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Hey Pandas, What’s Something You Do That Makes Other People Raise Their Eyebrows?
Share your experiences.
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Pretty much just being me. I work on a farm. As a biofuel processing plant manager. In Iowa. I'm country down to the bone, having spent most of my adult life in really rural states west and north.
But in the evenings, a couple times a week, I gather up with some guys much younger than me, and of widely mixed ethnicities. I do sound and lights for their band, logistics, and tech/roadie. I even order/sell the merch.
But yep. Sometimes it raises a brow that a 50+ guy of Romanian descent from the Flyovers spends weekends working for two black, two Filipinos, and a white guy, lol. Best part? I don't generally accept any money from them. I just love doing this s**t, got experience, and it literally takes a team to make a band work, even at the local and regional level. I've got the time and resources to have the best hobby ever, with some of the best guys on earth.
I don't have or want or like children. I'm also a woman so everyone feels it's their duty to inform me that I absolutely must have at least five, right now.
I don't fake smile. But again, I'm a woman so mostly men and sometimes women cannot resist to tell me that I have to smile. Shockingly, that makes me want to smile even less.
I don't let my cats go outside. They are my cats, my decision. I had numerous family cats killed or maimed by disgusting humans in the past. They are spoiled and cared for very well, but exclusively on the inside. Lots of people, especially ones who never even had a goldfish insist on telling me every chance they got that I'm torturing my cats.
I don't do makeup or perfume, never been to a hairdresser. I'm clean and decent, and my partner is just as happy with my natural looks as I am. Others on the other hand think that I'm doing the whole woman thing wrong. My own mom told me once how proud she was when I was in high school and used to dress up so pretty. Well gee, thanks, good to know that that's all you felt was worth your pride in me.
I do math in my free time for fun. Everyone thinks it's weird but I really love math.
My father used to do that. He said it relaxed him and kept his mind sharp.
I don't separate my laundry by colors or fabrics. Just keep the temperature not too high and wash everything together - comes out fine every time. This seems perfectly normal to me but not to any female I've told about it.
The fact that your laundry comes out fine is attributable to modern laundry detergents, which prevent fabric dyes from bleeding. I never separate my laundry, and I'm a woman.
I adopt rescued guinea pigs.
More than often I get weird looks since we have two groups and thus two big self-made guinea-pig-friendly wooden cages - one in our living room and one in my homeoffice (and people see them when I'm on Zoom meetings). Every time I get asked how many I've got (12 at the moment), people raise their eyebrows and probably picture me hoarding animals in small cages. We're not. We try to give them the best home they can have after they've suffered for a long time.
Where I live guinea pigs are seen and sold as "children's pets" - so being an adult and having quite a few of them probably seems weird. I don't agree. They're just gorgeous.
Adopting rescued animals often means they come here sick. I had guinea pigs with broken and inflamed teeth and jaws, torn/bitten/cut-off ears, wounds, bald spots, blind, deaf, broken leg, parasites, fungus. I had several that had been alone for a long time or lived with a lot of other piggies in really small, dirty cages. I had some labeled as "don't get on with other guinea pigs" who turned out perfectly socialized after a few weeks.
Rescued pets often have special needs and need a lot of extra care plus cost a fortune of vet bills. Sometimes we can give them years of life quality, sometimes only a few months.
They're worth every cent and every spent minute.
I still have wonderful contact with my ex, so does my girlfriend with her ex. Lots of people don't understand that you can break up without bad feelings.
I remove the passenger front seat of my car (hatchback or sedan). I did it once for a cross-country move and never looked back - it's like having an extra trunk! You get a wide open floor space that's at the perfect height for grocery bags. It also allows room for very long items. If you ever do need to haul a passenger, they sit in the backseat and marvel at the leg room! On any car, it's just 4 bolts and an electrical clip or two - try it!
My hair has been purple with teal accent for about 5 years now. I get a lot of looks, partly because it's purple, and partly because I'm a senior.
I wish I had done this years ago. BP (before purple), I kind of faded into the background. Now I stand out and am remembered.
I wonder why because having vivid hair color is very common now?
I go to anime conventions with my 30 yr old daughter and dress up as different characters
I work as a criminal investigator for a public defenders office in a medium sized midwest community. I have never seen more people getting arrested for things that they did not do just so police and prosecutors can justify their existence. Tough on crime? Nope. Fill the jails to make it look like we're tough on crime...Absolutely! I cannot count how many people I have seen miss holidays with their families because they are poor, can't afford bail so they can wait for their trial to be heard while at home with their families, and instead have to wait for the legal system to finally figure out the person(s) were wrongfully accused.
