Minor things that bother you

[Scott5114]

We weren't required to shower after PE when I was in school.  It's not like they gave us time anyways, and most people were self-conscious enough to not want to expose themselves in front of others (even going so far as to wrap themselves in towels or change in bathroom stalls when we had the swimming unit).

We were required to shower, and the schools had gang showers, and most guys didn't like them a bit. Girls from what I heard had individual shower stalls.
This was in Florida, so warmer climate and more sweating, but they had PE in the first period, early in the day, when it was cooler.

How was the requirement to shower enforced?

Back in those days coaches would be monitoring the locker room and said that they will drag you in there if you don't comply.

Coaches back then were typically of the caliber that could play on a minor league baseball or football team. Not one to trifle with.

In 2026, a full grown man threatening to drag a naked high schooler somewhere they didn't want to be would rightly raise all kinds of alarm bells.

[kphoger]

In 2026, a full grown man threatening to drag a naked high schooler somewhere they didn't want to be would rightly raise all kinds of alarm bells.

meh.  Nobody really thought the coach would actually drag a naked guy into the shower.  But, back in those days, we actually respected our teaches and coaches enough for the threat of it to be sufficient.

I had a third grade teacher back in Illinois who, if you got in trouble, might put you across a chair and "sit on you".  I'm sure he didn't put his whole weight on the kid but, none the less, after seeing him do that once or twice, the rest of us sure didn't want to be the next kid in that chair.  Nobody was harmed, and I'm sure none of us came out emotionally scarred.

I also remember the time a classmate mouthed off to our junior high social studies teacher.  The teacher had had enough, apparently, and pushed him up against the lockers lining the back of the classroom, pointed a finger in his face, and shouted at him.  We all just sat there, quietly watching, confident that the kid was getting what he deserved.  Nobody said a word about it later, as far as I know.

And this wasn't exactly the 1950s.  It was the 1980s and 1990s.

[LilianaUwU]

I'm gonna sound like a boomer when I say this, but kids' behavior has become worse ever since most parents decided to shove their kid in front of an iPad to educate them.

[kphoger]

I'm gonna sound like a boomer when I say this, but kids' behavior has become worse ever since most parents decided to shove their kid in front of an iPad to educate them.

Apple is to blame for everything.

[PColumbus73]

I'm gonna sound like a boomer when I say this, but kids' behavior has become worse ever since most parents decided to shove their kid in front of an iPad to educate them.

Apple is to blame for everything.

"These kids need to get off their iPads and play outside" - Grandparents who buy their grandkids iPads

[Scott5114]

meh.  Nobody really thought the coach would actually drag a naked guy into the shower.  But, back in those days, we actually respected our teaches and coaches enough for the threat of it to be sufficient.

Probably not, but issuing a threat like that runs the risk of someone who heard it telling his mom, who's very active in the local HOA. That probably isn't great for that coach's career prospects in the current cultural climate, even if he intended it to just be intimidation.

[Beltway]

In 2026, a full grown man threatening to drag a naked high schooler somewhere they didn't want to be would rightly raise all kinds of alarm bells.

This was the 1960s -- a different world. Many male teachers were WW II or Korean War veterans. They didn't play.

Junior high too in this case. Most school districts still had corporal punishment -- paddling by the assistant principal.

meh.  Nobody really thought the coach would actually drag a naked guy into the shower.  But, back in those days, we actually respected our teaches and coaches enough for the threat of it to be sufficient.

I think the threat was pushing him in there with his street clothes on. He wouldn't be naked at that point if he was resisting being showered.

[GaryV]

The teacher had had enough, apparently, and pushed him up against the lockers

We had a junior high social studies teacher, also the football coach, who did this in the hallway. Very early 1970's.

Same school, a math teacher had a paddle and was rumored to have used it. I can't comment on that, other than that he was a really nice guy.

