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As a child, whenever you had a problem, you most likely went to your parents or some other adult to solve it. But as you grew up, you learned how to do things on your own. Part of being an adult is having a grasp on certain basic life skills - however, as it turns out, not every life lesson is as basic to one person as it is to the next.

The New York Times editor Jenee Desmond-Harris recently shared on Twitter her landlord's unexpected know-how blindspot, and then asked the internet to share their own. People delivered all sorts of hilarious answers, and some of them you might be able to relate to - from social skills such a the dreaded small talk to vital work skills. Scroll down to check out some of the best responses, and don't forget to upvote your faves! And don't forget to let us know in the comments, which seemingly simple things you've missed along the way.

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athornedrose
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

coming from a big immigrant italian family, i have the worst time scaling down recipes. everything was made to feed the whole clan. making food for like 2 people is insanely difficult for me.

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Whether it’s tying our shoes, correctly reading the face of a clock or learning to swim, we’ve all had a bit of trouble getting to grips with certain important (and elementary) life skills. Some people even find basic things like fixing the plumbing or driving a car to be — well — basic. But there’s plenty of us have a lot more trouble, because we might be afraid (a lot of us may have panicked the first time we went to a community pool) or we simply might have had no need for a particular skill (we may prefer getting around by bike rather than by car if we live in busy cities).

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Jonathon Smith
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes I think I've nailed this adulting lark and am now a fully formed member of the human race. Then I try talking to a stranger and realise all I've done is cocoon myself in friends who don't mind talking about D&D 24/7

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We all know the adage that it takes about 10,000 hours to learn a new skill. However, that’s not entirely true. Josh Kaufman, known for his inspiring TED talk and author of the book ‘The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast!’, has a very different idea.

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Lousha
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The + sign has a bump on it. The positive side of the battery is also the one with the bump. The - sign is flat. The negative end of a battery is flat as well. You're welcome!

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Stevie
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once directed my friend in a car and we nearly ended up in another country....

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According to Kaufman, the so-called 10,000 rule has been misinterpreted by the vast majority of people for quite some time now. He notes that 10,000 hours is the average it takes to become “an expert in an ultra competitive field”, which is far from the same thing as learning a new skill This is good news for most of us!

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Ronel du Plessis
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me too!!! I feel so dumb some times. Living in South Africa I speak Afrikaans. I call kids "pampoen" which means pumpkin. Or "piesang" which means banana. I get away with it because the kids in my karate dojo thinks it is funny. don't think adults would thinks it's funny.

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Kaufman states that to get from “knowing nothing to being pretty good” takes a far shorter amount of time: barely 20 hours. That’s more or less practicing something for 45 minutes every day for around a month. Doesn’t seem so scary, does it? Of course, you can’t multitask while trying to learn a new skill — you need to focus on it exclusively.

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AnnaB
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Years ago my sister and I were taking a walk in our neighborhood and someone asked for directions to the local library. After he drove off, we realized that the directions we gave were totally wrong. We joke that to this day, you can see a rusty old car being driven by a skeleton...still looking for that library.

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Daria B
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The trick is to inhale with your mouth when out of water, slowly exhale through your nose while in the water. You can help yourself with humming while in the water.

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Pseudo Puppy
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me too!! It's the side effect of my mother's friend terrifying me as a kid (for "fun"), by telling me that she saw a kid get their foot caught in the escalator & had it chewed off. She told me every time we went to go on an escalator. It's now an ingrained instinct, despite me logically knowing it's nonsense.

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Paul K. Johnson
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fitted sheets are supposed to be folded? I just wad them up in a ball and stuff them in the linen closet.

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Daria B
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Riding a bike is not easy. Unlike most people I know, I'll admit, I learnt it as a young adult. And I'm so grateful for it, such a useful skill to have.

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Ronel du Plessis
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

LOL!!! I have no sense of direction. Will get lost in my own house ;-/, but time and distance... no one can beat me at that.

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Steve Barnett
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cannot say 'similarly'. It always comes out as similarily, similaly, similarlarily etc.

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AzKhaleesi
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

awww my grandma used to not be able to say Cinnamon and I used to make her say it because it would make me giggle.

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Maci Mae
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't say "museum"...I always end up saying 'muse-am'. If I want to say it right, I have to slowly say "mu...se...um". I'm so embarrassed by it that, when I'm having a conversation about mispronouncing words, I always say "I can't say the name of a place that stores old artifacts", because I don't want people to hear me butcher it lol

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Frozengeckolover
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It helps to break it down. You already tried that. Try saying "muse" then "eum". Using the word "muse" will make your brain focus on that word instead of focusing on your nervousness.

