I mean, what’s something you can do that people are like, “really? You know how to do that?”
You must log in or # to comment.
I’m a tall burly cisman so people are always surprised that I know how to sew. I mostly hand-mend my clothes but I made my own pants in high school when I had access to a sewing machine.
Sewing fellas unite!
I usually make hats and tool wraps, but I mend dresses or alter clothes for friends too.
I can sew, although I kind of hate it. Sewing is an essential skill if you own a sailboat and have no money.
“own a sailboat and have no money” that’s a redundant statement :]
I think that would be antithetical, or paradoxical. Redundant means superfluous (=more than is necessary)
Yes, that’s why saying “redundant” is a humorous way to imply that sailboats suck up all your money.
See the common conception of boat owners is that they’re rich. And they certainly might start out that way. But a boat is a hole in the ocean into which money is thrown, and thus boat owners quickly become not rich
I’ve heard that boat owners are happy on two days. The day they buy it, and the day they sell it.
oooooohhh, I get it. Indeed
Hand-sewing is my “something to occupy my hands while watching tv” hobby. I usually take shirts that I buy at a thrift store and customize them (side panels to make them fit better, add lacy pieces, etc.).
“Sewing is girly”
Meanwhile boy scouts, military, and doctors sewing stuff all day long.
Sewing seems like a good hobby for anybody who likes to work with their hands. In my 20s my housemate let me borrow her sewing machine to put together a thinsulate jacket from a Frostline kit. It was a blast, but that was the last sewing I ever did.
sewing is mine also. I don’t think I’ve talked to a single person in the 15 years I’ve been sewing that hasn’t reacted with shock to some degree or another upon finding out.
i like repairing clothes and making backpacks.
Driving a manual transmission vehicle.
This is funny, I drive manual in the US where even most pickup trucks now have automatic transmission, and the two groups who have been impressed (I am a middle aged lady) are valets and mechanic shops.
I do think that for my 21 year old daughter it’s an unusual skill and one she values. None of my other kids can drive my car, I had to teach that one because I let her use the car to go to college, I bike to work now since it’s much closer than the school.
My ex can drive the big trucks with like 16 gears. And both he & my husband can shift motorcycles with ease, I struggle. I guess it would get easier with practice.
Yeah, I learned from my dad - who is a professional driver.
It came in handy in the Army.
Oh yeah, i always forget most people (at least in the US) can’t. I learned to drive on a stick shift pickup and took my drivers license test in it 😁
I can survive - until now
I’m a massive nerd, no one is surprised by my ability to debug a printer or install an operating system.
They’re generally surprised by my people skills and carpentry skills though!
I’m a father living in Japan, so any competent display of childcare is still met with shock and confusion.
What sort of things would be considered unusual childcare wise?
Removed by mod
This is very interesting, could you please elaborate a bit? Are fathers not involved in parenting in traditional Japanese culture?
I believe the father is still considered the breadwinner role.
If you like humorous dramas: The way of the househusband (live action)
A clip of the show: https://youtu.be/ktztBx-8onkIf you want, I can give you access to the whole season :)
Can I get access? I tried watching the anime but couldn’t get into it. I enjoyed this live action clip a lot more
The drama (6 of 10 episodes) can be downloaded as a torrent here: 極主夫道 The Way of the Househusband Season 01 1920x1080 Web-DL H.264 DDP
The movie (torrent): The Way of the Househusband: The Cinema 2022 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD+5.1 H.264-JPTVclub. An upload on Bili Bili can be found here: Bili Bili
I didnt even know a movie existed.
Link to the full season (torrent): The Way of the Househusband (2020) [imdbid-tt13097730].torrent or a magnet link: magnetDisclaimer:
The files are originally from the private tracker I was part of that folded due to personal reasons of the admin/mod of the tracker. Some kind soul decided to archive and reshare the files. I am currently in the progress of downloading and then seeding it long term with high(er) speed. The show has 10 episodes in total (source) and I have all 10 but uploading to my seedbox is slow. I will update the torrent/magnet sometime tomorrow evening (MESZ)Edit 2: Updated with my personal files I acquired :)
Sweet! Thank you kind stranger 🙏
Updated with the remaining files
humorous drama = dramedy
I’m really good at hating myself.
Pretty much anything DIY. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc. I’m not an expert at any of those things but I can actually do a pretty decent job. I’m not afraid to research a project and take a crack at it myself. I’ve completed some really nasty projects that turned out well.
Jack of all trades! After partly renovating three different houses successfully, I find myself in the same situation as you.
Same as this but I can see any process 1x and adapt it to serve me.
I can drill 6" into my nose, among other sideshow talents.
Don’t feel obligated to elaborate, but I’d love it if you would! That sounds super intriguing
It’s an act called human blockhead, but I do it with a Milwaukee power drill. I used to be a lot more active as a sideshow performer so I can do a lot of weird stuff. I also invented two fire eating moves.
I never forget a face
I never forget a face but damn if I can remember their name. Drives my wife nuts, when she asks me who that was
I have an uncanny ability to read super faded receipts, and old people’s hand writing.
People are surprised that I can jodel a bit. My geeky high-schools self worked hard to build this skill.
As I found out recently, drawing.
I took some classes in high school and only recently got back into it, and I’d consider myself…averageish? I know where I need improvements and I see the quirks and wonks, so to speak.
The people in my adult life who have seen my sketchbook make (positive) comments, which surprised me. Still, it’s nice.
Drawing has always been super impressive to me. I pretty much gave it up in high school, but my husband is an incredible artist and I just always appreciate seeing what other people do. It seems like it’s hella zen when you get into it. Awesome skill :)
I know how to spin a laptop on my finger
I could do that, but probably only once.
That’s aggressively anxiety inducing more than surprising
In this economy?
deleted by creator
Lockpicking
Depends on unexpected for who. Most native english speakers seem surprised when they realise I understand “big words” (read: any word with a Latin root) without needing to look up a definition. To me it’s pretty obvious. My native tongue is Spanish. Having an accent doesn’t mean I don’t know anything.
Examples?
I remember this teacher in particular who was explaining something and said “dissipate”. He paused and picked me out of the group, for no apparent reason, and asked if I knew what dissipate meant. I said yes. So he asked me to explain, which I did, and he looked surprised and said something like “you’re on fire” or similar and carried on.
That particular example stuck with me because of his condescending tone and for pointing the spotlight to me gratuitously, but I’ve had many, less memorable ones. It’s not the words that I remember after a while, but that they presume I don’t understand the meaning of a word apparently unusual for them. “Melancholy” and “quotidian” come to mind too.
On the same vein, I also surprise English speakers when reading, writing and understanding scientific names. Not all of course, but many are descriptive of the creature they refer to if you know a latin language. What’s often a mouthful of nonsense for native English speakers can sometimes be meaningful to me.
Ah ok. Makes sense.
Thanks for responding :)
English speaker here, it’s especially true of technical words because science draws on Latin so much for terminology. Also, after 2 years of Latin in high school and then studying Spanish in college, I found a lot of Spanish words easy to guess.
