# Basic facts you learned late in life that you didn't really know. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711 "2010-02-19T23:37:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/181 "2010-03-02T01:25:32Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > No it doesn’t. The placenta is completely formed by the fetus, consisting of blood vessels and membranes called allantois, chorion, and amnion (and yolk sac). > > The placenta DOES NOT contain maternal blood vessels. Depending on the type of placenta (and there are various), it has different ways of communicating and attaching to the uterus. These attachments are where the close contacts between the maternal and fetal circulations occur. I think this is variable between mammals - in mouse (the species where I look at placenta), there is indeed a thick maternal layer of the placenta, which contains maternal blood vessels. It is derived from the original decidua which surrounds the conceptus in pre-placental earlier stages. Of course, much like in human, the trophoblasts extensively invade the maternal uterine vessels and remodel their walls. Which is freaking creepy, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/182 "2010-03-02T03:33:33Z")
Don’t know about that… I would still consider placenta proper to be of fetal origin (the chorion-allantoic layer and all that). A fetal organ that can be very invasive and wrap around maternal blood vessels, yes, but all of it of fetal origin. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/183 "2010-03-02T03:44:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I assume this is a serious question. Ponies are not baby horses. Ponies are certain breeds of small horses such as the Shetland Pony. They never grow up into full sized horses. They are bred to be small although there are even smaller breeds like miniature horses. Kids usually like them because they are scaled down even so that they can ride and pet them. > > Young horses of all types are referred to by completely different terms. A colt is a young male horse and a filly is a young female horse. Both sexes can be referred to as a foal when it is really young and the sex isn’t obvious through casual observation. I just learned 10 minutes ago that a pony isn’t a baby horse. So I guess my parents _could’ve_ bought me a pony for my birthday then. Grow up to be too big for the house my ass… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![HotSmoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@HotSmoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotSmoke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/184 "2010-03-02T03:52:43Z")
For years I thought Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” was actually “Red Hot Love”. I think I was around 30 when I found out the truth. I felt really stupid. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/185 "2010-03-02T03:56:51Z")
No [Asses](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asinus) don’t get very big at all . . . at least not burros. . . ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/186 "2010-03-02T05:56:46Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > What, everything you thought was true when you were 4 turned out to be true? 😛 I just decided one day as a child that [this must be the boy](http://www.abfboergoats.com/images/meat.jpg)and [this must be the girl](http://www.travel-destination-pictures.com/data/media/67/cute-sheep_1008.jpg). After all, [boy cows](http://witchdoctor.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/bull.jpg)have horns and [girl cows](http://yellowallpaper.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/cow.jpg) don’t and they are referred to as bulls and cows. [Boy deer](http://www.mo.gov/mo/mophotos/wildlife/WI_BigBuck_Bohmie_052405.jpg) have horns and [girl deer](http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/wma/images/matador_sisk_pen_white_tailed_doe_smaller.jpg)don’t and they are referred to as bucks and does. It was obvious to me as a child that goat/sheep was the male/female of that species. It made total sense in my mind. It just happened to be something that I never ended up discussing with anyone and since I didn’t live in an agricultural area I didn’t get a lot of hands-on experience with sheep or goats. Hell, lots of people on this very board admitted at one point or another thinking that the cats were girls and the dogs were the boys and they look less alike than sheep and goats. Hey, that cow thing you just said is joke, right? I mean, you only believed boy cow/girl cow horn/no-horn when you were young, yes? I know I had to explain to some of my childhood classmates (on field trips to my house, because I have cows) that no, some girl cows do have horns, and unless you’re dealing with some bull-riding bulls or breeds for which horns are desirable or non-optional (Longhorns, for instance), most boy cows don’t have horns. (I’ve had to explain to people that no, that’s the bull’s scrotum, not a cow’s udder before, though, so I try not to expect normal people to have cow knowledge.) ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/187 "2010-03-02T06:43:26Z")
I always liked the “What Were You Doing When You Heard Kennedy Was Shot” sketch on Saturday Night Live. > **[The Forum - SNL Transcripts Tonight](https://snltranscripts.jt.org/83/83fforum.phtml)** > > The Forum It doesn’t read half as funny as actually seeing it, of course, but take my word for it, Tim Kazurinsky was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/188 "2010-03-02T17:06:11Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Until a thread I read a few months ago, I thought that soldier was a catch-all for anybody in the military instead of referring just to people in the Army. I’m sorry, but this has been annoying me. The U.S. military may have decided to re-invent the English language, but according to any dictionary you can find and according to the rest of the English-speaking world, “soldier” does in fact refer to any member of any military who isn’t a sailor. And yes, that includes Marines. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/189 "2010-03-02T17:30:24Z")
