strangers doing silly things together
May 18, 2023 6:25 AM Subscribe
I think the best most human thing in the world is strangers doing a silly thing together A short Tumblr post by calamitys-child lists a few examples, such as "very tiny girl at the pharmacy interviewing everyone in the queue and every single one of us in turn sat down and answered this toddler's questions like we were on Letterman".
I was reminded of the online version of this when everyone dropped whatever they were doing yesterday morning to joke about the big boat that got stuck.
posted by rajbot at 7:37 AM on May 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by rajbot at 7:37 AM on May 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
I can't be the only one that wants to hear the song about breakfast food-inspired cat names.
posted by nkknkk at 8:07 AM on May 18, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by nkknkk at 8:07 AM on May 18, 2023 [10 favorites]
I can't be the only one who wants to know what the toddler was asking! What a tease this post was.
I recently took my kid out to fancy dinner for her birthday and the waiter pulled out all the stops to make it an extremely silly experience, got the kitchen in on it, etc. I'll be eternally grateful because I know she'll NEVER forget her tenth birthday dinner.
posted by potrzebie at 8:12 AM on May 18, 2023 [18 favorites]
I recently took my kid out to fancy dinner for her birthday and the waiter pulled out all the stops to make it an extremely silly experience, got the kitchen in on it, etc. I'll be eternally grateful because I know she'll NEVER forget her tenth birthday dinner.
posted by potrzebie at 8:12 AM on May 18, 2023 [18 favorites]
The tiny girl interview reminds me of when my youngest was a toddler and the movie Frozen came out. She fell in love with it and would walk up to anyone (the grocery clerk, a group of senior citizens dining near us, anyone) and ask if they knew the movie and if they wanted to hear the song. It's how she ended up behind the counter of the local taco shop one night belting Let It Go at the top of her lungs. God love the kind, utterly bemused cashier for letting my daughter have her moment.
I know, now it's stuck in my head too. Sorry about that.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 9:41 AM on May 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
I know, now it's stuck in my head too. Sorry about that.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 9:41 AM on May 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
I can't be the only one that wants to hear the song about breakfast food-inspired cat names.
Just a couple of days ago, I was playing a phone game with some guildmates (a gacha with team-based multiplayer). We were losing badly and goofing off, as we tend to do when we lose badly. Somehow pancakes worked their way into the conversation, and I mentioned that "Pancakes" would be a good guild name. It would be a wonderful cat name as well!
posted by May Kasahara at 11:09 AM on May 18, 2023
Just a couple of days ago, I was playing a phone game with some guildmates (a gacha with team-based multiplayer). We were losing badly and goofing off, as we tend to do when we lose badly. Somehow pancakes worked their way into the conversation, and I mentioned that "Pancakes" would be a good guild name. It would be a wonderful cat name as well!
posted by May Kasahara at 11:09 AM on May 18, 2023
Not sure if the best breakfast-food cat name would be Eggo or Full Irish.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:23 AM on May 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:23 AM on May 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
my sister & I were waiting in a drive-thru once & a particularly high-charisma kid inside the restaurant got her attention & initiated a game of rock-paper-scissors, which she as a high-charisma former schoolteacher somehow managed to escalate into a World Championship of Drive-Thru Rock-Paper-Scissors, still one of the most delightful things I've ever witnessed
much lower-key, not even really an example, but I regularly think about my last shopping trip out before lockdown in March 2020, when a banana I'd been intending to buy fell out of the top of the shopping cart & I immediately accidentally ran it over with the wheel
looked down at the squished banana & on instinct said "banana :(" in a sad voice
someone standing a few feet away heard me say that, looked down, & also said "banana :(" in a sad voice
we did not speak more words to each other or even make eye contact but I think of them often and hope they are doing okay
posted by taquito sunrise at 11:56 AM on May 18, 2023 [34 favorites]
much lower-key, not even really an example, but I regularly think about my last shopping trip out before lockdown in March 2020, when a banana I'd been intending to buy fell out of the top of the shopping cart & I immediately accidentally ran it over with the wheel
looked down at the squished banana & on instinct said "banana :(" in a sad voice
someone standing a few feet away heard me say that, looked down, & also said "banana :(" in a sad voice
we did not speak more words to each other or even make eye contact but I think of them often and hope they are doing okay
posted by taquito sunrise at 11:56 AM on May 18, 2023 [34 favorites]
Part of the appeal might just be that people know that they can make a really outsized positive impact on another person just by being kind with children more than just about anyone else.