[thenetwork]

I have a bit of disdain for athletes and celebrities who now frequent the touring curcuits that charge extra "fees" at events for their autographs and photo ops.

Back in my younger days, local pro athletes would make appearances at local stores, car dealers or malls where you walk up, stand in line and for FREE get a few items signed and/or a photo with the person. And they were usually paid by the retail host and/or their team.

Same with famous celebrities would make an appearance at the Annual car, RV, travel, boat, home,... show for a few hours.  They usually were paid by the show to come in because it was a draw to get people to attend the overall show.

Now you have these fanfests, comic cons and sports memorabilia shows where you have to pay to get into the door in addition to paying for the opportunity to get a single thing signed or even a photo PER CELEBRITY. 

I have heard that some of these celebrities prefer to be sequestered behind a curtain in their own "private booth" to make the $100+ chance to be in their midst only available to those who will cough up the money.

Anyone know if these same people will still pose for photos or sign anything for people if they are seen at the airport or hotel?

[kphoger]

or

"These kids need to get off their iPads and play outside" - Grandparents who buy their grandkids iPads

[kphoger]

I carry a jump box ...

At the beginning of the cold season this year, I brought my jump box inside one morning to make sure it was charged up.  I plugged it in and it didn't want to show me the charge level, didn't want to do anything.  After quite a few minutes of trying different buttons and looking at the instruction sheet and googling stuff, it finally got its act together.  And yes, it was pretty much fully charged.

But, in looking through the paperwork, I discovered that it apparently may not work right if it gets below 19°F.  WTF??

So now, this past cold snap a couple of weeks ago, I made a point to bring the thing inside every night and then take it back out to the car every morning before work—just so it wouldn't get too cold to work right.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've considered buying a jumper box but never got around to it.  It does actually get cold here in Fresno, but rarely lower than the mid-30s during the winter.  That isn't quite cold enough that it should be causing problems with my non-daily driver Challenger.  I just run the car two times a week for about 20-25 minutes and that seems to keep the battery cranking from a cold start well enough.  If I was in a colder climate than I would probably just winterize it.

[Plutonic Panda]

States that don't have a law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining or snowing hard enough to require use of wipers beyond the intermittent setting.

Laws that require headlights "when wipers are required".

I use my wipers a lot less than most people.  In fact, I only even turn them on if it's a steady downpour.  Otherwise, I find the wiper blades more of a distraction to my view of the road then the actual rain.  So what does "required" mean, then?

What's up with these laws on interstates in random places that have very far site clearance that say something along the line lines of headlights mandatory for the next X amount of miles? That's mostly a western thing from what I've noticed but it's weird nonetheless.

[formulanone]

We weren't required to shower after PE when I was in school.  It's not like they gave us time anyways, and most people were self-conscious enough to not want to expose themselves in front of others (even going so far as to wrap themselves in towels or change in bathroom stalls when we had the swimming unit).

We were required to shower, and the schools had gang showers, and most guys didn't like them a bit. Girls from what I heard had individual shower stalls.
This was in Florida, so warmer climate and more sweating, but they had PE in the first period, early in the day, when it was cooler.

How was the requirement to shower enforced?

Back in those days coaches would be monitoring the locker room and said that they will drag you in there if you don't comply.

Coaches back then were typically of the caliber that could play on a minor league baseball or football team. Not one to trifle with.

In 2026, a full grown man threatening to drag a naked high schooler somewhere they didn't want to be would rightly raise all kinds of alarm bells.

By the late-1980s, my high school gym had showers, but the requirement to use them was literally (1) grab a towel (2) walk five feet, maybe dab yourself off if you felt sweaty (3) deposit that same towel in the bucket about five feet away. If you wanted to use the showers, you were supposed to stay partially clothed somewhere in step 2, make a left turn for the showers. That "requirement" was something like once a week for your checkmark, and it didn't leave any opportunity to make a rat tail. With maybe 5-10 minutes to get dressed and shuffle off to the next class, nobody had time for showers anyhow.

