Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Things That Look Super Easy But Are Actually Surprisingly Difficult

People Share The Things That Look Super Easy But Are Actually Surprisingly Difficult
romanen/Pixabay

People who are really good at things can make those things look deceptively easy to do just because of how talented they are, or how commonplace the activity is for them. Anyone else who attempts the activity is likely to find it considerably more difficult to perform.


Reddit user pterv2112 asked:

"What looks easy peasy lemon squeezy but is actually difficult difficult lemon difficult?"

20.

Marriage. I think many people believe that they will be romantically in love with the person they are marrying. In many ways you do but most with long successful marriages will tell you it takes work to make a marriage last a lifetime. That level of commitment is hard to maintain.

The rewards are enormous and you'll never be closer to another human if you're doing it right My wife and I just celebrated our 40th and we've known each other for more than 45 years. Planning on being together till end.

-Bigtanuki

19.

Beekeeping. You see videos of these old dudes in their veils and beekeeping suits and it makes it seem so relaxing and easy. Turns out that bees aren't so good at finding enough food on their own and they can get sick really easy and in the winter they can mold. Have you ever seen moldy bees? Sometimes they're not even dead...

It's still worth it though.

-MadMountainStucki

18.

Maintaining friendships from high school/college after you graduate. People get so busy with work and starting their own families that friendships get put on the back burner. You stop talking to someone for a few months, then it suddenly hits you that you're no longer friends with the person.

-DeathSpiral321

17.

Actually doing things. In theory it's simple. Just do the thing. In reality I procrastinate until I hate myself

-potato_cupcakes

16.

Work. I'm a lawyer and had a client call saying she needs a help with a merger, but "don't worry, it's super easy peasy lemon squeezy."

That project took 6 months and I almost had a breakdown. She didn't understand why the bill was so high since it wAs SO eAsY...

-moekay

15. 

Making lemonade. Sure squeezing one lemon is easy peasy, but do you know how much juice that makes? Not a lot.

-PrimaryOstrich

14.

Easy as pie. Pie is the most difficult thing I've EVER done/made.

-billingsley

Hell yeah. Keeping the dough cold while avoiding overworking it, and somehow perfectly distributing the butter throughout the mixture so that there aren't massive butter chunks... ugh, it's difficult.

-SoMotar

13.

Flying remote controlled helicopters. It looks so effortless when watching seasoned flyers but in reality it's like balancing a marble on an upturned bowl.

-Michael_Stone_UDA

12.

Street names.

Everyone thinks it's great fun and likes to offer suggestions but every tree, lake, and other natural feature has at least a dozen variations which you can't repeat for emergency service reasons.

That and you get cities which want a street name change anytime the road changes direction regardless of a logical break point like an intersection.

-blue_fox_13

11.

Those captcha things on google. I can honestly never read them and the website always thinks i'm a robot.

-djdeanx10

10.

Whistling with your fingers.

-SimplySolstice

I did it once like 6 years ago and haven't been able to replicate it since.

Pisses. Me. Off.

-qdlbp

9.

Giphy

Dancing. I wouldn't say it looks "easy", but when I see people do it, they're so good at it and it flows so well it looks easy. But damn, I just CANNOT get my body to do anything more than a bop and maybe some stupid arm moves.

I'm 25 and dance like a 50 year old at a reunion.

Dancers are so delicate and make it look so easy, it's honestly amazing. It's just hilarious when I try to do literally anything and fail horribly.

-MiloAlbertsky

8.

Drawing something from memory. Like a bird or something.

In mind - yep that's a bird

On paper - that's... a bird?

-KayGlo

7.

Digging. Anytime its shown in movies or TV it looks easy af but the second you have to grab a shovel and break dirt.... bleh.

-justaboredfarmer

"Here just let me dig up this 6-foot-deep grave with a shovel."

<20 minutes later>

"Welp, all done."

-killingjack

6.

A basic physical exam at the doctor.

