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Sometimes we do not know what we do not know, and we have to learn it the hard way. For example, if a person doesn't add water to the pot when they're boiling pasta, chances are, it will burn. So, in an attempt to figure out what (vital) skills people grow up without, Reddit user arual_x submitted a question to the platform, asking "What's the most horrifying 'how do you not know how to do this?' moment you've experienced with another person whilst adulting?"

I know the last word is enough to make zoomers cringe but let's not get into linguistics. It's the answers that count. Continue scrolling and check out the most upvoted ones.

#1

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I was a drill sergeant in the US Army. The first time you have to show an adult man how to shave is a little shocking. The worst one was the 24 year old male that didn't know how to tie his boots. He had gotten through reception and pick up day by tightly lacing his boots and tucking the laces in. As they would loosen up throughout the day, he would just pull them tight again. The first Sunday I noticed his boots were barely staying on as he was marching back from dinner. I asked him what was wrong with them as it's common for privates to have the wrong size boots when they get to us. He didn't know how to tie them. At all. Not a single knot. I spent an hour showing him how I tie my boots and different techniques if he gets hot spots or blisters. Then I assigned his bunkmate the task of making sure they were tied correctly when he left the bay.

I kind of understood it. He came from a super poor neighborhood, single mom that worked all the time, he didn't have a lot of positive influences before joining the Army. I was a little worried about his comprehension skills since basic rifle marksmanship is kind of intense and takes some focus, but he did well. I was very happy that on family day he had his low quarters tied and was proud that he had learned so much.

irunfarther , wmfawmfa Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do not normally appreciate military stories, but some people are lucky to find a place where they can make up life skills they did not learn earlier.

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The idea for the post popped into arual_x's head when they were reminiscing about a useless ex with a friend. "We were sharing stories and I thought it would be fun to hear other people's stories too," the Reddit user told Bored Panda. "I guess you can't know what you aren't taught or don't bother to learn, and there are plenty of ways the modern world reduces the need to learn how to do things. If you can microwave something, why learn to cook? If you can pay someone else to do it, or someone else has always done something for you, why would you bother to learn to do it yourself?"

#2

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple You know, when they said "Wear a facemask, make it cover both your mouth and nose, don't touch it, wash your hands and stay home"?

Yeah, simple instructions, and a whole load of people can't follow them properly. That is messed up.

turboshitposter3000 Report

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TrickQuestion
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And those are the people complaining about things being shut down longer. If you'd just listened, it would have been a LOT easier to open things back up earlier.

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#3

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My roommate was making brownies from a box. The instructions said to grease the bottom of the pan before pouring in the batter. You bet your ass they picked up the pan, flipped it over, greased the BOTTOM of it, flipped it back over and poured in the brownie batter.

TopRamenisha , Katy Report

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If after going through the list, you discover that you too lack some of these skills, don't worry. It's never too late to learn. I know that sounds cliché but that is what literature suggests. Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., for example, said that you can build pretty much any skill to improve yourself—your emotions, thoughts, or behaviors.

"It doesn't really matter which skills you want to improve; the key to personal development is taking the right steps—steps that help ensure that you reach whatever goal you are pursuing," the consultant, writer, and expert on well-being, said.

#4

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Had a guy constantly asking what time it is...by the 6th time I said "bro,there is a clock right there" he said " I don't know how to read it...grown ass man..

Couple weeks later on facebook someone shared a picture of cursive writing he made fun of the people who couldn't read it...I posted a picture of a clock and said what time does this say...he blocked me

shadownights23x , Matthew Paul Argall Report

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Karl Baxter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Surprisingly common among a generation who grew up with digital watches

amy_dawson90 avatar
Amy Pattie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The first part is understandable, the second part makes him a hypocrite

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K Miller
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually something I struggle with. I usually can tell the time on these clocks but it takes me a minute or two and it's embarrassing. I think the root of it for me is I've never been good with numbers, and then I always had a digital watch growing up and it was just so much easier to just use that.

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Alphabet Soupy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being good with numbers has nothing to do with clocks, it’s not math. It just takes a little bit of learning and effort.

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Pilot Chick
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

reading an analog clock can also be very difficult for people with dyscalculia/ dyslexia.

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Maciej Zajaczkowski
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can always try to be open about not knowing and acting respectful to those who don't know (social stigma is the main cause of this problem) and explain how to read a clock in 5 seconds

mintyminameow avatar
Mewton’s Third Paw
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

True. I’d think they were stupid but i would definitely teach them how to tell time so nobody else will think they are stupid.

