Call First

When you want to go visit someone, return something, or give something to someone the rule is to call that person before you show up at their house. An unannounced visit is just like a surprise party, frightening and unappreciated. It is an unwritten rule in society to make sure you let the person know that are coming over before you show up. The person may say that it was fine that you came over without warning but you are most likely pulling them away from something they were doing before you showed up. I really wish this unwritten rule was written on the cover of a phone book or something. I can see it now Use one of these numbers in this book to let someone know you are coming over, although there are not too many offenders of this one, most people got this one down.

Car Tank

Ever since I was little when my dad took my mother’s car somewhere with me we would have to stop by the gas station before bringing the car back to my mom. I never quite understood this until I got older. It is an unwritten rule to always fill up the tank when returning someone’s car after they let you borrow it. Even if the person borrowing the car didn’t run the car completely out of gas they should always tip it off for the owner.  I guess this is just good manners, but if someone returns a car that only has a half tank or less left the owner will probably get annoyed and might not let that person borrow their car anymore. Especially these days with gas prices sky rocketing it is a huge let down to have to pay for gas that you didn’t even use, someone that borrowed the car did.

Stay "asleep"

That awkward moment when you are at a friend’s house and you wake up before they do. What do you do? You lie back down and pretend you are asleep too. There is nothing more weird than waking up and your house guest is rummaging through your house with nothing to do and no idea where anything is. It is an unwritten rule in society to wait until the owner of the house wakes up for you to get up. It makes the owner of the house feel uncomfortable and embarrassed that they did not wake up to be a good host. When staying at a house that does not belong to you it is the rule to stay “asleep” until the owner themselves have woke up as well.

Drunk

After a hard day’s work many people sit down and relax at the local bar. The bar is a place to forget the hard day and socialize with others. Now everyone knows that where there is a bar, there will be people that have had a bit too much if you know what I mean. It is an unwritten rule is society to never and I mean never get wasted during the day light hours. Yes, it is okay to have a drink during the day time but when the third and fourth ones come rolling along this is when it is no longer okay. Being drunk in the day is just so socially unacceptable. There are families and children running all over the place and a drunken person stumbling all over the place is not a good example for children. “Hey mommy what is that man doing?” “Oh he just had a little too much apple juice honey :/”  Yah, not okay. So it has become an unwritten rule in society to drink your little heart out AFTER a day’s work.

Walking

There are no traffic signs for and doors like there are for drivers. No little colored signs to tell walkers what to do and when, but it has come to be known that walkers follow the same basic rules as drivers. The law of driving on the right side of the road has been transferred to sidewalks, hallways and entering and exiting doors. When this common understanding of “the walking rules” is disrupted people often say rude things about the other person and give mean looks in their direction. It has been the unwritten rule to walk the same way the law is set up for driving. I challenge you to go out and walk differently; walk on the left side, backwards, or enter through the exit side. I bet you that you will receive several comments about your manners and looks that can sting you.   

Peeing in the Pool

As young children we all did this, one because we might not have known any better and two because the bathroom is simply too far away. As we grow up we get more of an understanding to why our mothers and fathers always said “Don’t pee in the pool”. If you went to the public library and went through all the law books and government crap you would never be able to find a single line that read “If one pees in a pool the will be arrested.” No, never but we as a society have agreed that this is not okay. We agreed to teach our children from their first visit to not pee in the pool. I feel like this is one of the most important unwritten rules in society because we have all gotten one of those big gulps of pool water before and I would hate to look at the person next to me and think  hey I just drank that old man’s pee.

Leave Your Shoes On

Okay this is one that I can honestly say I can NOT STAND when people don’t follow this unwritten rule. When one is in a public place whether it be at a store, restaurant, or school it is important to leave your shoes on your feet. No one wants to see your disgusting smelly feet! It is of the utmost importance to follow this rule. Your shoes are a piece of clothing and it is in fact against the law to just start stripping in public. You may say that it pertains only to main garments like shirts and pants, but it is a law to keep your shoes on, AN UNWRITTEN RULE!!

Tipping a waiter

You go to a restaurant and the waiter takes your order. He/she comes back right away with your drinks and your selected items on the menu. They come back several times asking how everything is and if you need anything. If something is needed the go and bring it back in a blink of an eye. You pay your bill and then what? You leave a tip. It is just how things are. If a waiter takes “good care of you” you leave 15%-20% of your bill amount there just lying on the table for them to take. It is an unwritten rule to make sure that if the waiter at a restaurant was good to leave a tip. There is no little fine print at the bottom of the receipt that states “Must leave tip” but people do. If a tip is not left for the waiter they assume you’re a jerk or the waiter sucks. You just have to leave a tip if the waiter was good.  

Restaurant etiquette

We learn this from our parents. I remember when I was younger and loved to pinch the top of the straw and bring the liquid out of the cup and then drink it. But I soon enough learned that it was not polite, my parents made sure of that. There is no sign at Red Lobster or any other nice restaurant that states:

No playing with food

No eating with your hands

Talking with your mouth full

No loud burping

No talking on cell phones

But it is engraved into our minds as small children that this behavior is NOT okay. Restaurant etiquette is a rule that was put into place silently/unsaid and unwritten. If these rules are broken the couple across the dining room will stare you down and look in disbelief. This is an unwritten rule in society.

Appearance

Personal appearance is a big thing in our society I think that we can all agree on this. It seems like a lot of people these days just go right to judging you as a person by what you dress yourself with. Now I know that not all these rules apply to every person in the world BUT in today’s society I feel that it has become an unwritten rule to try to look good. People don’t just walk out of the house thinking I hope I look terrible today. Although every person’s personal opinion what looks good is different we all try to dress, in some manner, “fashionable”. How we dress can make a person come to a conclusion about the kind of person you are. It has become an unwritten rule that you dress how you are, or want to be perceived by others.

Shopping Carts

Great its grocery day, the worst shopping experience you’ll have to do all week. So the normal person would walk in, grab a cart, and make their way around the store grabbing the things they need off the shelves. As you are doing this it doesn’t even cross your mind but this is an unwritten rule in society, yes grabbing thing off the shelf. How often have you seen someone walk by a cart, which does not belong to them, and take something out of it? Yah that’s what I thought, not very often. It is looked down upon to take things out of others carts. Yes I know that you don’t want to walk all the way across the store to grab something, and the person next to you has that object you need but still you make your way across the store to retrieve it. Don’t take things out of other peoples carts!

Elevators

There are rules in which people follow in elevators whether you know it or not. For example, if there are only two or three people on an elevator, each person usually leans against the walls. If a fourth person boards the elevator, the four corners are normally occupied. This would be because of our personal “space.” When someone is to close in an elevator people usually will feel very uncomfortable and get off at the next stop and wait for the next elevator or use the stairs “if any”. When there are more than four people on an elevator, the boarders begin to follow a set of rules for behavior. Everyone turns to face the door. Hands and belongings hang down in front of the body. People usually scrunch up, rounding their shoulders, so that they take up as little space as possible. If you see an overcrowded elevator, you will probably choose to wait for the next one. Eye contact is a huge rule in an elevator; people don’t look at each other they typically look at the floor indicator found above the door. If you think this is exaggerated, the next time you are on an elevator, don’t face the door turn around and face toward the other people, or sit down. Then see what their reaction is.