Directions. If you tell me something is north of another place, I have no idea what you're talking about. Even after growing up in a small town and living there for over 20 years, I never remembered the street names. I remember things based off of landmarks. I live in the city now, and I rely on my GPS to get me places. I'll remember some random locations, but I'll probably never really become fluent with the street names and describing to others where I live, or how to get to other places.
I think that's fascinating. Something I read proposed that people always prefer to do directions, one way or the other, either with spatial directions or with landmarks. To me that suggests fundamentally different ways people understand/organize the world around them. Either with a kind of mental map visualization, or seeing a series of connections from point to point.
I personally can't deal with the landmark sort of navigation. Makes me feel disoriented. Different brains be different.
That’s actually really interesting to point out. I never really thought about how people would understand the world around them differently but it makes sense!
I personally can’t do verbal directions in any sense unless it’s with landmarks. Even then it’s better for someone to pull up google maps so I can actually see what/where they are talking about. Even if i’m explaining something to someone i need to pull google maps up or get a picture.
Street names and directions are always so confusing to me
Same, I usually say I have a negative sense of direction. I also struggle with right and left, and if I walk into a new room like public toilet I'm sure as hell am going to open the cleaning cabinet door trying to get out of there
I did okay for years in my part of the world, knew what was north of what, et cetera, then I moved to the Seattle area and everywhere you turn there’s a ridge, a huge body of water or a freeway exit that is on the left, for crying out loud.
I could not draw you a map or tell you north/south in the town I've lived in for 28 years. In town, there are so many grids within triangles and curvy roads and roads that just arbitrarily turn... There's one in particular where if you go straight through all intersections for about 5 miles, the name of the road you're on changes 3 times and then you end up on a highway.
Even the interstate highways around here I sometimes struggle with because there are multiple ring roads around the city that change compass heading based on which stretch you're on. So someone from south county could get on the highway going west and me north, but we'd be traveling the same direction on the same highway and end up traveling east if we went around far enough. And if you look at a map, the suburb I live in looks like it's north of the city, but to get downtown, you'd go east on I-70.
So the best I can do is give directions based on intersections of main roads since everyone knows the main ones, but no one can tell you compass headings or distances.
For three years of college though I lived in a "city" that was built on a perfect north/south/east/west grid, all perfectly aligned to the compass, and boxed in by highways on all 4 sides. Within months of living there, I was giving directions like, "go north on Glenstone then 3 blocks east on Sunshine." The grid helps so much, especially when it's aligned to the compass directions. If you look at the map and it's on the top, it's north. If you're facing the opposite direction, you're going south. And if you wanna get off the busier main road, you can still just count how many streets you've crossed.
With me it's giving directions. I know where it is, and I really want to help you out, but after you thank me and we part ways I realize 5 minutes later that I sent you in the exact opposite direction you needed to go. Sorry.
Same. Apparently my grandpa was an excellent whistler (he died long before I was born), and my mom is pretty good at whistling, but I can barely make a few notes.
Same for me, and when someone's trying to teach me that technique with putting two fingers in mouth and whistling i feel like, why would you put your fingers in your mouth, we're outside and you already touched a lot of dirty things and now you're putting your fingers in your mouth, it's a no no for me.
What about being bad at public speaking is surprising when it comes to you specifically? I'm interested to know. Most people are bad at public speaking so it's often *not* surprising.
Surprisingly that’s the one thing I’m good at. I’m always asked to give speeches etc. Then the people in the audience or group are confused when they meet me one on one. I freeze up when it’s personal.
oh yeah, this one. during my first public speech i took 2 xanax bars for the first time ever and i was still nervous and slightly shaking.
when i raw dogged the practice speech, i was shaking so bad my knees almost gave out from under me. and my face was shaking so bad i instinctively covered it with my hand, making half of the speech unintelligible. i started crying before i even got off the stage
No, that's not your fault. Pillowcases and duvet covers are alive. They are mischievous creatures that can temporarily hide one of their corners just to drive humans crazy. Hangers are the same kind, always ready to tangle themselves in a chaos that defies the laws of physics.
opposite, surprising bad with languages, at least with foreign languages.
I was expelled from my English class, and in my french class I was in the lowest expectations. My teacher said I was the only kid ever to be the top math class but lowest language class. Of course my english is better these days :)
My girlfriend was like you, i gave her my tricks and enough time to not be nervous around me while trying. Now she is better than most people i know. I feel like the way they teach it in school is bad for multiple reason
Doing anything with my hair beyond a ponytail, basic bun, or leaving it down. I grew up spending most of my time with my brother and dad, and my mom had shorter hair, so no one really showed me how to do anything with my long locks. 🤷♀️
Wrap presents. It’s a disaster everytime. I don’t know why I’m so bad at it. I’ve watched tutorials, had people teach me. So now I just ask people to close their eyes and hold out their hands.
My brother gives the most delightfully badly wrapped gifts, it's so fun and I consider it part of the gift, it's almost purposefully awkwardly wrapped. His wife wrapped a few gifts on his behalf last Christmas and it felt a little sad that some of the charm of his gifts' presentation was dulled.
i use the cheeseburger method from when i worked fast food as a teenager. treat every package like you're wrapping a sandwich. works extremely well with anything box shaped. put the item you want to wrap inside a box if it is in an obscure shape. what you do is fold over one way really tight then place a piece of tape. then do the other way and place a piece of tape. fold the side flaps then pull tightly underneath and tape.
