I have yet to meet another one in the wild but I knew there had to be others out there.

[u/PyneNeedle → u/really-upsetting]

Nothing worse than getting a nice cold drink, say you even spoil yourself and add the ice cubes then you get that smell.

[u/ThePhantomBlot → u/Cold-Guidance6433]

You learned it from your mother, who learned it from her mother, who learned it from her mother, who grew up during the Dust Bowl.

[u/DragAlone7535 → u/ThePhantomBlot]

Or my cat grandma who would set the holiday dinner table a week in advance, and one day you notice that the cats  walk ALLLLL OVERRRR THE TABLEE 🤮🤮

[u/eight13atnight → u/DragAlone7535]

You’re gonna want more than just a rinse

[u/secretly_a_possum13 → u/Cold-Guidance6433]

I store mine upside down so dust can't get in!

[u/The_darktower19 → u/secretly_a_possum13]

I do this as well. I thought everyone did...don't they?

[u/lostbutnotgone → u/Cold-Guidance6433]

I do this but I also sniff cups before I use them. I know all the ones in my place are clean bc I live alone now, but a lifetime of living with others has taught me the cups aren't always clean... Can't get myself to use a cup I haven't sniffed first

[u/Moby_Dick_Cheney → u/Cold-Guidance6433]

Nobody wants dusty water!

[u/Prow09]

When going up or down the stairs, I always look at my feet. Just realized recently that not many people do this.

[u/Inner_Department3 → u/Prow09]

My feet and brain do not communicate when I walk down stairs. I hold on to the rail for dear life and watch my feet, telling them what to do (not out loud). Going up, I count stairs.

[u/ILoveMyself77 → u/Prow09]

I look only when going down

[u/ygswifey → u/Prow09]

I would probably not fall but I would feel very endangered if I did not look at my feet

[u/ProfessionFun5170]

When I lay on my side I put the opposite hand in the air and just hold it there for a while. It's oddly satisfying.

[u/Thrashbear → u/ProfessionFun5170]

I do that when I'm fighting bed gravity. That little action builds the momentum to escape the gravity well.

[u/BubblyBean996 → u/Thrashbear]

What pray tell, is bed gravity

[u/xnxs → u/BubblyBean996]

like when you’re getting out of bed in the morning (or supposed to be), but the bed’s density has increased a million fold overnight and the gravity is too strong

[u/fightinsfan42069 → u/xnxs]

Thank you for this new term, love it!

[u/HalfSoul30 → u/xnxs]

"Sorry boss, can't come in today. I wasn't able to reach escape velocity"

[u/Ares42 → u/ProfessionFun5170]

Next level of this is legs, used to do it all the time as a kid. You need the bed to be next to a wall though, and it's kinda awkward to do as an adult, but laying down and resting your legs up against the wall feels amazing.

[u/AuntieMame5280 → u/Ares42]

Legs up the wall is great for your back. Butt against the wall, legs straight up. Amazing.

[u/PowderCuffs → u/ProfessionFun5170]

I am floored. I have done this my whole life and have never known anyone else who does this. Hello family!!

[u/WorryNew3661 → u/PowderCuffs]

My people!

[u/Limp-Initiative-373 → u/ProfessionFun5170]

Yes!! My husband and I discovered years ago we both do this and it’s somehow relaxing. Only ever do it in the weekend.

[u/ReasonableComment_ → u/Limp-Initiative-373]

Smart. Moderation in all things, including raising your opposite hand in the air while on your side with your husband.

[u/Asunbiasedasicanbe → u/ProfessionFun5170]

This is what I came here for. Shit like this, absolutely wild.

[u/Menadgerie → u/ProfessionFun5170]

It strikes me, as a mom who nursed two babies into toddlerhood, that toddlers do this while nursing. Maybe it’s the human equivalent of kitties making biscuits.

[u/malacoda99]

A nurse handed me a little cup with two pills and a little cup of water. I took my pills and she started laughing. She said something to the effect of, "I've heard people do that but I've never seen it before!" She was astonished. I had put a little bit of water in my mouth, then the pills, then swallowed. I've always sipped some water first, then the pills don't stick to my tongue and I don't taste them.

[u/Due_Yogurtcloset_33 → u/malacoda99]

I had a patient once stick out his tongue to grab the pills from the cup like a lizard. That one surprised me hahaha

[u/anuthertw → u/Due_Yogurtcloset_33]

I do this with popcorn. But id never do it in front of someone lol

[u/ThadisJones → u/anuthertw]

I do this with sunflower seeds and my mom looks mortified and angrily whispers you can't do that in front of our guests

[u/12ozSlug → u/ThadisJones]

Mom for the hundredth time, beanie babies are not guests!