Looks like a simple 'look at the throat' 'listen to the chest' 'yup they have a heart all right.' When in actuality Doctors spend thousands of hours practicing it so that when you come in with a murmur or 'Funny-looking-kid-syndrome' they can recognize it immediately.

And yes, there are entire class sections on how to respectfully ask your patient to turn their head and cough as you push on their balls (they're looking for hernias).

-RobheadOW

5.

"Natural" makeup. More work than "regular" makeup

-Lockshala

4.

playing the triangle. A lot of my non-musician friends joke about how easy it is to play it. Then they actually hold the damn thing and look stupid.

-phamtasticgamer

I can still remember my band director...

"You guys laugh about the triangle players, but you have no idea how hard it is to stay focused while counting 132 bars and not miss your cue."

-KarmicFedex

3.

Writing a 250-word open-ended reflection where you're expected to be creative.

All I want as a grad student is some dang STRUCTURE and also a RUBRIC :(

-vgab90

2.

Folding fitted sheets.

I've watched instructional videos that make it look so easy but I always just end up with a crumpled up mess, and that's how it gets put away.

-AngryGoose

Giphy

The most common type of ghost is the one in a white sheet with waving arms. These are the spirits of people who died while trying to fold a fitted sheet.

-anumati

1.

I use a wheelchair and people usually don't believe me when I say that getting around can be difficult, because many of them think that pushing a wheelchair is easy. (They literally tell me this.)

The thing is when you use a wheelchair all day and it is basically your only means of transportation, it looks more natural.

This becomes a problem when I point out accessibility problems. They often don't believe me because they see how I can navigate and assume that it's easy – just because *I* make it look easy.

-buckyhermit

Not everything is as easy as it seems -- or as easy we believe it to be.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshots from @sweetteataylor's TikTok video
@sweetteataylor/TikTok

Gay Man's Story About A Recent Hookup Takes An Awkward Turn At The Car Wash—And Yikes

We've all heard of the walk of shame, but have we heard of the car wash of shame?

TikToker @sweetteataylor found himself in a uniquely awkward situation after he hooked up with a guy a few nights before via Grindr. When the guy was getting ready to leave, he dropped his wallet, exposing a photo of him with his wife and children.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and Jason Kelce
@newheightsshow/TikTok

Taylor Swift Just Appeared On Travis Kelce's Podcast—And Hilariously Trolled His Fans

There is one vital, earth-shattering, no-going-back difference between Swifties and a certain subgroup of male football fans: Swifties are big fans of Taylor Swift's relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But this group of male football fans?

They hate the relationship so much, they're counting down the days until Kelce retires, just so they hopefully don't have to see Swift in the stands anymore. Talk about conditional love!

Keep ReadingShow less
Matt Rife
Gilbert Flores/GG2025/Penske Media/Getty Images

Fans Outraged After Makeup Brand Features Controversial Comedian Matt Rife In New Ad Campaign

Content warning: domestic violence, joking about domestic violence

From tasteless and harmful domestic violence jokes on Netflix to becoming the protector for haunted dolls, Matt Rife has been hot in the news lately, but honestly, not all news is good news.

Keep ReadingShow less
Skyler Gisondo; Ariana Grande
River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images; Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Ariana Grande Costar Offers Hilarious Reaction After Fan Claims She's Never Cast Opposite 'Hot' Actors

In our chaotic world, there are still a few things you can count on: the sun rising and setting, and "Stan Twitter" being unhinged.

After the announcement of him being cast next to pop diva Ariana Grande, actor Skyler Gisondo was the latest star to learn how pop stans just go on X and say anything that comes to mind.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nikki Hiltz
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Trans Nonbinary Track Star Nikki Hiltz Shares Powerful Video Documenting Their Top Surgery Journey

United States Olympian Nikki Hiltz is a middle distance runner who in 2021 came out as transgender and nonbinary on International Transgender Day of Visibility.

On August 6 of this year—four years after coming out and four days after winning the national title in the 1500 meter race at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon...

Keep ReadingShow less