Ooooo, dont forget the inmates getting covid because they are all housed on top of each other, a lack of medical attention for anyone who isn't dead and barely any heat in the jail.
Tough on crime doesn't work. It ends up with the exact opposite result...tough on the poor.
So, yeah, people don't like to talk shop with me because I end up essentially blowing up any preconceived notions they may have about "criminals" and our justice system...
I wear my hair up in a ponytail everyday, if I wear it down for a disco so occasion the attention it sparks makes me want to put it up again
Terrible autocorrect - If I wear it down for a special occasion
I like to laugh like a maniacal villain in the movie randomly.
Oh I have kind of maniacal laughter too! One time a friend said something real funny in a free period, and my laughter was somehow the loudest one in the class. Well, so loud that teachers from both the adjacent classes rushed in to see what was happening....and kicked all the boys out of the class... I am a girl and it was my laugh they heard.
I blow my nose in the noisiest possible way. I am sorry but i really dont know how to do it properly without sounding like an elephant playing the trumpet.
I laugh at almost everything because if I'm not sure how to react that's my fall back. It makes people very confused when I tell them why. One day someone was stealing my chair out from under me when I was sitting in it and I was laughing a lot, so my friends thought I thought it was funny and I couldn't convince them I was actually really annoyed.
Also another thing, I blush really easily for some reason and it makes for some awkward circumstances. I blush when I'm embarrassed or flustered or angry or sad or even if I'm just having a normal conversation with someone. And when it happens my whole face goes red, so masks don't help at all. I don't know if this qualifies as a habit, but it's something that makes people raise eyebrows for sure.
Im a total feminist born in a typical backword thought family ...... I totally hate the fact my family prohibits me from wearing crop tops or even shorts just because Im a girl. They also dont like the way I love K-pop , Because k-pop guys are "Gay" , according to them
Aww im so sorry they wont let you wear what you want 😢 i love kpop fashion and blackpink! Im a boy, not gay though but everyone thinks i am i just prefer ‘girl’ clothes 😅
My weird fashion tastes 😂 sometimes i dress goth, sometimes punk, emo or harajuku/kpop style, sometimes ‘girls ‘ clothes and skirts which people might think im weird for but i think i look cute 😊 also girls clothes fit me way better im very small 😩
I have a really bad anxiety disorder and I tend to shake and or fidget with literally everything. Apparently people find it annoying that I have nervous tics I cannot control, even with medication.
Also I've been told before that I'm too young to be depressed and simply faking my neurological disorder for attention.
I'm so sorry that some people don't even try to understand that not all forms of illness are visible. I hope you know that there are those out there who will understand and show you compassion. God Bless.
I don't like harry potter, star wars or Lord of the rings
I don't like them either. I find people who do like them crazy
I truly do not give a crap what others think of me. I never get embarrassed. Saying this I'm never an AH to people. My friends find it weird sometimes. For example I fell on ice the other week and some old woman were laughing... I just did not care.
I am always myself & treat everyone the way I wish to be treated.
It raises a lot of people's eyebrows.
I've told my daughter pretty much everything there was to know about me, my life, and my experiences. I've been told by lots of friends and family members that I tell her too much and that I'm her parent, not her friend. I feel as though it helps my daughter to understand me and my decision making process. I wish my parents had told me more about themselves and now that they've both passed away I'll never be able to find out what made them how they were. I hope that what I've shared with my daughter helps her in some way in her future endeavors.
I see parenting much the same way. My parents are still here, just...secretive, and they don't even see it that way. I just know that due to their lack of communication I've always wanted to keep things from them, as a teenager to the present, that I think they may not agree with and I don't want my daughters to feel that they need to hide things from me.
I pick up random trash . . . a cup, a bag, a napkin, newspaper left behind. I like to think it could start a trend that others will do this . . . or someone will watch me and won't litter. So far, I've never run out of things to pick up . . .
I wear shorts all the time, even Winter; I get eczema on my calves and I find that keeping my calves unconstrained by fabric such as jeans etc, helps prevent my eczema coming back. However, I get weird looks and comments about why I'm wearing shorts in the freezing cold.
I wear Harley Quinn costumes to places like the doctor's office or store just because I want to.
I stick my finger in older men butts for money.
