# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/61 "2010-02-20T21:14:48Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > Oh boy, here goes… When I was a kid I grew up way outside the city and always wondered about signs that said “DO NOT PASS” I thought that I was not allowed to cross the road parallel even tho ( Grammar Nazis fuck off) I was walking and there were no cars for miles. :smack: The one that confused me, was the NO STANDING sign, at the bus stop. Was I supposed to sit on the ground, pace back and forth, or hop up and down? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/62 "2010-02-20T21:27:48Z")
Oodly I always new that ponies weren’t baby horses, but I always thought they were a different species then horses (like donkeys) rather then just a breed. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/63 "2010-02-20T22:26:47Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I grew up thinking “condone” means you disapprove of something. I mean, “con” means against, right? It’s a fair enough confusion, so I feel bad for laughing but… I’m just imagining you mentally replaying conversations you’d had in the past, and thinking things like, ‘Oh, no! Did I really say I \*condoned \* embezzling? No wonder I didn’t win that job interview!’ :D:D:D ---
**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:** [February 20, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/64 "2010-02-20T23:02:37Z")
Along the lines of - but not quite as amusing as - the Jerry Lee Lewis observation… Many years ago I thought the actor James Dean had, after retiring from acting, gone into the pork sausage bidness. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/65 "2010-02-20T23:26:38Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > I did not realize until a couple years ago that George Washington and George Washington Carver were two different people. In my defense, I grew up in Canada, so I never took American history, and I did know that George Washington was the first president. So when I heard about all these peanut experiments and whatnot that he also did, I thought, wow, that was one seriously busy dude. Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were both at about that level of busy. And that’s completely aside from what they got up to after hours. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/66 "2010-02-21T02:16:56Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Many years ago I thought the actor James Dean had, after retiring from acting, gone into the pork sausage bidness. Was this before or after he died in the car wreck? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/67 "2010-02-21T02:22:23Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Wait…isn’t that precisely what it means? “Caution: Deer have been known to regularly cross the road around this spot. Be on the lookout for them.”? No, it means “deer regularly cross this road,” without an attempt to show you where on the road they cross. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/68 "2010-02-21T02:41:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Oodly I always new that ponies weren’t baby horses, but I always thought they were a different species then horses (like donkeys) rather then just a breed. Here’s something for you: **Oddly** , I always **knew** that ponies weren’t baby horses, but I always thought they were a different species **than** horses (like donkeys) rather **than** just a breed. I’m not trying to be condescending, but than/then misspellings really piss me off. As for new/knew, I don’t know how you’d make that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/69 "2010-02-21T03:05:23Z")
> [@groo](#): > > For about 44 years, I tied my shoes in a sub-optimal way, using what I now know was a granny knot. [Then I read this](http://lifehacker.com/5451765/ditch-the-granny-knot-to-tie-your-shoes-more-efficiently) and, for the past three weeks, have been living the high life, with shoes that stay tightly tied all day long, even my running shoes, which I no longer need to double-knot. Looking back, I can’t believe I let myself live that way. I watched the video last night and gave it a try today. I usually tie my shoes a little tight and they loosen up but with that knot, they stayed tight for hours and look a bit snappy too. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/70 "2010-02-21T03:36:43Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Dear Lord, tell me you made this up. Nope. I somehow got the idea as a child and no one ever told me differently, probably because sheep/goat fucking doesn’t come up often in conversation. I did know that ponies were not baby horses and that pineapples don’t grow on trees from a very early age though. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/71 "2010-02-21T04:00:20Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > “Con” means “with”. Con is the same as Com, which comes from Latin “cum”, meaning exactly “with”. What were you thinking it meant to consecrate a marriage? I don’t know, but working the word “cum” in there suddenly makes a hell of a lot of sense … ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/72 "2010-02-21T04:04:50Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > I’m not trying to be condescending, but than/then misspellings really piss me off. As for new/knew, I don’t know how you’d make that mistake. Eh, its the way my brain works, I always flip words with their homophones when I write quickly. After twenty plus years of doing it I don’t really expend a lot of effort trying to fight it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/73 "2010-02-21T05:27:30Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I was properly educated when I read that same thread. I was _crushed_ when I realized the truth. Wow, you can really Dole out the puns. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/74 "2010-02-21T16:14:52Z")
