Daily Oddities

Amy Austin | January 13, 2005
I was brushing my choppers while reading Jackie's latest post to the "Gay Marriage" thread, and I thought about how funny it is when silly/weird thoughts or observations pop into our heads while doing ordinary things (like watching the X-Men or brushing your teeth). In the spirit of fun & triviality, I decided that I wanted to start a thread for goofy thoughts/observations... of the Seinfeld "about nothing" variety.

So, the reason I mentioned brushing my teeth is because my observation is one I recently made about battery-operated toothbrushes. Does anyone else here (besides E) use one of those spinning or vibrating type brushes, and if you do, have you looked at anything besides your face in the mirror while using it??? Because what's funny to me is how in certain spots (generally, the front of the mouth), the vibrations cause your eyeballs to jiggle. Try looking at something like a computer monitor for the full effect and to see what I mean...

Maybe nobody else will find this as weird or amusing as I do... but maybe they will -- that's the point of this thread.

Anna Gregoline | January 13, 2005
I have one of those brushes but never really observed myself using it. I'll have to look.

Every time I fill ice cube trays, I think of the Titanic, because ice cube trays behave like the bulkheads that filled with water. Check it out the next time you make ice!

Amy Austin | January 13, 2005
Yeah, I can see that -- you mean if you fill from one end and allow it to run to the other... I usually fill mine more impatiently (running it flat back and forth under the faucet), but I like the observation!

Anna Gregoline | January 13, 2005
I'm usually filling ice cube trays at work, a time where speed is not an issue.

Also, I just like watching it, I guess.

Amy Austin | January 13, 2005
Nothing wrong with that -- I know just what you mean.

Anytime that I ever find myself to be entranced by something, anything -- mundane or otherwise -- I fully allow it. The phrase "simple things for simple minds" really ought to be "simple things for overworked minds". Life's too short not to find pleasure in the mundane once in a while. This is a theme that I hoped would emerge in this thread, and it quickly has.

Sometimes, the most helpful/useful thoughts pop into your head while doing something seemingly unimportant... such as washing dishes -- and sometimes it's just the quieting of the mind that's important. Like "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" -- I think it's exactly this state of mind that people who meditate are trying to train themselves to experience and appreciate. And just think -- it can be as simple as washing the dishes!!! (Better get on it, Scott and Jackie! ;>)

Amy Austin | January 13, 2005
And I really think that there's just something so... connecting... about sharing this type of thing -- it's really what all good comedians are doing... making dumb observations that most of us can all relate to and laugh about. That's why "a show about nothing" can be such a success... because there is a lot of "nothing" in everyone's lives!

Anna Gregoline | January 13, 2005
In a way, that last statement is pretty bleak.

But I know what you mean. It's sort of that "American Beauty" mentality, that beauty is everywhere if you look.

There's this one thing at work everyone hates but me - because it involves tons of typing. I like it because once I get typing when I'm copying something, I can let my mind wander - I don't make mistakes or anything, but I can completely not pay attention. It's nice.

Amy Austin | January 13, 2005
Wasn't trying to sound bleak -- just pointing out that not every moment in life is like a moment in books or movies... that there are a whole lot of moments that are really very minor or aren't really about anything at all, and they just quietly pass by -- except when some people decide to point them out and/or make them humorous.

I've had tasks like that in certain jobs, too -- it is nice to be on "auto-pilot" sometimes... plus, there's the added benefit of having everyone's gratitude that there's someone else to do it!

Kris Weberg | January 13, 2005
Well, to a certain extent your eyeballs are basically gooey to start with, so plenty of things can distort or jiggle them.

Be wary, by the way, of trying to keep your eyes open when you sneeze. If you do, you'll generally rupture a bunch of capillaries, giving you not only soreness but an exciting and scary red-eyes look.

Anna Gregoline | January 13, 2005
Also, never stifle a sneeze - it's a good way to blow our your sinuses.

Jackie Mason | January 13, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | January 14, 2005
I started stifling sneezes when I was little. I have long forgotten why. Anyway, it's now ingrained into my behavior: When I sneeze, I automatically stiffen up my throat and nasal cavity, so that I always wind up with a "dry sneeze." A friend once tried to get me to stop sneezing that way (not for my health, but because it annoyed him), and I couldn't. I think it's all but impossible to change how you sneeze, or how you laugh, at least without a prolonged effort.

Scott Hardie | January 14, 2005
Also, on the subject of the X-Men: I learned today from the HSX (link) that there's a Magneto feature film in the works. I know they're already making a Wolverine movie with Hugh Jackman. Magneto is one of the most complex characters in the comics, but he's not the second one I'd go to for a solo movie after the ol' canucklehead.

Amy Austin | January 14, 2005
I am absolutely, 100% in agreement with you about sneezes, Scott -- I do the exact same thing ("dry sneezes"), and I feel the same way about it as a habit that is not even close to being easily broken! For me, I think it originated as a way to prevent spraying everything with my sneezes -- including my own hand... *not* cool, in my opinion. Sneezes are just so gross to me, and I will let my sinuses suffer (if indeed they do -- who knows -- this could explain a lot for me) for the sake of not seeing/smelling sneeze droplets all over the place.

BTW, I didn't think that it was even at all possible to sneeze with your eyes open, Kris...

Anna Gregoline | January 14, 2005
Ok, but it's REALLY IMPORTANT that you guys stop doing that. I don't want you to rupture your sinuses! My dad worked with a guy who always stifled his sneezes, and one day they were talking and he sneezed and stifled it as usual, and when he took his hand away, blood GUSHED out of his nose - he had ruptured all of his sinuses. And if you think that hurts, sinus surgery to repair it is supposed to be really painful.

Sneezes are like hundreds of miles an hour, right? Didn't I read that somewhere?

Scott Hardie | January 14, 2005
I'll give it a try, I suppose. Bodily reflex is hard to overcome. I don't pinch my nose, though occasionally I make a show of pinching or covering my nose to signal to others that I'm about to sneeze. Sometimes I've found I can prevent a sneeze altogether through sheer concentration, so that's what I'd really like to work on.

Anna Gregoline | January 14, 2005
I would think sneezing would be good for you though? Your body doesn't want whatever is tickling you in there - in the most violent way.

Scott Hardie | January 14, 2005
Perhaps. It's usually just dust, which I can blow out into a tissue. Come to think of it, I do have an easier time sneezing when I have a cold and there are actual germs that need to be expunged, but that might just be because the sneezes are so much more violent then.

I am glad I don't make a honking sound when I blow into a tissue. I once knew a guy who made actual squeaking sounds when he rubbed his ear with a Q-tip.

Anna Gregoline | January 14, 2005
No. flippin. way.

That is so cartoonish and...gross!

Scott Hardie | January 14, 2005
Nope, it was real. I heard it. Now I just need to meet a fat guy who sounds like a tuba when he sits down and I'm all set.