Have you ever met someone who just… couldn’t do the most basic thing? Like boil water. Or read a map. Or properly use a turn signal?

It’s wild how some fundamental life skills—things you’d think everyone would know—aren’t actually that common. Whether it’s sewing on a button, managing money, or just being able to listen without interrupting, the gap can be surprisingly wide.

Curious (and maybe a little concerned), I asked the Bored Panda community: What’s one basic skill everyone should have… but many clearly don’t? The answers are eye-opening, hilarious, and a little too relatable.

Got one of your own? Drop it in the comments—I’m all ears!

#1

How to budget and save money.

#2

Cognitive empathy and critical thinking.

#3

The ability to swim.

#4

Seems to be a lost art, and honestly, I can’t remember the last time I did it, but everyone should be able to sew on a button.

#5

Patience and compassion. For pete’s sake, slow down on the road. Stop shoving and respect the queue/line. Wait for someone to be out of your way before you decide to push through. Stop shouting at others for existing. You’re likely just as much in the way of someone as someone is in the way of you.

#6

Listening skills.

#7

One basic skill everyone should have: knowing the difference between the words “your” and “you’re”, and between “their”, “there”, and “they’re” and using them correctly when writing, especially when posting on social media. Incorrect usage indicates the poster is at least partially illiterate; credibility comes into question. I’m not a language expert, just an average U.S. person who received average U.S. public schooling, and that was sufficient for me to achieve a mastery of grammar and spelling, without even making a concerted effort to do so. Perhaps it just came as natural to me? I sure don’t feel like I’m exceptional.

#8

Ignoring social media, especially the fake world of insta and the absurd platform TikTok. Nothing good will ever come of it, as the last years have shown us. Younger people have lost the ability to be truly social, thinking a filtered and faked platform can somehow replace interaction with real beings.

#9

The ability to apologize, mean it and amend one’s behaviors and words accordingly in the future.

#10

Rational thought and critical thinking.

#11

How to do basic research and to distinguish legitimate sources of information from bad ones. How to sort out facts from propaganda.

#12

First aid. Those first minutes can save a life!

#13

Oh and I will add one more ‘common sense’……such a lack of it these days.

#14

Basic understanding of money management plus how to cook simple dishes.

#15

Basic automotive maintenance:
How to check your fluids, change a tire, etc. …

#16

Learn to repair simple things. Whether it’s clothing or things around the house. Learn to use tools.
A gasket to replace in a toilet tank is maybe $6.00 as oppose to calling a plumber wondering why your toilet won’t flush or keeps running.

#17

How to be kind.

#18

Know when to speak and when to shut up.

#19

Cooking. Swimming. Basic blade safety and maintenance. Basic first aid.

#20

How to use a checking account. When I was a bank teller, I was kinda horrified by the amount of customers who had no idea how basic checking worked. They had no idea how to balance their checkbook. This was especially true of recent high school graduates. We always took the time to educate them. Just wondered why their parents never did. Actually had more than one customer who said, “I can’t be out of money. I still have checks left.”

#21

Politeness and an understanding of grammar and spelling…

#22

The basic skill of respecting other people. Not deferring, or agreeing, or bending the knee, just basic human respect. If you don’t like or agree with their choices (like clothing, and religion), or non-choices (like race and sexual orientation/gender identity), then try either shutting up and letting them be, or trying to understand them, or maybe moving on to topics you do agree on? Hmm? Basic respect for other human beings?

#23

Saying no.

#24

The ability to see flaws in themselves and be willing to try to change them to become a better person.

#25

Patience. How to wait instead of “getting it all right now.” Recognizing that wanting and needing are not the same. Working toward your goals.

#26

How to build, light and control a campfire.

#27

Swimming.

#28

Computer basics. Even in a smartphone. As in here are your programs: how to make folders, how to delete things. The basics.

#29

Sewing. So many people are surprised when I say I know how to sew. And that I do my own (minor) car maintenance. Basic spelling and grammar seem to be lost. Can’t stand it when people write out “would of” “could of” etc. when it’s really “would’ve” “could’ve” (would have, could have) also a lot of people write etcetera as “ect”… this all seems like elementary school knowledge, or at least it was when I was a kid.

#30

Reading and writing. Yes, you have them, but how’s your skill in writing well with minimum mistakes in grammar and spelling? You read but how is your reading comprehension? Can you tell me what you read a day later?

#31

Basic math. I know it’s a lost art by now with everyone using cards or apps, but knowing math helps when budgeting. Do know what’s in your account and what you can spend? If you do use cash, are you sure you’re getting the correct change back? Wanna thank my dad for that lesson.

#32

Basic manners.

#33

How to Think.
A good second would be how to speak.

#34

Cooking. Also, “changing:” -Men: changing a diaper; Women: changing a tire.

#35

Reading cursive.

#36

As a shift manager in a factory, I just wish all people had the skill to do their job proactively.

#37

Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

#38

From Robert A. Heinlein: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” I think *maybe* I can manage about 17 of those. Many of them badly, but still…

#39

Basic manners and politeness, like letting people get out of an elevator first, greeting people, etc.

#40

Balance a checkbook.

#41

Lefty loosey, Righty tighty.

#42

Accepting that if people warn you for something (wrong boyfriend, spending to much, drinking to much), you will end up loosing those people if you don’t change that behavour.

Living of the money you have instead of the money you want.

#43

I made it through having all of the skills named except for two: butchering a hog and balancing a checkbook (because I don’t use checks or a checkbook).

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