# Aren't you shocked by what some people DON'T know? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431 "2000-11-30T20:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**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:** [December 13, 2000, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/341 "2000-12-13T22:09:07Z")
> [@](#): > > That is the understanding I had from an NPR radio report. Is this true? Is this new knowledge? If it isn’t new, it seems like the media has not reported the entire story, because before that report I was under the impression that actual steak would spread the disease. (Perhaps, that is something that would put me into this thread. 🙂 ) I heard a report on NPR on the way home from work yesterday. According to the report, people don’t get KJS from eating steaks and such, but from eating parts of the nervous system (such as the brain). The report said that after the meat is removed, the rest of the cow goes into something “resembling a car crusher”. Out of one end comes a white powder, which is from the bones (although I wondered why it was a powder. Isn’t still moist?) and the other end spits out a pudding-like substance that contains the brain, spinal cord, etc. This “nerve pudding” (I just made that up) is used as a filler in inferior grades of industrial beef, as in shepherd’s pie. (I think NPR actually used shepherd’s pie as an example. Or mayby it was “meat pie”. I was driving at the time.) I know how to cook, but being a bachelour I tend to eat a lot of stuff that’s frozen. The NPR report made me think about taking the time to cook fresh food. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2000, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/342 "2000-12-13T23:50:32Z")
ew. ---
**Author:** ![Palmyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@Palmyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palmyra)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/343 "2000-12-14T02:02:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LNO \* > **[pedantry] > FBI and CIA are abbreviations, while snafu, scuba, and radar are acronyms > [/pedantry]** FBI and CIA aren’t abbreviations… an abreviation is using part of a word, instead of the whole thing. eg: _prez_ versus _president_; _auto_ versus _auto_matic or _auto_mobile. FBI and CIA are just initials: _F_ederal _B_ureau of _I_nvestigation; _C_entral _I_ntelligence _A_gency. ---
**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/344 "2000-12-14T04:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by frogstein \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by **heraldgwena** _: > > Another good one is when I was talking to my boyfriend about when I was born and I said that I had been born by C-section, and he then asked “Your sisters too?” Note that i am a triplet. It was pretty funny. It took him about two seconds to realize how stupid THAT question was. > > Not that stupid, actually; there are many examples of multiple births where the first child is born vaginally, but there is difficulty getting the next out, so they do an emergency C-section. \*\* Sorry, you are right about that. I forgot to mention that I was the first one out, and he knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/345 "2000-12-14T04:20:09Z")
This was also ywenty years ago when you would be hard pressed to find a hospital that would be willing to to a super-twins birth vaginally (at least around where I was born.) ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/346 "2000-12-14T04:57:17Z")
Well is not at a level of ignorance up there with not knowing the sun and the moon are different thing or that they speak English in England but… When was I shocked? Well, you have to understand the circumstances. I was 15, and about with my brand new friends- all of whom were alleast THREE YEARS older than me. I met them by hanging out at the local college radio station. Some of them were actual DJ! And being 18 they could actually DRIVE and had driven me to NYC where we were walking around the Village before going to a show that night. My point is these people were SO COOL. So we’re walking around the Village and we past a small club around Bleeker somewhere and I comment I thought that was a place Lenny Bruce use to perform. None of them had ever heard of him. At all. And I thought they were so hip! Not to mention it didn’t occur to me I at 15 might know anything this cool college kids didn’t know. My hero whorship recovered but it had been shaken. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/347 "2000-12-14T05:17:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dolores Claiborne \* > \*\*When I was a kid of 8 or 9, my sister and cousin taunted my brother and me by saying, “You slumber in your sleep.” “Nah, nah, nah, you slumber in your sleep!” We went crying to Mom and Dad and told them Diane and Bruce said we _slumbered_ in our sleep! After they picked themselves up off the floor from where they landed from laughing so hard, they patiently explained to us that slumber actually means sleep. \*\* You reminded me of when I was…I don’t know how old, I had just learned to read obviously which I did pretty young. My mother and step-father and I had gone to Hackleberry State Park for the day. We were in the car pulling out of the parking lot when I noticed a “No Hunting” sign. The “H” had been obscured some how to look like a “K”. So to show of my new reading skills (and my grasp of the nuances of letter formation) I said “Look mommy, that sign says ‘No Kunting.’” From the back seat all I could see was their shoulders shaking. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/348 "2000-12-14T14:11:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by heraldgwena \* > willing to to a super-twins birth Super-twins?!? “I’ll form an ice ladder!” “I’ll form a gorilla!” Oh, wait. That’s _Wonder_-twins. Sorry… ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/349 "2000-12-14T16:15:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by betenoir \* > So to show of my new reading skills (and my grasp of the nuances of letter formation) I said “Look mommy, that sign says ‘No Kunting.’” > > From the back seat all I could see was their shoulders shaking. > \*\* That reminded me of a similar story. I was 9 years old and heard a new-to-me word on the school bus. Later that week, my mother and I were playing Scrabble, and I decided to try out my new word. So I proudly placed the letters on the board and looked up to find my mom giggling uncontrollably. She said, “Hon, do you know what, uh, C-U-N-T means?” I said, “Why, did I spell it wrong?” Ah, youthful innocence. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/350 "2000-12-14T16:45:40Z")