They sure raise their eyebrows.
Yes, I'm a urologist.
I eat super-healthy and work out six days per week. People find it unbelievable that I don't eat junk. They offer me junk food and when I say no thank you they are astounded. But I enjoy being healthy and in great shape so I don't bow to pressure.
That's fabulous....as long as you don't look down on others for enjoying their junk food. I love a good cupcake.
I legit made my cat cat-friendly tacos for his birthday
Everyone says I love my animals waaaaaaaaay too much. I agree with them tbh
I eat bagels plain. Don't toast it. No cream cheese. I just eat it. I still don't understand how this is a crime.
Memories: I remember being scared to go to sleep because Wee Willie Winkie was going to rap on my window at night (and I was on the second floor)!, and the Sandman was going to come into my bedroom and sprinkle sand into my eyes. I'm glad that (being Jewish) I didn't know that Santa saw me when I was sleeping. That might have pushed me over the edge.
oops. This was meant to go with the childhood fears thread. Can i erase this?
I don't give my toddler chocolates or cheap junky treats. Where I live, it's completely acceptable to hand someone else's kid chocolates or cheap sweets without even asking the parents. I stop people from doing this, and they just don't understand why. It's like they think I'm a bad mom for NOT loading her with sugar.
To clarify, she does get " 'ssert" occasionally after meals, but it's usually something homemade or reasonable for kids.
I sometimes sing to songs i hear in public. I change the words to illustrate / narrate what I’m seeing or feeling. Can be fun, but also risky if too precise in my descriptions.
I love weird languages and specifically weird alphabets. I can read the following scripts (going from west to east): icelandic, saxon (runic and roman); various runic including pointed, halsinge and gothic; scandinavian characters; gothic proper (as in, dark-ages gothic); roman (obviously); greek; turkish; cyrillic: russian, bulgarian, ukrainian; and arabic. I'm trying to learn: japanese: hiragana, katakana, as well as: hebrew, amharic.
My goodness. That's a very large brain you have. I hope you use it for good instead of for evil.
I'm Buddhist. I live in a small town, and most of the people r Christian, and it surprises them. "B-BUDDHIST???? ARE YOU SERIOUS???" yes, I'm serious 😶 it's actually a very nice religion ☺️
Hello Ella! 👋🏻Wishing you all the best of fortune and prosperity on your journey to enlightenment 🕉☸️
I eat pizza sideways, biting down the sides, or I'll take random bites of the crust. I'm not going to wait until I finish the rest of my slice to eat the crust! And eating the crust all at once is too dry.
I chew with my mouth open because I can't breathe through my nose sometimes. I know, it's disgusting, but I'll suffocate otherwise.
Mentioned this before in another thread, but there's a little bit more to it. I most often only get 1 single hiccup and I'm done. Very rarely do I get a full on episode like most people. However, when I do get one, I actual say "hiccup" when it happens. Or something very similar to the word.
My single hiccups sound different from my regular hiccups. Regular sound like dying old man. Singular sound somewhere between a squeak, or low flying pterodactyl. It is usually a point of teasing at work.
If you watch me long enough, you'll likely see me start taping in some random pattern.
I'm imitating a piano.
It's a subconscious thing. I just do it without thinking about it, usually when I have nothing to do/waiting for something.
I had a momentary vision of you with tape, sticking it on everyone and everything in your immediate vicinity because you're board (panda). Then I realized, after you mentioned a piano, that 'taping' was a typo for 'tapping', lol. That's going to give me a lot of chuckles from now on, especially because our house is always chronically short on tape.
I can say the alphabet backwards with fluency.
Translating books from English to Spanish, only for fun.
Wearing weird boarder line fancy dress as everyday outfits. My husband says I look like an imaginary friend or sometimes a pantomime villain. He loves it and I love it but not everyone get’s it
This one is a good one:
When i was 4/5, i liked pickles.
My family ALWAYS raised their eyebrows when
i scurry across the house, open the fridge, find
the pickle jar, open it and you can never guess what happens next: put it in mt pants, (the place where you put your butt-ox)
and run to mt room to eat it.
my life is a mess just cuz of that lol
I don't sneeze just once... I sneeze at least seven times all in a row.
It's funny when I am around people all in a row because they look at me like I am from Mars and ask if I'm okay. I've even have had people count how many times I sneezed and say "Bless you" that many times as well.