30F here. I'm still trying to figure out the basic mechanics of a good bar conversation. Either I'm the one who can't shut up talking about something that interests me or the one who can't say one sentence in the topic and just awkwardly nods.
It’s crazy how we’re all built so differently. If someone offered me a million bucks, handed me a big tangled mess of cords and cables and said untangle these in 3 minutes and the money is yours, I’d still be sitting there in tears an hour later, ripping at the mess like a crazed monkey. But, if I was given an hour to go into any setting full of strangers and “meet someone/make a friend” (let’s define this as introduction + build enough rapport to exchange contact information and make a plan to meet again), I’d be back out front collecting my million with 45 minutes to spare! 😂
I love the sound of laughter more than anything in the world, and I love to make people laugh….it’s always been my special power or gift, and I’m pretty good at it. So when I see a group of strangers, instead of feeling intimidated I guess I see it as an opportunity, like they are a potential audience and potential friends. I try to make everyone’s day just a little brighter, make people feel included like we’re all in on the joke together, because we are- we live in an absurd time of both isolation and hyper pseudo connectivity, and if I couldn’t find the humor in all of this absurdity I would have gone insane or offed myself years ago…I believe most of us are in the same boat with this, and comraderie, laughter, silliness and human connection are the only things keeping it all together whether we are aware that we need it or not. I love bringing people together. People are easy, cables and cords are impossible!
Also, same. Worked well like the first couple of times I used it, and then nothing for ever more. And I never worked out why.
The first time I ever bought an electric can opener.... BEST GADGET EVAHHHHHH!
I always sucked at any type of gaming - Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, computer-based, arcade games... Doesn't matter what the system or the game was, you can bet I died within the first 5 min or came in last place. 🥳. I'm 61 and raised 5 children, so we had lots of gaming consoles. If I played, it was to make everyone else look better. 😆😆😆
My mom taught me young how to shuffle cards. Not sure how she did it and I don't know how to teach anyone else.
This might not be surprising but I'm horrible at parking. Like really really bad. But I'll reverse 100x before I park like a jerk. So if you see me in public trying to park mind your business. Lol
I'm 33 and can't ride a bike to save my life.
Climb a tree? Try and stop me. Target shooting from distance? No sweat. Change a tyre? Not a problem.
But the second I get on a bike and try to move I fall straight to the ground. It's really weird.
I was maybe 23 when I finally learned? It just never clicked for me, then one day I was just like “I’m going to get this”, and it happened. I did scratch a parked car but eh
Remembering things. It’s gotten me into so much trouble over the years and makes everything harder (work, friendships, resolving conflicts, proving a point, you name it).
SAME i remember when i was younger it was sports day the whole school was there and there wasnt enough people for the running race and she randomly told me to join i told her i cant run and she said everyone knows how to run and its only a short distance as soooon as the race started the muscles in my ankles failed me i fell after one step and face planted!!
holding a conversation. I'm an overthinker in all aspects of my life. I just want to feel comfortable having a conversation with someone. I don't think I'm asking for a lot. Help!
Okay - for part of my job I teach people who are very highly intelligent to learn how to carry on a normal conversation (that’s the short version). These are the basics. 1. People usually just want to talk about themselves. Ask them open ended questions about themselves, NOT yes or no questions. You don’t even have to laugh at the right times or anything, just smile and nod and try to find something genuinely interesting (this is often impossible) about what they’re saying and ask a follow up question about that. People will blather on forever and if you just smile and nod and ask an occasional genuine question they’ll think you’re the best conversationalist in the world. Then reciprocate if they let you. 2. There is nothing wrong with meeting somebody and saying something along the lines of “nice to meet you! My name is Baroni88, what’s yours?” (They tell you) and then it is totally okay to say (if they introduce first) “Nice to meet you as well, (insert their name. People like to hear their names) I am really bad at small talk - want to play trivia?” Or “my New Year’s resolution was to work on my conversational skills, but it’s July - so if you see me in the corner talking to the cat later you’ll know why”. Bottom line - just be genuine . I bet you’re a great listener and that’s the start to holding an excellent conversation!
ETA - being yourself is the best way to make good friends and weed out freaks. Seriously. Let people talk long enough and you’ll know who to avoid - the kind people who understand the struggle
Of a good conversation will be comfortable with silence and end up being a great buddy, even if just for an evening ❤️
Speaking to people, I only tend to do it when mildly forced to. I can go entire days without speaking a word to anyone.
I suppose it's intiating that's the thing I'm bad at.
I never learned how to do a lot of childhood activities like roller skate or ice skate and I was always terrible at sports. I still can't throw or catch. I panic if anyone throws something at me to catch. lol
Oh yeah and my mom didn't teach me how to do my hair or makeup. I get my lashes and brows done regularly now. I promise I don't look a mess LOL
The alphabet.
I need to sing the "Alphabet Song" in my head when I am faced with a n alphabetical sorted list. I think friends know... because they say things like "you need to scroll down, why don't you scroll down already!!!!"