Ok. I’ve got one more. I was grade 10 when George Harrison’s album with “I’ve got my eyes set on you” (is that the right title?) and “When We Was Fab” came out. A friend on mine from school mentioned that she was going to buy it, and I said something about the Beatles. She had never heard of them, and wondered if it was a new band. How does one make it to high school in North America (or pretty much anywhere I can think of) and NOT have heard of the Beatles? She listened to the radio a lot, and felt like she knew lots about music. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/351 "2000-12-14T21:23:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lolagranola \* > \*\*George Harrison’s album with “I’ve got my eyes set on you” (is that the right title \*\* “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” Now my story: My husband and I were in a store and in the next aisle were about three or four young teen girls (about 14-16 years old). One of the girls said to another one, “Can I have one of your birth control pills? I’m seeing so-and-so tonight.” And the other girl said “Yes”. Hubby and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. What I’m wondering is this: Did the girl with the BC get these on the black market?? Why wouldn’t someone have counseled her on how to take them and to NOT MISS ONE?? As someone else in this thread said, “I weep for our future.” ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/352 "2000-12-14T21:45:30Z")
[QUOTE}What I’m wondering is this: Did the girl with the BC get these on the black market?? Why wouldn’t someone have counseled her on how to take them and to NOT MISS ONE?? [/QUOTE] Then there’s the flip side of this: the apparent belief of one (or both, or all) of these girls that you only need to take ONE of the magic pills on the night of your hot date, and all will be well. Maybe she’s planning to hold it firmly between her knees . . . ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/353 "2000-12-14T21:50:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewaholic \* > “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” [weirdal] This song is just six words long. This song is just six words long. This song is just six words long. This song is just six words long. [/weirdal] ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/354 "2000-12-14T22:22:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gundy \* > \*\* “Where’s Tuck-sun?” She meant Tucson, AZ. > > I hope she doesn’t read this. \*\* Actually took-son can be a correct pronunciation of Tucson. I bet you also thought ro-day-o was a road in berverly hills but it’s also the correct pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/355 "2000-12-14T22:32:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Padeye \* > \*\*Actually took-son can be a correct pronunciation of Tucson. I bet you also thought ro-day-o was a road in berverly hills but it’s also the correct pronunciation. \*\* Since when? I lived there for the first 25 years of my life and I can guarantee you, when people said it that way, everyone giggled. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/356 "2000-12-15T00:08:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*Since when? I lived there for the first 25 years of my life and I can guarantee you, when people said it that way, everyone giggled. \*\* English only speakers, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Fishhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@Fishhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishhead)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/357 "2000-12-15T15:08:18Z")
In Corpus Christi, Texas I was giving an invited talk to a high school environmental science class (an elective class for those whom one would hope had an affinity for science). I was showing photos colleagues and I had taken on the local beaches. These were of fish, sea turtles, dolphins, and even a small whale that had eaten or become trapped in plastic trash and died. A hand went up in the back of the room. He asked, “you mean those animals live around here???” I said, “uh, yes.” (where do you think they live? Kansas??) But I still don’t know if I convinced him or the rest of the class. Eventually I determined that almost half the class had never been to the Gulf beach. Cripes, it is a free bus! It takes 15 minutes! Later in the talk I was talking about Corpus Christi Bay and Nueces Bay, the two huge bodies of water that Corpus Christi snuggles up against. A significant number didn’t know what these were, although we were less than two blocks from Corpus Christi Bay. “You mean that water down by the Holiday Inn?” “yeah, you got it now.” (Cripes, you can almost see across the thing on a clear day) ---
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/358 "2000-12-15T19:33:38Z")
In seventh grade science class, our teacher was talking about Mt. Everest. The kid next to me asks what that is. I say “It’s the tallest mountain in the world.” He says to me “It’s not taller than the Smokies, is it?” One of the stupidest people I ever knew. (BTW the Smoky Mountains are mountains that border TN and NC. They aren’t even the tallest mountains in the eastern US.) We asked a girl we worked with in college what the tallest mountain in the world was. She said “Mt. Rushmore.” We thought she was kidding, then she corrected what she just said and statted that the tallest mountain in the world was “Mount Vernon.” (BTW again, Mount Vernon isn’t even a mountain. It’s George Washington’s estate.) When we were in Munich, we were going to go on Mike’s Bike Tour. It’s a tour to the highlights of the city all seen from bikes. One of the girls in our group didn’t want to go because she didn’t know how to ride a bike. She had never learned because she had a go-cart as a kid. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/359 "2000-12-15T20:31:56Z")
I have awhole website devoted to the weird things people believe about astronomy: [http://www.badastronomy.com](http://www.badastronomy.com). The best sections for this thread are [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/news/index.html](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/news/index.html) and [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/index.html](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431/360 "2000-12-15T20:43:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Bad Astronomer \* > \*\*I have awhole website devoted to the weird things people believe about astronomy: [http://www.badastronomy.com](http://www.badastronomy.com). The best sections for this thread are [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/news/index.html](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/news/index.html) and > [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/index.html](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/index.html) \*\* Thanks for the links, **Bad**. This’ll keep my occupied and out of trouble for a while. Speaking of astronomical ignorance, it amazes me how many people suppose the North Star to be the brightest in the night sky. Really, there are close to fifty others that are brighter than Polaris. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arent-you-shocked-by-what-some-people-dont-know/43431.md?page=19)