20 Basic Things That They Should Have Taught Us in School

We study a lot of useful things at school, like literature, math, and even astronomy. Unfortunately, they don’t teach us things that can become really useful in everyday life. But it would have been nice, if we could’ve learned how to communicate with people or how to manage our finances when we were still teenagers.

• Wait for people to get off the elevator when it arrives at your floor, instead of cramming yourself in when the doors open, blocking their departure. © DVWait / Reddit
• How to talk to people. Stuff like basic phone etiquette (greeting, ending a conversation, etc.) © crazydart78 / Reddit
• Turn signal. Turn lane. Turn. © Mammoth-Condition-34 / Reddit
• ’No’ means no. © RipAny9052 / Reddit
• Financial literacy, it’s so so important, but a lot of people just don’t know a thing about it. © JackFourj4 / Reddit

• Ponies are small horses, not baby horses. © TheMightyGoatMan / Reddit
• Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it is automatically healthy. Just because it is artificial or synthetic doesn’t mean it is automatically bad for you. © halosos / Reddit
• Basic grammar. © UniqueBreakfast9198 / Reddit
• There is an arrow on the fuel gauge of cars that tells you which side of the car the gas cap is on. © FBomb2F / Reddit
• First aid © rabidpuppy007 / Reddit

• Pretty much every machine requires maintenance. Think dishwashers, washing machines, cars, mowers, etc. They aren’t magic boxes. And they will last longer if you know how to maintain them. My mother-in-law is in her eighties and, until recently, didn’t know that the dishwasher needs its filters cleaned every so often. © WhatAGoodDoggy / Reddit
• It’s very easy to not block the whole aisle with your cart at the grocery store. © atistang / Reddit
• Also, a grocery store is not the place to host your family reunion. © Ethereal_PandaPaws / Reddit
• A guest requested their chicken to be cooked medium rare this week. I don’t understand why I have to stress that chicken only leaves the kitchen when it’s completely cooked. © Gorr-of-Oneiri- / Reddit
• Mixing bleach and Pine-Sol creates toxic fumes that can actually kill you if they build up too much in a room. A scary number of people actually do this though in their laundry or when cleaning their homes. © AnnoyedDuckling / Reddit

• Know where their water shutoff is in their house. © Bustergolden / Reddit
• Unsolicited advice is generally going to be taken as criticism. Criticizing the people in your personal life creates distance. Instead, first ask yourself if your advice is even needed. Does this affect you? Is this an emergency? Is anyone going to be harmed if you don’t put your oar in? Are you being asked for advice? Or is this person just sharing information about their day and building their relationship with you?
  And if you do need to weigh in, try leading with, “May I make a suggestion?” Otherwise, you’re going to rile the other person up. And on the flip side, if you have a know-it-all in your life, it’s best to simply pause them with a calm and polite, “Thanks, but I didn’t ask.” © rotatingruhnama / Reddit
• How to swim. © DVWait / Reddit
• Basic car maintenance for car owners. © D-Rez / Reddit
• Never pour water into hot oil. © jluub / Reddit

Bonus 1: It’s a very important skill to know how to negotiate.

• I’m a photographer. My cousin invited me to his wedding. As soon as I got there, the bride rushed up to me and asked me indignantly why I hadn’t brought my camera. This was the first time I had met her. It turned out she thought that I would be taking photos of their event, so she hadn’t hired a wedding photographer.
  The funniest thing is that I am an animal photographer, and I photograph mostly dogs. She didn’t even tell anyone that she was counting on me. She probably thought it was self-evident. I had a good time at the wedding though, and I laughed the most not at the wedding host’s jokes, but at the bride’s sour face. © Podslushano / VK

Bonus 2: It’s also important to observe another person’s personal boundaries.

• We often become a target of someone else’s rudeness. I tend to not pay attention to it, but one situation I remember. I was standing in line behind 2 girls, and the collar of one of the girls’ coat got twisted. I fixed it, and then told her so. And she replied in a steel tone of voice, “Don’t touch people you don’t know.”
  I was stunned. She was so relaxed when she was talking to her friend that I thought she wouldn’t mind. I felt really bad, I still can’t forget it. © Podslushano / VK
  

What other things do you think we all should know?