Things you're inexplicably good or bad at!

[JauntyJinty]

I was poaching some eggs the other day, and it always something I've found really easy. I hear people talking about how difficult it is to poach eggs but I dont get it - heat up the water, swirl it, drop the eggs in and a few minutes later hike them out again. First time I asusmed it was beginers luck, but I always seem to nail it. Also folding fitted sheets. Just get your fingers in the corners and fold the bloody thing - I don't see why people say it's hard.

but this isn't purley bragging - because I can't crack an egg properly to save my life! I had 2 eggs most mornings for years, so its not a lack of practice - but I very rarely get a nice clean break and no shell in the egg! I've tried all different techniques, on the side of the pan/bowl, on a flat surface, using a knife - none seem to work for me.

Got me wondering if other people have things that find easy that are supposed to be hard and visa versa

And before you ask, yes it is a slow day at work!

@Tukmgru Me too! I can often guess time to the minute.

Oh I see. Hmm. It's weird isn't it.

Or maybe people are just much more discerning about texture and everything else than I am.

No I just thought it was that people were trying to do the total absorbtion thing, which is more difficult (in my book anyway - I'm incompetent with that!).

I can make perfect pancakes and fried eggs, every time.

I can't do 3+ lane roundabouts.

I just had that thought about myself too!

Cook it in the microwave. Works everytime.

It was a funny one because I said to my colleague that my mum could split apples like that and she said 'What? How?' and I went to show her, saying 'I can't do it myself but it's something like this' and managed it. And have managed it every time since! Basically, use your thumbs and try to find the weak spot.

I have no luck at all at walnut cracking!

No luck so far @Waitwhat23 ! I’m in the garden secretly trying on a windfall.
Some walnuts defeat me. You need two with the seams adjacent.

I've always been able to spell any word perfectly after hearing or seeing it once.
I can mimic most people.

I can't do sudoku. Even the really easy ones.
I can't bake a cake to save my life.

Good at spelling and at reading really fast.

Bad at predicting outcomes that are glaringly obvious to others while at the same time, also able to think of innovative solutions that others didn't think of!

I've been pondering this and my skill is probably that I excel at being averagely good at most things but not terrible or brilliant at anything!

Another good reader, speller and writer. And I have no problem putting a cover on a kingsize duvet.

But bad at reversing the car... even in a straight line. Think it's genetic as one parent is similarly afflicted.

Oh thought of one, I do have a good sense of direction and I find it really annoying when people point to things in a conversation but they are actually pointing in the wrong direction. Bizarrely though the train station is the wrong way round in my brain so even though I used to commute by train to work, I always expected the train to go in the other direction!

good at reading really fast and can sight read without stumbling on a word almost every time
good at colour design etc in the home but very bad at special awareness !!!

*spatial

Great at remembering stuff, like what that weird rash might be, names of plants/flowers/shrubs, including the Latin names, great with animals. Grumpy old people seem to love me (used to work as a Healthcare assistant).
On the flip side, I have been known to try and exit a room through the broom closet, and get lost in restaurant toilets. I too live, die, and get lost through the sat nav.
Shit at reversing, I don't ever even attempt reverse parking. I now have a car with a rear camera, it's bloody marvelous!
My crapness at anything sporty or competitive is legendary.

Detecting small differences in weight.

I didn't realise it was unusual until I said something to my care about one of my kindles being heavier than another.

It's 4 grammes difference.

The only practical thing I can think this would be good for is if I were a drug dealer.

I have a weird photographic memory for words. I can see if they’re spelt wrong. But when it comes to word games like Boggle or Scrabble, I’m not much better than average. My vocabulary is very good but I fall down on being able to combine letters into new words.

That's because you see Scrabble as a spelling game, it isn't, it is about getting the highest score and hopefully not letting your opponent build on it.

I think I make a pretty good gravy. 😛

@BearSoFair
Good - recognising songs by hearing a few seconds. DH thinks we should go on The Hit List but admits I'd do all the work.

I'll raise your- I'm not religious or ever been a church goer but I can join in a hylmm I don't know at weddings etc. I seem to sense the pattern and cherubim and seraphim don't phase me.

I'm a great reader aloud and public speaker, don't get nervous about it and can project without shouting.
I can open champagne bottles or similar without it all bubbling up like a fountain.
I can keep a straight face, even under enormous humorous pressure.

I can't do mental arithmetic or anything to do with maths, the numbers just slide away.
I’ve never been able to learn to juggle. Just doesn't compute. Nor twoball either, for the older ones among us.
I can't cook rice. If we didn't have the microwave, we'd never eat any.

@crackofdoom this is my super power too ! Not terribly handy in life skills sets but I am very happy with it !

I'm an administrator and I'm crap at typing. My left hand types faster than the right so lots of the letters are arse about face. I am like Les Dawson on my keyboard.

Reverse parking. I will park in a space where you can't open the doors just to prove I can. 🤣 And then obv park elsewhere.
Cooking. Hate hate hate it. Am shit at it

Great at directions and I generally have a ‘feel’ for which way is south. The only thing that confuses that is internal stairways which twist round and round (think a block of flats). I couldn’t believe it the first time I went up one and the sea wasn’t where I expected it to be.

Terrible at slicing bread and tessellating products in the fridge/freezer. If it takes more than 1 attempt I lose all patience and start just jamming stuff in and breaking packaging. My husband generally hears the crashing and drags me away 🤣