Have you checked out YouTube lately? Watched any reality shows on primetime television? If so, then chances are you know firsthand just how ridiculous the human race can be. Hot dog eating contests, dating reality shows, wife swapping, and daredevil stunts that have “stupid” written all over them. Strange addictions to eating chalk, soap, or even swallowing glass. Let’s face it, we live in a world filled with all sorts of people, often lacking common sense. The line between normal and abnormal is completely blurred, and we have become a nation of individuals.
When it comes to the real world—the world you live in—chances are high you do some pretty silly things yourself. We all have quirky, crazy idiosyncrasies or daily habits that make us strange. Or do we? In the interest of fun, let’s play a little game of “check yes or no”! Do you do any of the following?
Strange Habits We All Have
- Name your car? Anyone got an ‘Ol Betsy, or Vic the Van’ that they drive around town? Are you so in love with your car that you bought it personalized tags and actually spent time contemplating a name for it? (Or him or her, if cars have genders.) According to a survey, if you name your car, you’re not alone—around 53% of drivers give their cars names. The names topping the list are Betty, Betsy, Bess, and Bertie!
- Skimp on toilet paper? You love the finest bath soap and splurge on luxurious sheets, but when it comes to toilet paper, you don’t spend a penny more than necessary. And it shows—every time you leave the bathroom, you end up with fragments of tissue stuck in not-so-friendly places. What does your one-ply, see-through toilet paper say about you? Does it mean you’re thrifty or downright cheap? With all the coupons available today, you can get the “good stuff” for about the same price as the recycled construction paper some companies call toilet tissue.
- Eat after your dog? Fido is your buddy, but do you really love him so much that you aren’t the least bit disgusted by eating after him, or allowing him to lick your ice cream cone? According to a PetSmart survey, 67% of dog owners admit to eating after their dogs or allowing their dogs to lick off their plates. Certainly, there are worse things, right?
- Pick your nose in your car? You do. You might not realize that you do it, but you do. For some reason, people get into their cars and suddenly think they become invisible. Of course, the first thing that happens at the red light is a little booger digging. Drive down any street on any given day, and you will see businessmen adorned in suit and ties picking their noses as if they are in the privacy of their own bathroom.
- Pass gas in an elevator? Why do people do this? Even if you are alone for just a moment, don’t you realize the risk involved when the elevator stops at the next floor?
- Butt in line? Remember the “no frontsies” rule that you learned in kindergarten? For some reason, as kids become adults, they forget about it. People butt in line to steal parking spaces or rush to cash registers just to get their goods on the conveyor belt three seconds before another person. It’s actually kind of ridiculous to see how far we’ve come as a “ME FIRST” generation. So admit it, you’ve swooped in front of someone before, right?
- Take your dentures out when you eat? You got dentures for a reason—to help you eat. So why do people take them out to eat? It’s one thing to do this within the privacy of your own home, but to do it in a restaurant?
- Speaking of restaurants—isn’t there some rule about eating while you’re standing at the buffet? If not, there should be. Visit a buffet, and at any given time, you’ll see some adults eating while they are filling their plate. Just gross!
- Lie. According to a Reuters survey, 89% of people surveyed admitted to lying at least once per day. Sure, maybe they are little white lies or lies to save someone’s feelings, but they are lies nonetheless. Honesty, as a golden rule, is definitely something that has fallen by the wayside. Today, adults feel justified in their lying.
This list could go on and on. At the end of the day, there are very few things you could do that would make you “abnormal” by today’s standards. The good news is that, as we evolve into a more accepting society, we’ve learned to laugh at our own and others’ strange behaviors. And sometimes, we even make TV shows out of them!