[u/TJH1993 → u/malacoda99]

I saw my boss struggling to take pills by doing it pill first and I showed her to fill her mouth with water first and swallow the pills at the same time and she texted my like a week later saying I changed her life with my "pill trick" lol

[u/ThatAdamsGuy → u/TJH1993]

I never used to be able to take pills, couldn't overcome that "choking" feel. Got a pack of those ball bearings you put on cakes and spent an afternoon "practicing"

[u/Remarkable_Play_6975 → u/ThatAdamsGuy]

That's a hilarious way to describe those BBs you put on cakes.

"Usage & Safety

Decorative: Primarily used to add a sophisticated, glamorous touch to cakes, cookies, and other baked goods, especially during holidays.

FDA Stance: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies metallic-finish dragees as inedible decorations.

Consume with Caution: If they have a metallic sheen, they should be removed from food before eating, as they are intended for decoration only. Pure sugar-based ones (often white or pearl) are safe to eat."

[u/GozerDGozerian → u/Remarkable_Play_6975]

Holy shit I’m 49 and just realized why BBs are called that.

[u/AcidlyButtery → u/malacoda99]

Especially the chalky ones that start to dissolve on the tongue and then bitter residue remains, even after drinking more water. All that can be avoided by sipping water first!

[u/anonymous_subroutine → u/AcidlyButtery]

I hate when sometimes the pill doesn't go down on the first try, subsequent tries get more and more difficult as the coating wears off. Like how am I supposed to get something all gritty and rough to slide down my throat? Capsules are superior.

[u/GideonGodwit → u/malacoda99]

Having taken around 84,000 pills in my lifetime, this is definitely the best way to do it. You only need a sip of water, and if you have gross tasting pills you can keep the water at the very back of your mouth, tilt your head back, and drop the pills into the water and swallow at the same time. Doesn't even touch the sides.

[u/emeeez → u/malacoda99]

I do that too. I never understood why people would put the pills first bc they start to dissolve in their mouth. Especially for pills like cortisone - where they’re extremely bitter.

[u/IAmTheReal420Diva → u/malacoda99]

This is the only way I can take pills. You're not alone, fellow scared of choking on a pill friend

[u/HollenZellis]

I remember being shocked to learn that some people primarily face the showerhead. Watching my ex boyfriend lean forward into the water and let the shampoo run all down his face felt so wrong. Of course I do turn into the water to wash my face and stuff, but the natural position is to have it hitting my back and leaning my head backward to rinse the shampoo

[u/jalehmichelle → u/HollenZellis]

I rotate like a rotisserie chicken

[u/VindemiatrixMapache → u/jalehmichelle]

Gas station hot dog for me.

[u/I_am_simply_a_potato → u/jalehmichelle]

It’s 5:08 am and I am about to begin work, and this comment made me laugh. It was the boost I needed, thank you.

[u/Chris_HitTheOver → u/I_am_simply_a_potato]

You go fucking kill it at work today, my friend.

[u/__sunmoonstars__ → u/HollenZellis]

I didn’t realise it was odd that I sit down in the shower until discussing it with friends.

[u/BictorianPizza → u/__sunmoonstars__]

Fellow shower sitter! I always knew it was rather odd but it’s just so much nicer :)

[u/Certain_Oddities → u/BictorianPizza]

The day I realized that I didn't have to stand in the shower changed the way I shower forever. It also means that showering feels less like a chore when I'm super tired.

[u/Curious_Owl3896 → u/HollenZellis]

I’ve seen online that this is a big gender thing, that most men face the shower head and most women face the other way. My fiancé showers facing the shower head. I’m always concerned he will get soap in his eyes!

[u/nfntfsefst → u/Curious_Owl3896]

Probably has more to do with hair length, I would guess

[u/nunatakj120 → u/Curious_Owl3896]

And this is how I find out i’m gay.

[u/ChickyBoys]

I dry myself off inside the shower so I don't get the bathroom floor all wet.

[u/Ninj-nerd1998 → u/ChickyBoys]

I'm wondering if this is why our bathmat gets so soaked... I get mostly dried in the shower, and make sure to dry each foot as I step out. Sometimes I come jnto the bathroom and I have to make sure I'm not wearing just socks because the bathmat will be drenched after my roommates have showers

[u/AccomplishedBlood515 → u/ChickyBoys]

Doesn't everyone? It also means I don't get as cold when I come out of the shower.

[u/JanetSnakehole610 → u/AccomplishedBlood515]

No. My husband would leave a a small pond from standing and not drying off at all. I got a diatomaceous stone mat and it helps and doesn’t stink like bathroom rugs can when you’re dripping a metric fuck ton of water on them.