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MAL
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have Dyscalculia. It's a learning disability with numbers and math. Analog clocks are VERY difficult to read and it took me a long time to be able to tell time with them. To this day, I still need to take a minute to figure it out. So I can see this being an issue for an adult. It makes me wonder if this guy had the same disability and just never learned because it was too hard or embarrassing. But who knows. Maybe he was just never taught.

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HoOmAn BeAn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is random but when my friend sees cursive writing she says "I DoNt SpEaK cRoIsSaNt "

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Son of Philosoraptor
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My grandkids can't read or write cursive - they literally don't teach it in school anymore.

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McSydney
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My nephew was almost 20 yo when he learned to read a clock bc he only had digital clocks at home.

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WildBerry
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Another case of a processing problem with the brain. When patients are suspected of having dementia, they're asked to draw a clock on a piece of paper.....complete with drawing the numbers and the hands. True thought disorder patients can not complete this task correctly.

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Niffler_13
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It has now become common practice in schools to replace analog clocks with digital ones, because the students cannot read them. https://www.today.com/news/schools-britain-replacing-analog-clocks-because-kids-can-t-read-t128287

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Marlowe Fitzpatrik
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What... what thought lies behind that? "Oh, they don't understand Maths - so better take it out of the curriculum" said nobody, ever! (Sadly. I would have loved to have it taken out of my school-days...) It's not exactly how schools are supposed to work and it's not THAT hard to teach kids to read a clock. Seriously!

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Ruth Beaty
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TBH, I'm a grown ass adult, like way old adult, and I can't tell time on an analog clock. I've never been able to, at least not very well and without thinking about it. It's probably a mild dyslexia as I have trouble with numbers a lot of the time. Analog clocks are just fine, except for the who reversing numbers occasionally, lol.

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Walter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i prefer to carry around digital watches. the main reason is not because i don't know how to read analog (proof: that clock says 2:36) but because if i want to check the time, it's much quicker with digital. i won't complain if it's analog, but when it comes to wristwatches, I like digital.

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Arctic Fox Lover
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can very much read a clock, I just can't read it super fast, like my mom. In my defense, though, the only non-digital clock we have is in Roman numerals, so...

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WildBerry
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It shouldn't matter if the clock has Roman numerals or has dogs stationed at each time reference point. There are positions for each number - 12, 1, 2, 3... all the way around the dial face of the clock. There's a designer called Movado who makes watches without any numbers. https://www.movado.com/us/en/collections/movado-bold/ Learn the stations of the dial face !!

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JitkaBlitka
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

0k, I get that some people have rough background and didn't learn simple stuff like cooking pasta, but reading clocks is taught in school, isn't it? I assume if somebody can write, he /she went to school and should've learnt how to read clocks. How is this even possible?

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Annamagelic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have kids in Elementary school now and they do go over clocks as part of the math curriculum at least briefly. However in the early 2000's I was a lifeguard at an indoor pool with a large analog clock hanging on the wall. I frequently encountered teens old enough to show up without a parent, but with no clue how to read the clock. Kids were constantly asking me the time.

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Christina Rosetti
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of the main characters on a popular reality TV show here in the UK called "The Only Way Is Essex" can't read an analog clock. However, that doesn't stop him from owning a collection of VERY expensive watches, which are purely decorative as he can't read them.

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Craig Reynolds
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Based on that clock and him being a douche, I would have told him it was 14:36:55 hours...

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CoCoFraCan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

About 15 years ago, at the playground with my kids, a teenager asked me the time. He could not understand me when I said quarter to six. I had to tell him 5: 45 for him to understand...

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Nicholas McShane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reading an analogue clock helps with Maths. You can better understand 1/2's and 1/4's, and the five-times table is a cinch. It also teaches you how to read a speedometer and other analogue gauges

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Anne Mitchell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It would have been a thoughtful thing to have taught him how to read the time.

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Picture Queen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked at a middle school for nearly 18 yrs. There were so many kids who couldn't tell time on an analog clock or read or write cursive that I lost count. Sad thing.

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LMS
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know.. I force my granddaughter to read the clock for me periodically when she visited. She does pretty good now (she's 8)

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Ken K
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Watch? I know "kids" who rely entirely on their phones to check the time.

