Some people...

Who knew the Thane of Whiterun was a jerk?

Bobby pins are probably more bendy than skyrims ancient lock picks i suppose.

I know, and poor Lydia have to follow him around.

Well that was the funniest thread i could of read to start my day!

Being the thane of Whiterun doesnt help if youre in another state.

Lockpicking can get you into some interesting places.

But, but...what if is Requires a Key?

Then he'll have a problem, I don't know OPs age, but he could pickpocket his mom (or himself if he has moved out) and get the key.

I actually picked a lock on an office door one day. I was a hero for about 4 hours, then I was a nobody again.

I learnt a bit of lock picking IRL, haven't managed to pick a lock yet.

Well, as long as it doesn't get you pickpocketing in real life, then you're probably OK.

Where you able to pick the hardest of locks even with no experience?

I learned to pick locks when I was 12. I got in trouble for something when I was a kid (I think it was related to school - this was decades ago)... and my father took my "Star Wars" collecting cards - as punishment - and locked them in his desk. The next day, after I got home from school (and after buying a few new packs of Star Wars cards), I got a couple of paper clips and started working on the lock to his desk (this was NOT an old desk, and had a modern lock... with 3 or 4 tumblers). I had it open in a minute or two, sorted through my collection, replaced just the cards that were in the desk, and put the rest of my (new) cards in my room (keeping the duplicate cards in a separate stack). Oh... and I also "re-locked" the desk, so my father wouldn't know I had been in there! I got my cards back in a week or two, anyway... but unlike kids today, we didn't have blu-rays, DVD's - or even VHS tapes back then, so the only images to be seen from the movie was on the cards (or in magazines, but there was less of those "specialty" movie magazines back then, and not a lot of scenes from the movie, as compared to the cards).

Today, I can still pick advanced locks, using just a small screwdriver and a paper clip or two. I even picked a deadbolt lock (which is actually the same exact tumbler as an entry lock). I'm sure those "specialty lock-picks" and "power" lock-picking tools are better, and possibly faster... but I picked that deadbolt lock in under a minute. Having an understanding of how the locking mechanisms work is "key" to being able to pick a lock (and perhaps some luck).

I don't think Skyrim is realistic in terms of lockpicking. It was better in Oblivion (realistic, at least... if you did NOT use the auto-attempt). If you are a beginning/low-level player, working on the hardest/master locks... then the following is true: With Skyrim, it's just a matter of time to find the right spot - AND having enough lockpicks; With Oblivion, EVERY mistake resulted in tumblers falling and having to re-set each of those fallen tumblers (if you were "manually" picking the lock)! Guess what? Picking locks in real-life is EXACTLY like that!! I don't remember how many times I had to pick the locks on jail cells in Oblivion (either to escape or help another character escape), but if you were locked-up... you ONLY had ONE pick, and it was all I ever needed.

Oh... and I've never picked locks in real-life to get into places I wasn't supposed to be in (except my father's desk, when I was a kid)!

Mainstream Facebook cancer of meme and rageface ruining alert.

Dragon slayer, your post is hurting my eyes.