[u/AccomplishedBlood515 → u/JanetSnakehole610]

Ugh. I'm sorry. We don't even use bath mats anymore. We just put a hand towel down before going into the shower. It's easier to clean and dry, and there's no rubber backing to wear off in your dryer and ruin it.

[u/dcannons → u/AccomplishedBlood515]

We have a bathmat that is more like a towel I guess. Anyway, it's like a slightly more robust towel with a border. Easy to throw in the wash and I can hang it up to dry between uses.

We used to have a super absorbent Costco bathmat. It was lush to stand on, but super absorbent was the key phrase - boy, you could NOT dry that thing when you washed it. 4 cycles through the dryer and hang it out in the sun for a day and it would still be holding onto water.

[u/twentytwo_a → u/AccomplishedBlood515]

My family has always done this too, it’s so much easier to manage.

[u/fancy_plants → u/ChickyBoys]

Same, I also get most of the water off with my hands before I grab the towel so I’m extra dry.

[u/Chromatic_mediant → u/fancy_plants]

Yes yes, the squeegee method

[u/69696969-69696969 → u/Chromatic_mediant]

I'm a hairy guy. If I don't squeegee, then the trapped water will overwhelm even the most absorbent of towels.

[u/therealserialninja]

I eat food in order from least favorite to most favorite

[u/DiscussionExotic3759 → u/therealserialninja]

You have to save the best bite for last in order to have a satisfying meal.

[u/Twiz41]

My dad uses food utensils more like a full hand grip shovel instead of the thumb over between index and middle finger. He does it mostly due to hand and elbow surgeries making it difficult to turn his wrist.

I grew up with a class of 28, so these same few kids had been having meals with me for a while. Someone finally asked why I use a fork like that and prefaced it with, "I've been wanting to ask you this for years" so I learned how to use silverware properly at 17.

[u/No_Measurement_7624]

I need to blow my nose every time after I sneezed. It does not matter if I have a cold or am completely healthy, two minutes after I sneeze my nose is full and needs to be blown.

Thought it was the same for everyone, but after I mentioned how annoying that was to a friend he said he never experienced the same. I then asked around and apparently I am the only one in my group of friends who has this issue.

[u/DeepRoot → u/No_Measurement_7624]

When I sneeze, I call it, "Turning on the faucet", b/c that's what happens to my nose but I knew it was Universal from the looks I got in my post-sneeze nose-blowing mode once.

[u/CarelesslyFabulous]

I whistle by sucking air in. I didn't realize it was strange until I was a teen.

Now I can whistle both ways, so can essentially whistle forever because I can breathe at the same time.

[u/NOON101 → u/CarelesslyFabulous]

OMFG, I could never whistle to save my life! It just didn’t work and YOU! YOU DID IT! I can now whistle :) apparently blowing out air doesn’t work as well for me as sucking in. Crazy. Thanks stranger!

[u/SpitInMeowf → u/NOON101]

All you needed was for someone to tell you even YOU can succ

[u/fiddlecakes → u/CarelesslyFabulous]

I am inward singing so I'm always fucking singing...

[u/IncandescentAttic → u/fiddlecakes]

I’m like a fuckin’ one-man band, I’m like a fuckin’ one-man baaaaaaaaaaaaand

[u/Finetales]

After I brush my teeth, it takes me a ton of little spits to get it all out of my mouth. Everyone else I've ever seen brush their teeth somehow just gets it all out in one big go??? It flabbergasts me every time, like I am physically incapable of doing that.

[u/moodygram → u/Finetales]

I do believe you're supposed to have a bit of "coating" left, so that the fluoride actually has time to work. If you rinse, iirc, you're esentially making fluoride useless.

[u/Left-Pop679]

i used to think that everyone sat down to put on their pants but apparently most people just balance on one leg like a flamingo. i have been sitting on the edge of the bed to get dressed my whole life because i thought it was the normal way to avoid falling over. i felt so uncoordinated when i realized my roommates just hop right into them while standing in the middle of the room.

[u/Iwant2go2there21 → u/Left-Pop679]

Why do so many of you think we balance on one leg like a flamingo? I stand when I put my pants on and that’s an exaggeration. You literally just step into one pant leg like walking up a step, and then step into the other after the first one. There’s no real balancing act that goes on

[u/Ridai → u/Iwant2go2there21]

That's what I was thinking, envisioning myself getting dressed you hold it out in front of you and "step" into it like you say. Once one foot is in and securely on the ground, step in the next leg.