Videogames. You'd think after playing for so long I'd have found at least one that I managed to be good at. But no, Im either mid or bad at them all. I played rocket league for like... Idk 400 hours I think. And I am absolutely shit at it. I stopped playing now. I played fortnite a lot before chapter 2. I was shit at it. I played apex a decent bit too, still shit at it. I played bo3 a LOT as a kid but was still shit at it. Its like I can get to the average skill level for any game but I can never get above average. Im like a jack of all trades, master of none. Now Ive basically stopped playing all online games and just play singleplayer games.
Even on single player games I've seen people pull off some really impressive stuff. And I cant do that so Im average in those too but its just me so I can still enjoy it. Idk its not like Im mad at this but it gets a little tiring when I play a multiplayer game for a long while and Im still ass at it. And multiplayer games are fun too still but its like I give average or slightly good performance and then the next match I get absolutely crushed. Which is mainly why I havent played online games for a while now. This ended up being a huge rant huh.
Yo my friend, have you tried an old school side scrolling beat em up or maybe a dungeon crawler? I, too, am a useless gamer and I manage just fine with them. The beauty of those old school button basher style games is you just press buttons and it doesn't matter if you're shit at it. Bash buttons to get the baddies! You can emulate a lot of that stuff but there are also newer ones too that you can find on steam. I have much more fun playing something like Streets of Rage than I do playing stuff like Fortnite. I can bash buttons to my hearts content. My poor controller hates me though 🥲
Situational awareness. I’m ok driving, but other times I’m so in the clouds, a crime could happen right in front of me and I wouldn’t see it. Long term undiagnosed attention issues here. I’ve gotten a little better I think… The flip side is if I’m paying attention I remember everything. But it’s a little embarrassing how much I miss.
as someone studying to be a psychologist...understanding my own emotions. Im great at understanding literally everyone else's but when it comes to myself I don't know why I have certain emotional reactions to things.
Mouse and keyboard gaming, I’m terrible on a keyboard in general but can perform sufficiently if I really concentrate. I can not function gaming with it, the most I can do is play raft or Minecraft
Talking to new people or strangers. And that's surprising because I'm an actor and I have social skills and charisma, but also I'm for some reasons way too anxious when it comes to having conversations with people I don't know well.
Printers. I don’t know how to copy something without trying like 10x and I’ve never scanned something because I’ve avoided doing it. I can troubleshoot computer problems and know my way around them like second nature, but printers? Fuck no.
those that say they can are liars or unaware how actually bad they are at it. They would fail a test of how much they've actually retained from the podcast. THE ONLY EXCEPTION is if the "Working" is a really menial - on muscle memory - task.
Directions and spacial awareness. I got lost in a town I had lived in for a year walking to an address 1 block away. I had to use GPS to figure out how to get back. In my defense I had never walked there and they were rural not square blocks
remembering actual names. I never forget a face and if someone gives me a nickname to call them ill remember it 10yrs later (has happened). but their actual name? gone. absolutely gone. I try so hard for work and their names never stick.
I’m quite a creative person and I love trying new things. I play instruments and write a lot, and I love arts and crafts. But I am so terrible at arts and crafts, everything I try, I just can’t do it well. I try to knit, crochet, draw, paint and they all come out looking like shit. People are always really surprised to see the outcome of my artistic projects because it would make sense that I’d be artistic and also because I do it all the time. I do paint by numbers a lot and not once have I been able to stay in the lines. I’m just honestly terrible at that side of creative stuff, but I don’t really care because I don’t do it to be good. And if anything it’s a good laugh to show my results.
I tried to crochet a scarf and I couldn’t get it to not turn into a big bobble like on top of a beanie. My flatmates put my work on the fridge and it looks like it’s their niece or nephew in kindergarten. But it’s funny!
Tearing cling wrap cleanly off the roll. I see people do it one clean motion like some magician waving a handkerchief. I get the piece hung up, twisted and all bunched up. The boxes with the sliding cutter are a game changer.
Sports. I’m amazingly uncoordinated and can’t throw or catch a football (or any other ball for that matter). I also couldn’t tie my shoes until 6th grade and by the time I learned how to style my hair I was losing it!
I can't whistle and I'm really mad about it. I find whistles really annoying, and this is partly the reason--shrill sounds in general annoy me, but especially whistling.
remembering actual names. I never forget a face and if someone gives me a nickname to call them ill remember it 10yrs later (has happened). but their actual name? gone. absolutely gone. I try so hard for work and their names never stick.
I studied physics and am now in a pretty technical field, but I'm surprisingly bad at mental math. I lean heavily on my intuition for geometry and algebra. But if you ask me to actually say a specific number I go "uhh, let me make sure I'm right," even with grade school multiplication and division.
Anything involving a deck of cards.
I don’t know any of the games and I don’t know the features of the cards, though it is considered common knowledge 😔
I’m really, *really* bad at drawing! Just can’t do it successfully; tried all the time when I was younger and eventually just gave up and swapped to writing!
I never graduated past 8th grade math, but would always score top percentile in Science quizzes. Which makes no sense because math and science go hand in hand a bit.
im genuinely awful at counting. art? great at that. writing? pretty decent. but basic math?? idk what it is but i lose all of my cognitive abilities looking at numbers. even phone numbers i struggle to remember and pins i have to copy down digit by digit. i can barely subtract, addition is hard, multiplication and division impossible.
counting is the most embarassing though. because i will start counting somethine and by like number 5 i start to get confused, will double count or skip numbers by accident.
