Well I Feel Stupid

[Boris Diamond]

Boris Diamond Why did the remote work when pressed up against the chin? I must be having a blond moment because -- does not compute.

My supposition has always been that when you activate it while pressed against your chin, it uses your skull as an antenna, increasing the remote's range. That was one of the only times I tried it, as, well, I don't want to use my skull as an antenna!

 

[Willowy]

Why did the remote work when pressed up against the chin?

Supposedly it uses your head to reflect off of, or your fluids are conductive, or some such.
Tech Myth: Holding the Car Remote to Your Head Increases Its Range

But I've held the remote over my head and had it work when it didn't work when I held it lower so personally I think it works because the remote is held higher than usual.

 

[rgwanner]

A few years ago I got my first car with a remote. One day the car would not start. The display kept saying "key not found." After about 30 minutes on the phone with Kia I found out that the battery in the key fob was probably dead. It never occurred to me that the key fob had a battery. Luckily I was parked next to a drug store that had the battery.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I have had my car for over a year now and I literally learned ten minutes ago that it has remote start. I live in Minnesota where 5 months of the year it is freezing, so remote start is almost a necessity. I've never had a car that had remote start, so I didn't know what the little arrowed circle on my key fob meant until I looked it up tonight and then tested it from my kitchen window. I feel like an idiot for only now realizing it.

Anyone else have a moment where you feel really stupid for something you probably should have known?

I knew when I read this thread title, I'd be right at home.

"Where are my reading glasses?!!??!" (On your head, stupid.) "I've looked everywhere!" (Apparently not in a mirror.)

(When I was a bad kid, smoking cigarettes in the bathroom) "Oh, ****!! I just flushed a LIT cigarette butt!!! Will it catch the pipes on fire??" (Probably not, since the tank and pipes are FILLED WITH WATER...)

"This (10 bad-word combo pack) truck won't DRIVE." (floors it, moves 2 inches, I turn an interesting shade of purple) "MOVE!!!!!"(honks, like this will somehow accomplish something.) (Your emergency brake is on!)
Ifeltlikeanidiot

Then there was the time I thought using a weed eater barefoot would be a good idea.

Also, have you noticed that whenever someone says "don't touch the wall, the paint is still wet" you HAVE to touch it?
Some people (me) never learn.

 

[Kat0121]

I knew when I read this thread title, I'd be right at home.

"Where are my reading glasses?!!??!" (On your head, stupid.) "I've looked everywhere!" (Apparently not in a mirror.)

(When I was a bad kid, smoking cigarettes in the bathroom) "Oh, ****!! I just flushed a LIT cigarette butt!!! Will it catch the pipes on fire??" (Probably not, since the tank and pipes are FILLED WITH WATER...)

"This (10 bad-word combo pack) truck won't DRIVE." (floors it, moves 2 inches, I turn an interesting shade of purple) "MOVE!!!!!"(honks, like this will somehow accomplish something.) (Your emergency brake is on!)
Ifeltlikeanidiot

Then there was the time I thought using a weed eater barefoot would be a good idea.

Also, have you noticed that whenever someone says "don't touch the wall, the paint is still wet" you HAVE to touch it?
Some people (me) never learn.

I used a weed eater while wearing a pair of sandals. It didn't work out well for me either. I had to hobble back into the house and rinse the dirt from my injured big toe in the bathtub.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I used a weed eater while wearing a pair of sandals. It didn't work out well for me either. I had to hobble back into the house and rinse the dirt from my injured big toe in the bathtub.

I had a similar instance of hobbling and rinsing injured parts with hedge clippers. And lawnmowers. And power saws (that was bad.) And an electric screwdriver that bested me.
For every success, I remember the failed moments and either go red or laugh about it. We live and learn.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

Anyone else have a moment where you feel really stupid for something you probably should have known?

~ Yes ... often on a regular basis

 

[debbila]

The first time I used the emergency brake in my car, I felt so stupid when I couldn't get the automatic shifter pulled down to 'Drive'. I must have looked for five minutes for the brake release.
Then there were the times, without looking at it, I put it in neutral instead of drive and couldn't figure out why the car wouldn't start moving.

 

[debbila]

It happened today! I was at the specialist's office and he told me to put my hands up like I'm trying to stop traffic. I stood there with my hands up for a good two minutes and he had to tell me, " The traffic has stopped! " I bet he had a good laugh telling his friends about that one!

 

[bear]

Well....
It was 1975. I had recently served 38 months in the military. While there you learn to do as the medical staff say. They have big needles, some for hydrocortisone are like knitting needles. If you don't do as instructed, they can move the needle around.

A requirement of the civilian job was to pass a physical, within a month. For some reason the young lady nurse needed to give me a shot. She turned her back to load up the needle. She instructed that I was to "Lower your drawers." I complied.

She turned around and said "Oh My!" Her surprised expression made it clear I had misunderstood, so I grabbed the Fruit of the Looms and the trousers and lifted them back up. I apologized and explained the military training to always follow the corpsman's instructions to help them do their job. "Lower your drawers", meant "to the floor".

At least she didn't move the needle around when giving me the shot.