What balancing act are people doing?

[u/Knapping_Uncle → u/Left-Pop679]

Sit down, pants over each foot, rotate back pull them over both legs roll forward go.

[u/Chubuwee → u/Knapping_Uncle]

Autobots roll out

[u/CarlPancake]

I drink from bottles/straws only through the corners of my mouth. My front teeth have always been particularly sensitive, so I avoid them having to touch liquids head-on.

[u/Jizzturnip]

2 things: 1. Folding toilet paper 2. Wiping while sitting and leaning to the side

[u/blueberrybuttercream → u/Jizzturnip]

I do #2 and it's led to constant loose toilet seats. How do y'all avoid this?? I'm not even enormous I'm 170 lbs 😭

[u/HeinousTugboat → u/blueberrybuttercream]

I replaced the bolts and nuts in all my toilet seats with brass bolts with rubber locating grommets and washers. They're nice and tight now.

[u/letsgetawayfromhere → u/Jizzturnip]

Wait. Who does not fold their toilet paper?

[u/Hot-Avocado789 → u/letsgetawayfromhere]

We had this pretty funny ad down in Australia about this very topic.

[u/Aristotallost → u/Hot-Avocado789]

In the Netherlands we had (or still have maybe) a radio show where one of the standard questions to guests is whether they're scrunchers or folders. I like the basic connection with people that comes from questions like that.

[u/illestofthechillest → u/letsgetawayfromhere]

When I was a heathen child, I balled it up. Finally learned I really don't need more than 3-4 squares of 2-play per most wipes.

[u/gogozrx → u/letsgetawayfromhere]

I'm a crumpler. I prefer the scrubby action.

[u/Inevitable-Loss6316 → u/Jizzturnip]

I was downright SHOCKED the first time my kid used the potty at home after preschool and he literally got off the toilet and into a full fucking bear walk pose, legs spread and everything so that I could wipe him.

I gotta tell ya, they are onto something at preschool. The difference between stand up cheeks together wipe and bear walk wipe is actually mind boggling. You have no idea how much shit is actually left behind until you're in charge of removing it from a fully mobile and potty trained human.

[u/eddie_cat → u/Inevitable-Loss6316]

Does "fully potty trained" not imply being able to wipe?? Legit question lol I have no idea when kids can generally do that but I assumed at the same time they can remember to go 🙃

[u/Cavethem24 → u/eddie_cat]

The overlap between “knows how to go into the toilet” and “still a sticky little vector of disease” is several years.

[u/Inevitable-Loss6316 → u/eddie_cat]

You would think? But no. Also "fully potty trained" often means just during the day, or when they are awake. The word "fully" is often really loosely used, probably as a ploy to keep parents and guardians sane as they navigate this insane skill set that all humans eventually learn.

[u/redditwossname → u/Jizzturnip]

There are weirdos out there that stand to wipe. Stand to wipe!?!?!?

[u/Jizzturnip → u/redditwossname]

Yep, I was with one for 10 years haha

[u/Colonelboob → u/Jizzturnip]

10 years?! I’m so sorry jizzturnip.

[u/False_Cicada_3171 → u/Jizzturnip]

I am 54 years old. Still standing to wipe. I will till I die. I actually bend forward standing. So I might be a whole new category on my own..

[u/Delicious_Fish_5097 → u/False_Cicada_3171]

You are not.

[u/Neakhanie]

Rolling up fitted sheets to put them away after laundering. Apparently a fairly large population has a secret, yet complicated, method of actually folding them to put them away. I hide the roll within the folded top sheet, which I thought was brilliant.

[u/Downtown_Sport724 → u/Neakhanie]

Listen…. I once read an entire Martha Stewart magazine article on how to properly fold a fitted sheet. I tried it approximately 4 times before resuming the much easier and much quicker rollup method.

People who properly fold fitted sheets are proper psychopaths. And I’m jealous.

[u/TrisgutzaSasha → u/Downtown_Sport724]

Or they work/ have worked in hotels. I promise I'm not a psychopath!

[u/TrickyDonkey7774 → u/TrisgutzaSasha]

That’s what all psychopaths say… 🧐

[u/GasEnvironmental7266 → u/Neakhanie]

For the longest time I only owned one fitted sheet and never had to fold it. Now I miss my single fitted sheet days.

[u/MotorboatinPorcupine → u/GasEnvironmental7266]

This is a nice little poem

[u/Own-Introduction6830 → u/Neakhanie]

I am one of those people who folds things with precision. Laundry, origami, paper planes, napkins, gift wrapping... but I can't for the life of me fold a fitted sheet, and I have given up trying.