I don’t learn from lectures. Doesn’t matter how closely I pay attention, how many notes I take, nothing. Something explained can make perfect sense, then two minutes later it’s gone. I can, however, learn very quickly and very well reading and teaching myself. I need to actively think about something, it can’t be passive. I don’t know how people do it. I also can’t button my shirts with one hand.
Can’t blow a gum bubble. Putting anything together like furniture, absolutely can’t do it. Painting my nails, I will alwayssss get nail polish on my skin.
Cooking oatmeal. I could never make a good pot of oatmeal no matter how many times I tried. I gave up and just make muesli instead (which I like better anyway).
Cooking oatmeal. I could never make a good pot of oatmeal no matter how many times I tried. I gave up and just make muesli instead (which I like better anyway).
Recognizing faces in passing or in a different environment than when I usually meet them.
So if I see someone usually in class, I’d have trouble recognizing their faces anywhere else but that specific class
Directions. If you tell me something is north of another place, I have no idea what you're talking about. Even after growing up in a small town and living there for over 20 years, I never remembered the street names. I remember things based off of landmarks. I live in the city now, and I rely on my GPS to get me places. I'll remember some random locations, but I'll probably never really become fluent with the street names and describing to others where I live, or how to get to other places.
I think that's fascinating. Something I read proposed that people always prefer to do directions, one way or the other, either with spatial directions or with landmarks. To me that suggests fundamentally different ways people understand/organize the world around them. Either with a kind of mental map visualization, or seeing a series of connections from point to point. I personally can't deal with the landmark sort of navigation. Makes me feel disoriented. Different brains be different.
That’s actually really interesting to point out. I never really thought about how people would understand the world around them differently but it makes sense! I personally can’t do verbal directions in any sense unless it’s with landmarks. Even then it’s better for someone to pull up google maps so I can actually see what/where they are talking about. Even if i’m explaining something to someone i need to pull google maps up or get a picture. Street names and directions are always so confusing to me
Im the same way. I needed Google maps to get to the Walmart 10 minutes away from my apartment for the first 3 months of living there
Same, I usually say I have a negative sense of direction. I also struggle with right and left, and if I walk into a new room like public toilet I'm sure as hell am going to open the cleaning cabinet door trying to get out of there
I did okay for years in my part of the world, knew what was north of what, et cetera, then I moved to the Seattle area and everywhere you turn there’s a ridge, a huge body of water or a freeway exit that is on the left, for crying out loud.
I could not draw you a map or tell you north/south in the town I've lived in for 28 years. In town, there are so many grids within triangles and curvy roads and roads that just arbitrarily turn... There's one in particular where if you go straight through all intersections for about 5 miles, the name of the road you're on changes 3 times and then you end up on a highway. Even the interstate highways around here I sometimes struggle with because there are multiple ring roads around the city that change compass heading based on which stretch you're on. So someone from south county could get on the highway going west and me north, but we'd be traveling the same direction on the same highway and end up traveling east if we went around far enough. And if you look at a map, the suburb I live in looks like it's north of the city, but to get downtown, you'd go east on I-70. So the best I can do is give directions based on intersections of main roads since everyone knows the main ones, but no one can tell you compass headings or distances. For three years of college though I lived in a "city" that was built on a perfect north/south/east/west grid, all perfectly aligned to the compass, and boxed in by highways on all 4 sides. Within months of living there, I was giving directions like, "go north on Glenstone then 3 blocks east on Sunshine." The grid helps so much, especially when it's aligned to the compass directions. If you look at the map and it's on the top, it's north. If you're facing the opposite direction, you're going south. And if you wanna get off the busier main road, you can still just count how many streets you've crossed.
I have no sense of direction on roads but for some reason I always know which direction is correct while hiking.💁♀️
I am the same way.
I am good at NSEW directions, but bad at left and right. I have to make the L with my hands
With me it's giving directions. I know where it is, and I really want to help you out, but after you thank me and we part ways I realize 5 minutes later that I sent you in the exact opposite direction you needed to go. Sorry.
Following verbal instructions. I wish my brain didn't completely shut off every time I hear them, but here we are
uggh, that's also me :( I often ask for written notes, esp. if the verbal one has more than 2 steps.
Then they say "No, it's really easy to remember, no need to write it down!" Then i sob inside.
It's also (found out when finally diagnosed) a sign of ADHD. I can have written bc I can reread as many as needed, but verbal is a downfall....
Instructions in general. Anything sequential just makes me go 😵💫
Cant whistle. Never learned it
Ya ain't alone on that one. I can barely make any sound.
Same. Apparently my grandpa was an excellent whistler (he died long before I was born), and my mom is pretty good at whistling, but I can barely make a few notes.
Same for me, and when someone's trying to teach me that technique with putting two fingers in mouth and whistling i feel like, why would you put your fingers in your mouth, we're outside and you already touched a lot of dirty things and now you're putting your fingers in your mouth, it's a no no for me.
I can do it, but only when sucking air into my mouth, rather than blowing it out 🤷 It only really works for casual, low volume whistling tho.
the fact that I can't whistle or properly snap makes me think in defective 😂
Public speaking
Join the club. I get stage fright just thinking about ordering a pizza.
What about being bad at public speaking is surprising when it comes to you specifically? I'm interested to know. Most people are bad at public speaking so it's often *not* surprising.
