Useless skills we are secretly proud of

I discovered in my late 40s having never touched clay before that I could sculpt...in fact I was told that I was a talented sculptor. The original poster has now made me think about writing...Will look on Amazon for calligraphy tools

I can hold a pen in my toes and write. Quite useless unless I’m unfortunate enough to lose the use of my hands.

I can say the Alphabet backwards. Had to learn it at school in grade 6 for talking in class. I still remember it.

I grew up in South Africa where I learnt Afrikaans and was best in my class at the language and beat another girl who actually was Afrikaans. Now I live in England Afrikaans is no longer required. My brother sends me messages in Afrikaans to see if I can still translate them. Of course I can. Its only been 60 years since I lived in South Africa.

Very useful if you go and visit Holland though- have you tried.

My MIL grew up in Afrikaans but used it very rarely after her move to UK in the late 40s. When she developped Alzheimer's, she reverted back to Afrikaans, before she lost speech altogether.

Obviously lots of us were sent shopping in the co-op. I can remember our number - 611434 - from over seventy years ago. Why?

I have a skill I didn't discover till late in life.I am great with computers, and help lots of friends(many much younger) to sort out their internet problems/ computer faults . I never grew up with a computer as I was born in 1951. I didn't see one till the 1990s until I was sent on a course by work to learn computer skills and troubleshooting computer problems, both hardware and software. I even taught myself to hack, although I have never used this knowledge I hasten to add!

JennyNotFromTheBlock

How I admire you! How I would love to have good handwriting. Also, much as I love Latin, I have forgotten so much now. But what I remember comes in very useful.

My eldest was deciding which A levels to study. She chose Latin "because it will not be on the curriculum much longer". Sure enough, the year after she left, it disappeared.

My secret skill I hope won't sound like boasting is that I am patient. I will do something for as long as it takes, quite unaware of time. I do research like this, not even stopping to eat until I feel a bit funny and realise I need to.

I thought everyone was the same when I was little until my Uncle called by one day. He's my Dad's younger brother. I was very young, maybe not started school yet. Dad had given me a big pot of dried broad beans to sort the best ones for sowing next year. I had to put them into either the 'chosen' bowl or the 'not chosen' bowl. There were very many. Uncle H asked what I was doing and when told he laughed and said "She'll never stick at that!" My Dad, a quiet man, said simply, "Yes, she will. B always finishes what she starts, she has enormous patience."

I was just amazed to learn that some people didn't finish jobs!

GrannySomerset. We don't know exactly why early memories are so well fixed in our mind but probably it is because we have thought of them from time to time over the years, thus practising them.
I remember my first NHS number! I can't give it here as I use it in some things... but the numbers have been changed now.

I can play the spoons and the washboard

Oh you have all reminded me, on the 'digit-span test' which tests how many numbers a person can say back correctly, the average being between 5 and 7, I can remember 12, the highest it goes to and I can say them backwards. I also remember all the objects in Kim's game. In fact I don't join in now in one Group's Christmas Party as I feel embarrassed.

Frankie51. Wow that's wonderful! Good for you!

I'm another that still uses shorthand daily after learning 54 years ago. My twin sister and I can still read each others perfectly. It's been so useful for hospital appointments with my parents as I can report verbatim to the rest of the family what's been said.

I can blow bubbles with bubblegum and taught my son to do the same. I also taught him sarcasm, which I'm not so proud of. Also I am good at spelling and would have made a good proofreader, I think.

I can walk up and down stairs, perform a perfect courtesy with a book balanced on my head. HM The Queen has never seen this performance- so it was a useless lesson from deportment classes nearly 60 years ago!

My useless skill is lots of trivia knowledge ie "Jill of all things, mistress of none" I wish it was enough to try for a job on 'The Chase'!

Wiggle my eyebrows independently and twitch my nose. I can say the alphabet backwards which impressed my DGD so much she went away and practised. Do cryptic crosswords. Oh and do a piercing whistle by putting two fingers in my mouth and blowing.

Whitewavemark2
Made me snort/laugh. You get my award for funniest post of the day.

I can remember our first phone number, from when I was 5 years old, and that of one of our neighbours too.
I also remember my mum's co-op number and three of my friends' mums' numbers too (needless to say we used to go shopping for our mums together ).
I can sing the alphabet backwards.
I can say a French tongue twister with ease, and I can sing Ring a ring a rosies in German.

I can remember the registration of the first car I owned but not a single one since.
My father taught me to change a wheel when I first learnt to drive but what he didn't supply was the strength to get the nuts off in order to do it!
Also remember lots learnt in Domestic Science which I have never used eg making custard from scratch, the correct order to do the washing -up, making beds with hospital corners etc. etc.
Darning, knitting and embroidery are still very useful though.

Like many of you here, I am full of useless bits of information and am good at quizzes, especially questions about kings and queens. I could always spell as a child, never had to practice my spellings. When younger my shorthand and typing were faster than anyone else I knew. I also read fast.
My mother taught me the one about carrying a colour in your mind's eye so that you can buy cotton to match the material you have for dressmaking. I think more women than men can do this.
It's nice to be able to show off sometimes!

Amazing skills but, most are useful.

I used to able to whistle a lot but, not via a curled tongue. My grandfather said,
“A whistling woman, a crowing hen,
brings the devil from his den.”

My mother said she always knew where I was because she could hear me whistling.

My dad taught me to change a wheel which came in very useful on the unmetalled roads of East Africa and - just once - in the depths of the fens when there was no-one else around. I am a good knitter and from my teens onward, no baby was born in our family without a garment from me; I did lots of Aran knitting for myself and family, though of late arthritic joints have made that difficult. I am a very good speller and have a good memory for trivia which has served me well in quizzes though nowadays, questions on popular culture trip me up. I used to be able to remember the names and dates of all the Roman Emperors!

I can avoid responding to a thread about washing my dusters and tea cloths!

aquagran

I can avoid responding to a thread about washing my dusters and tea cloths!

Now that’s a skill!!