untypicable

[untypicable]

The Sociology of Small Talk – Or, Why We All Hate Asking About the Weather

Ah, small talk. That peculiar social ritual where we pretend to care about things we definitely don’t care about. Whether it’s weather updates from someone standing right next to you or the obligatory “How was your weekend?” in the office kitchen, small talk feels like society’s default mode – a kind of conversational screensaver that kicks in when real topics crash. Why Do We Do…

[untypicable]

Why Does Your Car Sometimes Seem Like It’s Sighing When You Sit in It?

There’s a moment, just as you lower yourself into the driver’s seat, when your car makes a noise. It’s a faint, weary sort of sound, somewhere between a creak and a resigned exhale. You might mistake it for the compression of the seat cushions or the gentle settling of old springs, but I have come to believe that this is, in fact, your car sighing. I know this sounds unlikely. Ridiculous,…

[untypicable]

An Open Letter to the People Who Leave One Sheet on the Toilet Roll

Dear Bog Roll Bandit, Let’s begin with the basics. You know who you are. You’ve walked into the loo, seen that cardboard tube spinning on by with a single sheet of paper hanging on for dear life—and thought to yourself, “That’ll do.” No, it won’t. That one square isn’t helpful, it’s taunting us. It flaps there like a tiny white flag of passive-aggressive defiance, and quite frankly, I’m…

[untypicable]

Can You Be a Woke Nazi? Unpacking the Internet’s Dumbest Oxymoron

The phrase drifted across the pub like stale lager mist: “He’s a proper woke Nazi, mate.” Said with the conviction of someone who believes shouting louder makes things truer. It was one of those moments where time stands still and your brain briefly forgets how to process language. A “woke Nazi”? That’s not a political label—it’s a cognitive collision. Like calling someone a vegan butcher, or…

[untypicable]

Am I Autistic, or Am I Really a Cat?

In a world obsessed with identity labels, personality quizzes, zodiac signs, and spending 45 minutes choosing between 300 varieties of oat milk, a simple question haunts me: am I autistic, or am I really just a cat? Stick with me. It’s not as daft as it sounds. (Or perhaps it is, but that’s very on-brand for untypicable.) After all, stranger things have happened. Somewhere right now, there’s…

[untypicable]

Is It Possible to Fail a CAPTCHA Test So Badly You Lose Your Right to Be Human?

There comes a moment, usually when you’re just trying to do something innocuous—buy cinema tickets, log into your electricity provider, order yet another thing you absolutely don’t need—when the internet decides it needs proof you’re not a robot. Enter the CAPTCHA test. “Please confirm you’re not a robot,” it asks, in that passive-aggressive tone only computers can manage. Of course I’m not a…

[untypicable]

Do Chairs Have Consciousness? (And Are They Judging Us?)

It’s not something you usually question, is it? You see a chair, you sit in it, and you think no more of the encounter. It is, on the surface, the simplest relationship imaginable: human needs comfort, chair provides. A quiet, unremarkable transaction between man and furniture. But lately — and I’ll admit it may be too much time spent alone with my own thoughts — I have begun to wonder whether…

[untypicable]

Sociology Gone Wild: Theories So Bizarre They Might Actually Explain Everything

1. Phrenology: Measuring Morals One Bump at a Time Phrenology, once the life coach of 19th-century pseudoscience, was the belief that the shape of your skull could reveal everything about you—from your aptitude for needlework to your likelihood of becoming a highwayman. Franz Joseph Gall believed the brain was composed of “organs” controlling specific traits like benevolence, destructiveness,…

[untypicable]

Why Are Crisp Bags So Full of Air? The Snack-Sized Deception Explained

There’s a moment most days—somewhere between the last gulp of coffee and the grim slide toward dinner—where the craving hits. A little crunch, a savoury fix. Something nostalgic. Something reassuring. A crisp. You reach into the cupboard, filled with the eager joy of a child at a pick ‘n’ mix counter. The packaging crackles with promise. It’s puffed up, perfectly sealed, and strangely warm…

[untypicable]

Yolks and Hierarchies: The Great Eggonomic Divide

The great Easter sugarstorm has passed. Crumpled foil glints beneath the sofa like the detritus of a deeply middle-class bacchanalia. Somewhere, a toddler is attempting to barter half a Mini Egg for more screen time. But as sociologists — or at least people pretending to be until someone asks us about statistics — we must ask: What does Easter chocolate truly represent? To put it plainly:…

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The Forgotten Olympics: Competitive Napping and Other Events That Should Exist

Every four years, the world stops to marvel at feats of athletic prowess: people running faster than seems biologically sensible, somersaulting through the air with a grace that suggests an unfortunate deal with gravity, and lifting weights so heavy they could double as mid-sized hatchbacks. But amidst the sweat, the medals, and the national anthems, there lies a glaring oversight: where, pray…

[untypicable]

How to Convince Yourself You’ve Been Productive Without Actually Doing Anything

Productivity is a state of mind—or at least that’s what we tell ourselves after spending an entire day colour-coding our calendar, rearranging pens, and opening tabs we have no intention of reading. In a world where hustle culture is worn like a badge of honour and even naps are being marketed as “productive rest,” it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind if you’re not launching a side…

[untypicable]

The Sociology of Theme Parks: Manufactured Joy and Queue-Based Hierarchies

Ah, theme parks. That magical kingdom where dreams come true — provided you’ve remortgaged your house for entry tickets, possess the stamina of a Tour de France cyclist, and have developed a resistance to overpriced churros. As Easter approaches and families across Britain steel themselves for the annual pilgrimage to the land of rollercoasters, overpriced ice creams, and suspiciously sticky…

[untypicable]

What Actually Is Art? (Because I’m Not Entirely Sure Anymore)

There are many things I have come to accept I will never properly understand. Cryptocurrency. TikTok dances. Why we invented trousers with fake pockets. But towering above all of these modern mysteries is the grand, glittering enigma of art. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a nice painting as much as the next bewildered museum-goer. Give me a rolling landscape with a slightly brooding sky, a few…

[untypicable]

Why Minecraft Is the Most British Game Ever Invented (Despite Being Swedish)

There are some things that, when you really sit down and think about them, are just unmistakably British. Moaning about the weather while standing in it. Forming a queue where no queue was strictly necessary. Apologising when someone else bumps into you with a shopping trolley. And now, thanks to the curious workings of fate and the pixelated chaos of human nature, we must add another to the…

[untypicable]

Is Your Dog Secretly Judging Your Life Choices? Science Says Yes

If you’ve ever looked into your dog’s eyes mid-crisis — say, while Googling “can you live off cereal for a month?” — and felt that familiar pang of canine disappointment, good news: you’re not paranoid. According to researchers at the University of Bristol, dogs are not only emotionally complex creatures, but they may be optimists or pessimists. Which means your dog isn’t just staring at you.…

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Why We All Secretly Judge Other People’s Shopping Trolleys

There is a secret sport being played in supermarkets across Britain every day, and hardly anyone talks about it. It requires no special equipment, no training, and no sign-up fee. It is, of course, the fine art of judging other people’s shopping trolleys. We all do it. A furtive glance while pretending to weigh up different soups, a subtle side-eye in the dairy aisle. One look at a stranger’s…