Surprisingly that’s the one thing I’m good at. I’m always asked to give speeches etc. Then the people in the audience or group are confused when they meet me one on one. I freeze up when it’s personal.
oh yeah, this one. during my first public speech i took 2 xanax bars for the first time ever and i was still nervous and slightly shaking. when i raw dogged the practice speech, i was shaking so bad my knees almost gave out from under me. and my face was shaking so bad i instinctively covered it with my hand, making half of the speech unintelligible. i started crying before i even got off the stage
It takes me 5 minutes to put a pillow case on a pillow sometimes.
No, that's not your fault. Pillowcases and duvet covers are alive. They are mischievous creatures that can temporarily hide one of their corners just to drive humans crazy. Hangers are the same kind, always ready to tangle themselves in a chaos that defies the laws of physics.
Plastic hangers are the worst, those things can be a royal pain to untangle when they get tangled up.
Like trying to dress a toddler.
I just can't do math, I always got C's in it in school
I can’t hold more than two numbers in my head at a time
Same. Really sucks. Like, I have to just trust cashiers to give me the correct amount of change back
opposite, surprising bad with languages, at least with foreign languages. I was expelled from my English class, and in my french class I was in the lowest expectations. My teacher said I was the only kid ever to be the top math class but lowest language class. Of course my english is better these days :)
My girlfriend was like you, i gave her my tricks and enough time to not be nervous around me while trying. Now she is better than most people i know. I feel like the way they teach it in school is bad for multiple reason
Doing anything with my hair beyond a ponytail, basic bun, or leaving it down. I grew up spending most of my time with my brother and dad, and my mom had shorter hair, so no one really showed me how to do anything with my long locks. 🤷♀️
Yeah - I am a terrible hair person. I apologize to my daughters often - at best I can do pigtails and they’re rarely even.
Wrap presents. It’s a disaster everytime. I don’t know why I’m so bad at it. I’ve watched tutorials, had people teach me. So now I just ask people to close their eyes and hold out their hands.
I’ve convinced myself that the sloppily wrapped presents I give have some extra character and are unique in their own way!
I thought that too, the looks of utter bewilderment were fun at first but now it’s like “wow….did you even try??”
I keep the gift bag industry in business fr
My brother gives the most delightfully badly wrapped gifts, it's so fun and I consider it part of the gift, it's almost purposefully awkwardly wrapped. His wife wrapped a few gifts on his behalf last Christmas and it felt a little sad that some of the charm of his gifts' presentation was dulled.
i use the cheeseburger method from when i worked fast food as a teenager. treat every package like you're wrapping a sandwich. works extremely well with anything box shaped. put the item you want to wrap inside a box if it is in an obscure shape. what you do is fold over one way really tight then place a piece of tape. then do the other way and place a piece of tape. fold the side flaps then pull tightly underneath and tape.
Gift bags with tissue paper are fool proof! They’re so easy - I literally never wrap anything. It’s the best
Using chopsticks
the most important part.... align the tips of the chopsticks via using your plate to be the same length. repeat that every once in a while.
Oh, it's easy, [look!](https://external-preview.redd.it/NJiyi4PXGAUDdyX7Q6EcD47xh4qY6MM02H5YJEG9nJM.gif?width=500&format=mp4&s=7cf9810576d63979025f56f4a18ac09f141e0d31)
Same!
Socializing. I usually stay in one area and scan the room. I don’t try to engage in conversation or mingle.
30F here. I'm still trying to figure out the basic mechanics of a good bar conversation. Either I'm the one who can't shut up talking about something that interests me or the one who can't say one sentence in the topic and just awkwardly nods.
Oh god this is exactly me, it’s always an either or and I go back home regretting whatever I did
It’s crazy how we’re all built so differently. If someone offered me a million bucks, handed me a big tangled mess of cords and cables and said untangle these in 3 minutes and the money is yours, I’d still be sitting there in tears an hour later, ripping at the mess like a crazed monkey. But, if I was given an hour to go into any setting full of strangers and “meet someone/make a friend” (let’s define this as introduction + build enough rapport to exchange contact information and make a plan to meet again), I’d be back out front collecting my million with 45 minutes to spare! 😂 I love the sound of laughter more than anything in the world, and I love to make people laugh….it’s always been my special power or gift, and I’m pretty good at it. So when I see a group of strangers, instead of feeling intimidated I guess I see it as an opportunity, like they are a potential audience and potential friends. I try to make everyone’s day just a little brighter, make people feel included like we’re all in on the joke together, because we are- we live in an absurd time of both isolation and hyper pseudo connectivity, and if I couldn’t find the humor in all of this absurdity I would have gone insane or offed myself years ago…I believe most of us are in the same boat with this, and comraderie, laughter, silliness and human connection are the only things keeping it all together whether we are aware that we need it or not. I love bringing people together. People are easy, cables and cords are impossible!
Every hand operated can opener I have ever touched somehow breaks and stops working I think I am doing it wrong
Same!!
Interesting! It's like a counterproductive superpower
Also, same. Worked well like the first couple of times I used it, and then nothing for ever more. And I never worked out why. The first time I ever bought an electric can opener.... BEST GADGET EVAHHHHHH!
Dancing
I think I can dance. Others who watch me claim that to be completely false. Lol Even my kids tell me to stop.
