Is anybody freaked out by ordinary things that don't bother others?

[GRLMGC]

My mom's boyfriend has this old-school contact lense case in which this weird honey-comb plastic thing is kept within a plastic container with solution. The honey-comb pattern freaks me out. It makes my skin crawl. My mom is freaked out by rust. Is anybody bothered by little things that don't bother anybody else?

[skygazer]

1. I have an absolutely violent disgust for cold, dirty dish water

I hate it when someone puts dishes in the sink with sudsy water and lets it get cold and it gets that nasty scum on the top.

I don't like to touch it or see it and I feel I have to scrub the dishes until doomsday to get the memory of it off them. :scared:



You mean, stuff like that?

[GRLMGC]

2. Yeah

and that is a little nasty

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. that's what rubber gleeve are for, my dear.

[skygazer]

9. I forgot to mention

I'm also repulsed by rubber gloves. :P



(and I am - I hate the way they feel :scared: )

[City of Mills]

3. Chewed gum

I cannot stand other people's chewed gum...knew this guy who'd put it anywhere too, edge of his plate when eating, ashtrays, etc... grosses me out and pisses me off all at once!

[LibDemAlways]

69. You'd hate this:

It's a wall of chewed gum in San Luis Obispo, CA.

I'm with you. It makes me gag when I'm with someone in a restaurant who takes out gum and sticks it on their plate. Disgusting.

[SouthoftheBorderPaul]

74. I third that notion.

I also hate when people ball up straw wrappers and put them on a table. Always reminds me of spitballs people used to throw on the school bus. Turns my stomach.

[alarimer]

4. Public restrooms

I am better now, but until fairly recently I wouldn't use them if someone else was in there (I mean the ones with more than one stall).
I don't want to hear others doing whatever they do. I am still really creeped out by people talking to me in there. Just leave me the hell alone, please.

[SteppingRazor]

5. I'm violently repulsed by origami n/t

[ChoralScholar]

6. Television test-patterns, station sign-offs, technical difficulties

the national anthem that precedes a signoff, the tone that accompanies the color bar test pattern...

I've been freaked out about these as long as i can remember. I'd run and hide when AETN (Arkansas PBS affiliate) was about to go off the air 10pm. (AETN now concludes it's broadcast day. Our studios are located in Conway, Arkansas...)


Even today, at age 30, I get a bit uneasy about any of these things. Good thing stations don't go off the air anymore, hardly...

Last night XM Radio was having problems, and running a loop with some synth music that said "This station is having technical difficulties, please stay tuned..."

I thought, I'll listen for a minute, it'll come back... After about 3 loops of the message, I started to get a little panicky and had to change the station.

What a weird phobia, huh?

[Oeditpus Rex]

36. I know that one

When I was a little kid and stations would sign off, I didn't really understand what was happening. I thought it was the end of the world or something. :scared:

It doesn't freak me anymore, but I sure remember how it felt.

[idgiehkt]

7. dust on baseboard moldings

it really bothers me knowing it is there.

[skygazer]

10. Oh, honey you're going to love my house if you're ever in town!

:rofl:

Maybe we can sit outside on the terrace and visit. :P

[idgiehkt]

12. terrace?

I loves me a good terrace. :)

[skygazer]

14. Well, that's what I call it

Normal people call it a "deck" but I like to tell the SO that "I'll be sunning myself out on the terrace." :rofl:

Here it is -

[idgiehkt]

18. that is beautiful

what is that plant with the long yellow leaves on the right?

[skygazer]

19. I think that's one of the little palm trees

I do not touch the plants. My touch is death to plants - I try not to even look at them too closely.

My SO on the other hand, is the Plant Whisperer. He finds sticks on the ground, puts them in a bucket of water and something beautiful grows. I don't know how he does it. We were out on the terrace just the other night and we remarked that almost all the plants out there, with the exception of the two palms and the grape that was his father's, were rescues.

There are a bunch more inside, most of them dead weeds when he found them. I wish I could set the man up with a greenhouse. ~sigh~

[idgiehkt]

22. my dad is the same way

he grew scads and scads of things this year. I told he should get his master gardener's certification or whatever and he just shrugged and said "I don't know what half this shit is." He just buys the seeds, throws them in a pot with some dirt, or in the ground, and they grow.

[Kali]

11. wet coffee grounds

especially on your hands, ESPECIALLY between your fingers AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGHGGGHGHGHGHGHHGHGHHGHG


Oh, and caterpillars.

[otherlander]

13. Ferrets touching me

They're fun to look at and give carrot sticks to, but don't let them touch me...
:scared:

[Sequoia]

59. Oh, that's real ordinary for sure.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. Pictures on the wall that aren't hanging straight.

My house is usually a horrendous mess -- books and magazines and old socks and cat fur everywhere -- and that doesn't bother me. But the pictures on the wall have to be hanging exactly straight or I go nuts. Same thing with window shades.