I love going places and doing things with my 5 year old because he's super sweet and caring with everyone he meets and will strike up conversations with people. As long as I can see that the stranger is enjoying the interaction I love to just let them go and see what happens. I enjoy it, The Boy, loves it, and the strangers love it too. I love imaging them going home and telling their spouse or roommate or whoever, "I just ran into this goofy kid at the store and he was delightful!..." Or just remembering the moment and smiling to themselves.
Adding more kids to the mix just makes it more fun!
So please take your kids out into the world more often, for me. Or drop them off at my house for a few hours.
posted by VTX at 12:13 PM on May 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
I love going places and doing things with my 5 year old because he's super sweet and caring with everyone he meets and will strike up conversations with people. As long as I can see that the stranger is enjoying the interaction I love to just let them go and see what happens. I enjoy it, The Boy, loves it, and the strangers love it too. I love imaging them going home and telling their spouse or roommate or whoever, "I just ran into this goofy kid at the store and he was delightful!..." Or just remembering the moment and smiling to themselves.
Adding more kids to the mix just makes it more fun!
So please take your kids out into the world more often, for me. Or drop them off at my house for a few hours.
posted by VTX at 12:13 PM on May 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
One night shortly after Doris Day died, I was at a well-attended paint-and-sip — maybe even sold out.
They had a VERY eclectic playlist going, but when this classic came up, somehow we all just collectively agreed that it was time for a group sing-along.
I’m sure the “and sip” had something to do with it.
posted by armeowda at 9:09 PM on May 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
They had a VERY eclectic playlist going, but when this classic came up, somehow we all just collectively agreed that it was time for a group sing-along.
I’m sure the “and sip” had something to do with it.
posted by armeowda at 9:09 PM on May 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
"banana :(" I'm DYING
One time in a bookstore in SF "Stand By Me" came on the radio and we all did a sing along. That was nice!
posted by creatrixtiara at 11:17 PM on May 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
One time in a bookstore in SF "Stand By Me" came on the radio and we all did a sing along. That was nice!
posted by creatrixtiara at 11:17 PM on May 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
A million years ago, I was in college and having dinner with a bunch of friends at a nice pizza place. And at the next table was a bunch of adults with one very bored but very well-behaved eight or nine-year old, who was just languishing sadly while the adults had fun.
I was telling some story that required me to bark like a dog, which I did remarkably convincingly — the trick is to inhale rather than exhaling as you bark, and you get a very deep, canine sounding sound. And the kid lit up: he was so bored, but at least there was someone in this restaurant making animal noises. He grinned at me, I grinned back, and went back to my conversation.
About ten minutes later, they finally finished up and left, and as the kid walked by our table, he gave me a quiet little “woof.” I have been fond of that kid for about thirty years now, on the sole basis of that interaction. I wonder if he still remembers it.
posted by LizardBreath at 9:38 AM on May 19, 2023 [12 favorites]
I was telling some story that required me to bark like a dog, which I did remarkably convincingly — the trick is to inhale rather than exhaling as you bark, and you get a very deep, canine sounding sound. And the kid lit up: he was so bored, but at least there was someone in this restaurant making animal noises. He grinned at me, I grinned back, and went back to my conversation.
About ten minutes later, they finally finished up and left, and as the kid walked by our table, he gave me a quiet little “woof.” I have been fond of that kid for about thirty years now, on the sole basis of that interaction. I wonder if he still remembers it.
posted by LizardBreath at 9:38 AM on May 19, 2023 [12 favorites]
I love this and wish this thread were longer!
One time I was in my friend’s convertible in the heat of summer stuck in Lincoln Tunnel stopped-dead traffic leaving New York City on the way to NJ, and we were blasting a playlist and Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road came on — we turned it up and started singing… and since everyone else’s windows were down and most of us were from NJ, EVERYONE started singing at the top of their lungs. It was glorious.
posted by knownassociate at 8:26 PM on May 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
One time I was in my friend’s convertible in the heat of summer stuck in Lincoln Tunnel stopped-dead traffic leaving New York City on the way to NJ, and we were blasting a playlist and Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road came on — we turned it up and started singing… and since everyone else’s windows were down and most of us were from NJ, EVERYONE started singing at the top of their lungs. It was glorious.
posted by knownassociate at 8:26 PM on May 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
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posted by Literaryhero at 6:38 AM on May 18, 2023 [11 favorites]