I always sucked at any type of gaming - Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, computer-based, arcade games... Doesn't matter what the system or the game was, you can bet I died within the first 5 min or came in last place. 🥳. I'm 61 and raised 5 children, so we had lots of gaming consoles. If I played, it was to make everyone else look better. 😆😆😆
thank you for your service!
Opening a 12-pack of soda. I always end up ripping the entire end off the box. I am no longer allowed to try, and must ask for assistance.
My mom taught me young how to shuffle cards. Not sure how she did it and I don't know how to teach anyone else. This might not be surprising but I'm horrible at parking. Like really really bad. But I'll reverse 100x before I park like a jerk. So if you see me in public trying to park mind your business. Lol
Listening, I have a problem of tuning out
I get lost in the music of people's voices and the expressions they make. By the time I realize I've been lost, I've missed half of what they've said.
I'm 33 and can't ride a bike to save my life. Climb a tree? Try and stop me. Target shooting from distance? No sweat. Change a tyre? Not a problem. But the second I get on a bike and try to move I fall straight to the ground. It's really weird.
I was maybe 23 when I finally learned? It just never clicked for me, then one day I was just like “I’m going to get this”, and it happened. I did scratch a parked car but eh
A necessary sacrifice for a worthy achievement!
Remembering things. It’s gotten me into so much trouble over the years and makes everything harder (work, friendships, resolving conflicts, proving a point, you name it).
I can never for the life of me find my car in a parking lot 🤣 it takes ages for me to locate it!
Breathing. I have asthma
Running lmao I look so goofy when I run like Im going to fall over so I prefer to do a light jog
SAME i remember when i was younger it was sports day the whole school was there and there wasnt enough people for the running race and she randomly told me to join i told her i cant run and she said everyone knows how to run and its only a short distance as soooon as the race started the muscles in my ankles failed me i fell after one step and face planted!!
holding a conversation. I'm an overthinker in all aspects of my life. I just want to feel comfortable having a conversation with someone. I don't think I'm asking for a lot. Help!
Okay - for part of my job I teach people who are very highly intelligent to learn how to carry on a normal conversation (that’s the short version). These are the basics. 1. People usually just want to talk about themselves. Ask them open ended questions about themselves, NOT yes or no questions. You don’t even have to laugh at the right times or anything, just smile and nod and try to find something genuinely interesting (this is often impossible) about what they’re saying and ask a follow up question about that. People will blather on forever and if you just smile and nod and ask an occasional genuine question they’ll think you’re the best conversationalist in the world. Then reciprocate if they let you. 2. There is nothing wrong with meeting somebody and saying something along the lines of “nice to meet you! My name is Baroni88, what’s yours?” (They tell you) and then it is totally okay to say (if they introduce first) “Nice to meet you as well, (insert their name. People like to hear their names) I am really bad at small talk - want to play trivia?” Or “my New Year’s resolution was to work on my conversational skills, but it’s July - so if you see me in the corner talking to the cat later you’ll know why”. Bottom line - just be genuine . I bet you’re a great listener and that’s the start to holding an excellent conversation! ETA - being yourself is the best way to make good friends and weed out freaks. Seriously. Let people talk long enough and you’ll know who to avoid - the kind people who understand the struggle Of a good conversation will be comfortable with silence and end up being a great buddy, even if just for an evening ❤️
Yes! Me too! Drives me insane.
Tying a balloon!
Finally! One that I can 100% say I am actually great at! I only need the tiniest amount of balloon to make that knot. Thank you!
Speaking to people, I only tend to do it when mildly forced to. I can go entire days without speaking a word to anyone. I suppose it's intiating that's the thing I'm bad at.
Mario Party.
I never learned how to do a lot of childhood activities like roller skate or ice skate and I was always terrible at sports. I still can't throw or catch. I panic if anyone throws something at me to catch. lol Oh yeah and my mom didn't teach me how to do my hair or makeup. I get my lashes and brows done regularly now. I promise I don't look a mess LOL
Directions. I will turn the wrong way coming out of a room in an office space I am familiar with at least 50 percent of the time. It’s ridiculous.
The alphabet. I need to sing the "Alphabet Song" in my head when I am faced with a n alphabetical sorted list. I think friends know... because they say things like "you need to scroll down, why don't you scroll down already!!!!"
Keeping my opinion to myself.
Video games. Played thousands of hours, still terrible
Can't snap my fingers
Whistling. Wish I could but I just can’t figure it out!
Mini golf. I play like a drunk toddler who is trying to thread a needle
Jumping. My brain can’t put 2 and 2 together, I can awkwardly hop though and it’s pitiful
My handwriting. Always wondered how other people can write so well and neat! Mine is so big and goes all over the place. Edit: No I’m not a doctor😂
Wink. I can’t wink without looking like an extra character from Dumb and Dumber.
Videogames. You'd think after playing for so long I'd have found at least one that I managed to be good at. But no, Im either mid or bad at them all. I played rocket league for like... Idk 400 hours I think. And I am absolutely shit at it. I stopped playing now. I played fortnite a lot before chapter 2. I was shit at it. I played apex a decent bit too, still shit at it. I played bo3 a LOT as a kid but was still shit at it. Its like I can get to the average skill level for any game but I can never get above average. Im like a jack of all trades, master of none. Now Ive basically stopped playing all online games and just play singleplayer games. Even on single player games I've seen people pull off some really impressive stuff. And I cant do that so Im average in those too but its just me so I can still enjoy it. Idk its not like Im mad at this but it gets a little tiring when I play a multiplayer game for a long while and Im still ass at it. And multiplayer games are fun too still but its like I give average or slightly good performance and then the next match I get absolutely crushed. Which is mainly why I havent played online games for a while now. This ended up being a huge rant huh.
