Do you have any skills or expertise that would amaze others?

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The discussion revolves around various personal skills and talents, with participants sharing their unique abilities and experiences. Many contributors highlight their juggling skills, with several claiming proficiency in juggling three or more balls, while others express surprise at their own or others' abilities to juggle or balance objects. The conversation also touches on musical talents, including playing instruments like guitar and piano, with some individuals noting their capacity to perform well in various musical styles. Additionally, there are mentions of impressive memory skills, such as memorizing numbers and facts, and other quirky talents like whistling in harmony or balancing sticks. The tone is light-hearted, with humor interspersed throughout, as participants engage in playful banter about their abilities and the reactions they elicit from others. Overall, the thread showcases a diverse range of skills, from the mundane to the extraordinary, emphasizing the joy of sharing personal achievements.
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I do not. I'm bilingual, but one of them is Americanese so it doesn't stand out much, I can perform 4 digit calculation in my head within 30 seconds but my niece is catching up fast and she's only 3rd grade. I have good long term memory, but have to prove that in at least ten years.
 
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Yup.
 
Danger said:
Yup.

What, brevity?
 
I can juggle 3 balls. I've been able to do that since I was 7 years old. I'm now 28 and can still only juggle 3 balls. Never made it to 4. But people are still impressed by that. Seems to me everyone should at least have the dexterity to juggle 3 balls. It's not hard.

I can also balance things really well. Like sticks. I can balance them on my chin and my foot. That's not hard either. I'm usually surprised at how bad people are at that.
 
leroyjenkens said:
I can juggle 3 balls. I've been able to do that since I was 7 years old. I'm now 28 and can still only juggle 3 balls. Never made it to 4. But people are still impressed by that. Seems to me everyone should at least have the dexterity to juggle 3 balls. It's not hard.

I can also balance things really well. Like sticks. I can balance them on my chin and my foot. That's not hard either. I'm usually surprised at how bad people are at that.

Can you balance a stick and juggle at the same time?
 
lisab said:
Can you balance a stick and juggle at the same time?

I can manage a stick and 2 balls at once. Most men can. :-p
 
I can multitask, like walking, chewing gum and listening to music at the same time. Does that count? But it served me well for my career as fighter pilot.

Also, at age 12, some century ago, I would challenge anybody for quizzes about recognising aquarium fish (latin names). Currently that would be about facts pertaining the last glacial transition between 25K and 10K years ago
 
I don't know if "amaze" is an apt word, but I can play guitar and sing well enough to make a living at it, though that was cut short by my inability to tolerate perfumes, colognes, and fragrances in fabric products. Too bad, because I could pull in over $30/hr for hosting open mic jams at taverns. Some less-experienced guitarists were "amazed" at my ability to play a song in any key that they specified. That was simple: just learn barre chords and learn to build leads out of runs associated with those chords. Guitar is a wonderfully transposable instrument, if you have the skills. When someone wanted to sing and had problems with the chosen key, out would come the capos. I never used one.
 
lisab said:
Can you balance a stick and juggle at the same time?

Nope. And I can't juggle sticks. The flipping of them throws me off. I can balance balls, but it's hard. I can spin a basketball on my finger too.
So yeah, I can do a bunch of useless stuff.
I'm also apparently really knowledgeable about 90's movies. My friends bought a movie trivia game and there are about 100 or so questions for each decade and I got nearly every single 90's question right. For some reason movies and actors are something I remember well.
 
  • #10
Doesn't amaze my musical friends (or my kids), but some people are amazed that I can play several piano concertos pretty well (especially Rachmaninov 2 and Grieg) and also several violin concertos (especially Bruch no.1 and Tchaikovsky).

I can also juggle 3 balls or random objects of the right sort of weight, but not without occasionally dropping one!

Less seriously, I can whistle and hum at the same time in three-part harmony. (The second humming part sounds very similar to the first, but is actually a beat frequency selected by choosing the appropriate interval between the humming and whistling).

