As a child, whenever you had a problem, you most likely went to your parents or some other adult to solve it. But as you grew up, you learned how to do things on your own. Part of being an adult is having a grasp on certain basic life skills - however, as it turns out, not every life lesson is as basic to one person as it is to the next.
The New York Times editor Jenee Desmond-Harris recently shared on Twitter her landlord's unexpected know-how blindspot, and then asked the internet to share their own. People delivered all sorts of hilarious answers, and some of them you might be able to relate to - from social skills such a the dreaded small talk to vital work skills. Scroll down to check out some of the best responses, and don't forget to upvote your faves! And don't forget to let us know in the comments, which seemingly simple things you've missed along the way.
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why is everyone getting down votes for saying me too??
coming from a big immigrant italian family, i have the worst time scaling down recipes. everything was made to feed the whole clan. making food for like 2 people is insanely difficult for me.
Whether it’s tying our shoes, correctly reading the face of a clock or learning to swim, we’ve all had a bit of trouble getting to grips with certain important (and elementary) life skills. Some people even find basic things like fixing the plumbing or driving a car to be — well — basic. But there’s plenty of us have a lot more trouble, because we might be afraid (a lot of us may have panicked the first time we went to a community pool) or we simply might have had no need for a particular skill (we may prefer getting around by bike rather than by car if we live in busy cities).
Sometimes I think I've nailed this adulting lark and am now a fully formed member of the human race. Then I try talking to a stranger and realise all I've done is cocoon myself in friends who don't mind talking about D&D 24/7
We all know the adage that it takes about 10,000 hours to learn a new skill. However, that’s not entirely true. Josh Kaufman, known for his inspiring TED talk and author of the book ‘The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast!’, has a very different idea.
According to Kaufman, the so-called 10,000 rule has been misinterpreted by the vast majority of people for quite some time now. He notes that 10,000 hours is the average it takes to become “an expert in an ultra competitive field”, which is far from the same thing as learning a new skill This is good news for most of us!
Me too!!! I feel so dumb some times. Living in South Africa I speak Afrikaans. I call kids "pampoen" which means pumpkin. Or "piesang" which means banana. I get away with it because the kids in my karate dojo thinks it is funny. don't think adults would thinks it's funny.
Kaufman states that to get from “knowing nothing to being pretty good” takes a far shorter amount of time: barely 20 hours. That’s more or less practicing something for 45 minutes every day for around a month. Doesn’t seem so scary, does it? Of course, you can’t multitask while trying to learn a new skill — you need to focus on it exclusively.
Years ago my sister and I were taking a walk in our neighborhood and someone asked for directions to the local library. After he drove off, we realized that the directions we gave were totally wrong. We joke that to this day, you can see a rusty old car being driven by a skeleton...still looking for that library.
Me too!! It's the side effect of my mother's friend terrifying me as a kid (for "fun"), by telling me that she saw a kid get their foot caught in the escalator & had it chewed off. She told me every time we went to go on an escalator. It's now an ingrained instinct, despite me logically knowing it's nonsense.
Fitted sheets are supposed to be folded? I just wad them up in a ball and stuff them in the linen closet.
LOL!!! I have no sense of direction. Will get lost in my own house ;-/, but time and distance... no one can beat me at that.
I cannot say 'similarly'. It always comes out as similarily, similaly, similarlarily etc.
I have a problem with converting the 24h clock to 12h. Keep messing up 5 o'clock (1700h) and 7 o'clock
Haha, that's the opposite to my dad. He can ONLY float. Like, on his back with both his knees AND shoulders above the water. We've often joked that he has hollow bones, like a bird.
Yes, "deductible" sounds like something you *don't* have to pay. And "premium" sounds like something good, but the whole thing is doubly confusing: pay a higher premium (oh no!) to get a lower monthly (oh...kay?). It's like being asked to choose the way you would like to get screwed.
Now this, I learned at middle school. One of the positives of having school uniforms in the UK!
I just think to myself "Write" and I automatically know which hand is right =D
Go online and order an electric egg boiler. It does the work for you.
I can't hold pens and pencils "properly". I can write (although my handwriting is known as not so beautiful) and I can draw very well. But I hold the tools MY way.
I worked with a girl that held a pen really awkward and had horrible handwriting but she was quite an artist! We kept trying to get her to pursue a career in arts.
Load More Replies...I always cross my legs when sitting, usually in the lotus position. When I try to uncross them the moment I stop thinking about it I cross my legs. Any suggestions on how to break this habit?
If you sit at a desk put a pillow on your lap, it will block you. I had to do that because crossing legs and twisting the body was causing me back pain.
Load More Replies...I can't hold pens and pencils "properly". I can write (although my handwriting is known as not so beautiful) and I can draw very well. But I hold the tools MY way.
I worked with a girl that held a pen really awkward and had horrible handwriting but she was quite an artist! We kept trying to get her to pursue a career in arts.
Load More Replies...I always cross my legs when sitting, usually in the lotus position. When I try to uncross them the moment I stop thinking about it I cross my legs. Any suggestions on how to break this habit?
If you sit at a desk put a pillow on your lap, it will block you. I had to do that because crossing legs and twisting the body was causing me back pain.
Load More Replies...