When I'm with someone who sneezes, I say 'bless you'. If they sneeze again, I say 'and the horse you rode in on'. If they sneeze a third time, I say 'knock that s**t off!' Don't know why, I just do, and have know idea where I picked that up or why. And yet, there are people stranger than me out there walking around.
I prefer to eat pancakes plain and with my hands. I fold them like a pizza slice or a taco and bite.
Knitting helps me listen. So I knit in classes, etc., and then actually know what happened, and people think that’s weird. Basically, people assume you can’t do anything while knitting, while I find it harder to do most things without knitting.
The fact that I can't admit someone is not really my friend even Though I do know.
I eat boiled eggs like apples. The eggshells add protein and a lovely crunch!
I agree, the eggshells wold add a crunchy blast, also amanda, i dont wanna be rude or bossy, but plz respect the choices Calyfan chooses.
I like my job. I like helping my clients. I like being in an office that isn’t constant chaos. I even like the schedule options. As compared to my previous job where I got screamed at all day? My coworkers don’t know how good they have it and some of them wouldn’t last a day in customer service.
I’ll add a big ME TOO … sorrynotsorry if it makes me the odd man out in your negativity water cooler club… I just can’t buy in on the kvetching for 8 hours a day about the company, it’s policies, the dress code, the pay, the clients, the projects. If you’re not enjoying the work, find other work, please! Don’t bring others down with your groaning.
I don't eat sweets, sugar at all, don't drink cola, soda or alcohol at all, I whave 2 Masters degrees with distinction, Virgin till marriage at 30, husband is my first kiss, sex and love. I'm great at cooking homemaking, sewing, dressing, I did my own makeup at my engagement and wedding, I'm having my first kid at 32, I'm very friendly, spontaneous with great sense of humor.
Even my own inlaws don't believe I have all these qualities.
Not bragging, just something I have heard a lot about myself which is normal for me but not for people around me.
I am glad that you are happy, but feel sorry for all the life experiences that you have missed
I almost never cuss in public, I just pause for the amount of time it would take to say whatever word a cusser would put there. People always stare at me when that happens. (At home, though, I'm 100% a cusser.)
You have figured out that a suspicious silence is much more effective than stereotyped affectations of toughness. Good for you!
I really like cold cucumber slices on hot pizza.
I haven’t read the Harry Potter books and I don’t plan to.
I haven't either, and I'm a librarian. Reading about fantasy worlds is an exhausting acquired taste. No oe should have to apologize for their taste in anything.
They find me weird for talking about things like other people's respect and staying firm on things, if I don't want to be friends with someone, then they could be Bill Gates and I won't try to be their best friend. I get told I won't get anywhere in life this way and I should stick more to the popular people but I feel I only want to be where I can without having to compromise on the people who I want in my life and I physically cannot pretend to like someone I don't. I feel it's unfair to them as well
Congrats on staying true to yourself. Popular people are over-rated. Go to your 25th high school reunion and you'll see what I mean.
I drink kool-aid at work instead of coffee. EVERYONE has to make a comment when they first find out and I hate it, but it's difficult to be discreet when you have to share a fridge. "I don't know how you drink all that sugar and stay so small", "You're going to get diabetes eating all that sugar", "that's so terrible for your teeth", etc.
I'm an adult with grown children, can I just live?
When my coworkers throw away water bottles, I pull them back out and empty them and then take them home to recycle. They have seen me do this and a couple of them have asked me about it, and I have explained that the earth is a closed system and there is only so much available water so we always need to be sure that a water bottle is completely emptied before throwing it away. The plastic won’t break down and the water will be trapped etc. And don’t get me started on the Pacific Garbage Patch. Some have really responded well and now they also make sure that water bottles are empty and offer them to me to recycle. But others just give me the side eye and laugh behind my back about the tree hugging hippie. Whatever. I’ve been environmentally conscious since I was in my early teens and I believe in caring for the planet. That’s not going to change.
I have dental work, up to and including root canals, without freezing.
What do you mean, 'freezing'? Are you from a country that uses cold as an anesthetic? Or was that a typo?
I have something called SPD (Scab Picking Disorder) I never do it in public but when friends come over I always have band aids on (Its better now, I hardly even scratch) Lots of people would get grossed out or freaked out, another eye-brow-raising thing is Im very ovi when I like someone (like so ovi) so most of the time I tease the person I like or ignore them (I bet some other people do it too, but for me and where I live its kinda weird)
I eat tomatoes like apples, like grap tomato feel the squishiness if perfect then:
- take a bite
- suck out the juices like a vampire
- repeat
They’re delicious like that, but I have to sprinkle a teensy bit of sugar on them depending on the variety. I grew up in central NJ where there were (once) many farms and everyone grew big red Jersey tomatoes in their back gardens.