Even less seriously, I can whistle and hum two different tunes at the same time if I know them both well enough. (The examples I usually use here are the British National Anthem and Rule Britannia, but I also do requests). You do NOT want to hear that.
 
  • #11
I can clap with one hand, and I can tell the difference between Coca-Cola from a 330 ml can and a 500 ml bottle just by smell. Don't think anyone is amazed by it though. :smile: I can juggle 3 balls too, but for some reason, a lot of people can do that here in Sweden.
 
  • #12
I can multiply 13 digit numbers in my head. 2 trillion times 3 trillion is 6 septillion.
 
  • #13
I have a few hidden talents. Not sure if they really AMAZE others but eh, acquaintances are usually surprised when they find any of these out:

I can juggle 3, 4, 5 balls, that's kinda impressive I guess, I learned that in high school.

I can crochet, knit, macrame, weave, and whittle. (awe usually follows after I tell people I made the birthday/christmas/whatever gift I just gave them)

My last hidden talent is that I still have a 100+ mph serve in tennis even though I have only played 2-3 times a year since the high school state championships.

Although this isn't really "hidden" since I have a masters in classical trumpet performance, most of my science/academic colleagues don't realize my income is from being a professional musician, which usually amazes them ... the reverse is also true, where my musician friends often find it interesting that I'm going back to school for an MD/PhD.
 
  • #14
no. that would be, no.
 
  • #15
I have an amazing social obtuseness. Can be counted on to say "just the wrong thing".

But i used to be able to taste a Busch beer and name which brewery it came from.
 
  • #16
mathwonk said:
no. that would be, no.

I know a must-meet-minimum-character-requirement post when I see one - is that amazing?
 
  • #17
I can pour water into the coffee maker with highest rate of flow possible... are you ready? ... without spilling any.
 
  • #18
I can pick my nose while showering. :approve:
 
  • #19
arildno said:
I can pick my nose while showering. :approve:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.
 
  • #20
turbo said:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.

Can you keep from singing as well?
 
  • #21
arildno said:
Can you keep from singing as well?
If I can still hum.
 
  • #22
turbo said:
If I can still hum.
I'm glad I live far away from you. :smile:
 
  • #23
I can improvise on my guitar (it's like building some mathematical sequences for me really), but I rarely if ever play outside my room.

Sometimes I can even make some hoops from beyond the arc, it always seem to amaze the youngsters playing there (little toddlers), but I am not consistent with my shooting.
Can't dunk though... :-(
 
  • #24
I can make certain things disppear, e.g. a family-size bag of Cheetos.
 
  • #25
I am from Turkey and an expert of Turkish or Ottoman traditional music.
I can sing Turkish or Ottoman traditional songs at professional level.
I can play most of the Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical instruments at professional level.
I still work hard on music. I am 48 but my plan is to become the best musician of Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical history.
I think I am very close to that target.
 
  • #26
neyzenyelda said:
I am from Turkey and an expert of Turkish or Ottoman traditional music.
I can sing Turkish or Ottoman traditional songs at professional level.
I can play most of the Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical instruments at professional level.
I still work hard on music. I am 48 but my plan is to become the best musician of Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical history.
I think I am very close to that target.
Shame on you! That actually AMAZES me, in contrast to everything else given in this thread.
:smile:
 
  • #27
neyzenyelda said:
I am from Turkey and an expert of Turkish or Ottoman traditional music.
I can sing Turkish or Ottoman traditional songs at professional level.
I can play most of the Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical instruments at professional level.
I still work hard on music. I am 48 but my plan is to become the best musician of Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical history.
I think I am very close to that target.

That IS impressive. :approve:

I can eat turkey.
 
  • #28
turbo said:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.

Alternately, I can write my name in the snow.
 
  • #29
Ivan Seeking said:
Alternately, I can write my name in the snow.
I'm glad that I don't have a long name...
 
  • #30
turbo said:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.

I can't. It's automatic at this point. If I have to pee and I know I'm going to take a shower soon, I'll just hold it until I get in the tub and let loose. Why waste a flush?
 

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