Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[janie jones]

the traffic in the lanes to right are going slower than the speed limit

That at least makes sense.  What's more annoying (to me anyway) is when people are just hanging out in the passing lane for no apparent reason.

[magicdog]

Re: traffic peeves:

 

I hate driving on the freeway only to have some joker cross about 3-4 lanes of traffic to get off at the next exit!  For Heaven's sake is it so hard to put yourself in the right hand lane in advance?

[FormerMod-a1]

or if you're about to miss an exit, to get off at the next one rather than kamikazeeing it across all those lanes?  Same with surface roads.  If you miss a turn, don't cut a bunch of people off turning left out of the right lane.  Continue through the intersection and turn around.  It's not that hard.  Really.

[JTMacc99]

Except mayo is truly the devil's condiment.

 

/not a picky eater

 

ETA: To be halfway serious, though, mayo really is quite controversial, so I don't think it should be used as an example of a food that "pretty much everybody else likes": Mayonnaise hatred: A brief history of mayo and disgust.

Hee!  However, I stand by my broad generalization!

 

Just because the mayonnaise haters are both loud and very amusing, it does not make them anywhere near a majority.  In fact, they have even convinced the mayonnaise lover who wrote that article to make his own broad generalization with this statement:

She was right: I have a mayo problem. But as my shame faded, I began to wonder: Was the problem really mine, or was it hers? Ketchup and mustard—our nation’s uncontested condiment king and queen—elicit no ire.

 

Ah ha! The truth is, Mayonnaise is by far the uncontested king of condiments regardless of what the mayonnaise haters club of America would have this poor writer believe.  In the link below, we can see that brands of Mayonnaise not only occupy the top selling condiment spot, but 5 of the 10 spots on the list.  I submit to the mayonnaise haters: How can so much mayonnaise be consumed every year if not pretty much everybody but them likes it?  Heh.

 

Hellmann's Mayonnaise - America's best selling condiment. 

 

What’s America’s favorite condiment? Hint: it’s not ketchup.

 

The answer is mayonnaise: specifically Hellmann’s, which the nation apparently slops on everything except french fries.

[galax-arena]

Mayonnaise is by far the uncontested king of condiments

This filthy, blasphemous LIE. 

 

My completely unfounded speculation as to why mayo sells so well is because the people who like it, REALLY like it and buy enough mayo to [insert clever turn of phrase here that I can't think of right now]. You mayo lovers make up for those of us with the good sense to disown this gloppy tool of SATAN. Putting it in your tomato sandwiches and all that jazz... 

 

ETA: Being serious again, I can buy that the majority of people might like mayo, but IMO (just to quibble over semantics) that's very different from saying "pretty much everybody else [aside from picky eaters]" in that people who dislike mayo aren't exactly outliers. It's like cilantro, I think, albeit less extreme. 

 

(down with mayo!!!)

Edited March 26, 2015 by galax-arena

[Qoass]

 

is it so hard to put yourself in the right hand lane in advance?

 

You're being much too kind!  Those people don't want to slow down or heaven forbid, wait behind people in front of them to exit.  They fly along until the last possible second and then act surprised when nobody lets them cut in front of them.  Happens every morning which is ANOTHER reason I'm doing the speed limit in the left lane-- I don't want to get stuck behind those last-minute-morons!

[JTMacc99]

(down with mayo!!!)

Fair enough!

 

I should not have used such a controversial food as my example.  Although I am at a loss right now for what much loved and/or consumed food would not also have a very vocal group of people who will insist it is disgusting.  White bread?  Probably not. I'd probably rile up the bread snob faction.  Bacon? Forget it. That will have both the vegans and the bacon backlash group on my case.  Mac & Cheese?  No, there will be objectors to both the cheese and the texture.  Ketchup?  No, we don't have to look outside of the "foods you hate thread" anywhere to find ketchup haters.

 

So I got nothing.  Which goes back to my original pet peeve.  If somebody doesn't like a food that somebody else in the room probably does like, how about starting with "I don't like it" as opposed to "It's Disgusting"?  Save the disgusting angle for when the discussion over who is right turns ugly. 