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Ole Peder Amrud Hagen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't remember when I got my first digital wrist watch, but I was pretty young and I just refused to learn the analog clock. It took me a long time to get there...

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Amazon QT
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

LOL “he blocked me” (it sounds like someone was a bit butthurt)

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Tami
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet analog clocks will be around for awhile, so it's good to learn how to read them. It's not like learning how to use a slide rule or how to take shorthand, those things died out completely pretty fast. Cursive writing...who knows? But, do people who don't know cursive just print their names on legal documents?

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Amy Gurley
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Didn't know how to read analog until I was in the 4th grade and was forced to. (I was born in 1984). Grew up with digital clocks in my home and even digital clocks in my semi-fancy elementary school, until we moved out to the boonies and they had analog clocks on the wall and I had no clue.

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Amanda Goulding
Community Member
3 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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Indi Em
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew up with a clock that had Roman numerals. Took awhile to learn how to tell time but imastered it eventually. Came in handy when learning Roman numerals in school.

babzzz1 avatar
WildBerry
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once again --- It shouldn't matter if the clock has Roman numerals or has dogs stationed at each time reference point. There are positions for each number - 12, 1, 2, 3... all the way around the dial face of the clock. There's a designer called Movado who makes watches without any numbers. https://www.movado.com/us/en/collections/movado-bold/ Learn the stations of the dial face !!

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Uhulifant
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My boyfriend could not read analog. I can read without numbers even if the clock is ticking backwards. I think It's a good agent skill.

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S T
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I struggled with cursive and analog clocks growing up. Cursive was just never taught to me, and analog clocks were outdated technology with a better alternative. I started to just wear a digital watch every day. I can read a clock now, but it takes me a moment to figure it out in my head. I also just bullshit whenever I have to write in cursive, and just kinda connect my letters.

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Connie Martin
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a boomer and a seemingly hard-wired analogue person despite working now in IT. When someone states the time, e.g., 12:38, I automatically convert it in my mind to what it looks like on a clock face. Honestly "shows" me much better how much time there is before 12 noon than the digits do.

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Nila Griffin
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I moved a lot as a kid and was never actually taught. I taught myself in high school but it still takes me a while and I’m almost 30.

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Yort
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Big talk for someone who can’t use end quotes properly.

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AzKhaleesi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

hahaha that's funny. Not funny that dude couldn't tell time, but funny that he responded with a picture of a clock.

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Hannah Edwards
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really struggled to learn to tell the time. I was nine before it started to sink in. Horrible memories of my mum screeching at me in frustration.

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William Teach
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know that's the first inclination, go with derision, but, let that pass quickly and offer to help. We need more of that in this world.

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Ashley Fernandes
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a whole thing on social media about asking kids what time it is if you say it's a quarter after 4 and they all say 4:25 because to them a quarter is 25 cents rather than a quarter being 1/4th of a thing.

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Audrika Biswas
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am only and I know how to read and remember a clock yet a man cannot read a clock and is making fun of people for not be able to read script

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lara
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are, unfortunately, people who cannot read a clock with "hands" they are totally used to "digital" and cursive is no longer "taught" so we have many people who are functionally illiterate through no fault of their own, but because no one bothered to teach them.

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Nia Loves Art
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can sort of read it but it’s hard for me, I have to look at it a long time and count it out. I usually do just ask other people.

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panDAheART
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like having analog clocks. For me it's almost a subliminal way to glance and register the time internally (like a graphic image of time rather than interpreting numerical symbols as time).

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The Chosen One
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's funny but at the same time it's kindof mean. It's not his fault no one ever taught him how to read a clock like that

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A Head
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

An analog clock is much quicker to read and process than digital. It's a spacial relationship that requires a glance, not a series of numbers that you have to think about.

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Paul Davis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I found even in the 1990s people were losing their knowledge of how to use analog measuring devices. And even in the 1960s-1970s when that's almost all we had, it seemed like most people didn't really grasp how to read them without a lot of training, like how many significant digits you can read to, and how to estimate the last digit.

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Grant Barke
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why is that thin hand pointing to eleven and the shorter end to five.

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Nudge
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

listen. If school doesn't teach us how to read a clock or write/read cursive, WE DON'T LEARN IT.

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WildBerry
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah because god forbid a bloody parent should teach their kid anything.

