Your mother probably told you that eavesdropping on people was rude. And she wasn’t wrong, it is rude. But as you get older, you learn that eavesdropping is actually pretty great and that you get something out of it. Here are some reasons why you should eavesdrop (especially in restaurants).

1. It’s funny.

Eavesdropping can be pretty hilarious. Especially when you start listening in the middle of a conversation and have no idea what’s actually happening, so you just create your own scenario.

2. You learn new things.

You don’t know if a conversation has potential to further your life’s education unless you listen. Plus, if you can learn weird things about people to blackmail them with later. And that's always fun.

3. You learn new words!

Sometimes people use words that you won’t fully understand, which means that you have to look them up to figure out the rest of the conversation. The more words you look up, the more definitions you learn. And those words can be further applied to school.

4. You can show off your skills.

This mainly applies to listening to people talk about you in a language they think you don’t understand. The look of shock on their faces can be rather pleasurable when you tell them that you understood every word.

5. It provides material for art.

Listening to people have conversations with others can provide great material for writing, especially writing dialogue. And if you somehow manage to learn some deep dark secrets about people, you can paint the dark struggles that they go through in daily life.

Regardless of what your reasoning is, go ahead and eavesdrop on people. It is a rude thing to do, but sometimes fun things have to be improper. Maybe don’t make it obvious, though, because that irritates people. But you never know what you’re going to hear.