What are your other peculiar skills?

[RealOG]

Hi All,

Thought that we might have a little fun. Let's find out what wacky skills you all have. What wacky marketable talents do you have that you are currently not utilizing? Maybe stuff you could build a business around?

I will go first:

When I am not crushing skulls in the boxing ring or lifting huge weights like a testosterone-filled tyranosaurus... I am a swing dancer.

That's right - I am (or used to be) light on my feet. In college I was a dance instructor and actually performed in a professional dance troupe called the "Jive Cats" in Boulder, CO. We entered competitions and were hired to do gigs like weddings, plays, and I was even a dance plant at a John Cougar Mellenkamp concert.

Of course, that was over a decade ago but I bet I could still throw down with you youngsters.

So? What secret talents do ya'll have?

 

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[ZDS]

Is being a huge nerd a talent?

Edit: Closet nerd, but nerd none the less

 

[LightHouse]

As i sit here thinking , in my head everything sounds like i am writing a personals ad. But in lieu of your dancing example, i have in fact.... recently won a few hip-hop dance contests....

safe to say i was the only white guy entered... and won.... LOL

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I used to be a hip-hop dancer back in Chicago. I'd travel down to the city and "battle" with the best of them. For a white guy, I was pretty talented and often surprised a lot of black folks who prejudged the "white boy" before seeing him throw down.

 

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[GoldenEggs]

Hmmm, it's not really wacky but I do tahitian and hula. I enjoy performing but not competing. The first halau I joined, he had a sliding scale of payment for the dancers. The halau I am with now, I just do it because I really enjoy it. I stopped since I had my baby and am anxious to get back into it again!

 

[Knowledge Kick]

As i sit here thinking , in my head everything sounds like i am writing a personals ad. But in lieu of your dancing example, i have in fact.... recently won a few hip-hop dance contests....

safe to say i was the only white guy entered... and won.... LOL

How old are you LightHouse? Just curious...

 

[Bobo]

Extreme focus combined with (hindered by?) shiny object syndrome....

When I get focused on something I tend to be obsessive in my pursuit of mastering it. I don't know that I have ever been the best at something but many times, once I put my mind to it, I have become extremely good at it very very very quickly.

Sadly, thus far most of those things have been money burners, not money makers. If I catch a 'glint' off the right object one of these days, look out.

 

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[Jill]

Hmmm.

I've never been beat in a hands-free cherry-stem knot-tying race. (Personal best: 5 seconds)

I don't know how peculiar it is, but I can sing karaoke almost well enough to avoid embarrassment, after 3 or 4 glass of wine!

This is pretty humbling, to admit that after all these years, I really don't have any skills!! But If I can think of anything else, I'll come back and edit!

 

[Runum]

nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.:smx9:

 

[AroundTheWorld]

This is pretty humbling, to admit that after all these years, I really don't have any skills!!

Yea... umm... atleast you have the cherry stem thing. I'm drawing a blank.
Unless you count that fact that I can't make jello. I've tried on numerous occasions. Even had my mother and grandmother watch over my shoulder to be sure I was doing it right. They said I did... but still... it wouldn't set. Maybe I just have some weird magnetic anti-jello thing going on.

But then again - that isn't a skill. It is more of an anti-skill.

 

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[GoldenEggs]

ATW, maybe you have a skill at getting the defective jello boxes!!!

 

[Bilgefisher]

I can landscape any yard and enjoy doing so.
I use to be able to record morse code at 18 words a minute (faster when keying code)and held a general class operator ham radio license at age 13.
I can program in Fortran 90.
I can tie a bowline rescue knot in under 2 seconds one handed.
I can sing well over 15 cartoon theme songs. (off key of course)

 

[wildambitions]

Hmmm.

hands-free cherry-stem knot-tying

ROFLOL, I have this skill too!!!

I really good night vision, never need a flashlight to get around but I have no idea how this could be marketable and hope that it is not in preparation for me being blind some day.

I tend to be really good at most anything I do, but not great at ANYTHING. It is actually quite frustrating and tends to make me feel like I don't have any skills.

 

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[Icy]

Skills, eh? I really only have like two skills worth mentioning:

Computers: Been "playing" with them since I was 2 (or so my parents say!) and I'd like to think I've become fairly good with them. Was making websites at 7 or 8, learned quite a few programming languages for applications, and other things...

Soccer: This is the one I am most proud of. I started playing 3 years ago and if it wasn't for an injury this year I would have been trying out for the highest league in the US without going pro (there's always next year..). Granted, it's all through hard work and sacrificing going to parties with friends\late nights. Really though, it'll be worth it if I can work my way to the professional leagues (even if I don't become rich from it). It's the only thing I want more than to create a successful business right now.

 

[Bobo]

Jill has mad skills.

 

[rcardin]

Extreme focus combined with (hindered by?) shiny object syndrome....

When I get focused on something I tend to be obsessive in my pursuit of mastering it. I don't know that I have ever been the best at something but many times, once I put my mind to it, I have become extremely good at it very very very quickly.

I have the same skills. If I need to learn and master something I can usually do it within a few weeks. Except of course my guitar skills. Been playing for 27 years and still can't play a full song by memory. Never needed the skill but enjoy playing.