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Natalia
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As far as I m aware this is pretty common. I don't know why, but most of those people tend to misunderstand and confuse "to" and "past". It's like something in their mind just can't tell the difference. 🤷

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Mewton’s Third Paw
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate to and past. Just say it’s 5:05 or whatever. “It’s five past!” Five past what?! If I knew what time it was I wouldn’t ask lol.

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Random person
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's so weird, from the start of primary school we learned to read analog clocks. I kind of feel sorry for the guy.

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sylvantic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i really hate that they didn't teach us cursive. i never was taught but then u get teachers who are like "read this " while writing in cursive and i've just barely gotten the hang of it because i was never taught in school (and really, who uses cursive?)

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Jules Caldwell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't get how it's funny to belittle someone for not learning an outdated skill.

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#5

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Co-worker announced she was pregnant, then immediately said she was sad that she couldn’t take a bath until the baby was born. I stared, confused, and asked “Why can’t you take a bath?” She looked at me as though I was stupid and said, “Because the baby will drown!” I had to walk away.

natgoeshome , Solveig Osk Report

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Botox
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And no more peeing! It's the same hole, you don't want to pee over baby O_0

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What are the most important personal skills? Well, Davis said it really depends on what you're trying to achieve. It makes little sense to learn how to code if you don't plan to be a coder or to bench press 400 pounds if you don't plan to be a weight lifter. Personal development is more about building skills to reach your personal goals. Here is a 9-step program that Davis has found to be important to successful personal development.

"The science is clear," she said. "The more ways we develop ourselves, the broader our skillset, and the more success we tend to have. So try learning some new emotional skills or do some activities to build new skills. You just might learn something that changes your life."

#6

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Oh I have a really funny one, I hope it doesn't get buried!

Years ago, I bought a friend an electric kettle as a gift. Her boyfriend (who I'm still friends with and who passed along this story) came home one night to find her running out the front door of their apartment with the flaming kettle, and she threw it into the street.

She was screaming about how it was a piece of junk because when she put it on the stove, over a flame, it caught fire and started to melt.

He was laughing uncontrollably when he asked, "what did you think the cord was for?"

They broke up soon after.

ilikeyourswatch , Lee Haywood Report

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#7

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My relative tried to put her son on the school bus his first day of kindergarten and got upset when the driver refused to let him on because he wasn't on the list. She never registered him for school and just thought she could put him on the bus and send him.

whotiesyourshoes , Neeta Lind Report

Coming back to arual_x, the Reddit user said that, "even the most put-together people are probably lacking somewhere." And it's hard to disagree. Life is so multi-dimensional, you can't do everything.

"The stories might be hilarious but they're so commonplace that everyone has something like this to be embarrassed about and maybe everyone should focus on self-improvement ever so often," arual_x added.

#8

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple When my friend bought a house, a month into home ownership, she asked me when the city was coming to cut her lawn because it was starting to look like weeds. It was awkward when I had to explain that she needs to cut her own lawn or hire someone.

theantpantsdance , Nick Richards Report

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Nikki Sevven
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm pretty sure these are my neighbors. They moved in 18 months ago and haven't mowed the lawn once. Currently, it's a tangled mess of sweet grass, bittersweet, and poison ivy that harbors copious ticks, fleas, and mice. I'm going to have to call the city and report a nuisance, since the stuff is edging its way into my yard.

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#9

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I asked my husband to make some herbal tea for me the first year we were married. I walked into the kitchen to find him standing over the stove with a mug of water sitting directly on the burner.

eternalsunshine85 , Swithun Crowe Report

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#10

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My wonderful, selfless, beautiful younger brother asked me how to make ice last year. He's 24.

Cat_Vonnegut , liz west Report

#11

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My ex–best friend told me that she had needed to buy another new vacuum cleaner, which was the third that month. I asked her what was wrong with it and she said, 'It's not picking things up anymore!' So I asked if she had dumped out the container. She didn't know that was a thing.

Winterlight8044 , Martin Abegglen Report

#12

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My Mom and I moved in with my Grandparents when I was 10 years old. You know, old enough to have learned how to do some basic chores, and certainly old enough to be taught more. Unfortunately my Grandmother, God bless her, was not only terrified of fire (her Mother had a problem with accidentally setting things on fire) but she was also a neat freak that insisted on doing everything herself so it was done right.

