# Another "how could anyone not know that?" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 8, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056 "2003-11-08T07:38:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/61 "2003-11-10T22:20:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Wait… so the “chicken that crossed the road” joke is an actual joke? I too have always thought that the joke was that it wasn’t a joke. Enlighten me, please. Why did the chicken in Texas cross the road? To prove to the armadillo it could be done. [sub](Actually, the answer to “Why did the chicken cross the road?” is “To get to the other side.”)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/62 "2003-11-10T22:22:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by swannguy \* > \*\*I’m still amazed at how many americans, year after year, ask me what we , dutch, do for 4th of July? If we have fireworks and bbq as well…never stops to amaze me \*\* Well, to be fair, lots of Americans think holidays associated with other countries, such as St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo, are perfectly good excuses for a party. It’s not totally unreasonable for them to wonder if it works the other way around as well (although I agree asking WHAT you do for the fourth of July, rather than IF you celebrate it, is silly). ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/63 "2003-11-11T00:01:46Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m amazed that people don’t know how to prevent double postings…I’m totally joking, don’t get mad Hey, I only posted this one once! Blame the university server, which is similar to a real server in most ways, but not all. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/64 "2003-11-11T00:05:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InquisitiveIdiot \* > \*\*Wait… so the “chicken that crossed the road” joke is an actual joke? I too have always thought that the joke was that it wasn’t a joke. Enlighten me, please. \*\* It’s just a dumb joke that captivates 7-year-olds everywhere. Trust me; I live with one. Some sick bastard (okay, it was my father) gave him a joke book for his birthday. Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other _slide_! Why did the duck cross the road? It was the chicken’s day off! Why did the gum cross the road? It was stuck to the chicken’s foot! Why did the chicken _run_ across the road? There was a car coming! Why did the chicken cross the road twice without taking a bath? Because it was a dirty double-crosser! ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/65 "2003-11-11T04:58:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Usram \* > \*\*No, it’s 75 centimoons. \*\* ROFL! 😃 Okay, centimoons is now an official unit of measure, in my lexicon, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![psychomonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@psychomonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychomonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/66 "2003-11-11T06:28:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > \*\*Can I assume by your spelling that you are Canadian? I’m pretty sure that Canadian college students can “study abroad” in the U.S. and vice-versa, although you shouldn’t quote me on that. > \*\* Sorry, buckle of the Bible belt here (Northern Missouri) Go Bearcats!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/67 "2003-11-11T06:35:48Z")
Some of my users can’t spell to save their lives. One of the systems I support kicks out “abc123” as a default new password. The policy folks would prefer something like m@caR0n! (macaroni in numbers, letters and characters) but we don’t call them lusers for nothing. So… I unlock the user’s ID and say "Your new temporary password is ‘abc123’ I try not to think about how many times I say that in a day. All day long, it’s abc123, except for the Unix system that gives out ‘unix’ followed by the MMDD date - today’s is ‘unix1110’ Every so often, a memorable user comes along. I actually had a gentleman ask “How do you spell that?” when I said ‘abc123’ - took me a moment to gather myself and unmute the phone so I could say “That’s aye bee cee one two three.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/68 "2003-11-11T06:39:21Z")
I was amused by the otherwise highly intelligent young woman from Los Angeles who thought that Quebec City was near the Arctic Circle. (Um, even Yellowknife is below the Arctic Circle. And Quebec City is below the latitude of Seattle. I know it’s cold there, but the Arctic Circle? Girl, _please._) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/69 "2003-11-11T07:46:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*I’ve got one that only people with a little musical theory knowledge will get/understand. I’ve recently joined a new band. The songwriter guitar player took music lessons (bass, I believe) from the age of 5 on. He also got a degree in music, some sort of jazz. Anyway, he is totally oblivious to the concept of I-IV-V rock and roll. I tried to explain it but I don’t think it took. \*\* I don’t get how someone could _not_ know that if they’d had basic Jazz theory. Weird. I found it most instructive to play the I-IV-V on the piano, then do the necessary inversions to make it ridiculously simple to play over and over again. One of my friends was telling me that he was going on a white water rafting trip, and how he was looking forward to all the rapids. So I jocularly replied, “Well, look out for the rocks!” “What do you mean _rocks_?” I eventually learned he had no idea that rapids were caused by water going over steep rocks. I think he just thought that the water decided to have a party every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/70 "2003-11-11T08:25:14Z")
