# Attention numbskulls! Get edumakated right here, y'all.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 11, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415 "2003-12-11T19:37:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/21 "2003-12-11T20:57:10Z")
> [@](#):
>
> The next time you believe the government to be competent, look at how pleasant it is to live in Southeast Asia. Or **Hati**. Or Nicaragua.
No, I cannot spell. I occasionally suffer from delusions to the contrary.
s/Hati/Haiti/
If you write void main(), you are not writing C. You are writing in a language that looks like C. You may think you are writing in C, but any conformant compiler should be more than happy to inform you otherwise.
Anyone who uses gets() is a fool and should be LARTed into oblivion.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/22 "2003-12-11T21:10:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by gobear \*
> **Nope, #s 1 and 10 are facts.**
'Twas a joke.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/23 "2003-12-11T21:14:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Isn’t this turning into a joke thread?
Ain’t no joke about educating folk.
More advice for the educationally undernourished:
- It’s “Daylight Saving Time”, not “Daylight Savings Time”
- When Juliet asked “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” she was not enquiring as to the whereabouts of her lover.
- It’s “to all intents and purposes”, not “to all intensive purposes”.
- It’s also “If you think X, you’ve got another **think** coming,” despite what people may try to tell you. It started as a grammatical joke. Geddit?
- Scotland is not part of England.
- (One for the Brits) Speed cameras are not “a tax on motorists”. They are a means of identifying criminals. If you don’t want to pay, guess what? You can keep to the speed limit. It ain’t no rocket science, bubba.
- Your bank will not send you an e-mail asking you to divulge your password and PIN.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/24 "2003-12-11T21:19:37Z")
Ok, so this is a thread pointing out common misconceptions.
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### Author:  [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/25 "2003-12-11T21:23:33Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Abbreviations that can be pronounced and are composed of bits of words rather than just initials should be spelt out in upper and lower case: Cocom, Frelimo, Kfor, Legco, Mercosur, Nepad, Renamo, Sfor, Unicef, Unisom, Unprofor, Trips (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights). There is generally no need for more than one initial capital letter, unless the word is a company or a trade name: MiG, ConsGold.
From the Economist Style Guide.
I’ve never seen any usage by a major news outlet of Nasa over NASA.
You daft-headed punk-skink. [Obligitory BBQ remark]
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/26 "2003-12-11T21:24:48Z")
It’s PIN, not PIN number.
It’s ATM, not ATM machine or automated ATM machine or automated teller ATM machine.
Apostrophes are not to be sprinkled in at random, or merely to signify the presence of an `s’.
Wrapping quotes around random words is not a good way to emphasize things. It simply makes you look stupid.
Nikola Tesla, for all of his genius, went crazy as a loon. All of his more interesting theories are codswallop and cannot be the basis for successful research.
Weight loss is achieved through honest effort and diet control, not Atkins or magic pills or electrified belts or other balderdash.
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### Author:  [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/27 "2003-12-11T21:39:37Z")
Saw the “origin of the word TIP” on the side of a coffee creamer carton this week. Rrgh. “Tips” is not an acronym for “To Insure Prompt Service.” It doesn’t even make sense. If you wanted to ensure prompt service, you’d tip before you were served, not when you pay the bill. Duh.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/28 "2003-12-11T21:50:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by dav01_
> **Number 1 is an opinion.**
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by gobear \*
> **Nope, #s 1 and 10 are facts.**
Actually, #1 appears to be both. Lee Harvey Oswald [was demonstrably the only shooter](http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Bullet_Theory) but to say he wasn’t someone’s patsy is an opinion.
#10 is a [whoosh](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228547), as I see **World Eater** already indicated.
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### Author:  [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/29 "2003-12-11T22:07:17Z")
1. The Prime Minister of Canada is not the head of state. Neither is the Governor General. The head of state is the Queen. The Governor General is her representative. The Prime Minister is the head of government.
2. If you are Canadian, French is not a foreign language, and _Jésus de Montréal_ is not a foreign film. _Independence Day_, by way of contrast, is.
3. Spanish cuisine and Mexican cuisine are not the same. Try ordering a _tortilla_ in a Spanish and a Mexican restaurant and you’ll see what I mean. (This was an Onion article once.)
4. “that” and “which” are not synonyms.