My Mom married my (step)Dad when I was 14 years old, and we moved in to a house together as a family. He was horrified to learn that, at nearly 15 years old, I did not know how to wash and dry my own clothes, iron, load a dishwasher, or even use the stove. I could use the oven because I baked with my other Grandmother when I visited, but I had never used the stove top. There are many more things he had to teach me, but those were the things that really had him worried about my ability to care for myself as an adult. It wasn't that my Grandmother didn't want me to be able to care for myself. Her fears were just so intense that she didn't think about how not knowing these basic skills would effect me later in life. I am forever grateful to my Dad for being the Dad I needed because God knows the biological one couldn't be bothered. Mom couldn't overrule her own Mother when we lived with her and by the time she married Dad she was sleeping at the hospital five nights a week because her schedule was so insane. I dont even want to think about who I would be if I hadn't had him to teach me, but I'm pretty sure I would have had to live off of chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and take out through my 20s if it weren't for him. I probably would've smelled pretty bad from the lack of clean clothes too.

WhoDatKrit , Andrew Pantyukhin Report

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Ozacoter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its great that he learnt, altought being 14 and not knwing these isnt that uncommon I think.

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#13

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple In my honors dorm at Purdue there was a Computer Science major named Jeffrey. He was well known because his parents would stop by every week to pick up his laundry and bring him a case of Fiji water with expensive groceries. His dad was a doctor. We commented on Jeffrey's long gross toenails and how he needs to cut them. He told us they are long because his mom hasn't visited in weeks and she was the one who cut them. His mother cut her 19 year old sons toenails. Disgusting. We had to give him a lesson on it.

Drum-Major , Chun Kit To Report

#14

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My housemate (24 year old postgrad student) not realising that

You needed to preheat an oven.

You needed to defrost frozen meat before cooking it.

You need to use a baking tray.

After I caught her lining the bottom of our oven with frozen chicken drumsticks.

rabbles-of-roses , Thomas van de Weerd Report

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saragregory0508 avatar
N G
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can cook certain prepared meat from frozen. Otherwise innumerable ready meals wouldn't be.

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#15

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My ex and I were cooking together and one of the pans got too hot, and we had a minor grease fire.

She grabbed a bag of flour.

As tempted as I was to slap it out of her hands, I didn't want to aerate a bunch of flour next to a grease fire, so I grabbed it with both hands and forced it (and her, because she wouldn't let go) over to the countertop, and then dropped the lid on the pan.

I asked her what her logic was, and she said "well, you're supposed to put baking soda on a grease fire and not water, right?".

"Yes. Why did you try to use flour?"

"What's the difference? They're both white powder."

walkingknight , State Farm Report

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james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So lucky you got that flour off her in time. You may not be alive to tell this story.

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#16

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My roommate tried to make pasta by putting a pot on the stove, pouring the noodles in without adding water, and turning on the stove. Then she asked me, 'How come these aren’t getting soft like when my mom makes them?

TopRamenisha , Marco Verch Report

#17

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My best friend was sleeping with a new guy. She said she wasn’t sure of his sexual history but she was on birth control to prevent STDs. I was like, 'Umm...'

slohomo , Brianna Laugher Report

#18

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Ooohhh I got one. I work as an EMT for a private company, so we mostly deal with nursing homes and the elderly. One day when I was about 6-8 months in, I got assigned a partner who was in my orientation class. He was a little older than me at the time, like mid 20's, but he seemed a little childish. "Maybe he's just sheltered, I think to myself."

Anyways, we got a patient I've had a few times before. She was a sweet, little old lady with COPD and CHF living at an assisted living. Call was for pneumonia. She's prone to this stuff so it wasnt a huge deal, slap her on oxygen and keep her sitting up til we get to the hospital. The first red flag though, was this kid didn't know anything. He didnt know how to take a blood pressure. He couldn't find the medical history or medication on the paperwork (which is clearly labeled). He didn't even push the stretcher, just walked next to it with a hand on it. When I asked him about all that, he said "My partners usually do that for me."

