According to Reader’s Digest, research into the science of annoyance—who knew this qualifies as a science?—shows that being peeved is “a natural expression of survival”. The article goes on to discuss five valid, annoyance-worthy pet peeves and provides the science to back up their statements in this article titled Totally Justified Pet Peeves. None of us is likely to argue with any of these:

Fingernails screeching on a chalkboard
People chewing with their mouths open
People carrying on lengthy cell phone

conversations in public
Incessant nagging without the offer of a

solution
Being cut off in traffic

I won’t go into the details of the article as there is little point in my paraphrasing what you are able to read for yourself. Instead, I’d like to add my own list of pet peeves to those above. Here are my own top five totally righteous pet peeves. See if you agree:

Discovering, at the worst possible moment, that the public restroom is out of toilet paper (double peeved if the restroom is icky)
Children running wild in public places (especially restaurants) while their parents ignore them (peeved at the parents, not the children)
Calling for information only to spend thirty minutes tapping through a menu (annoying enough) only to be disconnected two seconds after speaking to a real live person, after which the only remedy is to begin the hateful process anew back at the start of the *&$^%&* menu (every government agency)
Settling down to watch my favorite DVR’d show only to discover some idiotic sports program ran long and my show stopped recording at the 2/3 mark
No wine to be found anywhere in the house, usually after spending all that time going through the *&$^%&* phone menu

If pressed, I could list many more, but when I started this I promised myself I’d use only the first five that popped into my head as these would likely be the ones that bother me the most. I challenge you to do the same. What are your pet peeves? Don’t think about it, just jot down the first ones that come to mind, and please leave your answer in the comments. Inquiring minds want to know!

And now I’m off to watch my DVR’d show. I deserve to relax after spending so much time pressing menu numbers. But it’s been one of those days, buttercup, and I think we all know how this is going to end . . .

Never fear! Today, I’m prepared!

Thanks for being here. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week so far. See you next Wednesday!

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