Just barely on topic, but I went to prom with a beautiful, intelligent and cultured girl who had rather inexplicable gaps in her knowledge. After we finish our dinner, dessert come around. She looks, puzzled, at her plate. “What is it?” she asks. I glance down at the dish. “You seriously don’t know what this is?” “No, what is it?” "Ummm, pie, apple pie, as in ‘American as …’ " How she managed to get through 17 years in America without once tasting or, for that matter, seeing an apple pie is beyond my comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![jyhad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@jyhad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jyhad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/71 "2003-11-11T08:34:32Z")
driving home one day, i asked my friend what time the local 7-11 closed… I had my ex convinced that archeologists had found dinasour fossils holding a placard that said “End Nuclear Testing Now”… A friend was on the 'phone to me one day with a pc problem, part of my reply was to “bounce the box”, i swear i heard a thud from the other side… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/72 "2003-11-11T11:24:32Z")
I almost started this thread a few days ago! I would have linked to the old one, but the hamsters weren’t cooperative. Anyway, what inspired me was my purchase of yeast. Cashier: What’s _this_? Rilch: Yeast. Cashier: Yeah, I see, but what is it? A diet supplement? Rilch: It’s to make bread. Cashier: Instant bread? Rilch: No, it’s the main ingredient _of_ bread. It expands in water, and makes the bread expand. **Hubajube** : So what are those two areas? Nose (exterior)? Soles of feet? Tongue? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/73 "2003-11-11T12:13:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InquisitiveIdiot \* > \*\*Wait… so the “chicken that crossed the road” joke is an actual joke? I too have always thought that the joke was that it wasn’t a joke. Enlighten me, please. \*\* As I understand it, the “joke” comes from the ambiguity of the word “why”. You’re supposed to misinterpret the question as “What caused the chicken to cross the road?”, not “To what end did the chicken cross the road?” (yes, I can hear you slapping your thigh already). [“Why did the chicken cross the road?” Is it ever really a joke?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=146094&highlight=chicken+and+road) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/74 "2003-11-11T14:15:43Z")
Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road? He didn’t have the guts. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/75 "2003-11-11T14:27:20Z")
In one of the 250 gift catalogs I’ve been getting in the last six weeks, there is a game called “Duh.” Apparently it’s just full of easy questions and brain non-teasers. The idea is that in the course of play someone will inevitably get one wrong anyway, and you can make sure they never live it down. Sounds like a fabulous game. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/76 "2003-11-11T14:47:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jyhad \* > **driving home one day, i asked my friend what time the local 7-11 closed…** Hey don’t feel so bad about that one… the 7-11 in my husband’s tiny hometown in northwestern Virginia closes at 12:30 a.m. I mean why 12:30? And it’s not like the store is on a main drag where truckers or long distance travelers might be passing through, you REALLY have to make an effort to find this 7-11 and it doesn’t even have a gas station. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/77 "2003-11-11T14:55:45Z")
> [@](#): > > **Hubajube** : So what are those two areas? Nose (exterior)? Soles of feet? Tongue? Soles of the feet and palms of the hands. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/78 "2003-11-11T14:58:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\* > > **Hubajube** : So what are those two areas? Nose (exterior)? Soles of feet? Tongue? \*\* My guess would be the soles of your feet and your palms? ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/79 "2003-11-11T15:00:19Z")
Curses. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056/80 "2003-11-11T18:10:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gotpasswords \* > \*\*Some of my users can’t spell to save their lives. One of the systems I support kicks out “abc123” as a default new password. The policy folks would prefer something like m@caR0n! (macaroni in numbers, letters and characters) but we don’t call them lusers for nothing. > > So… I unlock the user’s ID and say "Your new temporary password is ‘abc123’ I try not to think about how many times I say that in a day. All day long, it’s abc123, except for the Unix system that gives out ‘unix’ followed by the MMDD date - today’s is ‘unix1110’ > > Every so often, a memorable user comes along. I actually had a gentleman ask “How do you spell that?” when I said ‘abc123’ - took me a moment to gather myself and unmute the phone so I could say “That’s aye bee cee one two three.” \*\* As it happens, I give users ‘abc123’ when they’ve forgotten a password. Our default password for most things is the user’s birthdate, pulled from the HR database, and there are a few out there who can’t even remember that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-how-could-anyone-not-know-that-thread/212056.md?page=5)