So, I put her on an oxygen mask and sit her all the way up, mildly agitated. I tell myself it's just one shift with this kid. He's in the back with her and I tell him to just switch the oxygen from the bag (which is a small tank) to the main tank (which is huge) because with the amount of oxygen we're giving her, the bag will run out not even halfway before the hospital. It's about 25 minutes, which normally wouldn't be a huge deal. But when we pull up to the hospital and I open the back doors, I'm fucking shook. The oxygen mask isnt inflated (meaning she isnt getting oxygen), shes pale as shit, I can literally see her accessory muscles moving, struggling to breathe. And this kid was sitting behind her, with a clueless half smile on his face, looks at me and says "The main tank is broken, so I left her on the bag." This women, who needs oxygen without pneumonia, was barely breathing for at LEAST 15 minutes. And this fucking idiot didnt even check. We take her into the hospital. I ask him to find an oxygen tank while explain to this women's daughter what happened. He says he doesn't know where to look. I fucking find it and told him to talk to the daughter.

When it's all said and done, I check to see what's broken. He didn't turn on the tank.

TL;DR EMT partner nearly kills a patient because he didn't know he had to open the oxygen tank to get oxygen to come out.

BamboozledBigTIme , Navy Medicine Report

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james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How did he even get the job in the first place and I hope he was bloody fired after that.

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#19

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Girl I went to HS with: “why do people say a quarter of an hour? Like what does that even mean?”

Me: “it’s 15 minutes. Because 15 is a fourth of 60, so that’s a quarter of an hour”

Her: looking at me like I’m a f**king idiot “But a quarter is 25...”

Me: ...

maekae_ , Chris Jobling Report

#20

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My friend in college once lamented, 'Ugh. I have to pee and I just put a tampon in like five minutes ago. I hate having to pull them out dry.' Her mother taught her that there is only one hole down there and peeing with a tampon in isn't possible.

BroffaloSoldier , SouthernSun Report

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costa2706 avatar
Kari Panda
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At first, I read 'pull them out TO dry' and that was a very disturbing thought.

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#21

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple A girl I knew in college had her dad call to remind her to put oil in her truck. She did and then her truck started smelling like french fries and died. She couldn't understand that this was directly related to the quart of vegetable oil she put in the motor.

snowman818 , Matthew Paul Argall Report

#22

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I remember when I first started dating my now husband, I was hanging out at his apartment waiting for him to get out of work. His place was a bit messy so I decided I’d tidy up for him a bit.

Fast forward to the next morning and he comes in a little shocked.

“Why would you load the dishwasher like...that”

I had never had a dishwasher before in my life lmao. We’re talking cups facing up, big ass pans shoved in, the whole nine yards. Thank god he stuck with me lol

kay37892 , Joanna Bourne Report

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costa2706 avatar
Kari Panda
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can’t blame this person :) If they never had a dish washer, it‘s understandable that they wouldn’t know.

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#23

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I had a roommate at university who’s “cooking” method was put baked beans in a Tupperware, seal the lid, turn on microwave, when lid pops and explodes beans everywhere they’re cooked.

Thejustinset , Scott Veg Report

#24

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Don't think this aligns with your question, but while visiting my friend I found out he preheat his microwave.

Arodriguez2356 , Billy Mabray Report

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amy_dawson90 avatar
Amy Pattie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, better pre heating your microwave than forgetting to pre heat your oven

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#25

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I had to ask my roommate to please wash his hands after touching raw chicken. He thought it was fine to just go about his day before I asked.

GotGhostsInMyBlood , Michael Eccles Report

#26

College roommate did not know how to wash his body.

Yes. The SMELL.

After a week we threatened him. He took a “shower”.

We sent him back again. With soap.

Three days later he stank again. We told him to shower every day.

Then we taught him how to do laundry. And bought him a coat because he did not own one. In cleveland. In the winter.

Full genius dude, invented a WiFi security standard later on. But no idea how to care for himself.

cbelt3 Report

#27

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My dad couldn't spread butter on his toast when he met my mom.

PhD in neuroscience? No problem.

Building a successful business? Piece of cake.

Spreading butter on a bagel? Talk about unrealistic expectations.

Banksy0726 , Joanna Bourne Report

#28

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My friend who was almost 40 had never paid a bill before. When she got divorced and lived on her own for the first time, I got a text from her asking if my power was out too. She realized it was just her and her excuse was she never paid attention to the bills because she thought they were receipts and that the cost was included in her rent.

ReddishWedding2018 , Motaz Altahir Report

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khairunisaasyikinnoordin avatar
nanashi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is why everyone, regardless of gender or age, needs to be independent and don't rely 100% on a single person. you could never know what will happen in the future if that person is no longer in the picture, and then you're left with zero common skills and knowledge.

