Okay it's time I asked. I've run into this a half-dozen times in the past and always tried to just work around it, but I need to learn what's going on and how to fix/avoid it.

Occasionally I'll be working with an object that behaves fine, and then at some point I notice that it begins "skewing" when I move it around the stage--anywhere other than it's original position. Also, when I duplicate it and move the new object it does the same thing. If you move it, it gets distorted and skewed.

I don't have any idea what I'm dealing with so I can't find answers in Maya help or even google 'cause I don't know what to even look for.

If you've run into this you know how frustrating it can be. Any help?