[u/illestofthechillest → u/Own-Introduction6830]

Just stick your hands in the corner, "pockets," and keep connecting corners till you have a vague square thing.

[u/Automatic-Evening220]

i literally just found out that not everyone has a full internal monologue going on 24/7. i thought everyone had a voice in their head that narrates their day like a movie and discusses choices with itself. when a friend told me her brain is just quiet and full of images i was so shocked. i genuinely don't understand how people function without a constant mental podcast playing in their skull.

[u/Familiar-Song6146 → u/Automatic-Evening220]

Yes I literally can NEVER have a moment without noise in my head! Even when I try to stop thinking and picture nothing there is still at the least background noise or music it’s never completely silent.

[u/GingerFrid2024 → u/Automatic-Evening220]

This. The bitch never shuts up 🤣

[u/Kooky_Equivalent3785]

After taking a bite of a cookie, I lick the edge to keep crumbs from dropping. A friend once laughed and questioned my sanity after witnessing this.

[u/redditwossname → u/Kooky_Equivalent3785]

I give the edge a gentle suck to get the crumbs.

[u/bullet4mv92 → u/redditwossname]

Oh yeah you give that cookie the succ

[u/jcomey → u/Kooky_Equivalent3785]

So you do it for all the cookie, then?

[u/bigolgape → u/Kooky_Equivalent3785]

Yes! I press my tongue into the bite mark to get the crumbs out

[u/jenjen1357]

When putting on a bra, I’ve always clasped it in the front and then twisted it around and pulled it up. I only recently learned that a lot of people simply put it on and clasp it in the back without looking.

[u/nymeriasand83 → u/jenjen1357]

I used to do this too, I think my mum showed me? I stopped after getting a job as a bra fitter. Apparently it stretches out the band and the bra loses support faster. I started doing the back clasp and I did notice a difference on how long a bra would last.

[u/regboy5101 → u/jenjen1357]

I feel like you can do that blind with a smaller chest but it would be a feat of engineering to get my big naturals clasped in sight unseen.

[u/StopRacismWWJD]

Putting on my socks BEFORE putting on my pants lol

[u/chemical_sunset → u/StopRacismWWJD]

This is the superior method if your pants are even a little bit tight in the calves/ankles

[u/StopRacismWWJD → u/chemical_sunset]

Yes!! And I tend to wear skinny jeans and leggings more than anything else!

[u/jayadancer → u/StopRacismWWJD]

Until I read this comment I didn't know that people did it any other way. Lol

[u/dirtymoney → u/StopRacismWWJD]

it is like pantleg lube for your feet

[u/No-Relative-9663]

I thought everyone dried their hands by shaking them like a raccoon that just touched something cursed. Apparently most people… use towels.

[u/Ironhold → u/No-Relative-9663]

You're actually 3 raccoons in a trench coat aren't you.

[u/LegendaryOutlaw → u/No-Relative-9663]

I do both, shake them a few times into the sink, then dry with a hand towel. Shaking actually makes a big difference, if I go straight to the towel with wet hands, the towel is often soaked through and will take a very long time to dry.

If I do the shake, I remove like 75% of the leftover water, so the hand towel doesn’t get nearly as soaked and is dry by the next time I use it.

[u/aspen_silence → u/LegendaryOutlaw]

I want to know which uncultured heathen in my office shakes their hands violently at the mirror and not either into the sink or trash can.

[u/ryu323]

It took me way too long to realize I was using toilet seat covers incorrectly. I used to tear out the center flap and lay the cover on the seat in a U shape, but the flap is actually meant to hang down into the bowl at the front.

[u/ihategreenskittles → u/ryu323]

Same! I was in my 30s before I saw another adult place the toilet seat cover the "correct way." I was putting the tab in the back of the bowl.

[u/lovemesomezombie → u/ihategreenskittles]

When the tab is the the water, it will pull itself down when you flush so you dont have to touch it.

[u/IAmTheReal420Diva → u/ryu323]

I've now learned thanks to your comment

[u/ennuiui → u/ryu323]

Does anyone else struggle with toilet seat covers and automatic flushers? I put the cover on the seat (backwards, according to the above comment), turn around to undo my pants and get ready to sit. Invariably, the freakin’ automatic flushers will go off and suck the cover down before I have a chance to sit.

[u/Sumigra]

I count steps all the time going up and down

[u/roraima_is_very_tall → u/Sumigra]

I too am a long-time counter, steps, seconds, etc. it's not 100% of the time but often.

[u/Belletenebreuse → u/Sumigra]

Me too, but moreso going up than down and I have to count in 4s, so 10 steps is "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2". It feels a bit compulsive but not so much that I need to do it over if I mess up the count so I've never really mentioned it to anyone.