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#29

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My friend from college tried making burrito bowls for dinner and complained that some of the onions were weirdly chewy. She didn't know onions need to be peeled.

thompsme , Paul Hudson Report

#30

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple This 19-year-old guy asked me how to cook a fried egg. I gave him instructions and when he came back, he said it took a few attempts because the yolk kept breaking and he thought breaking the yolk made the egg poisonous.

cynicalkerfuffle , Fredrik Rubensson Report

#31

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple One of my roommates in college would melt plastic spatulas like crazy. She'd always say it was due to the spatula being made of cheap plastic, but I finally caught her one day. She'd be cooking something and would walk away LEAVING THE PLASTIC SPATULA IN THE PAN WHILE IT WAS STILL ON!

Fantastic_Relief , Didriks Report

#32

Oh gosh, I have a few from when I first went to university, living in halls and realising some people literally did not know how to cook a THING.

There was one girl who bought chicken and kept it in the cupboard, despite being told by pretty much everyone else in the flat that it was meant to go in the fridge or freezer. Flat out refused to listen, kept putting it in the cupboard. Don't know how she didn't get sick.

Another flatmate who didn't eat potato for almost a year because he didn't know how to peel them and didn't want to try (I tried to teach him). Then he realised he could buy pre-prepared.

One guy who decided to take a nap whilst cooking sausages for dinner, just left them in the grill and only woke up when the fire alarms were going off and the whole building was being evacuated.

Finally two girls who again almost caused a fire if I hadn't found them... These two were actually my friends and I was looking for them, found them in one of the kitchens about to "cook" a stir fry. They had a wok with about an inch depth of oil in the bottom, SHIMMERING because it was so hot, and they weren't sure if it was hot enough to cook with yet. They were really glad I found them because they couldn't tell that it was boiling oil and were worried the food wouldn't cook. I was really glad I found them because if they had thrown their stir fry veg in there it would have probably caused a fire, or at least spat boiling oil all over them. I turned it off and tossed one piece of veg in there - turned black almost instantly.

Honestly I was just shocked and appalled that so many 18 year olds had never cooked for themselves before, and even worse that their parents had sent them off to fend for themselves not having taught them. It's actually scary thinking back!

Pookie103 Report

#33

Not sure if I'd call it "horrifying," but pretty ridiculous, nonetheless. It's about me. I just moved into my first home in February of this year. I live alone and am single. Earlier this month I mowed my lawn for the first time. I have never mowed a lawn before, but I'm thinking, how hard can it be? (The answer: not hard at all). Prior to that, I had roped my brother into coming over and doing it for me, but this time I figured I need to actually learn. The lawnmower is an old push mower of my dad's that he had brought over about a month ago, and he quickly gave me the rundown on how to use it, but I was half paying attention, plus..it's a lawnmower.

So anyway, I go to start it up, takes me at least 10 tries of pulling the cord as hard as I can with no luck until finally it fires up. I then proceed to begin mowing, and I KNOW this thing is self-propelling - it says so right on it, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why it's so hard to push. The wheels aren't locked or anything, so I just figure it's a combination of me not having much upper body strength and my lawn having a lot of uneven spots/divots that prevented the mower from moving smoothly. I finally finish, sweating my ass off like I had just finished seriously working out (my yard is very small...even I finished the front and back in about a half hour-40 mins). Upon reflection, I'm still not convinced that the mower was self-propelling. I mean I know I'm not strong and am somewhat petite, but STILL. So I'm sharing this story with friends and co-workers like wtf did I do wrong and they're all asking me about this lever, and I'm like yeah, obviously I had to hold the lever down or the motor kills. Well, turns out there's a SECOND lever that you have to squeeze in order to propel the lawnmower.

I manually pushed that MFer around my whole yard, divots, hills and all, ended up with a blister on my thumb, and sweating profusely through my shirt. Not to mention the few times I stopped it and had to re-start it, I pulled the cord literally at least 20 times to get it to start again; I was waiting for one of my neighbors to come over and ask me if I needed help, the struggle was THAT obvious (I also learned about the little button that you push a few times to make starting easier).

