Things people do that just baffle you

[Whatexcellentboiledpotatoes]

What does either a specific person in your life, or just the general public do, you just don't understand why they do it, and you either can't ask them or you've tried to ask them and they can't tell you?

Write it here and maybe someone else that also does it can tell you why, or has an idea as to why.

Here are mine:

Why do my neighbours across the street bring their bins outside a full 24hrs early? They are retired, home most of the day, go in and out of their house five or six times during that 24hr period, but bring their bins out early Monday morning when they don't get picked up until Tuesday morning?

Why do people talk on their phones on speakerphone in public, what is the purpose?

Unless someone is late for their train I can’t comprehend why someone would choose to walk up a flight of stairs which is already moving. It’s much safer to stand still and hold the rail.

I never actually said it irks me. I said it baffles me.

They go in and out of their house several times a day.

Why put them out so early? Not 2pm, but early in the morning. A whole 24hrs or more before they get picked up

Does it really baffle you? Does it cause inconvenience?

If it's crowded it might well be that it was the only table not occupied by anyone when they got there.

If they have a daughter in her 20s, they must be 60s or under, perfectly able to use modern technology!
Our council texts reminders for bin day the evening before, it's very handy.

That's an odd perspective when an escalator is continually moving, meaning that there is rarely a queue to get on it - so others using it don't stop you using it.

If there's a choice of escalator or stairs I will use the escalator when -

• I have heavy bags/awkward luggage that I don't want to carry up a flight of stairs
• I'm exhausted at the end of a long day
• I'm hot and sweaty and don't want to make the situation worse
• The flight of stairs is extremely long and there is a sign advising not to use it except in case of fire
• I have developed a blister on my foot or other similar discomfort made worse by walking

After reading through most of these I went back to look for this one then you commented and saved me time.

Out of all the baffling things on this thread this is the one I want the answer to the most 😆.

I’m surprised at the amount of people admitting they use their phone on speaker in public and giving reasons that headphones/earphones could solve.
I wear my AirPods constantly now both out of consideration for others and to use the noise cancelling to block out their conversations or videos on full blast.

My DP used to do listen to things and take calls so everyone could hear, he won’t use earphones because he’s autistic and can’t cope with them for sensory reasons. I hated him doing it in public and so started doing it at home so he could see how annoying it was. He had to experience it to realise so we found a pair of over the ear ones he can tolerate.

I hear people making excuses for neurodivergent people but I’m also neurodivergent and struggle with the noise. I can’t see this changing based on the reply’s on this thread alone so I guess I’ll just have to keep my AirPods charged.

Could she have been using the filled sandwich bag ti de-ice her windscreen and
then left it there and forgot about it? I sometimes use this method to de-ice it’s so much easier than scraping

Why do people who hate foreigners go on foreign holidays...or eat in foreign restaurants 🤔

Yankee Tango

When people stop and wait for you to pass when there’s plenty of pace for you to walk past one another. Usually on a footpath or a flight of stairs. You feel like you have to hurry and then thank them, even though there was absolutely no need for them to stop. Sometimes they look a bit cross, if they think you should have yielded - when neither of you needed to. This had baffled me for years.

Okay I’ll bite. People are crap at judging distances when passing people and get too close. So I step to one side of they are behind or in front of me so they can pass with as much space as they need and I don’t have to deal with them brushing past me

Because the risk of being burgled is tiny where I live and I don't want to carry keys all the time

Random one: why do so many people not understand how star ratings work?

Best book I’ve ever read ⭐️ (1 star)
Fantastic meal and outstanding service ⭐️ (1 star)

Yeah, I know people make mistakes but I see it all the time. I feel bad for the author or small business owner. Great! You’ve dragged the whole rating down!

I put my bins or rubbish out at the time I usually finish working from home and I'm already downstairs. Sometimes it can be as early as 3pm. But I'll be darned if I'm going to do it later again when I can get it done before going upstairs for the rest of the evening.

Hey - It’s me! I’ve got a mobile!
Go me! (It’s 1995, btw.)

Whoops. Wrong thread…

Make a big song and dance on MN about how they don’t “do” Mother’s Day, and belittle the women who do “do” it. Same for birthdays.

They should be banned from keeping dogs.

I never do. Partly lazy, partly I think it won't happen to me, partly I want to prove to myself the world is safe.

This is actually really sad.

I've never come across an escalator marked as priority for the disabled.

However, I've seen tons marked as "dogs must be carried" and walked up the steps because I don't have a dog with me.

I've got a neighbour who paid a minimum of £15000 to landscape a garden ...... and now has a raised border that has never been planted up and is of nothing but weeds.

There are steps that don't move though. By many sets of escalators. And that's what I'm talking about, not walking up the escalator as many people seem to think. I'm talking about using the actual stairs. Which are always empty when the escalator is rammed.

Sure. Meanwhile ...

People who stand in the supermarket aisle, blocking the whole damn aisle just chatting away. Drives me nuts.