Stairs are the only context in which I count in 4s and I have no idea why. I'm an accountant, not a musician.

[u/Glittering_bby]

I’ve learned not everyone washes dishes with hot water. Like it has to be scalding hot damn near burning my skin for me to feel that the dishes are clean.

Edit: corrected my typo so now I am clearly not trying to lecturing the water ☠️

[u/-Ketracel-White → u/Glittering_bby]

You know it’s hot enough when you run it under the water and the stuck on cheese re-melts and meanders off the plate

[u/Amazing-Routine-9793 → u/-Ketracel-White]

meandering cheese...

[u/bellagab3 → u/Glittering_bby]

Especially necessary when washing something greasy!

[u/Jay3000X → u/bellagab3]

Adding the soap & scrubbing before adding the water can help with this too

[u/Hypno-chode → u/Glittering_bby]

You tell that water is been bad! You tell it to smarten up! (Scolding, not scalding)

[u/3RSHOC]

I didn’t realise until I was an adult that not everyone can make their eardrums rumble on purpose. Turns out my sister can too. It’s convenient to block out loud noises. Only learned via random internet threads and then asking my husband who had no idea what I was talking about. For reference - https://www.reddit.com/r/interesting/s/wtt3W8DJmY

[u/Humdungerdungerbin]

I start my S’s from the bottom

[u/Kindly-Pass-8877 → u/Humdungerdungerbin]

This is the one that has upset me the most for some reason.

[u/_banana_phone → u/Kindly-Pass-8877]

Yeah. Thanks, I hate it

[u/Psychological_Bet562 → u/Humdungerdungerbin]

I read that and in trying to imagine it, I suddenly couldn't even remember which way an S goes. Apparently you do the impossible all the time!

[u/OppositeBuilding5785 → u/Psychological_Bet562]

I read this and tried to do it, tried to figure out how to start the air at my bottom teeth before I realized we’re talking about the written “s” lol

[u/Distinct-Edge5899]

I recently learned that when (most) people snap their fingers they use their thumb and their middle fingers. I use my thumb and my ring fingers to snap. Using my thumb and middle finger feels so… wrong to me.

[u/jayadancer → u/Distinct-Edge5899]

Thank you! I've been wildly unsuccessful at good snapping my whole life... just tried it your way and killed it!

OMG it's the middle of the night here and I'm laying in bed just snapping away. My puppy must think I'm insane, but I'm going to be 52 soon and this is absolutely life-altering info for me. I'm just going to definitively snap a bit more and revel in the sense of achievement!

[u/RoseSpineX]

Brushing teeth before breakfast. Found out most people do it after and now I question everything.

[u/Airurando-jin → u/RoseSpineX]

Supposedly bad to eat about a half hour either side 

[u/Prestigious_Name5359]

Grocery shopping. I’ve always gone aisle by aisle, top to bottom, no plan. Found out most people actually make lists and hit sections strategically.

[u/KentuckyJam → u/Prestigious_Name5359]

In college I once went grocery shopping with a girl in my dorm who made a list and then insisted we go in order of the list to each item’s location. This meant walking back and forth because she did not order the list based on location. So we’d go from aisle 1, to aisle 7, back to aisle 2.

I also had to explain laundry softener was not the same as laundry detergent.

[u/onionsofwar → u/Prestigious_Name5359]

You don't end up with lots of impulse purchases?

[u/weckyweckerson → u/onionsofwar]

I do both. Write a list and then walk up and down each aisle getting what I need. Sometimes I'll skip an aisle if I know I don't need anything from there. Not a lot of impulse purchases but I guess I do occasionally.

[u/Cautious-Invite4128]

This isn’t something I do differently, but more so just an oddity I found out later. I thought everyone’s eyes crossed when they were tired/fell asleep, drove for too long, or drank more than two drinks, but as it turns out I have slight strabismus in my right eye (esotropia).

[u/Curious_Reputation_9]

Not washing the new bought clothes before wearing them the first time. Some people put them right on or into the closet.

[u/chemical_sunset → u/Curious_Reputation_9]

I’ve been flabbergasted by hearing about people buying new underwear to avoid doing laundry. I would NEVER wear new underwear without washing them first. I might skip the initial wash on pants if I’m super desperate, but it still feels wrong.

[u/NotTheGreenestThumb → u/Curious_Reputation_9]

Someone I know used to do this before they found out they’re allergic to many fabric dyes.

[u/bad-spellers-untie-]

When I'm blocking my ears with my fingers I fold the ear flap up and use that. I thought everyone did this but apparently people just put their fingers in their ear.