Man, this thread is turning into “Basic facts you learned late in life that you didn’t really know, and then you learned them wrong, and NOW you’re learning them correctly…maybe.” 😛 I guess that doesn’t fit in the subject line, though. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/190 "2010-03-02T20:45:32Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > I always liked the “What Were You Doing When You Heard Kennedy Was Shot” sketch on Saturday Night Live. > [The Forum - SNL Transcripts Tonight](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/83/83fforum.phtml) > It doesn’t read half as funny as actually seeing it, of course, but take my word for it, Tim Kazurinsky was hilarious. Man, that’s great even just reading it. I wish I could see a clip now. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/191 "2010-03-02T20:57:24Z")
This one was embarrassing but apparently I was not alone in this: As a kid I found it odd that when dividing fractions you got a bigger number than when you started. I mean, if you divide something it has to be smaller right? Well no, 0.5 / 0.25 = 2 My whole life I never understood that but just did the math problems like I was told and left it at that. I never got it when I was young and originally taught it and never thought to seek a better answer when I was older. Move forward to when I was entering a tutoring program for inner city kids (I was to be a tutor). They brought in some teachers to give myself and the other tutors in the program a quick refresher on a lot of the basics so we could explain them to the kids if asked. I asked about the bit above and got numerous murmurs of agreement from around the room. Even the teacher paused for some seconds trying to figure how to explain it. Then she did and it was simple and obvious and I saw the light and all that (phrase the question as how many time can 0.25 go into 0.5). A great, “Ahhhh!” was heard in the room. Silly I know but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/192 "2010-03-03T00:07:45Z")
I didn’t realize pickles were made from cucumbers until a few years ago (:smack:) Also thought in Gordon Lightfoot’s “Carefree Highway” he was singing “Every Highway” 😕 . Okay, those are the only ones I’ll **ADMIT** to right now! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/193 "2010-03-03T00:10:54Z")
> [@mo50](#): > > Also thought in Gordon Lightfoot’s “Carefree Highway” he was singing “Every Highway” 😕 . > > Okay, those are the only ones I’ll **ADMIT** to right now! 🙂 He’s singing what!!! Oh no! ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/194 "2010-03-03T00:43:06Z")
Misheard song lyrics could be their own thread. I always thought the song that went “purty little love song” was absurdly self-complimentary until I found out it was “heard it in a love song”. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/195 "2010-03-03T11:58:24Z")
> [@mo50](#): > > I didn’t realize pickles were made from cucumbers until a few years ago (:smack:) Even though they look like little cucumbers? Man, you really don’t pay attention do you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/196 "2010-03-03T13:20:26Z")
Some technical people are very vehement that a website should (normally) use “www”, especially if the domain is used for anything other than the website (email, ftp, etc), although I can’t now remember the argument. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/197 "2010-03-03T15:28:55Z")
My mis-heard song lyric - which I learned was wrong less than a year ago - is from Jimmy Buffet: _Wasted away in Margaritaville Looking for my outlaw shaker of salt_ And it _still_ sounds like he’s saying ‘outlaw’ to me; go ahead and give it a listen and tell me I’m wrong. Also, I like my version better than ‘long lost’ shaker of salt. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duhkecco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Duhkecco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duhkecco)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/198 "2010-03-03T16:11:37Z")
I thought it was “lost shaker of salt”, rather than “long lost shaker of salt”. Also, “Wastin’ away …” and not “Wasted away …” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/199 "2010-03-03T18:16:00Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > Some technical people are very vehement that a website should (normally) use “www”, especially if the domain is used for anything other than the website (email, ftp, etc), although I can’t now remember the argument. It’s the same reason that people have first names. If there’s a family named “Smith” who is unfamiliar to me, what happens when I call out “Hey, Smith, it’s Bob, come over here?” That’s OK for a family containing 1 Smith. But if there’s a family of 8 Smiths, then it becomes problematic. They can infer how to route the request by looking at the type of request and sending it to the right Smith, but why do the extra work when they can just require people to ask for Tinker Smith, Tailor Smith, Soldier Smith, etc? So basically, it’s easier for network admins to require you (or your browser) to ask for what you want instead of trying to read your mind. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/200 "2010-03-05T13:37:02Z")
> [@Doody\_Pants](#): > > Getting back to Subway… when I lived in NYC I never once went inside a Subway, so if the wallpaper shows the NYC subway system that’s news to me 🙂 If I wanted a cold cut sandwich I went to a deli, and if I wanted a hot sandwich I went to a pizzaria. > > Growing up, we called all long sandwiches heroes. As an adult, I learned that depending on where you are in the country determines what you call a sandwich. Grinders, hoagies, subs… they’re all heroes to me. And in Westchester, NY, that type of sandwich is called a wedge. A wedge. What the frack is a wedge? I’ve never encountered that word as a name for a sandwich anywhere else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711.md?page=11)