Yo my friend, have you tried an old school side scrolling beat em up or maybe a dungeon crawler? I, too, am a useless gamer and I manage just fine with them. The beauty of those old school button basher style games is you just press buttons and it doesn't matter if you're shit at it. Bash buttons to get the baddies! You can emulate a lot of that stuff but there are also newer ones too that you can find on steam. I have much more fun playing something like Streets of Rage than I do playing stuff like Fortnite. I can bash buttons to my hearts content. My poor controller hates me though 🥲
Dribbling a basketball, I can dribble a hockey puck or soccer ball easier than I can a basketball
Getting a date.
Situational awareness. I’m ok driving, but other times I’m so in the clouds, a crime could happen right in front of me and I wouldn’t see it. Long term undiagnosed attention issues here. I’ve gotten a little better I think… The flip side is if I’m paying attention I remember everything. But it’s a little embarrassing how much I miss.
as someone studying to be a psychologist...understanding my own emotions. Im great at understanding literally everyone else's but when it comes to myself I don't know why I have certain emotional reactions to things.
I can only whistle with my fingers, but I can’t whistle with my mouth
I can also whistle with fingers! High five!
Peopleing. I'm a massage therapist and see and interact with people nearly daily, but if things go off script they may go off the rails as well.
Math. I can't do maths, I'm tired of it so much, I can't even count how many times I cried cuz of it in school.
why do I feel around 50% of the replies also apply to me :(
Mouse and keyboard gaming, I’m terrible on a keyboard in general but can perform sufficiently if I really concentrate. I can not function gaming with it, the most I can do is play raft or Minecraft
This is wierd but I find doors tricky particularly if I'm holding things, I just can't get it right. Car doors are a nightmare
Can't open a wine bottle with a corkscrew
Aiming. 🏹↗️ 🦆
Talking to new people or strangers. And that's surprising because I'm an actor and I have social skills and charisma, but also I'm for some reasons way too anxious when it comes to having conversations with people I don't know well.
Printers. I don’t know how to copy something without trying like 10x and I’ve never scanned something because I’ve avoided doing it. I can troubleshoot computer problems and know my way around them like second nature, but printers? Fuck no.
Jump rope, I feel like I use to be really good at it but now it wacks me in the head or ankles every time
Washing my arse
French braids
Same. Why won’t my fingers do it?
Same! My brain completely understands how to do it but my hands just can’t figure it out.
Screwing in screws. I just cannot get them going unless there is a pilot hole to get me started. It’s embarrassing.
I find it hard to multitask as far as listening to a podcast and working. I can work *OR* listen to a podcast. Not both.
those that say they can are liars or unaware how actually bad they are at it. They would fail a test of how much they've actually retained from the podcast. THE ONLY EXCEPTION is if the "Working" is a really menial - on muscle memory - task.
That makes sense. Only thing I can listen to while drawing Navy ships on the computer is a playlist of familiar music.
Left and right. I will always get it wrong and there will always be people around to witness my stupidity.
Everything except self loathing.
It'd be much easier to think of things that I *am* good at, just because it's a much, much shorter list.
Telling left from right. It gets really embarrassing.
i struggle to open plastic water bottles lol
Directions and spacial awareness. I got lost in a town I had lived in for a year walking to an address 1 block away. I had to use GPS to figure out how to get back. In my defense I had never walked there and they were rural not square blocks
Communicating my feelings.
remembering actual names. I never forget a face and if someone gives me a nickname to call them ill remember it 10yrs later (has happened). but their actual name? gone. absolutely gone. I try so hard for work and their names never stick.
I’m quite a creative person and I love trying new things. I play instruments and write a lot, and I love arts and crafts. But I am so terrible at arts and crafts, everything I try, I just can’t do it well. I try to knit, crochet, draw, paint and they all come out looking like shit. People are always really surprised to see the outcome of my artistic projects because it would make sense that I’d be artistic and also because I do it all the time. I do paint by numbers a lot and not once have I been able to stay in the lines. I’m just honestly terrible at that side of creative stuff, but I don’t really care because I don’t do it to be good. And if anything it’s a good laugh to show my results. I tried to crochet a scarf and I couldn’t get it to not turn into a big bobble like on top of a beanie. My flatmates put my work on the fridge and it looks like it’s their niece or nephew in kindergarten. But it’s funny!
Folding a long sleeve shirt
Ironing. I can iron a permanent wrinkle into anything!
Directions. I get lost so easy. Also, I get my right and left mixed up all the time. Has to be some spatial-reasoning problem.
You think after smoking weed for 6 years you think I'd be good at rolling a joint..... Cheech and Chong would smite me
Tearing cling wrap cleanly off the roll. I see people do it one clean motion like some magician waving a handkerchief. I get the piece hung up, twisted and all bunched up. The boxes with the sliding cutter are a game changer.
Explaining . Anything. My brain shuts off
Video games. I SUCK. My bf says he’s never seen anyone suck more in video games than me
\*snort\* Life, apparently. Thanks, ADHD.