 

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[yveskleinsky]

I can landscape any yard and enjoy doing so.
I use to be able to record morse code at 18 words a minute (faster when keying code)and held a general class operator ham radio license at age 13.
I can program in Fortran 90.
I can tie a bowline rescue knot in under 2 seconds one handed.
I can sing well over 15 cartoon theme songs. (off key of course)

Bilge,

You have the best laugh I may have ever heard. I don't know how you could monetize that, but I think it should fall loosely under the "skill" category.

 

[yveskleinsky]

Umm...skills. Hmm. Well, I read really, really fast, and I also take really thorough notes when I read. ...And then I often type them out so I can reference them later. Kinda "Monkish" that way. I suppose I could possibly make a point to read all the "it" business books of the year and then write a synapsis of each and then sell that synapsis to people who are too busy or don't like to read, but like to be well-read. ...I would have to think that a service like that already exists though.

Umm...I can stand on my head. I suppose if I added more skills to this area that perhaps I could work with Cirque du Soleil...if they were super hard up for performers. ...Perhaps. lol

That's about it. ...I should work on gettin' some real skillz. Hmm.

 

[GreenHouses]

I'm good at coming up with puns... perhaps I could be the guy who makes up article headings for a newspaper.

Sometimes there's a bit of a groan goes around the room, other times the clock ticks for about five seconds then there's a burst of laughter... anyway I have fun with it and if anyone else laughs its a bonus!

 

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[Jill]

Sorry Jill, but those two sentences are a complete contradiction!!!

I thot of a few more (since this skill void has been haunting my sleep!)

I'm quite proficient with Photodraw, especially with photo editing (too bad the software is now defunct!)

I have (what most consider) a good eye for menswear wrt to coordination and guessing a man's size just by looking at him.

I tend to have the ability to see value in ideas where others don't. E.g. I can turn a trip to a thrift store into a 6-figure/yr business, or frozen waffles into $8000. (B&P attendees know what I'm talkin about!)

 

[Jill]

The following is one of my favorite funnies... and fits right in with the theme of this thread, even tho the author is not a member here. Some of the unique skills mentioned by other posters made me think of it.

~~~~~

This is (supposedly) an actual essay written by a college applicant to NYU.



I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.


Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.


I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.


Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries.



When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.


I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400.


My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.


I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket.



I have performed several covert operations with the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.


I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.


I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin.


I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.


But I have not yet gone to college.

 

[yveskleinsky]

I have (what most consider) a good eye for menswear wrt to coordination and guessing a man's size just by looking at him.

...And Bobo is okay with this? Seems like that would be kinda awkward when you have to ask the guy if you are right.

 

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[kurtyordy]

ok, mine are completely unmarketable-

1. cherry stem thing- though I have not done it for years, so I may have slowed down.

2. puking- yes, I said puking. Give me about 15 minutes, and I can puke without using a finger or any other stimulant, entirely mental. I have only done this about 5 times in my life, so it is not an eating disorder, just a rare underappreciated talent.

3. I can cause a vien in my hand to 'dance' to music like a worm

4. I am very good at placing a stack of quarters on my extended elbow, flipping my arm and catching them all (great to amuse kids btw)

5. I have the uncanny ability of always being right (just do not verify this with my wife)

So, yes I am a bit odd, but nothing marketable.

 

[kurtyordy]

I have (what most consider) a good eye for menswear wrt to coordination and guessing a man's size just by looking at him.

QUOTE]

...And Bobo is okay with this? Seems like that would be kinda awkward when you have to ask the guy if you are right.

lol, too funny.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

I'm drawing a blank.

I've got one now...

I'm really good at balancing on my left foot.

 

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[Runum]

I've got one now...

I'm really good at balancing on my left foot.

Peg leg.

 

[mtnman]

I literally grew up in my step-fathers pool-hall hustling pool

You've got the 7 :groove: lol

 

[Sid23]

1) I used to be an improv actor at some of the best clubs in Chicago

2) I can remember faces better than anyone I've ever met. I saw a woman walking down the street a while back in San Francisco and recognized her as this kid from my first grade class's little sister. I haven't seen him in 25 years and only met her once, when I was 6 years old and she was 4. I recall people like this on a regular basis.

3) I have better than 20/15 vision.

 

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[Scout]

1) I can throw a mean Yo-Yo

2) My eyes are perfectly symmetrical to my each other with relation to my face and nose (according to the eye glass lady this is freaky and very rare) I don’t know what this is good for

3) I can whistle 6 different ways

4) I can hold my breath for over a minute and a half (1min 56sec is my personal best) world record is 17min and 4sec by David Blaine, so it’s not very impressive

5) I can misspell almost any word in the English language (A and I, I always seem to get correct)

6) Have the uncanny ability to tinker together just about anything in a pinch with crap thats laying around (MacGyver like skills)

 

[AroundTheWorld]

2) I can remember faces better than anyone I've ever met. I saw a woman walking down the street a while back in San Francisco and recognized her as this kid from my first grade class's little sister. I haven't seen him in 25 years and only met her once, when I was 6 years old and she was 4. I recall people like this on a regular basis.

That is impressive!!!