Here's my one. I use my mobile/cell phone (call it what you will) as a prop to get me out of awkward situations I'd rather avoid. Take today for instance. There was an army of clipboard women standing outside the local supermarket, pouncing on people asking them if they had a spare '5 minutes' to answer some questions. I get embarrased to say 'no' but really didn't want to lose 5 minutes of my life answering inane questions about, I don't know, the quality of peanuts they had in store, so as I approached, I took my phone out of my pocket and had a pretend conversation with someone and sailed right through them without any trouble. It works on so many levels. Vagrants at bus stops leave you alone if you're on the phone, when you're passing colleagues in the corridor or street that you know you'd otherwise have to strike up a conversation with, they see you're on the phone and leave you alone etc etc. It really works a treat. Even at work with the desk-phone, I have seen someone approaching my department with that "right..who shall I pick on to ask this question?" look in there eyes and then pick up the handset and pretend to be talking to someone so they go bother someone else.
Let's hear about your idiosyncrasies!
(legal ones only please!)