[DeLurker]

Well, they do say "Never talk about religion, politics or mayonnaise" for a reason.

[Bastet]

what much loved and/or consumed food would not also have a very vocal group of people who will insist it is disgusting.  White bread?

 

I find white bread (basic white sandwich bread) disgusting. 

 

See what I did there?  I agree with you it's annoying - and a bit rude - to declare something inherently subjective to be awful or terrific, rather than just saying it's [insert adjective here] to you.

[FormerMod-a1]

Agree.  There is a difference between "I don't like that" and "Gosh that's vile. I don't know how anyone can eat that".

[JTMacc99]

Well, I think the bigger picture for me where I draw the line in my head between what is a matter of taste (food, art, music) and what is a matter of opinion (politics, sports). At this point in my life, I'm not okay with making statements about why somebody else is dead wrong about a matter of taste, but I am perfectly okay with firing the first shot in a discussion that involves a matter of opinion.

 

Or, you know, exactly what Bastet just said.

Edited March 26, 2015 by JTMacc99

[Quof]

I've always said there are 2 categories of food you don't like;

 

that food which you can choke down at least a few bites in order to be polite (meeting your future in-laws or a job interview over lunch), but you would avoid if you had a choice.

 

and the food that you could not get past your lips even if you were dining with the Queen.  Or it was the last food on earth and the alternative was death.   For me, eggs, tuna and mushrooms are in the last category.  I would rather die.

[Betweenyouandme]

I can eat anything unless it's against medical advice or drugs or was made in an unhygienic place. Yesterday, I watched an episode of Hoarders where a fiancé visited his future family in law. The kitchen was...well...I'm sure people can imagine.

Beyond those things, I can choke things down. I got into trouble in the first grade because I told my assistant teacher that I thought pepper was gross while she was sprinkling it on her soup. I learned my lesson. She was scary, and I've always hated offending people anyway. Oops.

[janie jones]

Happens every morning which is ANOTHER reason I'm doing the speed limit in the left lane-- I don't want to get stuck behind those last-minute-morons!

So you are a passing lane hanger-outer, not just a speed-abiding passer! :)

 

I like mayonnaise. But.  You know how egg white is supposed to be good for your hair?  Well, a friend of my mom's told me once that she puts mayo in her hair instead because it's easier to distribute than egg white, but she heats it up for a few seconds so it's not so cold on her scalp.  So I decided to try it, but I put it in the microwave for too long, and it got hot, and it smelled so bad.  I wanted to throw up.  I couldn't eat it for a while after that.  So I can see how if you're bothered by the smell at all (because normal mayo has a slight smell), you'd find it disgusting.

Edited March 26, 2015 by janie jones

[FormerMod-a1]

Sure, there are foods I can't eat, they literally make me nauseous.  I could not drink coffee if my life depended on it, for example, just the smell makes my stomach turn.  But I would never tell others what they are drinking is "disgusting" or "vile".  I just say "I don't like coffee", if asked. 

 

Back to the traffic thing.  I really don't care if someone in the left lane is going above or below the speed limit, as long as they are actually passing people, and it's possible to pass people (you can only go as fast as the car in front of you).

[Betweenyouandme]

I also don't like being made to break unnecessarily. If you're currently in a center or right lane and check your mirror and see me in the left lane approaching you and going faster than you are, please don't get into the left lane ahead of me. I get you're trying to pass another car, but you're still going slower than I was before I had to break and wait. It's just rude. But, no, I don't flip people off or anything. I just slow down and hope they return to the center lane at some point.

[galax-arena]

So I can see how if you're bothered by the smell at all (because normal mayo has a slight smell), you'd find it disgusting.

For me it's not so much the smell but the texture. A thin scrape of mayo on bread for a sandwich is okay. But when you really glop it on... *shudder* I feel the same way about oatmeal. The consistency reminds me of vomit. 