I recall exactly one time I heard someone using the shower, because he was singing loud enough to drown out the rest of the rabble in the locker room. Otherwise, it was a complete waste of water and laundry supplies, probably just to satisfy some archaic school board requirement in which the gym teacher had to oblige, or prevent a lawsuit.

[Scott5114]

States that don't have a law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining or snowing hard enough to require use of wipers beyond the intermittent setting.

Laws that require headlights "when wipers are required".

I use my wipers a lot less than most people.  In fact, I only even turn them on if it's a steady downpour.  Otherwise, I find the wiper blades more of a distraction to my view of the road then the actual rain.  So what does "required" mean, then?

What's up with these laws on interstates in random places that have very far site clearance that say something along the line lines of headlights mandatory for the next X amount of miles? That's mostly a western thing from what I've noticed but it's weird nonetheless.

Headlights are easier to make out through mirages.

[Max Rockatansky]

States that don't have a law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining or snowing hard enough to require use of wipers beyond the intermittent setting.

Laws that require headlights "when wipers are required".

I use my wipers a lot less than most people.  In fact, I only even turn them on if it's a steady downpour.  Otherwise, I find the wiper blades more of a distraction to my view of the road then the actual rain.  So what does "required" mean, then?

What's up with these laws on interstates in random places that have very far site clearance that say something along the line lines of headlights mandatory for the next X amount of miles? That's mostly a western thing from what I've noticed but it's weird nonetheless.

Headlights are easier to make out through mirages.

New Mexico had a random safety corridor on I-10 near a ghost town called Gage.  The signage demanded drivers turn their headlights on.  Considering there was almost never much in the way of traffic I couldn't figure out what the safety issue actually was.  Seemed like a waste and would have been better placed closer to Las Cruces or the Texas state line.

[kphoger]

New Mexico

Right there, you should have known not to look for rhyme or reason.

[kkt]

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

You know as well as I do that many urinals don't have dividers between them, and pretty much none have doors.  And tell me I'm not the only one who used a communal shower room adjoining the high school locker room.

We weren't required to shower after PE when I was in school.  It's not like they gave us time anyways, and most people were self-conscious enough to not want to expose themselves in front of others (even going so far as to wrap themselves in towels or change in bathroom stalls when we had the swimming unit).

As for urinals, these debates tend to center around bathrooms that don't have them, but now you've gotten me thinking about this scene from Boston Legal...

Scene started well but got way too over the top of what they should or legally could say.  And those people are supposed to be from Boston?  They don't sound much like the Bostonians I've had the pleasure of meeting, either the upper crust Brahmans or the blue collar types.

[Rothman]

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

You know as well as I do that many urinals don't have dividers between them, and pretty much none have doors.  And tell me I'm not the only one who used a communal shower room adjoining the high school locker room.

We weren't required to shower after PE when I was in school.  It's not like they gave us time anyways, and most people were self-conscious enough to not want to expose themselves in front of others (even going so far as to wrap themselves in towels or change in bathroom stalls when we had the swimming unit).

As for urinals, these debates tend to center around bathrooms that don't have them, but now you've gotten me thinking about this scene from Boston Legal...

Scene started well but got way too over the top of what they should or legally could say.  And those people are supposed to be from Boston?  They don't sound much like the Bostonians I've had the pleasure of meeting, either the upper crust Brahmans or the blue collar types.

You need to meet more Bostonians...especially taking into account the high number of transplants.

[mgk920]

States that don't have a law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining or snowing hard enough to require use of wipers beyond the intermittent setting.

Laws that require headlights "when wipers are required".

I use my wipers a lot less than most people.  In fact, I only even turn them on if it's a steady downpour.  Otherwise, I find the wiper blades more of a distraction to my view of the road then the actual rain.  So what does "required" mean, then?

