A common one is the tying of one's shoelaces. It's pretty common to tie the knot in an unbalanced way. https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm
Worthy of the best TED talk ever:
https://youtu.be/zAFcV7zuUDA
Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
41–50 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#42You aren't supposed to rinse your mouth with water after brushing your teeth. You're supposed to spit excess, but leave the toothpaste on to absorb.
Or rinse and use mouthwash with fluoride and leave that. Brush from top to bottom, not side to side. "Scrape" your tooth when flossing. Seems like way too many never learn these basics.
Don't use mouthwash straight after brushing. Seems like way too many never learn these basics.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-teeth-and-gums/how-to-k...
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#43Chef knives are designed to be held by pinching the blade between the forefinger and the thumb, and wrapping the rest of your fingers around the handle. I used to wrap all my fingers around the handle, until Jacques Pepin showed me how to do it properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMA2SqaDgG8
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#44Thinking that most people have good intentions.
Most people just follow the trend. But there are leaders that promote the worst in people. And they have a huge part of attention nowadays.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#45Not telling my friends that I love them. I was 28 the first time a friend told me "I love you" in a pure friendship way (and while sober), and without being a part of a special situation. I've also done it afterwards, and because I had never told my friend i love them, it made the message even stronger. It feels wrong that we don't do this more often.
I recently remembered to tell my kids "I like hanging out with you" or "this was nice being with you today". I did it a while back when I had a realization that my parents didn't like spending time with me and I didn't want my kids to feel that. But then I forgot for a time...
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#46You-buntu vs oo-buntu, Something coworkers from years ago still like to give me grief about.
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Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#47Not really "wrong" but at some point in the last couple years I was using my microwave, putting something in for a minute, and for that I've always input 1:00 but suddenly I realized how obvious it was that I can just be inputting 60. As long as you can easily modulo the time, this works for the range 1 minute (60) to 1 minute 39 seconds (99). Technically you could also do this for times like 2:65 instead of 3:05 but…
The bigger "Why wasn't I doing this sooner" with microwaves is using lower power modes.
They don't actually reduce the 'power' of the microwave, but they turn it on and then back off again for a proportion of time, over and over.
It takes longer to reheat stuff this way, but it comes out much more evenly heated, I find.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#48You aren't supposed to rinse your mouth with water after brushing your teeth. You're supposed to spit excess, but leave the toothpaste on to absorb.
Or rinse and use mouthwash with fluoride and leave that. Brush from top to bottom, not side to side. "Scrape" your tooth when flossing. Seems like way too many never learn these basics.
> Brush from top to bottom, not side to side.
Gonna need a cite on that. Pretty sure the recommendation is to hold the brush at 45 degrees and use circular movements.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#49Staying warm. In the winter, I used to stay warm by turning up the thermostat. Then I discovered (via HN) the Low-Tech Magazine article, "Insulation: first the body, then the home." [0] The article argued that it's much more efficient to focus on heating yourself rather than your whole living space. I invested in high-quality wool clothes that I wear in layers and warm slippers. Now, I keep my home about 5 degrees F…
The issue is it doesn't work for people who tend to sweat easily.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#50Staying warm. In the winter, I used to stay warm by turning up the thermostat. Then I discovered (via HN) the Low-Tech Magazine article, "Insulation: first the body, then the home." [0] The article argued that it's much more efficient to focus on heating yourself rather than your whole living space. I invested in high-quality wool clothes that I wear in layers and warm slippers. Now, I keep my home about 5 degrees F…
Add moisture to the air also as it conducts heat better and the same temperature will "feel" warmer. (especially important in some climates more than others)
Is this the reason for infusions in sauna?