 

Don't worry, I don't go around telling people to their faces that the foods they like are awful, but I'm not above engaging in trash talk here. :D 

 

The most annoying thing is when a certain food SOUNDS like it'd be good, but I know I won't like it. People talk up tomatoes so much and they sound so delicious, especially fried tomatoes, but I'm always disappointed when I eat an actual tomato. And Southerners get downright poetic when talking about tomato sandwiches. Maybe that's why I'm so bitter (heh) about mayo.... all the tomato sandwich recipes I've read mention that you have to really slather it on. And I wish I could like oatmeal, because it'd be a nice breakfast, but I just can't. 

[janie jones]

and it's possible to pass people (you can only go as fast as the car in front of you)

That's another thing!  Tailgating!  Tailgating period, but also, why are you tailgating me when there is clearly a car in front of me?  I am obviously not the one in control of the speed here.

[DeLurker]

Inexplicable Brakers - drivers who brake for no apparent reason.

Variable Speed Drivers - drivers who randomly accelerate then decelerate for no apparent reason. Used to work with a guy who did this. Being a passenger in his car was torturous.

Same co-worker never met a parking space he could fit his rather sporty compact into. It was always parked at some odd angle.

[Sun-Bun]

How about folks who don't use their turn signals?

I nearly rear-ended some dumbass the other day because this chucklefuck apparently found it comepletely acceptable to STOP in the middle of a busy left lane, only for me to realize seconds later that he was possibly making a random left turn into the random street on the other side. Then I almost turned on my emergency flashers/stopped my own car to help this idiot because I figured his car had suddenly stalled, but NOPE, he's just the inconsiderate fuckwit who nearly caused a 3 car pile-up behind him because his dumb ass couldn't even put on a helpful left turn signal!

Is it really so difficult to literally flip your wrist slightly to reach over and turn on your turning signal??!! I just don't understand this lazy phenomenon.

Another lazy phenomenon I don't get: leaving your shopping cart where it is because your lazy ass can't be bothered to walk it a few extra steps to the shopping cart return in a parking lot.

I've seen so many people do this that it disgusts me. Go into any Wal-Mart parking lot, and you'll most certainly see a sea of stray shopping carts left all over the place. Given the usual large person clientele that shops Wal-Mart, it's not surprising but it is sad to witness. I've also had at least two car scrapes thanks to these stray carts running into my car.

Honestly, I'd love to see every shop start charging a quarter for all these unreturned carts, because I guarantee that'd stop half the cart-returning issues dead in their tracks.

Another shopping cart pet-peeve? The sad folks who actually steal them from stores. You might as well just tattoo "I'm pathetic" on your forehead at that point.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Sun-Bun

[DeLurker]

Oh parking lot peeves!  I hate the people who cut across the parking lanes to get too another row instead of driving to the end of the row and making the turn where designated. Granted, some do so at modest speeds and only in areas where the parking lanes are virtually empty, but most of the time I see people do it at not-safe speeds and as soon as they can. 

 

I also hate when I see someone coming out of a store or restaurant, get in their car, fire it up and then get on their cell phone before they even start to back up.  I have a hard time believing that the topic was so important you couldn't wait.  I

[Betweenyouandme]

When people pick dead skin off themselves and flick it on the floor. A woman did this today in my Sunday School class...in between spilling donut cumbs.

It was not cool.

Leave picking at yourself to the shower or your own bathroom please!

[Bastet]

Another lazy phenomenon I don't get: leaving your shopping cart where it is because your lazy ass can't be bothered to walk it a few extra steps to the shopping cart return in a parking lot.

 

This drives me 'round the bend.  All the markets at which I shop have taken pains to include ample "cart corrals" in their lots, so that wherever one is parked it is a fairly short walk to put the cart away.  Yet nimrod after nimrod sees fit to just leave their cart in a parking space, at the end of an aisle, etc.  Sometimes mere steps away from where the cart belongs. 

 

In other parking lot peeves, I, too, hate when people don't hurry their ass up when they know someone is waiting for their space in a crowded lot.  Instead, they get in, fuss with their phone, find a good song on the radio, fix their hair, etc. before finally backing out. 

