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38 People Who Realized Way Too Late They’d Been Doing Simple Things Completely Wrong
You know, my family had many strange culinary habits. For example, eating watermelon only with bread, or boiling milk and then always eating the foam on the surface. Honestly, I hated that foam as a child, but my grandma and mother assured me it was the most delicious thing. Then, years later, I was quite surprised to realize that few other people actually did this...
However, as it turns out, I'm not alone. No, I don't mean hating foam on milk. I mean, at some point, many folks do realize that they've always done some ordinary things completely differently than most people around them. So today's list of stories, made for you by Bored Panda, is dedicated to such instances.
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#2
I’ve always assumed everyone overthinks everything the way I do. Finding out that some people are just calm was shocking lol.
#3
Avoid big spoons. I cannot eat dessert or yoghurt unless its a teaspoon. Apparently its an adhd quirk.
A few days ago, a thread appeared on AskReddit, the author of which, the user u/Psychological_Sky_58, asked netizens: "What's something you've done your whole life, only to realize recently that everyone else does it completely differently?" The result was over 8K upvotes and almost 9K various comments, with stories about literally everything under the sun.
Strange eating habits and awkward wording, seemingly unexplained clothing ideas, and just plain weird deeds - we've collected the most interesting and unexpected stories and revelations from this thread for you!
#4
I literally just found out that not everyone has a full internal monologue going on 24/7. i thought everyone had a voice in their head that narrates their day like a movie and discusses choices with itself. when a friend told me her brain is just quiet and full of images i was so shocked. i genuinely don't understand how people function without a constant mental podcast playing in their skull.
#6
When going up or down the stairs, I always look at my feet. Just realized recently that not many people do this.
Let's start with the fact that one of the main differences between humans and animals is that certain norms of behavior or speech are not "hardwired" into us and do not "unfold" over time, but are acquired through socialization. So, if no one has explained to a kid from childhood that a certain behavior is unusual or strange, and no other sources of information are available, then a habit develops.
Previously, decades and centuries ago, the function of transmitting these social norms was performed by representatives of older generations - our grandparents, for example. But now, firstly, the authority of elderly people among youngsters is not so high, simply because they lack the skills important for the young.
And secondly, parents or grandparents don't always actually have the desire or time to pass on these social skills - especially if they realize they're quite obsolete. Or just "going out of vogue" in such an incredibly rapidly changing contemporary world.
#7
I was in the Grand Canyon with my wife sharing a hotel room with another couple. We had just run rim to rim to rim, so we were all beat up & tired. When the husband went to shower we heard him yelling from the bathroom & asked if he was good, he said "yep, the water is just freezing"
Turns out that his whole life he has gotten in the shower, then turned the water on, and huddled in the corner until it warmer up. He was mind-blown when we said you could just wait outside of the shower until the water gets hot. We changed his life that day.
#8
I thought everyone dried their hands by shaking them like a raccoon that just touched something cursed. Apparently most people… use towels.
#9
I used to think that everyone sat down to put on their pants but apparently most people just balance on one leg like a flamingo. i have been sitting on the edge of the bed to get dressed my whole life because i thought it was the normal way to avoid falling over. i felt so uncoordinated when i realized my roommates just hop right into them while standing in the middle of the room.
On the other hand, if you realize you have some strange habit, it doesn't always mean there's something wrong with you. After all, for centuries, humanity believed that the Sun and all the stars revolved around the Earth - until finally Copernicus thought otherwise. And not only did he think so, but he also proved himself right.
Powerful people, according to this recent study, are more likely to notice injustice when it's directed at them and try to fight it. So, if you, for example, always put on your shoes or bra differently than everyone else, maybe you're just more creative?
Intelligence isn't always expressed in the way society generally believes, as this dedicated post at The Vessel quite reasonably says. After all, it can also manifest itself through sloppiness, tardiness, or strange habits. Creativity can also manifest itself in the same way.
#10
Walking with intent. When I'm walking, I notice a lot of people sorta just meander or walk without paying attention. I purposefully walk around knowing where everyone is around me, I alter my path to avoid people and account for the elderly or disabled. Yet I always see people walking seemingly without purpose. Speaking to people I know has made me realize how seriously I take moving around lol.
#11
I have a constant inner monologue going on including songs which overlap all at once. I’m always thinking about several things at once with a random soundtrack. Apparently this isn’t normal and I’ve got ADHD or something similar that nobody told me about growing up in the 80’s….
#12
After taking a bite of a cookie, I lick the edge to keep crumbs from dropping. A friend once laughed and questioned my sanity after witnessing this.
But what happens when we realize one day that literally the rest of humanity does something completely differently from what we're used to? There are, in fact, three options. To submit to the majority opinion (or accept that it's easier and more convenient), to ignore it, or to rebel. Some believe that this is how new trends are born.