I completely and utterly go INSANE crazy talking, yelling to myself whenever I am walking a street alone and see someone intimidating, or someone ready to ask for money. Works every time. . .they immediately look away. . . and it's kinda fun
I ask them to do their best Rock impersonation.
I'd curl up in somewhat of a ball and not move. If I was near a hill, I'd roll down it in that position. Hehe
Hi hi! I’m Vin. (That’s not my actual name but I don’t like to share my real one online) I don’t identify as male or female, and my clothing style is super weird and androgynous at the same time. I got stared at by a bunch of 60+ y/o people when I wore a suit and flatbrim fedora to church on Christmas Eve with my long hair and makeup. I took that attention as a compliment and waved and smiled at all the older ladies who were whispering to their husbands and staring at me :D
Whenever I have been in a fight, verbally or physically, I start to laugh.
The sudden rush to anger strikes me as funny,and I have to call 'time out'.
I've been told it makes me come across as crazy,but the whole arguing thing seems ridiculous..and really childish. 🤭
Not to disrespect those who have legit mental problems, but people respect craziness because it is unpredicatble. A friend I know was attacked in a retail parking lot and started acting batshit crazy. The robber got scared and ran off. LOL, she was in her eighties.
Also, as I'm pushing my emotional support dog around town, I eat the outside of bananas first. I nibble on them as if I'm eating corn-on-the-cob, rotating it as I go, then I eat the inner part. I don't know why, it just has a better, firmer texture that way. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I like my bananas a little green.
Gah… on my left foot, without even thinking about it, my second toe crosses and rests on my big toe. Also when I sleep.
So weird…
I don’t drink coffee, tea or alcohol. Nothing to do with beliefs, I just don’t like the taste of them.
I also count my steps when I walk up stairs/steps. I do this unconsciously.
be gay and hold hands with my friend gets a lot of stares
I don't speak unless I absolutely must. Working from home is wonderful for my Asperger's. I can take my time responding to an e-mail or text without fear of saying the wrong thing. No one looks at me, no one randomly touching my arm, no one with whom I must make eye contact; it's heaven!
I tell the truth. In my experience it's the rare person who wants to hear the truth, no matter how diplomatically expressed. This quality has made me a tireless activist.
my answer is simple, I MOAN AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS!!!!!!
I am a wristwatch enthusiast and am a member of three watch groups on Facebook. We have these topics called "WOTD" (Watch of the Day) where we show each other the watch(es) we're wearing for that day. So, every day, I try to get the best lighting I could to take a photo of my watch and I even take multiple photos to get the best one I can. I move my wrist around to get the lighting right. All for a daily Facebook post. I also try to get a good background to contrast with the colors of the watch and the strap it's paired with.
I eat baked beans straight from the can.
So many to choose from....I don't like to spend time with others. I do not date. I am happy to be by myself. I don't like to go to restaurants---and many more.
I have a 12 year old Yorkie who is blind and partially deaf, and when I walk around town to do errands, I take him with me in an old jogging stroller. Into stores, everywhere. Most people are really nice and ooh and aah over him. But sometimes there are people, mostly older men, who are rude. I was in Safeway, and this older man of about 65 looked at me, then at Rufus and said 'oKAAY', in that way people do who can't see a situation they don't approve of without making a snarky comment about it. Then there was the time I took him into the library. (I live in a small town, and it was still OK then to take 'non service' animals into places, before the city folk moved here and ruined it.) He was a very quiet and well-behaved dog then. But as I was walking out, mind you, this big tall man of around 60, not two feet away, bellowed down at us 'AWW. YOU BROUGHT YOUR DOG WITH YOU INTO THE LIBRARY. THAT'S REEAAL NICE'. Emotional support animal shaming. That's REEAAL NICE.
Pretty common I guess but I put ketchup on everything, french fries, hotdogs, turkey, chicken, potatoes, mac and cheese, vegetables, even alfredo............Honestly I would probably eat a ketchup sandwich if I could
Technically you can. If you make bread and mix ketchup in, you have ketchup bread. If you make it into a sandwich and put ketchup on it, you have a ketchup sandwich made mostly out of ketchup. Bon appetite!