 

Also, people who take so long at the ATM I figure they must be conducting a hostile takeover rather than simply depositing a check or grabbing some cash. 

Edited March 29, 2015 by Bastet

[DeLurker]

There have been studies done that show when someone is waiting for your space, drivers take longer before they start to back-up.

[Bastet]

I make a conscious effort to move quickly when I know someone is waiting for my space (not that I'm much of a dawdler any time).  I also take care to haul my buns quickly when I'm crossing the street on foot; I may have the right of way, but that doesn't mean I should amble across like I'm on a nature walk when people in cars are waiting for their turn.

[Quof]

Another lazy phenomenon I don't get: leaving your shopping cart where it is because your lazy ass can't be bothered to walk it a few extra steps to the shopping cart return in a parking lot. I've seen so many people do this that it disgusts me.

 

You should come over to Chowhound.  A thread on this very subject generated over 400 replies before getting shut down.  All because of a bunch of Sanctimommies whining "But I can't return my cart, I have to think about the babies....." and the rest of us saying "the fact you have reproduced does not excuse you from basic manners."

[Bastet]

Ha!  Yeah, that would be much worse.

 

Okay, I just looked up that Chowhound thread and it is cracking me up.  So these people managed to walk all around the store with the cart and kids just fine, but somehow when they got to the parking lot, the ability to walk the cart to its designated spot evaporated due to the presence of the children?

Edited March 30, 2015 by Bastet

[Quof]

Yep.  Because, babies.  Won't you think about the babies?

[Bastet]

I just called my mom to ask, "Before I was big enough to handle putting the cart back myself [because that was my job; I thought it was fun to collapse one into the others], what did you do with me while you put it back?"  The answer, of course, was "Um, either left you in the car or took you with me; what else would I do with you?"  So I explained that, apparently, my existence entitled her to just leave it around the parking space, because pushing it where it belongs is just too much to ask of someone who has kids with them.

[Betweenyouandme]

Do people not use baby carriers?

[tribeca]

Last visit to Target I pushed the cart into the corral thing.  The wind blew it right out and I could not catch it and it hit another car.  Keep thinking to myself I should have been lazy & left it by my car LOL.

   Are the people with kids saying they could not put the cart away because after they put the kids in their car seats they would have to walk the cart over to corral ?    That is how one child here was abducted.  I think now there are mommy/baby parking at some stores and the corral is close and/or the store is not that far away.

[Betweenyouandme]

Well, can't the parents/caregiver walk the cart to the car, unload, put the cart up, and then take the baby from the empty cart and carry her back to the car? Doesn't make sense to me why this is a problem. Maybe I'm missing something? Are they scared the cart could roll away or get hit if the baby is in it while unloading the bags?

[janie jones]

Well, can't the parents/caregiver walk the cart to the car, unload, put the cart up, and then take the baby from the empty cart and carry her back to the car? Doesn't make sense to me why this is a problem. Maybe I'm missing something? Are they scared the cart could roll away or get hit if the baby is in it while unloading the bags?

Well, that's exactly what I would do.  I don't see what the problem is either. 

[ramble]

I, back in the baby days, either buckled my kids in their car seats, locked them in the car & ran-walked to return the cart, or if I had a tiny one I always used a sling in the store so they were already attached to me & the older child held my hand & usually had an extra sling used as a leash/restraint because she was a runner. (Yep, I was one of those moms who did that.) I also always park near a cart return because it makes my life easier.

ETA: Regarding the cart rolling while a child is in it, that's what a foot is for. I would put one foot in front of a wheel as I was unloading the cart if it might move. I also body checked it with my hip or butt when needed, even if it dinged my car.

Edited March 30, 2015 by ramble

[Bastet]

Well, can't the parents/caregiver walk the cart to the car, unload, put the cart up, and then take the baby from the empty cart and carry her back to the car?

 

Yes.  Yes, they can.

[backformore]

Another shopping cart pet-peeve? The sad folks who actually steal them from stores. You might as well just tattoo "I'm pathetic" on your forehead at that point.