I didn’t know how to use an apostrophe with complete accuracy until I was 21, and I was for a while studying a degree in English! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/75 "2010-02-21T16:26:07Z")
[quote=“Mr.Excellent, post:28, topic:529711”] > [@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. > /QUOTE] > > And of course, historians and the peoples of the Asian steppe have long known how utterly terrifying pony-mounted cavalry can be. Ponies don’t need as much food as larger horses, are more nimble, and (when bred properly) can travel faster over longer distances. Plus, they’re easier to remain seated on in battle. Attilla’s Huns were pony-mounted troops, and they were seen as the scourge of God Himself. > > Never, ever fuck with a man who has a pony, and friends with same. This is the lesson of history. “_I_ had a pony. It was a beautiful pony! It was the Pride of Krakow!” ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/76 "2010-02-21T16:35:25Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Yeah, what he said. I put my wedding ring on the day I got married three years ago, and it hasn’t come off since. I suppose I would take it off if I worked someplace where it would be dangerous to have a ring, but I don’t, so the ring stays on. Normal washing doesn’t affect it. Never got why people take off their rings, which only leads to sit-com situations like dropping it down a drain, or losing it and scrambling to replace it before spouse notices. It’s metal. And gem(s). Unless your hands are buried in bread dough, which necessitates a good cleaning, what possible harm can soap and water do to a ring? I’m currently wearing an eye-popping band of emeralds and diamonds and I wash the dishes, do the laundry, clean the toilets, and change the litter box with no noticeable effect on my bling. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/77 "2010-02-21T16:42:33Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Never got why people take off their rings, which only leads to sit-com situations like dropping it down a drain, or losing it and scrambling to replace it before spouse notices. > It’s metal. And gem(s). Unless your hands are buried in bread dough, which necessitates a good cleaning, what possible harm can soap and water do to a ring? I’m currently wearing an eye-popping band of emeralds and diamonds and I wash the dishes, do the laundry, clean the toilets, and change the litter box with no noticeable effect on my bling. I’m guessing the concern is getting stuff under the ring while you cook and clean, or if you wear gloves when you clean, snagging them on aforementioned bling. ETA: So, there are a number of jobs where you have to remove your jewelry before going about your job, right? This includes flying Air Force jets. Usually what pilots do is they take off their ring and either deposit it in a pocket, or place it somewhere in the cockpit where they can retrieve it later. Of course, if you forget your ring, the maintainers will find it and happily return it for you in return for a case of beer. I know a guy who got a case of beer from a Brigadier General this way.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/78 "2010-02-21T20:31:18Z")
Oh, I didn’t think of that. I did off my solitaire engagement ring for about a year when I had the baby cause I didn’t want to scratch her. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/79 "2010-02-21T20:50:33Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Hint for the uninitiated: “Goodness gracious, great balls of HEEEYY LAAADDDYYYYY!” This is my second favorite SDMB quote ever. I still laugh and laugh. Of course, I thought Ralph Ellison and Harlan Ellison were the same person. I believed he was a black writer who explored issues related to race and society, and then wrote science fiction to relax, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711/80 "2010-02-21T20:58:15Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > Nope. I somehow got the idea as a child and no one ever told me differently, probably because **sheep/goat fucking doesn’t come up often in conversation.** I did know that ponies were not baby horses and that pineapples don’t grow on trees from a very early age though. I take it you’re not from North Dakota? :D:p:eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basic-facts-you-learned-late-in-life-that-you-didnt-really-know/529711.md?page=5)