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Stefanie Mangold
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My word i'm not able to say in english is bathroom. My tongue always hits the top of my mouth on the way from th to r and it sounds awful

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Alisa Brouwer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I get the pronunciations of conscious and conscience confused.

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Jennifer Miller
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can try saying it like a NYer, "roar-ull, more RAWR less Ruh. but.. when I say mirror is comes out as mhyrr

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Amanda Burston
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4 years ago

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Bonni Poch
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

..and the name Rory! I'm right there with you. The pain is real.

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Lauri Jo Daniels
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't say 'decision.' I'm an audiobook narrator. If that word comes up I panic. After 5 or 6 takes it sounds reasonably close.

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Lynne Darroch
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't say szechuan or endoscopy. Luckily they don't come up much in conversation.

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John Datri
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can’t say “breakfast”. It comes out “brehfuss”.

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sky blue
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a degree in agricultural and rural industries. I hate saying it.

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heidi holmes
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I sometimes say warsh instead of wash and a lot of the time my tooth gap makes 'Sh' sounds sound like I'm whistling... ugh!

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Marigen Beltran
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also cannot say that word, same with turtle, order, any word with ar, er, ir, or, ur

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Laura Campos
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband can't say "peculiar." He adds a u after the L and omits the i.

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Mer
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our elementary school librarian couldn't say "library" - nope, to her, it was the "li-berry".

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Anna Repp
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can't pronounce "February" like "feb-roo-ary" so I started saying it like "feb-you-ary"

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ACE
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exacerbate, exacerbating, exacerbates. I cannot pronounce those words, ever. It comes out as esaberate.

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Id row
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have that problem with the word 'horror'. Kind of sounds like I'm saying whore, lol.

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Heather Mcdonald
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me, too... I finally figured it out, but it took a long time... when I was around pre-teen age, I used to really like the 80's movie, but my mom said I couldn't watch it anymore until I learned to quit calling it, "Little Shop of Whores". LOL.

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Jennifer Braun
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reminds me of 30 Rock when Jenna started in "The Rural Juror" , lol. No one could say that!

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Lana Belysheva
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't properly pronounce "birthday" and "dirty" despite speaking English for half my life.

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Karin Becton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me too!! I have to say it like "Roo rull" with a big pause in the middle and it sound ridiculous.

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BusLady
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I speak American English and have never been to Germany, but I say the word "nine" as "nein."

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Lucy Shupe
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me it’s apocalypse. My adult children love asking me to say it.

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comboplush
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cannot really pronounce squirrel. Even if that is apparently typical among Germans, it really gives me a hard time. It comes out like "skuehr(e)l". "Tongue" is also hard for me.

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LilicatUK
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't say antiseptic. No problems saying antiseptico (Portuguese and Spanish)...

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Carey Brown
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

railroad comes as rayroad for me, no matter how much I concentrate.

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Andrea Josipović
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Autumn and tooth always seemd weird to me. I can never say it like i hear it in my head

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Bridget Lynam
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't get my mouth to co-operate with my brain to say "rocker recliner". My brain says it fine, my mouth, however, blurts "reclocker riner". Every time.

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Koalamonster
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to say "pitaschio" instead of pistachio as a child- and still sometimes do as an adult because that's just how it comes out.

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Lola
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cannot say Marlboro, literally, and vulnerable. You’re not alone.

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Nikki
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't either! Can't say rural or the name Rory to save my life

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misteriosa
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

World War, girlfriend, etc. as well give me so much hard time.

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Oerff On Tour
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a problem with converting the 24h clock to 12h. Keep messing up 5 o'clock (1700h) and 7 o'clock

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Gary
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had an instructor like that, I dumped him and found a new one. Passed my test first time.

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Mascha Claessens
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Haha, that's the opposite to my dad. He can ONLY float. Like, on his back with both his knees AND shoulders above the water. We've often joked that he has hollow bones, like a bird.

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PaulV
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, "deductible" sounds like something you *don't* have to pay. And "premium" sounds like something good, but the whole thing is doubly confusing: pay a higher premium (oh no!) to get a lower monthly (oh...kay?). It's like being asked to choose the way you would like to get screwed.

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Katie Smith
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now this, I learned at middle school. One of the positives of having school uniforms in the UK!

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Yettichild
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just think to myself "Write" and I automatically know which hand is right =D

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Mascha Claessens
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And that's a benefit of growing up in the Netherlands: everyone gets swimming lessons. Some of us more than others, but we all do when we're little. Too much water around not to... :P

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