Things We Do Which Seem Weird But Have A Reason

Today is Friday the 13th, and it’s a big day for superstitious people. When I was a kid, I had a book called Superstitious? Here’s Why! It was a fun account of a number of popular superstitions and an attempt to explain where they came from.

For instance, I seem to recall the book saying that not walking under a ladder was related to the way ladders were used in primitive gallows, and people feared bad luck by association. Covering your mouth when you yawn was supposed to stop the devil from flying in.

But some odd habits actually have good explanations. Cashiers will religiously sort bills going into a register not only by denomination but to make sure they’re all face up and with the head pointing in one direction. Perfect consistency means counting out change goes faster and minimizes the chances of handing out the wrong bill.

Van Halen famously had a requirement that they get a bowl of M&Ms without any brown ones in their room backstage. Not because they thought they tasted any different. But because their stage shows were dangerous — all kinds of high voltage cables, pyrotechnics, and huge speakers heavy enough to crush a man if they fell.

They would give the local arena manager a highly detailed checklist designed for the safety of the band, and in that checklist they added an innocuous-sounding request for the M&Ms. If the bowl of candy was loaded with brown M&Ms, they knew they were dealing with people who didn’t pay attention to details, and they would insist on every detail of the stage setup be double and triple checked. But if the bowl was free of browns, or if they got a call asking whether they really needed every brown one removed, they breathed easy because they knew people were paying attention.

So what about you, Deadsplinterorganizers? Do you do things which might appear as random compulsions, but actually have good reasons?

For example, are you somone who insists on keeping knives sharp and protecting their edges, because you know that it’s much safer that way? Maybe you always walk your dog on a specific route because you know their pooping habits and it makes cleanup easier when they use a specific spot, even though a casual observer wouldn’t make any sense of your path?

Do you have a specific way of organizing the shirts in your closet to save you a few minutes in the morning? Or maybe you always keep your coffee, filter and measuring spoon in very specific places because you have learned when you make it in the morning you’re too bleary eyed to find them unless you put them in a very specific location?

What are some things you do that might mystify an observer, but make perfect sense to you?