There are many phenomena that leave me completely mystified and confused. I’m not talking about fashion trends that I’ve passed on or kale —I like spinach so the whole kale thing just makes me sigh— I’m talking about weird passions, obsessions and cultural experiences that make me scratch my head in wonder.
These phenomena often make good fiction fodder so I’m asking for input from Candy’s Monsters followers, fans & friends.
What things just strike you as impossibly weird?
Here are a few of my head-scratchers to get you started….
Women who fall in love with death row inmate serial killers
Creepy doll collections
Chocolate covered bacon
People proud of never having ventured out of their hometowns
Oreo Cookies (yeah, I know everyone is supposed to love them)
Plastic Surgery Addiction
The Kardashians
Share the phenomena that mystify you. They might inspire a story!
Why “saggy” (below the ass) pants with underwear showing are STILL around 25+ years after I saw the first one.
That’s truly mystifying!
I’ve seen all sorts of fashions come and go —usually for women. But this male-centric, completely unappealing look hangs on and on and on…. truly a weird phenomenon.
Thanks! Death by Pants? I’m thinking…
I’m also ‘mystified an confused’ by razor scooters for adults, loud and very personal cellphone conversations on the bus, (“y’know the doctor said I have hemorrhoids…) people stopping in the middle of the street to text, cronuts, “flavored” coffees…(Oh, yeah, certainly the Kardashians..like WHAT is that?)
You’ve got an excellent list! It’s worthy of a full-out rant. I’m brewing a theory connecting the loud mobile phone conversations in public with the volume cranked up on the sound everywhere. I’ve taken to muffling my exposure with my curly hair (yes it works) and I now carry ear plugs to movies, concerts, etc. and other places where the sound level starts my ears ringing. My theory on the phenomenon is that as more people grow hard of hearing their sense of appropriate sound levels disappears. AND combined with the loss of “private” topics in a share-it-all world, the net result is loud chatter all the time and every place.
I agree with you on “flavored” coffees. It’s better to toss a little nutmeg on the crema if you want to add a little something to the morning coffee. The razor scooters…. um, it could be used as an escape vehicle.
Now, if someone could explain the allure of the Kardashians…
Hmmm, I guess I’m a bit mystified by lawns. Seems such a waste to waste all that water and later on keeping a green space around one’s house. That’s why I like it when I go to places like Arizona and see yards that actually concede to lack of water and go with something more natural.
hehehe… I’ve always been mystified by lawns! Even when I was a child in suburbia, I was perturbed by the obsession with expanses of grass. The waste of water, the constant mowing, the competition to be free of dandelions (which are edible) and the preference for flat green over all sorts of fun plants like berry bushes. When I was very young, we had a tiny slopping front “lawn.” My mom (born and bred in a Manhattan apartment) planted pachysandra to avoid mowing on a steep angle. It was a brilliant idea.
Now, I keep reading about the water saving alternatives to grass for drought stricken Californians. Sounds like a good idea to me. Unless, of course, you’re playing golf on your front lawn.
I always thought the Kardassians were the baddies on Deep Space 9 ? It puzzles me that I keep hearing about them.
Jeans with the cut legs in a horseshoe shape
Jeans worn with the crotch at almost knee level.
Very large people wearing very clingy clothing
Parents who dress their little girls like adults including make up…….
all leave me bamboozled.
xxx Huge Hugs Candy xxx
The last one on your list — parents dressing little girls like mini adults— now that one is ripe for scary fiction. It’s the cause of some scary realities too.
Thanks for sharing your take on weird cultural phenomena!