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/30 "2003-12-11T22:12:13Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*
> \*\*Weight loss is achieved through honest effort and diet control, not Atkins or magic pills or electrified belts or other balderdash. \*\*
I’ve been making an honest effort at controlling my diet (through **Atkins** and excercise) and have lost 60 pounds. Is that balderdash? I’ll be the first to agree that it’s not for everyone, but it worked for me when other diets have failed.
(I agree 100% with all your other points, though.)
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### Author:  [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/31 "2003-12-11T23:17:59Z")
The word “Italian” is not pronounced eye-talian.
No matter what your bible-thumping pastor tells you, Unitarian Universalism is not a cult.
You don’t loose weight. You LOSE weight. Loose is an adjective.
Naming your child Kate’lynne, Maddisynne, or Jakub will not distingush them from the millions of other Caitlins, Madisons and Jacobs they will go to school with. It will, however, doom them to a lifetime of spelling their name to everyone they meet, and people will (correctly) think their parents are stupid and lack taste.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/32 "2003-12-11T23:22:50Z")
Another for the list:
.999… = 1. Cope, motherfucker.
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### Author:  [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/33 "2003-12-11T23:28:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by r\_k \*
> **…or, “A Brief Primer For The Terminally Dumb”.
> 4. It’s "min**u\*\*scule".
> \*\*
Just wanted to point out that I made this error [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228653&postid4338876) when referring to Pud. Hee.
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/34 "2003-12-11T23:48:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*
> Bill Gates didn’t invent BASIC. Or DOS. Or Windows. Or much of anything, for that matter. His success lies in knowing what to steal and when, and being in the right place at the right time.
>
> There are computer systems that don’t pay fealty (or much attention) to Redmond. Don’t write programs or textfiles assuming everyone is willing to put up with the brain-damages to come out of Microsoft.
Yes, yes, yes, I get it. You hate Microsoft. You think we’re all idiots. I’m a brain-damaged moron working for a thief that has stolen every technology he’s ever produced and not one single innovation has ever come out of Microsoft, ever. Understood. :yawn:
Can you change brush sizes every once in awhile?
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### Author:  [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/35 "2003-12-11T23:48:13Z")
The planets have been orbiting just fine for millenia. Things aren’t about to go pear shaped now no matter what that nice mystic told you.
There’s a reason every perpetual machine demonstration seems to end short with some small hard-to-fix part breaking.
Being for one thing doesn’t necessarily mean you’re against something else.
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### Author:  [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/36 "2003-12-11T23:56:34Z")
_Congradulations_ was likely once just a pun on a card for someone graduating from something, the word is _congratulations_ and if you get it wrong again you can start school over from the beginning.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/37 "2003-12-12T00:38:05Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Dooku \*\*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by Derleth \*
> > Bill Gates didn’t invent BASIC. Or DOS. Or Windows. Or much of anything, for that matter. His success lies in knowing what to steal and when, and being in the right place at the right time.
> >
> > There are computer systems that don’t pay fealty (or much attention) to Redmond. Don’t write programs or textfiles assuming everyone is willing to put up with the brain-damages to come out of Microsoft.
>
> Yes, yes, yes, I get it. You hate Microsoft. You think we’re all idiots. I’m a brain-damaged moron working for a thief that has stolen every technology he’s ever produced and not one single innovation has ever come out of Microsoft, ever. Understood. :yawn:
>
> Can you change brush sizes every once in awhile? \*\*
You know, I don’t hate Microsoft but I agree with **Derleth** regarding Bill Gates’ habit of taking technology by force.
The hackers/crackers thing is a lost cause and isn’t likely to ever change.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/38 "2003-12-12T00:45:04Z")
It will not grow hair. Even if a former race car driver says so.
There is no vast government/drug company conspiracy to suppress wonder cures promoted by websites whose “evidence” consists entirely of testimonials.
Suppressing a sneeze (or limiting the decibels of said physiologic event) will not cause your head to explode.
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### Author:  [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/39 "2003-12-12T00:50:36Z")
It’s bigger _th **a** n_, harder _th **a** n_, stronger _th **a** n_, etc., not bigger then, harder then, stronger then. (OMG, that almost hurt me to type. That’s one of the few grammatical errors that’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.)
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### Author:  [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-numbskulls-get-edumakated-right-here-yall/218415/40 "2003-12-12T00:55:50Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228741](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228741)
It’s ridiculous, not rediculous.
You are not diculous again.
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