[u/swede242 → u/bad-spellers-untie-]

Wait so you fold the lobe up? I just press the tragus back to close the ear.

[u/ohyonghao → u/swede242]

I never knew it was called a tragus. I’ve found that to be the most effective way. Putting my fingers in them lowers the noise but not nearly as much as pressing the tragus back, especially with very loud noises, like at a concert (highly recommend proper concert ear plugs).

[u/MinnieCastavets → u/bad-spellers-untie-]

I don’t do that but I push the flap that’s right in front of the earhole to cover the earhole.

[u/NorwalkAvenger → u/bad-spellers-untie-]

It's basically the difference between a butt plug and a diaper.

[u/unfortunatelyalive7 → u/NorwalkAvenger]

the fact that that was the analogy that came to your mind. lol

[u/spectrumoffire357]

Walking with intent. When I'm walking, I notice a lot of people sorta just meander or walk without paying attention. I purposefully walk around knowing where everyone is around me, I alter my path to avoid people and account for the elderly or disabled. Yet I always see people walking seemingly without purpose. Speaking to people I know has made me realize how seriously I take moving around lol.

[u/Both_Chicken_666 → u/spectrumoffire357]

I do this too, shoulders back, head up, eyes forward etc and it's made me notice how many people don't. Always with theirs heads down, eyes on the ground and zero awareness of their surroundings.

[u/Misseskat → u/spectrumoffire357]

Same. And I'm far from a confident person, but it's palpable in a place like a grocery store, so many people lack self- awareness.

[u/unfortunatelyalive7]

don’t know, but i just came here to say why tf is every other comment about standing vs sitting to wipe

[u/typicalmovement → u/unfortunatelyalive7]

I'd say it's the premise: we don't see how others behave on the poopoo station, so we have been doing it differently our whole lives.

[u/ManischewitzShicker]

Not me, but in university I had a roommate who always cracked eggs in a clear drinking glass, held it up, and inspected them before using them. She said she was inspecting for pieces of shell, and she learned it from her mother who learned it from her mother and so on. She never found any pieces of shell but she always did it anyway.

I recognized what she was doing. It's a habit used by kosher keeping Jews to check for blood in eggs before cooking with them to make sure that they are Kosher. We were both non-religious, secular Jews a few generations removed from our Kosher-keeping great grandparents, but I was taking Judaic Studies and immersed in learning and interviewing people about folk customs. 

It's really cool how customs stick around in families even when they forget why they do it, like Latin American families with customs of lighting candles on Fridays, not cooking with pork fat, putting stones on graves etc, with no idea that these traditions were passed on by ancestors forcibly converted and persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition. I hope everybody can discover an interesting and unique custom in your own family and think about where it comes from. Like how many generations of that poop knife family kept a knife for cutting poop in their bathroom?? Fascinating.

[u/Organic-Economist486]

Putting water on my toothpaste / toothbrush before I brush my teeth. I can’t stand brushing with a dry toothbrush.

[u/NotAriaSkye]

I’ve always assumed everyone overthinks everything the way I do. Finding out that some people are just calm was shocking lol

[u/djsweetchuck]

I tie my shoes once. Then just slip them in and off. Who has time to tie shoes every day?

[u/akaneko__ → u/djsweetchuck]

Depends on the shoes some shoes are almost impossible to take off/put on if they’re tied

[u/Daedstar]

When drawing or writing, the pencil rests on my ring finger. Not my index or middle finger. So everything but my pinky is gripping that pencil. 

[u/castlite → u/Daedstar]

Same. I have a permanent writers bump on my ring finger.

[u/ashadashh]

Anytime I see a license plate I try to make some kind of correlation out of it. Example: LHH-2795, 2+7=9, 5+2=7, so now all the numbers are somehow related. I do this with the time too.

[u/Brilliant-Maybe-5672]

Avoid big spoons. I cannot eat dessert or yoghurt unless its a teaspoon. Apparently its an adhd quirk.

[u/FillySteveSteak → u/Brilliant-Maybe-5672]

I'm a mini spooner, too! i will take the time to dig through the silverware drawer to find the smallest spoon.

[u/Kind-Delay-7429 → u/Brilliant-Maybe-5672]

Ohhhh. My collection of ever-increasing small spoons makes so much sense.

[u/jokeswagon]

I lift my ass right off the seat to wipe. When I found out that people apparently lean over on one cheek to wipe from the side it suddenly made sense how toilet seats get torqued loose.

[u/2EscapedCapybaras]

When using a hand cranked can opener, I always crank it counter clockwise. Many times when I've done it clockwise, I'll end up with the lid not breaking off. I've never had that issue doing it counter.

