10 Things Your Parents Should've Taught You

Shutterstock / Jennifer Bui/Thrillist
Shutterstock / Jennifer Bui/Thrillist

Your parents did the best they could when it came to raising you. After all, you can ride a bike (with training wheels) and swim (or doggy paddle) and you know how to tie your shoes (your Vans slip-ons are well-worn though). But because your parents are people too, they couldn't teach you everything there is to know about being an adult. Here are 10 things they might have missed.

fixing a car
Flickr/LongitudeLatitude

How to fix your own car

Just because your dad didn't know how to change his own oil or swap out burned light bulbs doesn't mean you should also funnel money into your car for no reason. Our bros over at Supercompressor have mapped out 13 things you should never pay your mechanic for.
 

How to get a red wine stain out of your shirt

You're a slob, but that's okay, since we're slobs too. Luckily, club soda is there to save the day, like a friend who's always there for you in a pinch (a friend who is made of water and carbon dioxide). Even though the Internet argues over whether club soda actually does the trick, anecdotal evidence tells us it does. It's as simple as pouring club soda on a stain until it goes away. And since most of the knowledge everyone's dad shares with them is based on anecdotal evidence, that's good enough for us.

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How to defend yourself in a fight

We don't condone fighting here at Thrillist -- we just want to eat and drink and go to strip clubs in peace.  But when someone just won’t get out of your face and you know he’s about to throw a punch, it’s important to know how to not get knocked out. This dude can teach you multiple ways to strike first in a fight (if you have to!), all in about two minutes.
 

How to negotiate

When you were in high school -- at least at some point -- you were a typical teenager, which means you inevitably fought with your parents when they told you what to do. Because teenagers are, by nature, brats, whining and crying was probably your de facto approach to these verbal fights. Now that you’re an adult, though, it's time to figure out how to do better when you don't get your way. Thankfully, Lifehacker has the essentials to teach you how to negotiate like a grown-ass man, and not someone who just got his car taken away for the weekend.
 

How to engage in small talk

Did your parents let you sit in your room and play World of Warcraft all day instead of visiting grandma at the old folks home? Turns out you were missing out on a critical skill: learning how to talk to grandma about nothing for an hour until you could get that Frosty your mom promised. When you're a kid, making small talk doesn't seem like a big deal -- it's just talking about the weather and sports, right? -- but as an adult, it's incredibly important in all kinds of settings, from engaging your boss at the holiday party to not looking like a loner at the bar. The Art of Manliness has you covered with a super-in-depth look.

roasted chicken
Drew Swantak/Thrillist

How to cook for yourself

Your mom fed you when you were a kid. Then your college cafeteria fed you. Then McDonald’s fed you. And then you got fat off of burgers and turned 30 and realized you didn't know how to feed yourself. Learn how to cook these 11 easy-as-hell dishes to vastly improve your adult life and probably even impress your mom.
 

How to not be a shitty human being to others

Your parents told you to be nice, but that's a very generalized idea and it's been a long time since you got details. Here's a primer: don't break up with someone over text. Don't promise people things you can't deliver. Show up on time when people are expecting you. Treat people in the service industry like they're human beings and not your personal servants. Say please and thank you. Stop staring at your goddamn phone when you're in a conversation with a person. Did we mention don't break up with someone over text?

stick shift
Flickr/Micah Esguerra

How to drive stick

If you grew up in a home with a garage full of automatic cars, your parents couldn't teach you to drive stick, and your friends didn't want you to use their car and, in the process, ruin it. Fair enough. Now, you can go on YouTube and learn how! Just kidding, YouTube is not a good parent substitute in this case. Offer to buy your friend with a Subaru their next 14 beers and make them take you to an empty parking lot and learn. Then, when you're rich one day, you'll know how to drive that Ferrari.

How to write a check

Okay, granted that most banks have free online bill pay, but once a year you inevitably have to make a security deposit or you run out of cash and your drug dealer doesn't have Square yet. So you need to write a check. It's actually quite simple, and this credit union website will teach you how.

How to iron a shirt/pants the easy way

Everyone who goes to the dry cleaner is an absolute sucker. I know this because I used to be one of them. If your button-down shirt or pants don't say DRY CLEAN ONLY on them, throw it in the washer. While they're getting soapy, go to Bed Bath and Beyond with that 20% off coupon they always mail you, and buy a handheld fabric steamer. After you dry your garments, iron them vertically. So much easier than buying an iron and an ironing board. Bonus tip: you can wash more than one shirt and pants at a time! Go nuts!

Lee Bresloueris a senior writer for Thrillist and his parents taught him all these things. Mostly. Follow him to more ironing tips at: @LeeBreslouer.