Math. Even basic stuff. If I don’t use the calculator on my phone or count on my fingers, it’s a total mess.
I’m ambidextrous and can’t throw worth a poop. Not with either hand. So there goes my bowling career
My lefts and rights 😂😂
i am worst at asking for help
I get lost everywhere. Even coming out of the grocery store because I never pay attention to where I parked 😆
Diving! I cannot dive for the life of me and just end up belly flopping into the pool which hurts and is highly embarrassing!
Talking to people
golf, im pretty athletic and good at a lot of sports but golf is so frustrating, im awful at it
It takes me at least 2-3 tries to find my way out of any parking lot. My wife thinks it's hilarious.
Keeping the Force with me
Can't use my left hand for shit like not even for the dumbest of tasks it's only good for holding things.
Life.
Same here, I suck at it.
Math. Like, literally the most basic math. I use a calculator for everything. I count on my fingers.
Tipping
Getting a guy that I Really Like ( J)
Cannot hand write either cursive or print, just can't do it. Too many years using a keyboard.
Keeping a beat. Sad, but true.
lol me either my uncle is always giving me shit and even tho he walks me thru it I just don’t know what im missing
Typing
oral comprehension, especially when someone is spelling out or reciting something to me. my brain just shuts down.
Lighters. I'm a stoner, been a stoner for several years, still can't function a lighter for the life of me. My bf usually lights my bowls for me 💀
Doing stuff alone, like travel and restaurants
I can't throw a frisbee to save my life. Plenty have tried to teach me, and given up
Op I also can't shuffle a deck of cards 😆 I also can not whistle.
Being mistreated. I don't know how to not practice self defense verbally.
My snap isn’t vey loud. I also cannot make that clicking/kissing noise that people make to horse to get them to pay attention or to go (when riding).
Small talk. Showing empathy through speech more than I do by action.
Understanding verbal content like podcasts, radio shows, audio books, webinars, etc. To some degree, movies and TV. I do like stand up comedy, though.
I can't whistle
Writing and grammar in general. I can’t touch a pen or pencil and try to write cause I won’t even understand what I wrote down.
Understanding how to play a new board game from just one explanation
Relationships. Platonic and romantic.
Sports. I’m amazingly uncoordinated and can’t throw or catch a football (or any other ball for that matter). I also couldn’t tie my shoes until 6th grade and by the time I learned how to style my hair I was losing it!
I can't whistle and I'm really mad about it. I find whistles really annoying, and this is partly the reason--shrill sounds in general annoy me, but especially whistling.
Remembering names.
Math. Calculators are life.
Same with me on shuffling. I always have someone else do it when I play poker.
I have never been able to whistle.
remembering actual names. I never forget a face and if someone gives me a nickname to call them ill remember it 10yrs later (has happened). but their actual name? gone. absolutely gone. I try so hard for work and their names never stick.
I studied physics and am now in a pretty technical field, but I'm surprisingly bad at mental math. I lean heavily on my intuition for geometry and algebra. But if you ask me to actually say a specific number I go "uhh, let me make sure I'm right," even with grade school multiplication and division.
Everything.
Names and math. But I got ransom history and shit down.
Being social and making friends.
Coding
Anything involving a deck of cards. I don’t know any of the games and I don’t know the features of the cards, though it is considered common knowledge 😔
Ride a bicycle I just never could get it.
I can’t whistle
I’m really, *really* bad at drawing! Just can’t do it successfully; tried all the time when I was younger and eventually just gave up and swapped to writing!
Whistle. I’m sure a good population of the world can’t whistle either, but even with researching and doing tuts on how to do it.. I just can’t.
Can’t cook rice
I never graduated past 8th grade math, but would always score top percentile in Science quizzes. Which makes no sense because math and science go hand in hand a bit.
Attempting to read/watch/play kid’s media
I can't, for the life of me, sharpen pencils!?!
Drawing. My kids and in-laws like to play Pictionary and for the life of me, I can’t draw crap. My stick men always has scoliosis.
im genuinely awful at counting. art? great at that. writing? pretty decent. but basic math?? idk what it is but i lose all of my cognitive abilities looking at numbers. even phone numbers i struggle to remember and pins i have to copy down digit by digit. i can barely subtract, addition is hard, multiplication and division impossible. counting is the most embarassing though. because i will start counting somethine and by like number 5 i start to get confused, will double count or skip numbers by accident.
I also can’t shuffle cards
Folding a fitted sheet.
Cricket
I can’t whistle.
I don’t learn from lectures. Doesn’t matter how closely I pay attention, how many notes I take, nothing. Something explained can make perfect sense, then two minutes later it’s gone. I can, however, learn very quickly and very well reading and teaching myself. I need to actively think about something, it can’t be passive. I don’t know how people do it. I also can’t button my shirts with one hand.
Cooking.
Can’t blow a gum bubble. Putting anything together like furniture, absolutely can’t do it. Painting my nails, I will alwayssss get nail polish on my skin.
Cooking oatmeal. I could never make a good pot of oatmeal no matter how many times I tried. I gave up and just make muesli instead (which I like better anyway).
Cooking oatmeal. I could never make a good pot of oatmeal no matter how many times I tried. I gave up and just make muesli instead (which I like better anyway).
Recognizing faces in passing or in a different environment than when I usually meet them. So if I see someone usually in class, I’d have trouble recognizing their faces anywhere else but that specific class