[NanceGreggs]

32. Same here.

I'm a court reporter, and I have made myself somewhat "unwelcome" at certain law firms where I insist on straightening the paintings in the reception area while I'm waiting for the lawyers.

I once suddenly stood up and asked for a break in the middle of a deposition. The lawyers thought I needed a bathroom break - but I simply got up, straightened the painting that was in my direct view and hanging on an angle, then sat down and said, "Okay, let's go back on the record."

A friend actually named my affliction: he calls it "art-rightis".

[hedgehog]

56. AHA! We're living in the same house!

I KNEW that not even me and my kids could get it THIS messy!

[last_texas_dem]

16. Alright, I know this is weird

When I was in high school,I was creeped out/nauseated by this group of holes on my sister's wall. They were made by the headboard of the bed touching the wall, and were visible after she rearranged her furniture. They were small holes, not very deep, with a pattern inside of them that looked like a spiderweb or something, but they made me think of pictures of clogged arteries. Ugh... just thinking of them now is honestly making me feel nauseous! I'm not sure why those holes bothered me so much but apparently just thinking of them still has that sort of effect on me.

[GRLMGC]

17. I think that's my thing too

I can't think about it without getting weirded out. It's the pattern. There's just something disturbing about it.

[last_texas_dem]

23. Yeah, when you described the "honeycomb" pattern

bugging you, I immediately thought of those holes on my sister's wall. I wonder what it is about those sorts of patterns that seems to bother both of us so much!?

[GRLMGC]

54. I don't know

It's really weird. Everytime I've told someone else, they really don't understand my reaction.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

24. I'm the same way.

Holes in certain patterns flip me out.

:scared:

[Ghost in the Machine]

67. Hey, sorry about those holes, dude...

and tell sis I said hi!




























:evilgrin: :rofl:

[Glorfindel]

20. Flannel...I loathe the feel of flannel

It makes me feel sick and ticklish and dirty all at the same time, like running a feather across your unprotected eyeball. *shudder*

[ruiner4u]

21. OSB freaks me out...

something about it just does not sit well with me...


dude, just do plywood.. but no, you wanna be all cool and crap...

And dont get me started on tongue and grove.. Ya too lazy to use a level and some nails?



Damn wood elitists.

[Arugula Latte]

25. Sometimes if I think about broken bones it really flips me out

It seems like most people can talk about certain bone injuries, but I start to feel lightheaded and nauseous. I visited a friend in the hospital after she was in a car accident, and when she started talking about her bone injury I started to faint and had to sit down with my head between my knees. x(

[jobycom]

26. I am convinced my kids' Game Cube Mario Karts cheats.

Every time I'm about to win, that damn blue turtle thingie knocks me off a bridge.

[Left Is Write]

27. I wouldn't say "freaked out," but as I have generalized anxiety disorder...

I would say there are ordinary things that bother me that wouldn't bother others.

[Maraya1969]

28. Yea

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6855916

[amitten]

29. Sponges and fungus...or anything with millions of tiny little other

things inside of it that you don't see until you get up close. :scared:

Yeah...clusters of things gross me out for some reason. Makes me want to smash them or something...

[GRLMGC]

53. Ooh clusters!

Yeah, they've been known to gross me out

[Ptah]

30. The stuff that freaks me out freaks me out so much that I don't have time to think about others

[NJCher]

31. the cord on my vacuum cleaner

It has little ridges. Man, it really creeps me out to have to wind it up so I usually don't. Then because it's on the floor and people are walking all over it, it creeps me out even more (I'm a germaphobic).

I really hate this vacuum cleaner cord. It makes me cringe.



Cher

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. ticks

I can't deal with them. I can't even stand to pull them off myself.

[Fire Walk With Me]

34. The word "tin".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gwXJsWHupg

[Oeditpus Rex]

35. Sorry, old horse

[Oeditpus Rex]

37. I have this weird thing with milk

The glass has to be empty before I'll refill it. If someone "tops it off," I won't drink it.

That's probably why I don't drink milk much anymore.

[Connonym]

39. just milk or any drink?

I have a thing with milk where I find it really revolting just because it's really revolting :-P (quick someone hide me from the the cow police!)

[Zavulon]

38. Hearing someone brush their teeth with an open mouth.

Makes me gag.

[Connonym]

I'm neurotic, I'm freaked out by all sorts of things nobody else notices

storm drains, babies with dirty ears (why do I even notice that?!), moles with hair growing out of them...and that's just a random 3 off the top of my head

[swimboy]

40. Wall-mounted soap dispensers

Mayonnaise

Long, heavy draperies

I've said too much.

[Phillycat]

41. The feel of chalk on my fingers, also dry dirt.

And I can't stand having dry lips, which is why I ALWAYS, everywhere I am ever, have lip balm with me. I am addicted to lip balm. I only use one brand (Origins "cover your mouth") and I have one in every single room in the house. I've been known to turn around half a mile from home and go back when I realize my lip stuff isn't in my bag, even if I'm just going to the convenience store.

