Kate Hackett
I can resolutely say that my most useless talent is that I can tell, without fail, when any dish has cilantro in it. Is cilantro a poison? no it is not. So why have I developed this mechanism? No reason!
We found a thread over on AskReddit by u/DaddysGonnaBeatMe wondering “What is a useless talent you have?” and really love all the crazy answers. Which one is your favorite?
1. Social Oddity
I can count the letters in any sentence while the sentence is being spoken and still pay attention to what the person is saying. I’ve done this since I was around 10. It’s compulsive. I can’t quit doing it.
2. Brain freeze
I am genetically unable to get brain freeze. I can chug an entire slushy without consequence.
3. Never forget a face
I never forget a face. If I’ve seen it once I’ll remember it if I ever see it again.
Pictures are a little harder because it’s a frozen moment in time and they may never look the same way.
Case in point, when I was 12 my dad introduced me to a guy and we chatted for a few moments. Almost 30 years later my dad and I were out and I said, “Dad, is that so and so?” And sure enough, it was and my dad was able to reconnect with someone he hadn’t seen in 20 years.
4. Backwards talker
Not me. But my bff can pronounce any word you say to her backwards within 2 seconds (in 2 languages).
5. Folding a fitted sheet
I can fold a fitted sheet so well that it looks indiscernible from a folded flat sheet.
6. Can tell where you’re from
I’m not 100% accurate but I can look at people and tell where they’re from without hearing them speak a single word. I’m American and can do this with Americans as well as non Americans. Example: last summer I had a group of 5 and I identified 2 Belgians, a French and a German. One was so unbelievably impressed that he offered me $50 if I could precisely identify the 5th person, a woman, in the group. I looked at her, guessed French Algiers, and won the most unlikely $50 of my life. I’m a small legend in my line of work and the tourists are dumbfounded every f***ing time.
7. Napping
I can take a nap for a specified amount of time, like say 22 minutes. I also know right before a timer is about to go off.
8. Bullseye
I can hit just about anything within 60ft or so with a rock. I grew up on a farm, and spent countless hours on our gravel road picking up rocks, and firing away at stuff, mostly fence posts.
9. Catching Objects
I’m really good at catching things that are falling because I clumsily knocked them over. I’m like an oaf in the front half of a second, and a ninja on the back half; I have roughly the same number of spills as the average person, but with extra steps. I’ve done it with multiple falling objects, behind my back, with my feet – things usually don’t hit the ground around me.
10. Rubiks Cube
I can solve a rubiks cube in around 9 seconds. Unless I get faster it’s not like I can make money from it or anything lol.478
11. Birds
I can tell by the sounds of many different songbirds when there is a bird of prey flying overhead.
12. Smells Great
I genetically don’t produce body odor (B.O.)
South Koreans don’t wear deodorant… (in fact, it’s tough to find in that country) and yes my earwax is dry.
13. Song Memory
Name a recorded song that I’ve heard before, and I can sing in tune with it before you pull it up on your music app. I otherwise have no major musical talent.
14. Dog bark
I have a hyper-realistic impression of a dog bark. My friends will think there is an actual dog around and get disappointed when they realize that it was me.
15. Water gun
I can cup my hands together and shoot water 10-12ft in a straight line. It’s like always having a water gun on me. When I do it without water it makes a fart noise, which is like always having a whoopie cushion.
16. Excellent at measuring
I’m really really good at guessing the appropriate container size for quantities of food or liquid. For example when I make soup I don’t measure what I put in the pot or use a recipe but it’ll always come out as exactly 1 or 2 or 3 quarts on the nose. My boyfriend gets excited whenever I cook and put food away to see if I f*cked up this time, but I never do.
17. Write without looking
I can write without looking. Theoretically, I could write an essay blindfolded.
18. On Demand Vomit
I can throw up on command. Gross and not nearly as useful as crying.
19. Very flexible
I can bring my arms back OVER my head from behind my back…. Without unclasping my hands from each other. Best I can explain it.
20. Bear Crawl
I can crawl on all fours extremely fast. I found this out as a teenager in Tae Kwon Do, we did a lot of weird exercises in our workouts, crawling was one and I got tagged in to crawl to one side of the gym and back and went fast AF, I burned everyone. I crawl like a rock skipping across a pond, I even surprised myself and remember some people laughing at the time, it definitely must look strange lol. I did it at home a few times to show people but it gives rug burn very easy.