[u/HangingOut1734]

I eat cheeseburgers upside down. Feels off the other way.

[u/InnocuousBird → u/HangingOut1734]

For the longest time I always ate burgers the normal right-side-up way and the patty and lettuce and tomato would all fall apart and slip out. Until one day I ate it upside down and it all somehow prevented me from making a mess. Now I eat it upside down all the time.

[u/strega_in_evoluzione → u/HangingOut1734]

I always flip my sandwiches every other bite to decide which way tastes better

[u/Mammoth_Skin6337]

I have a constant inner monologue going on including songs which overlap all at once. I’m always thinking about several things at once with a random soundtrack. Apparently this isn’t normal and I’ve got ADHD or something similar that nobody told me about growing up in the 80’s…

[u/jenyj89 → u/Mammoth_Skin6337]

I have the same thing, also ADHD. I thought that was how everyone was…non-stop brain dialogue, songs, plans, thinking ahead. When I read there’s a visual in my head of what I’m reading, which is why I avoid movies of books I’ve read. When driving my brain is constantly doing the “what if” for any traffic possibilities. It can be exhausting!

[u/Frankdukes187]

9th grade winter break 2008. Having Christmas dinner and were eating pretty much everything like Thanksgiving but we add tamales to the mix. Before then I thought tamales 🫔 were just corn husk with masa in them and thought who ever invented this food was dumb and all my life just ate the first layer of Masa and tossed the whole tamale away until I seen my cousin eating hers and she opens the whole thing and I see chili meat and I'm like wait wat there's meat in tamales? So I grab a tamale unwrap the whole thing till I get to the center and finally realized that it had meat the whole time!!!! I tasted it for the first time that Christmas night and im just in shock on how stupid I was to not know about the center of the tamale!!! The amount of times I threw away my tamales at family functions is just horrendous 😱😱😱😂😂😂

[u/Catz9547 → u/Frankdukes187]

This is so unique and funny

[u/Raisinsandfairywings]

There was a thread on one of the UK subreddits a while ago where everyone was discussing their special techniques for putting a pillow into a pillowcase. My mind was blown because I never considered there was any way other than simply just putting the pillow into the pillowcase. 

[u/quenton_cassidy13]

I was in the Grand Canyon with my wife sharing a hotel room with another couple. We had just run rim to rim to rim, so we were all beat up & tired. When the husband went to shower we heard him yelling from the bathroom & asked if he was good, he said "yep, the water is just freezing"

Turns out that his whole life he has gotten in the shower, then turned the water on, and huddled in the corner until it warmer up. He was mind-blown when we said you could just wait outside of the shower until the water gets hot. We changed his life that day

[u/Dull_Acanthopterygii]

When getting out of the shower/pool/sea, I use my palms to brush water off my arms/chest/legs. Makes it much nicer getting into a towel (as the towel ends up drier, as it doesn't need to absorb as much water), and over my life has saved countless hours of washing as towels last longer before needing a wash

[u/thegreatestpickle]

Eating pie. I dissect it by taking off the top layer then eating the filling. Then I eat the bottom crust layer, then the top, then the rounded crust edge piece.

[u/Whacking_Material]

My ex-husband used to open the tubes of Pillsbury biscuits or crescent rolls with a spoon instead of banging it on the edge of the counter to pop it. Blew his mind when I showed him.

[u/Pragmatic_Hedonist → u/Whacking_Material]

It blew my mind when I read the directions to use a spoon! Who doesn't whack it on the edge of the counter?

[u/WizardTim01 → u/Pragmatic_Hedonist]

Those of us who use our fingers. Press hard with your thumbs until 'Pop'. If I whack the counter, half of it could fall out. To each their own.

[u/thehalfmetaljacket]

I hate dripping water outside of the shower, so I have a very particular method for drying off that involves grabbing the towel from the shower, fully drying my upper body inside the shower, then drying one leg completely top to bottom, then once that foot is dry, stepping outside with that foot while I then fully drying my other leg while mostly hovering it inside the shower and not putting that foot down outside the shower until it's dry.

My ex would only sometimes start drying inside the shower and would invariably step out with at least soaking wet feet and legs and I swear would go on walkabout before bothering to fully dry off. We're not together anymore.

[u/GrowthSubstantial236]

i thought everyone tied their shoes the same way until i saw someone do the bunny ears method. i have always done the loop swoop and pull and i thought the two-loop version was just for toddlers. seeing a grown man tie his shoes with bunny ears made me realize there are two entirely different camps of shoe-tiers and we never talk about it.