About this -  Here,  when a new grocery store opens up, they have mini-carts.  replicas of the regular shopping carts, but kid-sized,  kids can push a cart, and gather groceries, along side mom or dad.   But they only have then for about a month.   The store manager here said it's because some parents like them so much, they put them in the car and take them home.   regular-sized carts are walked off with, but the kid-size ones fit easily in a trunk.  They're too expensive to keep replacing, so you only see them when the store is new.  

[backformore]

My pet peeve is green hair.  I see a lot of teens and young adults with wildly colored hair, and I have no problem with purple, blue, pink, red.  But GREEN freaks me out.   It looks like you're growing grass on your head.  

 

And I have a personal  reaction.  I had a dog, who, in her later years, got a terrible illness, we had a tough time getting it diagnosed, the vet consulted with the veterinary college, and they finally figured out the systemic infection which ended up killing  her.  Her symptoms included an odor, from the bacteria, and patches of her fur turning bright green - from the toxins secreted by the bacterial infection.  

 

SO - when I see a person with bright green hair, I have an automatic sadness come over me, sometimes without even realizing why.   I also expect the person to smell bad and I don't want them near me.   It's a weird aversion, and I fight it because it's not logical.  But if you have green hair, my initial prejudiced reaction is to not like you.  

(and frankly, there are more flattering colors for hair). 

Edited March 30, 2015 by backformore

[DeLurker]

When my kids were young I parked next to the cart return or rolled the cart back with them in it and carried them/walked them back to the car with me. 

 

I was nervous about the cart rolling away while they were still in it and managed a variety of odd postures to keep that from happening.  Ramble's foot trick never occurred to me silly silly me!

 

I've been told the same thing about the kid sized carts that backformore related.  And we wonder why "kids today" seem to entitled...although I admit I am glad when the kid carts are all gone from the stores.  Trying to negotiate the aisles to do my shopping can be challenging enough at times.  Dodging kids pushing the mini-carts makes it an obstacle course because they are both small and random (as kids are prone to be).

 

Found some reference to the parking study I mentioned - it's pretty dated now, but I suspect still accurate.  A brief excerpt from the findings:

drivers took, on average (with a lot of variability) 32.15 seconds to leave when no one was waiting, and 39.03 seconds to leave when another car was bearing down on them. That's an extra 7 seconds (on average) leaving the waiting hanging.

Edited March 30, 2015 by DeLurker

[Betweenyouandme]

When people, like my mother, talk like this...

Did you go see your movie today at your theater?

It's not my movie. It's not my theater. Why can't she just say, "did you go see Cinderella today at the movie tavern?" Small pet peeve, but it really gets on my nerves.

[Quof]

My mother likes to tell me about who got "her diamond" for Christmas.

 

Apparently it's something every woman gets. Like her period.

[annzeepark914]

People who only slow down to turn right on red or (as I saw just this morning) rolling through a stop sign.  I'm always afraid they're going to crash into my car when I stop at a red light or a stop sign so I tap the breaks and slow down as I approach a red light or stop sign to let them know--this car be a-stoppin' cause it's da law!  We so desperately need to return Driver's Ed to high schools across our country.  The drivers are getting worse and worse each year.

[Mountainair]

On the kids in the cart thing..... I hate shopping with my kids. It's a hassle. It's frustrating. If I can avoid it, I do. That being said. I tend to park next to the cart returns so I can easily put my kids in the car, unload my groceries and return my cart in one fell swoop without worrying. That being said. I live in the mountains. Our parking lots are sloped. I drive an older model Honda and my key fob doesn't work anymore therefore when I go shopping with the kids I have to maneuver with the cart and both kids to the drivers side door, reach down and pull the lever to open the trunk and then scoot back so I can get the littlest one in the car seat all while keeping one foot on the cart so it doesn't roll down the hill, then unload the groceries all while keeping a foot on the cart so it doesn't go flying. It's just so much easier without the kids. Or once they both get of age to be trusted walking in parking lots.

