Basic facts you learned late in life that you didn't really know.

[SteveG1]

@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?

[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.

[Bites_When_Provoked]

@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

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

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.

[BrotherCadfael]

@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.

[Lok]

@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?

[elfkin477]

@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.

[Superfluous_Parentheses]

@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.

[stpauler]

@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 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!

[pbbth]

@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.

[dhkendall]

@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 …

[Simplicio]

@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.

[FatBaldGuy]

@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.

[Illuminatiprimus]

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!

[salinqmind]

[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!”

[salinqmind]

@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.

[Raguleader]

@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.

[salinqmind]

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.

[delphica]

@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.

[Enuma_Elish]

@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: