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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.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
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.
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?"
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#2
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.
TrickQuestion 3 years ago
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.
#3
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.
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
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
Karl Baxter 3 years ago
Surprisingly common among a generation who grew up with digital watches
#5
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.
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
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.
#7
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.
Hans 3 years ago
And it makes you wonder if the authorities do not follow up, either.
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Lizz Lor 3 years ago
To be fair, no one really tells first time parents this....and if you don't get the information in the mail you might not realize. Especially if you don't have family around or close friends with kids older than yours. They really should incorporate it into the 4 year old well check as a handout on getting kid ready for school
Mary Peace 3 years ago
ON 1st day of term, Head-teacher asks 1st grade teacher, "How many children have we got starting today?" Teacher replies, "I don't know, I'll just wait and see who turns up."
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Sadly, yes, there are these people. In fairness, do we ever tell anyone they need to do this?
Marcellus the Third 3 years ago
"Here stranger, have a kid; look at it it's mostly in good working order" "OK I'll take him" -- is that the dialogue how she thought it should have gone?
Fixin'Ta 3 years ago
If you've never had a child in school before, haven't heard the other "mom chat" (maybe she doesn't have a lot of mom friends), have never done a school bus run before ... maybe you don't know this? And yeah, maybe the school sent out info or whatever, but I can't really fault this woman for not knowing the system with her first kid. Maybe I'm just a softie.
Nubis Knight 3 years ago
Never knew you need to be on a list for school bus in the US, cool to know! Here in my country you get a ticket and show it to the driver.
Hannah Edwards 3 years ago
This sounds like a parent who needs a bit more support. These things aren’t necessarily self explanatory, especially when you haven’t gone through the process before.
RoseTheMad 3 years ago
I feel sorry for the kid here, I bet he was excited to go to school and make new friends, but then came the disappointment. I hope the mother got it all sorted once she learned that she needed to register her kid etc.
Patricia the Grey 3 years ago
Parents need other parents to guide them. Especially clueless ones.
Deborah Hahn 3 years ago
People also think that if you move to a new address, and don't tell the Post Office, they will somehow know where to send your mail.
Jessica Shookhoff 3 years ago
Yeah, kindergarten is not mandatory in most places in the US (not sure if this happened in the US or not); mandatory schooling doesn't start here until 1st grade. Honestly, depending on where you are, figuring out out to register your kid can be difficult and confusing. Where we are we 1st have to enter kids' info into their system, THEN pick 3 schools we'd send them to, THEN wait to hear back about which one they got into, THEN confirm within a very small amount of time, otherwise they get rejected and you have to start all over again. It's not always easy or straightforward.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
That's what you get when no one tells young parents how things work. You can't drive a car without proper knowledge of the rules and passing an exam. But you can have as many children as you want without any proof that you are capable of taking care of them.
Marianne 3 years ago
I am more worried as to what happened at the school when the kid was not registered there.
Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
The parents probably just went and registered him.
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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
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.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
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.
#9
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.
#10
My wonderful, selfless, beautiful younger brother asked me how to make ice last year. He's 24.
#11
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.
#12
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.
#13
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.
#14
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.
#15
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."
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
So lucky you got that flour off her in time. You may not be alive to tell this story.
#16
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?
#17
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...'
#18
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.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
How did he even get the job in the first place and I hope he was bloody fired after that.
#19
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: ...
#20
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.
Kari Panda 3 years ago
At first, I read 'pull them out TO dry' and that was a very disturbing thought.
#21
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.
#22
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
Kari Panda 3 years ago
Can’t blame this person :) If they never had a dish washer, it‘s understandable that they wouldn’t know.
#23
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.
#24
Don't think this aligns with your question, but while visiting my friend I found out he preheat his microwave.
Amy Pattie 3 years ago
Hey, better pre heating your microwave than forgetting to pre heat your oven
#25
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.
#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.
#27
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.
#28
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.
#29
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.
#30
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.
#31
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!
#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!
#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.
#34
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!'
#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.
#36
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.
#37
I took a food safety course and someone asked if they could wash a turkey with dish soap.
#38
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...
StrawberryParfait 3 years ago
Leave him where you found him. He's looking for another mommy to look after him.
#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.
#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.
#41
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.
#42
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.
#43
My wife's entire family did not grasp that you need to put water in a steam iron.
Rose the Cook 3 years ago
I knew a woman who refused to put water in the iron because she feared she would be electrocuted.
#44
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.
#45
I had to teach my boss how to go down to the next line by hitting 'Enter' on his computer keyboard.
What do you think ?
Ozacoter 3 years ago
Yes. At least until their 18-20s its the parents fault for neglecting thei education. After that I blame them for never bothering to learn. My parents never cared about teaching me and my sis anything but I learned to cook, clean and do laundry because I was too independent to let mother do it. My sister never learned how to cook or put the washing machine until she was 21 and left for Erasmus. I taught her the basics.
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Helen Haley 3 years ago
Most of this is a cases of 'you don't know what you don't know'. Some of it is neglect from when they were kids, some of it is over-privilege.
Ozacoter 3 years ago
I met a lot of adults that never learned to clean or do laundry. I lived with a 21yo that didnt knew how to do anything. But ok he was still young and it was the first time that he lived alone, so I taught him to use the washing machine. But then I lived with a 30+yo that also didnt know how to wash his clothes, he gave them to his mum. He barely could cook, never cleaned and tried to get me to fix his tshirt (because as a woman I must take careof him). I offered to teach him but he refused. He also never paid rent and used all my gel, shampoo and stuff. F*****g parasite.
A Head 3 years ago
One good thing about being a "latchkey" kid (both of my parents worked from when I was a very young age, so I was on my own a lot), was that I was able to cook and clean and do my own laundry from a pretty young age - 7 or 8. I did most of that for years - my wife makes most of the money, so I do most of the housework - but have reached the point where the kids (13 and 14) each cook one dinner a week, load and unload the dishwasher, and wash their own clothes. It's nice.
Seabeast 3 years ago
I wasn't a latchkey kid, but growing up in a large family meant that if I wanted non-lumpy porridge in the morning, I'd better be the one to stand there stirring it constantly. We were all taught to cook at a young age in part so that we could take some of the workload off my mother.
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Sam Yobado 3 years ago
I blew up a bunch of balloons for a party in university. They were all just covering the floor. The roommate of the birthday girl came over to me and said, “Lets inhale some of these balloon so we can change our voices.” He had watched me inflate them with my breath. He had no idea about helium, he thought it was some sort of balloon magic that made peoples voices change.
Chich 3 years ago (edited)
Years back I worked for a forestry contractor. Lots of being in the bush in a tent. One job, I was sent with a new Forester a few days ahead of the main group to check the area out, find a camp spot etc. On the way we talked and I commented on how it was surprising that people got into forestry work but could not do anything as basic as set up camp, light a Coleman stove or get a lantern going. Anyway. I had to drop him off with all the gear and head into a nearby town to find a phone (long before cellphones). Came back a few hours later and found him sitting on the still packed camping gear eating a can of cold beans in the dark.
JitkaBlitka 3 years ago (edited)
Well, I have an understanding for people who weren't taught basic skills at home and are struggling when they're first on their own. But what baffles me are people welI in their adulthood just refusing to learn simple stuff and depending on others to take care of them. I know a women in her 40s, mum and a teacher, otherwise perfectly able to take care about herself, her kids and her job, but who can't fill the fuel tank in her car. When she runs out of fueI, she tells her husband and he drives the car to the pump and fills it in. I really don't understand how can she live like that... like it's not rocket science for god's sake...
Jods 3 years ago
My sister’s one of those who has never filled up with petrol before. Neither does know where the windscreen wash reservoir is. I doubt she even knows where the bonnet release lever is.
Load More Replies...
Alan Green 3 years ago (edited)
Years ago I shared a house with a mate of mine. Often when I used the washing machine I would find detergent still in the machines detergent drawer. Sometimes my mate would complain that his clothes smelled funny even though he'd just cleaned them. . . after months, or possibly even a year, one day I asked what setting he uses when washing. "Setting???, what do you mean setting??" He asked. I explained how the dial with numbers and symbols on it works. He said "Oh, I've just been turning the dial until I hear the machine start up then leave it to it" so he was often doing a basic rinse with no detergent.
Tracy Sellars 3 years ago
I have one the Australians will appreciate. One afternoon a good friend was explaining how she was going on holiday from Melbourne (Victoria) to Hobart (Tasmania) and wanted to know if she needed a passport. We still laugh about it.
Daniel Marsh 3 years ago
I overheard a housemate tell another one to let the stove "heat up" for a while by turning the GAS on for a few minutes before lighting it. HE WAS A CHEF!
denzoren 3 years ago
We never had use for a microwave growing up, we would usually use the stove or the oven to heat anything. So my first week at uni I had to heat some naan bread and I thought well it takes about 20minutes to cook so I'll but it for 20minutes. Only to get super hard slightly charred bread. My roommates had a good laugh about it and were actually quite understanding.
Fluffy Griffin 3 years ago
Not a super huge fail, but I was trying to make anise cookies (using an old family recipe) for the first time without my mom. I was maybe 14. The recipe called for baking soda and baking powder. I asked my dad about it and he said baking soda is for cleaning, just put the baking powder in. Those cookies came out sooooooo flat.
Izzy_ 3 years ago
When I moved to college, I tried making hamburger helper for the first time (I thought it was a novelty as I would always see it on TV ads) I was very disappointed and left hungry after I realized the meat isn't included in the box (I thought it would be dehydrated meat or something) hahaha now I know why it's called hamburger "helper" XD I grew up with home cooked meals, my parents never bought frozen stuff as those didn't exist in their country where they grew up.
Fluffy Griffin 3 years ago
When my friend was in his mid 20s, I was helping him clean his house. He got out the vacuum, plugged it in, and then was stepping randomly on the front. I asked what he was doing and he said "my mom steps on it to make it start"...
Treessimontrees 3 years ago
People think doing everything for their kids is a form of love. It's not. They're raising life idiots.
Ben Steinberg 3 years ago
I haven't taught my kids much, but I've taught them how to f**king cook pasta without burning it, that's for sure...
Elsker 3 years ago
at my office, sometimes when poeople run out of dishwashercubes, they just put in liquid dishwashing soap. I vote to bring back household chores/domestic sciense as a school subject, since appearantly parents don't always get the job done.
Ula 3 years ago
I did that once, foam was all over the kitchen. I didnt know, never had a dishwasher.
Load More Replies...
Adriana Coppage 3 years ago
to anyone who believes that all these people are from the USA, I want to clear up that not everyone in the US has an IQ of 20 and that there is a share of idiots in every country.
Moosy Girl 3 years ago
I want to one day be as fearless as all these people who just try things without first reading the instructions 5 times or more.
A Random Panda 3 years ago
I'll share mine. A couple years back, we had this big bottle of Pantene shampoo and conditioner. I would use it for both washing and conditionering my hair. During the week or so that I used it, my mom would comment that my hair was greasy. So one day, when she said that again, I rushed to the bathroom and checked the bottle. It was CONDITIONER. Like, literally nowhere on the bottle did it say shampoo. I was an Idion lol.
AlanandLeila Hoyt 3 years ago
Worked at a home for adults with disabilities and one time in the winter my coworker went to warm up the company van for the clients. I went to the garage and realized he hadn’t opened the garage or taken out the van, just ran it in the closed garage for 20 minutes. Didn’t understand what the problem was even after I explained it to him.
Seabeast 3 years ago (edited)
I wonder if some of this is from families getting smaller and smaller? In the days of large families, parents could hardly wait until you could take some of the work of cooking, laundry, and yard work off their hands. So they started teaching you at about age 11 or 12.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
The worst part is that most of these could have been avoided if the ignorant person just read the instructions. Pasta containers have cooking instructions printed on them. Washing machines have instructions on a sticker under the lid. Read the instructions!
Nia Loves Art 3 years ago
How are we supposed to know?There are a lot of things mu parents haven’t taught me. They say they will later but I’m 21 now and there are so many things I don’t know. If we admit we don’t know and ask for help people think we are stupid. Posts like this just confirm that people are laughing at me behind my back and make me not want to ask for help.
Moosy Girl 3 years ago
If your parents aren’t teaching you, and you don’t want to ask other people: observe your parents (or other people) while they do things you want to learn, find a book about it, look it up on Google, read lists on BoredPanda about how NOT to do things, watch how people in movies do things or read instructions when available. And remember it’s better to feel stupid for a day and have some people laugh than to burn a house down.
Load More Replies...
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I *want* to be fair and kind, but.... Who are the parents who've done this? I know I was basically raised in a boot camp on a farm, but .... even in "normal" homes, shouldn't kids know this by age 18?
Craig Reynolds 2 years ago
I had a friend in my 20s that called me complaining after a power failure and wanting to know how he was supposed to cook (yes COOK) water if he can't use the microwave? He had a gas stove but no clue how it worked!!! I wonder if he still "COOKS" water?
Boop le nose 3 years ago
How do these people even survive. Darwin is probably rolling over in his grave, adjusting and reapplying his quote
Viv Hart 3 years ago
Mu Dad did not earn much when we were kids, so from early days my sister & I had our chores at home, e.g. laying the table for meals, clearing it afterwards, washing & drying the dishes, etc. I think most of those above, were privileged, always someone else to do it. My Sis is a great cook & baker, I'm not bad myself. Also helped Dad with fixing things, both we girls can change plugs!. But I'm no good with a smartphone.
Candy Sheppard 3 years ago
I was like a lot of these people but it was because my mother didn't care enough about me to teach me. Fk her, I figured it out on my own!
Lindy Mac 3 years ago
Here is a free tip for everyone who uses a credit card: Don't use it more than you can pay off at the end of the month. Interest will eat you alive. It only took me 35 years to learn that by paying off completely you are using their money for a few weeks, getting points and not having to pay interest or late fees. Seems simple...not easy to do always.
Cheryl Brooks 3 years ago
I didnt know how to feel a banana until 3 weeks ago...im 12 and i still destroy the banana evertime i try to open one. For some reason i also suck at putting the bag back in our trash can. Everybody else can do it but everytime i try it takes me like 5 minutes and it falls down later. My parents gor tired of watching me struggle and just do it themselves....
Simon Murray 3 years ago
In college I worked in an electrical store. When customers returned things we had to test them before issuing a refund. This older guy maybe 70yo came in with a kettle. I trotted off to put some water in it but when I looked inside it was caked in thick black stuff. The exchange that followed went: " Sir, what is this" "oh that, that's beans" "beans?" "Yes my wife is away and I was hungry, I'm not allowed to use the stove and well the kettle gets hot sooo.."
Terry Reauxper 3 years ago
It is sad that this topic is right under a topic about "having each others' backs" and not pointing out the foibles of our fellow man, but the support we can give them instead.
Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
I've met more than one man who didn't know how to boil an egg, well into their 20s.
Random Anon 3 years ago
I had a friend tried to change a tire with the car jacked up. Over the phone with a mutual friend, he insisted that it's impossible alone. We were baffled and intrigued. We nearly laughed ourselves to death when we realized what's going on.
lenniee 3 years ago
I'm beginning to think that there's a direct correlation between why so many of these people are exes and their lack of skills...
Noemie Houtekie-N'Da 3 years ago
I've just... I've just... Died. I'm not the greatest cook, (still learning. ok baker tho.) but come on, you could just use common sense for these. Like some pasta is made of wheat, right? Well, wheat can burn in a lot of heat. Just reason like that and then you know it's just impossible to cook pasta without something else.
NaruTheCollective 3 years ago
If someone's parents or adult guardian didn't teach a child something, then I guess they didn't learn.
Lorrie Rothstein 3 years ago
If Noone teaches you something then how can you be expected to do it. People need a life skills lesson. Life skills should be taught in school
Carolyn Herold 3 years ago
I have a friend, that is very highly intelligent when it comes to educational and her job. But when it comes to household things, it's hilarious. A group of us were at her house and talking about what he hate about laundry, and one our friends talked about the lent keeper, and she said she didn't know what that for and we had to show her and tell her that her house could have caught on fire.
A.M. Pierre 3 years ago
My worst cooking fails were (1) when baking my first cake, I used my mom's powdered sugar container instead of flour and (2) I didn't know what a griddle was, so I tried making pancakes on a baking sheet set on the burners. HOWEVER, in both cases I was 11 or 12 and there also wasn't YouTube just yet, so I don't feel quite so bad.
Javiera Gotelli 3 years ago
The amount of idiots who can't tell time, don't know plastic melts and metal doesn't go in the microwave is alarming. These are things we learned in elementary school.
jknbt jknbt 3 years ago
I have known grown men in their 20s living on their own who still expect mom & dad to pay the car insurance bill and buy gas on their credit card. Grow up guys, please. Mom & Dad, stop empowering this, or you will have a 40 year old child living in your basement someday.
Bill Evs 3 years ago
Can't stand the term "adulting". Putting clothes on to wash or cooking a meal is not an achievement.
Sista of the moon 3 years ago
These are just things that you do more once you leave your parents lol.
Load More Replies...
Ozacoter 3 years ago
Yes. At least until their 18-20s its the parents fault for neglecting thei education. After that I blame them for never bothering to learn. My parents never cared about teaching me and my sis anything but I learned to cook, clean and do laundry because I was too independent to let mother do it. My sister never learned how to cook or put the washing machine until she was 21 and left for Erasmus. I taught her the basics.
Load More Replies... Helen Haley 3 years ago
Most of this is a cases of 'you don't know what you don't know'. Some of it is neglect from when they were kids, some of it is over-privilege.
Ozacoter 3 years ago
I met a lot of adults that never learned to clean or do laundry. I lived with a 21yo that didnt knew how to do anything. But ok he was still young and it was the first time that he lived alone, so I taught him to use the washing machine. But then I lived with a 30+yo that also didnt know how to wash his clothes, he gave them to his mum. He barely could cook, never cleaned and tried to get me to fix his tshirt (because as a woman I must take careof him). I offered to teach him but he refused. He also never paid rent and used all my gel, shampoo and stuff. F*****g parasite.
A Head 3 years ago
One good thing about being a "latchkey" kid (both of my parents worked from when I was a very young age, so I was on my own a lot), was that I was able to cook and clean and do my own laundry from a pretty young age - 7 or 8. I did most of that for years - my wife makes most of the money, so I do most of the housework - but have reached the point where the kids (13 and 14) each cook one dinner a week, load and unload the dishwasher, and wash their own clothes. It's nice.
Seabeast 3 years ago
I wasn't a latchkey kid, but growing up in a large family meant that if I wanted non-lumpy porridge in the morning, I'd better be the one to stand there stirring it constantly. We were all taught to cook at a young age in part so that we could take some of the workload off my mother.
Load More Replies... Sam Yobado 3 years ago
I blew up a bunch of balloons for a party in university. They were all just covering the floor. The roommate of the birthday girl came over to me and said, “Lets inhale some of these balloon so we can change our voices.” He had watched me inflate them with my breath. He had no idea about helium, he thought it was some sort of balloon magic that made peoples voices change.
Chich 3 years ago (edited)
Years back I worked for a forestry contractor. Lots of being in the bush in a tent. One job, I was sent with a new Forester a few days ahead of the main group to check the area out, find a camp spot etc. On the way we talked and I commented on how it was surprising that people got into forestry work but could not do anything as basic as set up camp, light a Coleman stove or get a lantern going. Anyway. I had to drop him off with all the gear and head into a nearby town to find a phone (long before cellphones). Came back a few hours later and found him sitting on the still packed camping gear eating a can of cold beans in the dark.
JitkaBlitka 3 years ago (edited)
Well, I have an understanding for people who weren't taught basic skills at home and are struggling when they're first on their own. But what baffles me are people welI in their adulthood just refusing to learn simple stuff and depending on others to take care of them. I know a women in her 40s, mum and a teacher, otherwise perfectly able to take care about herself, her kids and her job, but who can't fill the fuel tank in her car. When she runs out of fueI, she tells her husband and he drives the car to the pump and fills it in. I really don't understand how can she live like that... like it's not rocket science for god's sake...
Jods 3 years ago
My sister’s one of those who has never filled up with petrol before. Neither does know where the windscreen wash reservoir is. I doubt she even knows where the bonnet release lever is.
Load More Replies... Alan Green 3 years ago (edited)
Years ago I shared a house with a mate of mine. Often when I used the washing machine I would find detergent still in the machines detergent drawer. Sometimes my mate would complain that his clothes smelled funny even though he'd just cleaned them. . . after months, or possibly even a year, one day I asked what setting he uses when washing. "Setting???, what do you mean setting??" He asked. I explained how the dial with numbers and symbols on it works. He said "Oh, I've just been turning the dial until I hear the machine start up then leave it to it" so he was often doing a basic rinse with no detergent.
Tracy Sellars 3 years ago
I have one the Australians will appreciate. One afternoon a good friend was explaining how she was going on holiday from Melbourne (Victoria) to Hobart (Tasmania) and wanted to know if she needed a passport. We still laugh about it.
Daniel Marsh 3 years ago
I overheard a housemate tell another one to let the stove "heat up" for a while by turning the GAS on for a few minutes before lighting it. HE WAS A CHEF!
denzoren 3 years ago
We never had use for a microwave growing up, we would usually use the stove or the oven to heat anything. So my first week at uni I had to heat some naan bread and I thought well it takes about 20minutes to cook so I'll but it for 20minutes. Only to get super hard slightly charred bread. My roommates had a good laugh about it and were actually quite understanding.
Fluffy Griffin 3 years ago
Not a super huge fail, but I was trying to make anise cookies (using an old family recipe) for the first time without my mom. I was maybe 14. The recipe called for baking soda and baking powder. I asked my dad about it and he said baking soda is for cleaning, just put the baking powder in. Those cookies came out sooooooo flat.
Izzy_ 3 years ago
When I moved to college, I tried making hamburger helper for the first time (I thought it was a novelty as I would always see it on TV ads) I was very disappointed and left hungry after I realized the meat isn't included in the box (I thought it would be dehydrated meat or something) hahaha now I know why it's called hamburger "helper" XD I grew up with home cooked meals, my parents never bought frozen stuff as those didn't exist in their country where they grew up.
Fluffy Griffin 3 years ago
When my friend was in his mid 20s, I was helping him clean his house. He got out the vacuum, plugged it in, and then was stepping randomly on the front. I asked what he was doing and he said "my mom steps on it to make it start"...
Treessimontrees 3 years ago
People think doing everything for their kids is a form of love. It's not. They're raising life idiots.
Ben Steinberg 3 years ago
I haven't taught my kids much, but I've taught them how to f**king cook pasta without burning it, that's for sure...
Elsker 3 years ago
at my office, sometimes when poeople run out of dishwashercubes, they just put in liquid dishwashing soap. I vote to bring back household chores/domestic sciense as a school subject, since appearantly parents don't always get the job done.
Ula 3 years ago
I did that once, foam was all over the kitchen. I didnt know, never had a dishwasher.
Load More Replies... Adriana Coppage 3 years ago
to anyone who believes that all these people are from the USA, I want to clear up that not everyone in the US has an IQ of 20 and that there is a share of idiots in every country.
Moosy Girl 3 years ago
I want to one day be as fearless as all these people who just try things without first reading the instructions 5 times or more.
A Random Panda 3 years ago
I'll share mine. A couple years back, we had this big bottle of Pantene shampoo and conditioner. I would use it for both washing and conditionering my hair. During the week or so that I used it, my mom would comment that my hair was greasy. So one day, when she said that again, I rushed to the bathroom and checked the bottle. It was CONDITIONER. Like, literally nowhere on the bottle did it say shampoo. I was an Idion lol.
AlanandLeila Hoyt 3 years ago
Worked at a home for adults with disabilities and one time in the winter my coworker went to warm up the company van for the clients. I went to the garage and realized he hadn’t opened the garage or taken out the van, just ran it in the closed garage for 20 minutes. Didn’t understand what the problem was even after I explained it to him.
Seabeast 3 years ago (edited)
I wonder if some of this is from families getting smaller and smaller? In the days of large families, parents could hardly wait until you could take some of the work of cooking, laundry, and yard work off their hands. So they started teaching you at about age 11 or 12.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
The worst part is that most of these could have been avoided if the ignorant person just read the instructions. Pasta containers have cooking instructions printed on them. Washing machines have instructions on a sticker under the lid. Read the instructions!
Nia Loves Art 3 years ago
How are we supposed to know?There are a lot of things mu parents haven’t taught me. They say they will later but I’m 21 now and there are so many things I don’t know. If we admit we don’t know and ask for help people think we are stupid. Posts like this just confirm that people are laughing at me behind my back and make me not want to ask for help.
Moosy Girl 3 years ago
If your parents aren’t teaching you, and you don’t want to ask other people: observe your parents (or other people) while they do things you want to learn, find a book about it, look it up on Google, read lists on BoredPanda about how NOT to do things, watch how people in movies do things or read instructions when available. And remember it’s better to feel stupid for a day and have some people laugh than to burn a house down.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I *want* to be fair and kind, but.... Who are the parents who've done this? I know I was basically raised in a boot camp on a farm, but .... even in "normal" homes, shouldn't kids know this by age 18?
Craig Reynolds 2 years ago
I had a friend in my 20s that called me complaining after a power failure and wanting to know how he was supposed to cook (yes COOK) water if he can't use the microwave? He had a gas stove but no clue how it worked!!! I wonder if he still "COOKS" water?
Boop le nose 3 years ago
How do these people even survive. Darwin is probably rolling over in his grave, adjusting and reapplying his quote
Viv Hart 3 years ago
Mu Dad did not earn much when we were kids, so from early days my sister & I had our chores at home, e.g. laying the table for meals, clearing it afterwards, washing & drying the dishes, etc. I think most of those above, were privileged, always someone else to do it. My Sis is a great cook & baker, I'm not bad myself. Also helped Dad with fixing things, both we girls can change plugs!. But I'm no good with a smartphone.
Candy Sheppard 3 years ago
I was like a lot of these people but it was because my mother didn't care enough about me to teach me. Fk her, I figured it out on my own!
Lindy Mac 3 years ago
Here is a free tip for everyone who uses a credit card: Don't use it more than you can pay off at the end of the month. Interest will eat you alive. It only took me 35 years to learn that by paying off completely you are using their money for a few weeks, getting points and not having to pay interest or late fees. Seems simple...not easy to do always.
Cheryl Brooks 3 years ago
I didnt know how to feel a banana until 3 weeks ago...im 12 and i still destroy the banana evertime i try to open one. For some reason i also suck at putting the bag back in our trash can. Everybody else can do it but everytime i try it takes me like 5 minutes and it falls down later. My parents gor tired of watching me struggle and just do it themselves....
Simon Murray 3 years ago
In college I worked in an electrical store. When customers returned things we had to test them before issuing a refund. This older guy maybe 70yo came in with a kettle. I trotted off to put some water in it but when I looked inside it was caked in thick black stuff. The exchange that followed went: " Sir, what is this" "oh that, that's beans" "beans?" "Yes my wife is away and I was hungry, I'm not allowed to use the stove and well the kettle gets hot sooo.."
Terry Reauxper 3 years ago
It is sad that this topic is right under a topic about "having each others' backs" and not pointing out the foibles of our fellow man, but the support we can give them instead.
Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
I've met more than one man who didn't know how to boil an egg, well into their 20s.
Random Anon 3 years ago
I had a friend tried to change a tire with the car jacked up. Over the phone with a mutual friend, he insisted that it's impossible alone. We were baffled and intrigued. We nearly laughed ourselves to death when we realized what's going on.
lenniee 3 years ago
I'm beginning to think that there's a direct correlation between why so many of these people are exes and their lack of skills...
Noemie Houtekie-N'Da 3 years ago
I've just... I've just... Died. I'm not the greatest cook, (still learning. ok baker tho.) but come on, you could just use common sense for these. Like some pasta is made of wheat, right? Well, wheat can burn in a lot of heat. Just reason like that and then you know it's just impossible to cook pasta without something else.
NaruTheCollective 3 years ago
If someone's parents or adult guardian didn't teach a child something, then I guess they didn't learn.
Lorrie Rothstein 3 years ago
If Noone teaches you something then how can you be expected to do it. People need a life skills lesson. Life skills should be taught in school
Carolyn Herold 3 years ago
I have a friend, that is very highly intelligent when it comes to educational and her job. But when it comes to household things, it's hilarious. A group of us were at her house and talking about what he hate about laundry, and one our friends talked about the lent keeper, and she said she didn't know what that for and we had to show her and tell her that her house could have caught on fire.
A.M. Pierre 3 years ago
My worst cooking fails were (1) when baking my first cake, I used my mom's powdered sugar container instead of flour and (2) I didn't know what a griddle was, so I tried making pancakes on a baking sheet set on the burners. HOWEVER, in both cases I was 11 or 12 and there also wasn't YouTube just yet, so I don't feel quite so bad.
Javiera Gotelli 3 years ago
The amount of idiots who can't tell time, don't know plastic melts and metal doesn't go in the microwave is alarming. These are things we learned in elementary school.
jknbt jknbt 3 years ago
I have known grown men in their 20s living on their own who still expect mom & dad to pay the car insurance bill and buy gas on their credit card. Grow up guys, please. Mom & Dad, stop empowering this, or you will have a 40 year old child living in your basement someday.
Bill Evs 3 years ago
Can't stand the term "adulting". Putting clothes on to wash or cooking a meal is not an achievement.
Sista of the moon 3 years ago
These are just things that you do more once you leave your parents lol.
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