OK I'll go to town on this...
If you can make light of it maybe it is because you are not (consciously) aware of how psychically draining it is to be constantly put on the alert for attributes that never get mentioned?
If someone says:
"My bikes are as good as your bikes"
that is OK. On the other hand, if that is what they mean to say, but instead say:
"My bike's are as good as your bike's"
your brain starts to run through all the possible permutations of what they mean. You can feel it happening.
Your bike's
what is as good as my bike's
what? Your bike's saddle is as good as my bike's axle grease? Your bike's brake cables are as good as my bike's paint job? The permutations are endless. Your brain has automatically run through hundreds of them beneath your conscious awareness. It is stuff like this that is at the root of all those mysterious chronic fatigue
type ailments..