Someone upthread mentioned a duh! Moment that was a pet peeve. I had recently gotten new cable service and my two year old was messing with the master bedroom TV one morning. Somehow he made it so the master bedroom TV mirrored the living room tv. Change the channel in the living room, the master channel changed too. I called customer service, sat on hold forever, went through a series of tests with the customer service rep only for her to decide I need all new recievers. Later that day when I had time to mess with the TV I physically changed the channel on the TV and fixed the problem. Of course the cable company had all ready mailed out the new boxes and I had to go through the process of returning them, etc. what a PITA for a DUH! Moment!

[Mulva]

People who only slow down to turn right on red or (as I saw just this morning) rolling through a stop sign. I'm always afraid they're going to crash into my car when I stop at a red light or a stop sign so I tap the breaks and slow down as I approach a red light or stop sign to let them know--this car be a-stoppin' cause it's da law! We so desperately need to return Driver's Ed to high schools across our country. The drivers are getting worse and worse each year.

I had an unpleasant experience a couple of years ago when I heard and saw a fire truck as I approached an intersection. I stopped. SUV #1 swerved around me, missing me by inches. SUV #2 stopped dead, missing my little car by inches. SUV #3 hit SUV #2. Meanwhile, people kept going through the intersection as the fire truck bore down full tilt. Luckily, it turned right, but they had no reason to assume that, and they would have been t-boned if he'd gone straight or turned left.

What the hell?! Did they repeal the law about yielding to emergency vehicles? Aren't we supposed to stop when we hear a siren? Did I do anything wrong here?

[FormerMod-a1]

Oh, that reminds me.  I hate when cyclists that need to ride in a car lane (no bike lane or shoulder available) ride down the middle of the auto lane.  Get over!  Especially if you're in a urban or downtown-ish area.  They can back traffic up a couple blocks at least.  When I'm in this situation I ride as close to the curb as I can.  But I see lots of people like 4 feet away from the curb.  Not only is it annoying to rush hour drivers (who likely aren't in the best of moods anyway), it is not safe for the bicyclists themselves.  It's different in the suburbs, where the lanes are wider.

[Mulva]

Mulva, as far as I know, you're supposed to safely and quickly pull to the right and stop (not blocking a driveway or intersection).

It was a four lane road with turn lane, and I was in the left lane. What got to me is that the folks in the right lane heading southbound, and the people heading northbound just went through the intersection as if there weren't a giant fire engine barreling towards them at full speed. It could have turned right, turned left or gone straight, and there's no way any of them could tell, but I was the only one who stopped.

[Qoass]

Phone rings...

 

Me:  Hello, this is Qoass.

 

Person who called:  YES.   Blah blah blah blah blah blah.

 

Since when is "Yes!" an appropriate response to "Hello."?

 

 

[Betweenyouandme]

Phone rings...

Me: Hello, this is Qoass.

Person who called: YES. Blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Since when is "Yes!" an appropriate response to "Hello."?

Seems like that's from someone who is or is trying to sound 100% business-like. I also hate when it's..

Hello

May I speak to BYAM?

May I ask who's calling?

This is Sam

Hi Sam. How are you?

Yes. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Grrrrrrr

[Qoass]

Hmph.

 

Business-like to me would be a response along the lines of, "Hello, this is (polite person).  I'd like to speak to you about (X)."

[Betweenyouandme]

Yep. I don't tend to like all about business, overly professional people. Maybe rude is just the real name for it. Being professional shouldn't exclude manners and being a little friendly. I don't know. I'm not in that world.

[topanga]

This is not illegal or dangerous, but it pisses me off:

 

Scenario: I'm sitting in traffic behind a car that's turning, and once the other car turns, I start driving. But now there's an opening in front of me, and a car in the other lane zips ahead of me and crosses over into my lane. Again, there's nothing wrong with the driver doing that. But I take it very personally that I lost my "place" in traffic

 

--If I start meditating and being mindful, will this kind of thing cease to bother me? I sure hope so.