So yeah, mowed today, and let's just say that things went SIGNIFICANTLY better than last time. Growing up, my dad or brother would mow, and in college up until now, I have always lived in apartments or duplexes, nothing that requires residents to do any lawn care. So, at the age of 32, I have finally learned to use a lawnmower.

tofuandmushrooms Report

#34

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I had to jump a friend's car that wouldn’t start. After we finally got it running, she immediately turns off the car and said, 'Thanks so much, I’ll call you later!'

foundinthewild1 , Charles Williams Report

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#35

This is like 10 years ago. I was dating a 32 year old and he asked me if I wanted to get together to watch a TV show. I said sure, what time is it on. He looks it up and says to me "8 Pacific 9 Central...?"

I asked what was confusing him and he told me he wasn't sure if the show was on at 8 or 9. My man did not know what timezone we lived in.

So I was like "Ok, well you know what ocean we're near, right?" cuz I was trying to get him to think about the Pacific timezone in terms of the giant body of water for which it was named and he immediately got defensive and for real said "Why would I know that? I'm from Texas."

He'd been living in San Francisco for 5 years and could see the Pacific Ocean out his window.

almostdidbutdidnt Report

#36

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple When I first met my Ex he didn't know how to cook. 40 something year old at the time I met him. He only knew how to use a microwave and the best thing he thought of cooking was chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs cooked in the microwave, everything was cooked in the microwave. Wet, soggy, colorless flesh with no flavoring, that's not how it works, that not how any cooking should be done.

Rageagainstmisogyny , Ewen Roberts Report

#37

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I took a food safety course and someone asked if they could wash a turkey with dish soap.

SaltyJerm , juliegomoll Report

#38

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I had spent the night at my ex boyfriend's place and stayed a bit longer in the morning to help clean the house. I was folding some clothes when I noticed him go from one side of the bed to another without actually doing anything. I looked at him and he looked clueless. He said "can you please make the bed? I've never done this, no idea where to start". I didn't mean to have a strong reaction to it but man did it leave me speechless... he was 26 at the time. That day I realized his mother often visited his house to make the bed and clean... Yeah...

throwingverbalrocks , Michael JasonSmith Report

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anneking68 avatar
StrawberryParfait
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Leave him where you found him. He's looking for another mommy to look after him.

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#39

Three months into our freshman year of college a friend of mine developed a rash. I suggested he look into hypoallergenic sheets and swap out his others. His response: "I've used the same sheets since we moved in, it's not the sheets." Mind you, not the same of sheets, but the same exact sheets unchanged and slept/eaten upon/etc. for three months.

Hans_Brix_III Report

#40

I guess we were still in high school, but we were 18. Me and my buddy Ferris were just getting into going to the gym. We went with Ferris’s friend Tom. After working out, in the changing room during some small talk I saw Tom putting on a shirt. Tom put the shirt over his head, but didn’t put his arms through the sleeves. He managed to pull the shirt over his torso so that it was adequately on before wiggling all about and bending his arms in odd ways to get them into the sleeves. I didn’t take much notice to it the first few times. But after a few months it was apparent he did this every single time. Tom didn’t know how to put on a shirt. At least efficiently. Eventually we asked Tom why he put his shirt on like that, and he said something along the lines of “Wait what, don’t I do it the same way you guys do?” I guess he had never really thought about it before then.

TheAmazingTurtleKid Report

#41

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Someone told me that their husband would put shampoo in their hair and not rinse after applying. The husband for his entire life wondered why his hair was always greasy.

TwistinFoolGames , flickr Report

#42

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple Every few weeks, I catch my roommate trying to put his metal tea strainer in the microwave in spite of the fact that our first week living in this apartment, he destroyed the microwave doing this.

MeesterPepper , Toshiyuki IMAI Report

#43

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple My wife's entire family did not grasp that you need to put water in a steam iron.

hadleybox , Quinn Dombrowski Report

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liverpoolroze avatar
Rose the Cook
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I knew a woman who refused to put water in the iron because she feared she would be electrocuted.

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#44

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple First year at uni, a girl in my hall was microwaving some food and left it in the metal foil container. It took three fire engines to put out the fire and we had to have a new kitchen installed.

sumandark8600 Report

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wandiledludlu avatar
Sum Guy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also something that is not wildly known... my coworker was heating food with the fork in his food the other day

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#45

45 People Share How They Witnessed Someone Being Completely Clueless At Something So Simple I had to teach my boss how to go down to the next line by hitting 'Enter' on his computer keyboard.

Kcups , Corey Fariello Report

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vikrant-talponkar avatar
Vic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I had to teach my boss how to go down" the line break appears at the most unfortunate place on my phone.

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