For example, when King François I of France contracted smallpox in his youth, he began to conceal his appearance flaws with a beard - and managed to turn this into more than just his own advantage. Moreover, beards have been fashionable again for almost a century and a half across Europe and the Western world. The key is persistence.
#13
A nurse handed me a little cup with two pills and a little cup of water. I took my pills and she started laughing. She said something to the effect of, "I've heard people do that but I've never seen it before!" She was astonished. I had put a little bit of water in my mouth, then the pills, then swallowed. I've always sipped some water first, then the pills don't stick to my tongue and I don't taste them.
Among the stories you'll find on this list are strange and funny, absurd and bizarre - but the most important thing is that people found the courage to admit them. Even if anonymously and online. At the end of the day, the path to great achievements often begins with just one small step.
So why don't you, our dear readers, if you have something similar, share it in the comments below? Just please feel free to read this entire list first - after all, it's truly worth reading!
#16
Rolling up fitted sheets to put them away after laundering. Apparently a fairly large population has a secret, yet complicated, method of actually folding them to put them away. I hide the roll within the folded top sheet, which I thought was brilliant.
#17
When I lay on my side I put the opposite hand in the air and just hold it there for a while. It's oddly satisfying.
#18
I’ve learned not everyone washes dishes with hot water. Like it has to be scalding hot dang near burning my skin for me to feel that the dishes are clean.
Edit: corrected my typo so now I am clearly not trying to lecturing the water ☠️.
#19
I need to blow my nose every time after I sneezed. It does not matter if I have a cold or am completely healthy, two minutes after I sneeze my nose is full and needs to be blown.
Thought it was the same for everyone, but after I mentioned how annoying that was to a friend he said he never experienced the same. I then asked around and apparently I am the only one in my group of friends who has this issue.
#20
I whistle by sucking air in. I didn't realize it was strange until I was a teen.
Now I can whistle both ways, so can essentially whistle forever because I can breathe at the same time.
#21
Not washing the new bought clothes before wearing them the first time.
Some people put them right on or into the closet.
#25
Grocery shopping. I’ve always gone aisle by aisle, top to bottom, no plan. Found out most people actually make lists and hit sections strategically.
#26
9th grade winter break 2008. Having Christmas dinner and were eating pretty much everything like Thanksgiving but we add tamales to the mix. Before then I thought tamales 🫔 were just corn husk with masa in them and thought who ever invented this food was dumb and all my life just ate the first layer of Masa and tossed the whole tamale away until I seen my cousin eating hers and she opens the whole thing and I see chili meat and I'm like wait wat there's meat in tamales? So I grab a tamale unwrap the whole thing till I get to the center and finally realized that it had meat the whole time!!!! I tasted it for the first time that Christmas night and im just in shock on how stupid I was to not know about the center of the tamale!!! The amount of times I threw away my tamales at family functions is just horrendous 😱😱😱😂😂😂.
#27
I drink from bottles/straws only through the corners of my mouth. My front teeth have always been particularly sensitive, so I avoid them having to touch liquids head-on.
#28
I didn’t realise until I was an adult that not everyone can make their eardrums rumble on purpose. Turns out my sister can too. It’s convenient to block out loud noises. Only learned via random internet threads and then asking my husband who had no idea what I was talking about. For reference - https://www.reddit.com/r/interesting/s/wtt3W8DJmY.
#29
My dad uses food utensils more like a full hand grip shovel instead of the thumb over between index and middle finger. He does it mostly due to hand and elbow surgeries making it difficult to turn his wrist.
I grew up with a class of 28, so these same few kids had been having meals with me for a while. Someone finally asked why I use a fork like that and prefaced it with, "I've been wanting to ask you this for years" so I learned how to use silverware properly at 17.
#30
Anytime I see a license plate I try to make some kind of correlation out of it. Example: LHH-2795, 2+7=9, 5+2=7, so now all the numbers are somehow related. I do this with the time too.
#32
After I brush my teeth, it takes me a ton of little spits to get it all out of my mouth. Everyone else I've ever seen brush their teeth somehow just gets it all out in one big go??? It flabbergasts me every time, like I am physically incapable of doing that.
#33
It took me way too long to realize I was using toilet seat covers incorrectly. I used to tear out the center flap and lay the cover on the seat in a U shape, but the flap is actually meant to hang down into the bowl at the front.
#34
When I'm blocking my ears with my fingers I fold the ear flap up and use that. I thought everyone did this but apparently people just put their fingers in their ear.
#36
Brushing teeth before breakfast. Found out most people do it after and now I question everything.
#37
When drawing or writing, the pencil rests on my ring finger. Not my index or middle finger. So everything but my pinky is gripping that pencil. .
#38
I recently learned that when (most) people snap their fingers they use their thumb and their middle fingers. I use my thumb and my ring fingers to snap. Using my thumb and middle finger feels so… wrong to me.
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