‘Learn Useless Talents’: 40 Useless But Very Cool-Looking Things You Can Learn To Impress Others
When we think about talents, we often imagine something cool, valuable and impressive. From painting to playing an instrument, these abilities immediately bring us into the spotlight and make us a teeny tiny bit better than anyone born without them.
But this online group celebrates exactly the opposite of that. Welcome to the “Learn Useless Talents” subreddit, a miscellaneous home to 694k members who share not just talents, but the most useless ones of all.
“This is a place to learn how to do cool things that have no use other than killing time and impressing strangers,” the group’s description reads, so I leave the stage to some of the best (and most useless!) posts posted here.
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When we speak about learning new skills, whether it’s something we’re talented in or not, it’s impossible not to address people’s obsession with improving themselves and becoming better in one way or another. Life hacks seem to be everywhere these days, from little things like easily opening stuck jar lids to more profound ones like becoming more productive and learning to use your time wisely on a daily basis.
To better understand this phenomenon that has been everywhere on social media, we reached out to Mike Sturm, a productivity and personal growth expert, who thinks that the current obsession with life hacks is about 2 main things.
“First, we love to be inventors and discoverers. If we believe we've come up with something no one else has, or discovered something that very few others know about, we get a kick out of it. Secondly, many of us really believe that making everything we do as efficient as possible is the way to a great life,” Sturm argues.
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On the other hand, “the problem is that if you make something super-efficient, but it's something you probably should have stopped trying to do long ago, you're not any better for it. In fact, you're probably worse off—because you've invested time and energy on this thing that really doesn't bring value to your life,” the productivity coach explained.
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Our obsession with life hacks indicates that we spend a lot of time thinking that what makes for a good life has a lot to do with how we are perceived by others. “Do they think we're cool, smart, innovative, strong, etc.? But what others think of us—even what those close to us think—is just a proxy for what's more important: are we bringing value to others? Are we uncovering meaningful truths in the world? Are we genuinely improving some small part of the world?” Sturm wonders.
“But often times, the things that go viral and get you noticed quickly are not what brings the most value,” he added.
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I'm doing this tomorrow and waiting to see how long it takes before someone notices and says "Are those PANTS??"
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It’s also worth noting that a lot of life hacks surfing online seem to be either absurd or totally useless, aka how to peel a cucumber with cling tape. In response to this, Sturm quoted Peter Drucker: "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."
According to Sturm, we only get one shot at this life (that we know of). “And while I can't deny that it's fun sometimes to figure out novel ways to peel vegetables with household items, there's only a small amount of that kind of stuff that brings real value to your life. There are things that are worth working on to make more efficient. Those are the things that need to be done, because if they're not, then what's important to you will suffer,” he explained.
Owlpple
Well, Then
I was on a bus tour where someone took a drink from a can of Coke and got stung. They couldn't stop crying, so I asked if it was a Bee or a Wasp -- they didn't know. . . . It Makes A Difference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I told them, if it was a bee, it would have left behind a stinger and a venom sack. When took a look, I could see it in the roof of their mouth. Using the tweezers from a swiss army knife, I extracted it and solved the problem. Instant pain relief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you've read this far, you've learned some "useless" information like the other people on the bus.
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Sturm argues that what this all comes down to is getting clear on what's important to you—really important. “What do you want out of this life? What needs to happen for your life to get that way? And if you're not sure yet what you want out of life, then that's the most important thing for you to do right now,” he said and added that “no amount of finding better ways to do mundane things will find that out for you.”
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I'd need a lot of brandy before this no matter which person I am in the equation.
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How To Fold A Plastic Bag Properly. Not Just Scrunch It Up Into A Ball
Other solution : grab a canvas bag when you go do your groceries. And voilà ! No more plastic bag to fold or roll into a ball.
Yes, but then you have a canvas bag to fold or roll into a ball and this can be used for that too.
Load More Replies...The bag is screaming for help in the 2nd panel. “HELP THIS MAN FOLDED MY BROTHERS INFRONT OF ME! DONT LET HIM DO THIS TO MEEE”
This reminds me of a Lily Tomlin skit: Announcer: Meet Ellen Sherman, Cleveland housewife and mother. Housewife: Hi! Im a nuclear physicist and commissioner of consumer affairs. In my spare time I do needlepoint, read, sculpt, take riding lessons and brush up on my knowledge of current events. Thursday is my day at the day care center and then theres my work with the deaf but I still have time left over to do all my own baking and practice my backhand even though Im on call 24 hours a day as a legal aide (fades out) Announcer: How does Ellen Sherman do it all? Shes smart. She takes Speed! The tiny blue diet pill you dont have to be overweight to need. Housewife: And then I collect these paper bags and I have them right here, all folded and everything, in case anyone needs a paper bag I have one (fades out) Announcer: Yes, Speed. Housewife: (fades in) cause I fold them neatly you know, I dont fold them just any old way (fades out)
The need to fold suggests you're like 90% of the population.. and forget to take your bag with you..1,2,3,4... 27,28,29..30ish times? I think we're supposed to treat it more like buying a Rememberance Poppy.. once you have *one* you can continue it use it but donate to the (Tesco's? environmental) cause without getting another.😂
Some folks have WAY too much time on their hands! (And they should ask for paper, biodegradable not plastic.)
I used to do this but the checkout chicks complained it was too hard to undo, so stopped doing it.
Last picture looks like many period pads🤣. Can this be used on plastic bags who doesn’t have the holders on top? We don’t have bags like that here.
Tweaker project!! LOL. Our bags here in the US don't have handles like that. I'm a stuffer lol.
I sort of miss the days when folding plastic bags was the problem. Paper bags are so big, and bulky and I don't have much use for them.
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How To Loudly Whistle With Four Fingers In Your Mouth
I nearly barfed trying it. I guess I will keep whistling like a peasant with dry fingers.
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Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
LOVE this list - so useless and I saved a lot of the images, never to look at them again.
Next time I need to amputate someone's limb, I have a guide. Last time it didn't go so well.
Your first mistake was using a butter knife.
Load More Replies...Some of these are actually just plain useful for people in specific professions (picking up ostrich), or for some edge-case scenarios (backpack from pants).
This proves that there are no useless talents. If it will make someone else snicker, laugh or wonder, it has proven its worth.
LOVE this list - so useless and I saved a lot of the images, never to look at them again.
Next time I need to amputate someone's limb, I have a guide. Last time it didn't go so well.
Your first mistake was using a butter knife.
Load More Replies...Some of these are actually just plain useful for people in specific professions (picking up ostrich), or for some edge-case scenarios (backpack from pants).
This proves that there are no useless talents. If it will make someone else snicker, laugh or wonder, it has proven its worth.