I use RainX on my windshield, so technically I wouldn't have to use my wipers during even a moderate steady rain. That stuff really does work. If you're driving at even a minimal speed, the water will bead up and shoot off your windshield.

 noticed the same effect a couple of decades ago when I was able to install true silicone wiper blades.  They were very durable and left a similar residue on the windshield.

Mike

[hbelkins]

States that don't have a law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining or snowing hard enough to require use of wipers beyond the intermittent setting.

Laws that require headlights "when wipers are required".

I use my wipers a lot less than most people.  In fact, I only even turn them on if it's a steady downpour.  Otherwise, I find the wiper blades more of a distraction to my view of the road then the actual rain.  So what does "required" mean, then?

What's up with these laws on interstates in random places that have very far site clearance that say something along the line lines of headlights mandatory for the next X amount of miles? That's mostly a western thing from what I've noticed but it's weird nonetheless.

I don't understand this requirement for interstates, where traffic is going in the same direction. I've seen it more often on heavily-traveled two-lane corridors with no median or divider where there's a greater risk of head-on collisions.

[kphoger]

Anytime anything changes, at all, ever.

[vdeane]

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

You know as well as I do that many urinals don't have dividers between them, and pretty much none have doors.  And tell me I'm not the only one who used a communal shower room adjoining the high school locker room.

We weren't required to shower after PE when I was in school.  It's not like they gave us time anyways, and most people were self-conscious enough to not want to expose themselves in front of others (even going so far as to wrap themselves in towels or change in bathroom stalls when we had the swimming unit).

As for urinals, these debates tend to center around bathrooms that don't have them, but now you've gotten me thinking about this scene from Boston Legal...

Scene started well but got way too over the top of what they should or legally could say.  And those people are supposed to be from Boston?  They don't sound much like the Bostonians I've had the pleasure of meeting, either the upper crust Brahmans or the blue collar types.

You need to meet more Bostonians...especially taking into account the high number of transplants.

I think the only place I can recall hearing the "Boston" accent is on Cape Cod.

[kkt]

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

You know as well as I do that many urinals don't have dividers between them, and pretty much none have doors.  And tell me I'm not the only one who used a communal shower room adjoining the high school locker room.

We weren't required to shower after PE when I was in school.  It's not like they gave us time anyways, and most people were self-conscious enough to not want to expose themselves in front of others (even going so far as to wrap themselves in towels or change in bathroom stalls when we had the swimming unit).

As for urinals, these debates tend to center around bathrooms that don't have them, but now you've gotten me thinking about this scene from Boston Legal...

Scene started well but got way too over the top of what they should or legally could say.  And those people are supposed to be from Boston?  They don't sound much like the Bostonians I've had the pleasure of meeting, either the upper crust Brahmans or the blue collar types.

You need to meet more Bostonians...especially taking into account the high number of transplants.

I think the only place I can recall hearing the "Boston" accent is on Cape Cod.

Good friend from Whitman, Mass., and her family and friends from elsewhere on the South Shore.
Then there are speeches by the Kennedys and Charles from MASH - a learned accent but done well.
Perhaps in Boston proper it's less common?

[thenetwork]

States that don't have a law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining or snowing hard enough to require use of wipers beyond the intermittent setting.

Laws that require headlights "when wipers are required".

I use my wipers a lot less than most people.  In fact, I only even turn them on if it's a steady downpour.  Otherwise, I find the wiper blades more of a distraction to my view of the road then the actual rain.  So what does "required" mean, then?

What's up with these laws on interstates in random places that have very far site clearance that say something along the line lines of headlights mandatory for the next X amount of miles? That's mostly a western thing from what I've noticed but it's weird nonetheless.

I don't understand this requirement for interstates, where traffic is going in the same direction. I've seen it more often on heavily-traveled two-lane corridors with no median or divider where there's a greater risk of head-on collisions.

...or in areas where dust storms/haboobs can crop up in short notice.