[GenDem]

42. I have that same addiction

Only my brand is Blistex lip medex

[begin_within]

45. I also do that, but only in the dry-air months (September through January, here)

[I Have A Dream]

72. Mine's similar. I can't stand the feel of dry sand on my dry feet.

Ugh! x(

[racaulk]

43. I hate mannequins and dolls. Hate 'em!!!

And the more human they look, the more they creep me out! I think I just saw too many of those Puppetmaster/Chucky movies when I was a kid, and they ruined me!

:scared:

[swimboy]

44. My brother suffers in this way.

I know a few episodes of the Twilight Zone you should definitely avoid.

[Ariana Celeste]

64. Same.

Even as an adult I can't sleep at night if there is a doll in the room.

[quiet.american]

46. Ketchup. It's almost impossible for me to sit across from someone slathering their food in it. n/t

[driver8]

55. I can't stand that crap. The smell makes me want to puke. n/t

[quiet.american]

73. Hello! Me, too. Whenever I see a slapstick movie scene where someone's squirted with ketchup -- ugh!

[begin_within]

47. Any liquid spilled on the street by any passing vehicle in front of my house

As soon as I see it I run out with the hose and try to wash it away, because I fear that if I don't, it will coagulate and dry and I'll be looking at it for the next 12 years. My neighbors, on the other hand, don't seem to care or even notice if anything is in the street.

[BarenakedLady]

48. Making telephone calls

Chit-chat with strangers/acquaintences.

Dry popscicle sticks on my tongue.

Clowns.

Seeing others vomit.

[LaraMN]

49. Chalk, terra cotta pots, pencils with "noisy tips."

All the aforementioned give me the full-body chills.

[Dora]

50. Ladybugs. nt

[1gobluedem]

51. I can't stand the smell of wet peanut butter

It grosses me out to see someone eat it from a spoon or to wash the jar for recycling. It doesn't appear to bother anybody else I know.

[6000eliot]

52. Any mention of the human liver makes me feel all icky inside.

I just did it to myself with this post.

[Sequoia]

60. Liver, liver, liver, liver

I hate the taste and smell of cow liver...makes me physically ill.

[carly denise pt deux]

57. someone writing on a chalkboard..or someone running their fork against a metal plate

paper cuts
that emergency broadcast system test signal arrrrgh
they should make an alarm clock with that same noise, guaranteed to wake the heaviest sleepers

Carly

[Orrex]

58. Dry fingertips scraping across a dry, redwood picnic table

Ugh. Just thinking about it now is giving me fits.

[MysticalChicken]

61. I absolutely hate...

Okay, this might be a little hard to explain, but you'd know it if you saw it. When there are images of heads with no bodies or even necks, like in magazine advertisements, and I'm pretty sure there's a Vonage infomercial that utilizes that as well... No no no no no no no! I hate that so much! At least put a neck on them! That just freaks me out so much. I've hated that ever since I was a kid.

[yellowdogintexas]

62. having someone lean over me when I am sitting at a table or

in a chair. I will flat freak out to the point of screaming, trembling, panic.

I was sitting at a dining table one day reading and my husband innocently leaned over me and put both hands on the table, which meant his chest was directly over my neck. He was being affectionate and looking at what I was reading. I said to him.."I love you more than anything but if you don't back away I will kill you"..I guess that is my own private version of claustrophobia?

[GirlinContempt]

63. Cockatoo feet.

Normal bird feet are ok.
These are not:

[Hosnon]

65. Popsicle sticks.

Eck! Makes my skin crawl thinking about them.

[Briarius]

66. Cotton balls

I can't touch them, they make my skin crawl! It's the feeling of the cotton rubbing against itself that gets me.

[tjwmason]

68. Unsyncronised Belisha beacons

If I have to watch them flashing out of time it drives me mad, and I want to smash them.

[nosillies]

70. Thanks for giving up an opportunity to air our weirdnesses

Here's my list:

Stumps (just dig them up, don't leave them there!)

Fingerprints on photos

Mayo, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, white creamy dressings, etc.

Irons with only a bit of water, they must be full

MDF

Grass clippings

On-line poker

Those ice cube-looking windows

And my biggest: Watching other people eat

Jerry Seinfeld has some quote about how the reason people sit down to eat together is because if you ever have to watch someone else eat when you're not, it's the most disgusting thing ever. I completely agree.

[grace0418]

71. When I reach for an ice cube and it sticks to my hand (like if my hand was wet)

I get the heebie jeebies. *shudder*

[Roon]

75. Saw something recently that made my skin crawl

[cobalt1999]

76. Tampons

I won't even open the drawer my wife keeps them in. I'd just prefer not to know or think about that.