My brother doesn’t know how to whistle.
It’s a sad, sad thing to say out loud, but he just can’t seem to get the hang of it…
Poor guy…we all feel a little bit sorry for him…
What are some normal and ordinary things in life that you just can’t seem to get the hang of?
Here’s how people on AskReddit responded.
1. Can’t remember…
“Remember names.
It’s like I have only so many slots for people’s names and when I lean a new one, an older one needs to go.
Can get embarrassing.”
2. Map trouble.
“I have a lot of trouble with directions and maps.
I can’t process it, mostly. I can’t do geometry either so I think that’s related.
Ironically I’m a very very good Tetris player tho so I have some spacial reasoning skills but I can barely read a f*cking map.”
3. It’s best if you stay off the road.
“Drive.
I’m paralyzed with fear when I’m in control of a killing machine.”
4. Avert your eyes.
“Engage in appropriate eye contact.
I’ve been guilty of this one my whole life. It’s my reflex to not look at people.
Especially when I’m the one speaking. I didn’t even notice I did it until I was talking to a therapist about how to manage stress more efficiently and within 5 minutes of the first session he pointed it out.
Everyone I ever talk to regularly just got used to it as something I did and never bothered paying it mind.”
5. Not so fast.
“Ride a bike.
I tried to learn in 2019 as a 28 year old.
Didn’t work too well.”
6. Can’t…reach…
“Touch my toes.
I have never been able to. I remember fitness competitions in grade school and I was the only kid that couldn’t touch his toes.”
7. Striking out.
“Dating.
It seems like it’s relatively simple for most people, but I’ve always had horrible luck with it.
I’m 26 and I’ve never been on a date, maybe there’s something wrong with me.”
8. Just can’t do it.
“Roll my Rs.
The (sort of) good news is it’s not our fault. If your native language doesn’t contain a sound, it is extremely difficult to train your tongue and/or vocal cords to make that sound. And it gets harder the longer you go in life without attempting it.
Different dialects pose similar issues, in that many people raised in the southern US pronounce the word “pen” the same way they pronounce “pin” because they literally cannot hear the difference.
Drove me f*cking crazy when I moved here and heard people saying “ink pin” and it wasn’t until college when I took Voice and Articulation for my major that I learned it wasn’t just a lazy pronunciation thing.”
9. Oh, cool.
“I have a buddy that can’t burp.
He can pretty much fart on command though.”
10. Failure!
“Whistle.
“Put your lips together and blow” is what I’ve heard independently from a dozen different people over the years. It doesn’t work, people. It’s soundless air coming out. Teeth and tongue placement must play a role somewhere; “Blow through your lips” reduces the process a little too far at that point.
I have come to accept it as a skill that will forever elude me.”
11. Totally weak.
“Snap my fingers.
I pretend I can do it.
But the sound is so weak.”
12. It’s not super easy.
“Keep my house clean.
I think its mostly because I’ve just been living here for so long that I just don’t think about it until someone asks to come over, then I get that realization.”
13. What am I looking at here?
“My handwriting is so bad my wife usually can’t even read it.
And we’ve been together over 20 years.”
14. Me neither!
“Tell left and right in an instant every time.
I get there eventually and sometimes I get there quicker but I don’t feel like I just know the way other people seem to.”
15. Not picking up on it.
“Read facial expressions or detect tone of voice.
I can pick up those things in people I’m very familiar with, but in others, it’s borderline impossible.
It’s a lot easier in anime though, because those exaggerated expressions are pretty easy to read.”
16. That’s kinda hard.
“Finger whistle.
I need to get on the ball.
This 2 year old keeps growing.”
17. Please stop that.
“Sing.
I am completely tone-deaf to any noise coming out of my mouth.
I am so bad, people have actually asked me to stop singing.”
18. That’s weird.
“Cry.
My body stops it before I ever start.”
19. Not a big math person.
“The multiplication table, never learned it.
And yes I have a Bachelors degree in business and economics.
Turns out knowing the multiplication table isn’t that important.”
20. No license to drive.
“In my late 20’s without a driver’s license.
With the cost of a car, car payments, insurance, gas, parking, etc., I don’t really regret anything.
With the pandemic making everything online, I don’t really leave my place at all. This current situation makes me VERY content with not having a license.”
21. Clueless.
“I have no idea how “investments” work.
I work, I have money, I like what it can get me.
But my wife invests, and I have no idea how that sh*t works.”
22. Irrational fear.
“Dive.
I have an irrational, physical fear of going upside down. In college, a guy picked me up and swung me around, just horsing around, like boys do, (or did in the 80’s, ahem) and I blacked out.
No upside down for me. can do headstand in yoga, but no handstand…diving into a pool? nope. Still not.”
23. I’m gonna be sick!
“Wash dirty dishes.
The concept of someone else’s, or even my own dirty wet food on a plate grosses me out to the point of near-vomiting.”
24. High anxiety.
“I can’t call anyone.
I haven’t been to a dentist or eye doctor in years because when I think of calling people, I get incredibly anxious and scared.”
25. You’ve even watched videos.
“I’m honestly really embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve never figured out how to tie my shoes correctly.
I’ve watched videos, read how to articles, but I never seem to be able to get it right. Whenever I did tie them, they were just a standard square knot with a bunch of leftover shoelace so I’d just tuck the leftover lace under my feet to hide it.
The most embarrassing incident was in high school when a girl who we had a mutual liking of each other asked me to tie her shoe in a flirting/joking way. I was nervous because on the one hand she was clearly into me and I didn’t want to be rude and brush her off, but on the other hand I was internally panicking because I literally had no freaking clue how to do it.
So in an attempt to pass it off as a joke, I tied them in the same square knot fashion I did mine and laughed in the hopes that she thought it was a joke, but I think she saw right through that facade and thought I was stupid, so she slowly stopped talking to me after that.
Nowadays I just wear sandals and slip on shoes and nobody really seems to really notice or care, but it’s one of the most basic life skills you’re supposed to learn as a kid that I never did learn and still don’t know even though I’m 21 and seem outwardly intelligent otherwise.”
What’s a normal thing in life that you can’t seem to get the hang of?
Talk to us in the comments!
We look forward to hearing from you!
