# Ever been shocked at what some people don't know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416 "2012-03-10T22:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/281 "2012-03-14T19:53:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Even though we read all the Pooh books as kids (I was almost named Christopher Robin), I never understood Eeyore’s name 'til I was an adult. And I never understood it until today. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/282 "2012-03-14T20:23:30Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > The woman stared at me for a minute, and finally came out with, “But where did the FIRST macaws come from?” When the Mesopotamians invented chickens, it really was just a screw up on their way to inventing macaws. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/283 "2012-03-14T20:24:38Z")
Can’t think of anything too awesome. I did have an co-worker who was convinced Mexico was part of Central America. And when my sister was 10 I heard her ask my dad where Nazi Germany was on a map of Germany. She’d heard Nazi Germany enough that she thought it was a city. But she was all of 10 though. She can be excused. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/284 "2012-03-14T20:26:10Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > “But where did SHE get them?” she asked. I told her I didn’t really know, but I assumed she had purchased them at some point as well. The woman stared at me for a minute, and finally came out with, “But where did the FIRST macaws come from?” I would take that as her asking what part of the world Macaws are native to. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/285 "2012-03-14T20:53:17Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Can’t think of anything too awesome. I did have an co-worker who was convinced Mexico was part of Central America. I’m going to say that’s not entirely unreasonable. Yes, the most common definition of the term is the region between Mexico and Columbia. But it could be defined as the region between South America and the bulk of North America. ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/286 "2012-03-14T21:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **bup** > > That’s nice of you to try to excuse her, but Minnesota is on Lake Superior. Major league tides. Um, I live on Lake Superior, and while I’m sure there is a small tidal effect it isn’t perceptible, and is definitely not “Major league”. ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/287 "2012-03-14T21:23:54Z")
I recently had to explain to someone the difference between a male chicken and a female chicken … I was asked recently when is winter in hawaii …I said it is winter… NO it can’t be …it is too hot for winter …I had to explain in deep detail for him to understand … ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/288 "2012-03-14T21:26:11Z")
> [@keeganst94](#): > > Um, I live on Lake Superior, and while I’m sure there is a small tidal effect it isn’t perceptible, and is definitely not “Major league”. Yeah, tidal action in Lake Superior is something like one to four centimeters. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/289 "2012-03-14T21:27:04Z")
> [@Sandra\_Battye](#): > > How about boobies? Thanks, don’t mind if I do! ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/290 "2012-03-14T22:23:48Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > I would take that as her asking what part of the world Macaws are native to. See, that’s what I thought at first too, but it seemed like she was trying to figure out which one of us breeders braved the jungles to steal them from the wild. ---
**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 14, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/291 "2012-03-14T23:05:15Z")
I’ve posted this before (and I’ll probably post it again)… I was listening to a radio program and they related a story about a woman who phoned the local road commission requesting that they move a ‘Deer Crossing’ sign farther away from her property. She did not like the deer crossing the road so close to her home. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/292 "2012-03-14T23:16:26Z")
I listened to something on NPR once about race relations. The lady referred to the dark skinned Africans as African American Africans. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/293 "2012-03-14T23:25:16Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Can’t think of anything too awesome. I did have an co-worker who was convinced Mexico was part of Central America. [Not ridiculous or uncommon.](http://www.nathangibbs.com/2007/06/14/is-mexico-part-of-central-america/) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/294 "2012-03-14T23:42:10Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > I listened to something on NPR once about race relations. The lady referred to the dark skinned Africans as African American Africans. That reminds me of the famous story of one of Nelson Mandela’s first large press conferences after won the election in South Africa. An US journalist asked him what it was like to be the first African-American to win election to a major post in South Africa. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/295 "2012-03-14T23:45:06Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > So, without running to wikipedia or a history book, what can you tell us about Alton B. Parker’s presidential campaign? Though you were a kid, Goldwater was part of your time. Share with us your knowledge of Parker, who was from before your time. I don’t know who Alton B. Parker was. Having written that, I looked him up on wiki. It describes his legacy as one of undeserved obscurity, due to the fact that there were two first-rate candidates, and the other (Teddy Roosevelt) was more colorful. If you’re comparing his relevance to today’s political landscape with that of Goldwater, IMO, you got nothing. The modern conservative movement was energized in the wake of Goldwater’s landslide loss. Goldwater’s stance on the role government should play in Americans’ lives was considered extreme in 1964, but became much more mainstream in the 16 years preceding Reagan’s election. Even more importantly, Goldwater’s opposition to federal intervention to ensure civil rights of all Americans, and the fact that he later changed his mind, shows that opposition to government isn’t as simple as it might seem to a young conservative (the person I was talking with describes herself as very conservative - she _should_ know who Goldwater was.) Were you just trying to bring up an obscure detail from history to try to make me look ignorant? Or is there some enduring importance about Parker that the wiki page doesn’t talk about? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/296 "2012-03-14T23:56:01Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > The woman stared at me for a minute, and finally came out with, “But where did the FIRST macaws come from?” I know what you’re thinking, but it ain’t so! _It’s macaws all the way down!_ ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/297 "2012-03-15T00:00:14Z")
I just went to a pub quiz with my housemate- and am slightly in shock- one of the questions was ‘name 10 of the 12 countries in South America’. I always have trouble remembering which are Central and which are South, so started going through ‘What do I associate with the Amazon’ and such like. My housemate says ‘Isn’t that in Africa?’ Yes, she meant the Amazon. Apparently, it’s in Central Africa now. :smack: Then she says ‘Oh! What countries are the Himalayas in? They’re in South America!’ :eek: I went to the same school as her, I _know_ she had geography lessons… We lost the quiz. Incidently, she’s British, we have them here too. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/298 "2012-03-15T00:02:13Z")
**Scumpup** , your reference also reminds me of a commercial in the mid-1970’s featuring William E. Miller. He was Goldwater’s running mate in 1964, but his obscurity since the election made him a good choice for American Express’ “Do you know me?” campaign. You don’t need to know who William E. Miller was to be conversant with modern American politics. Not so Goldwater. Also, Goldwater remained in the Senate until 1987, and even after he retired, I remember it was big news when he repudiated his oppostion to civil rights law (and later expressed support for gay rights). So he was still around when my young conservative friend was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/299 "2012-03-15T00:04:10Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Even more importantly, Goldwater’s opposition to federal intervention to ensure civil rights of all Americans, and the fact that he later changed his mind, shows that opposition to government isn’t as simple as it might seem to a young conservative (the person I was talking with describes herself as very conservative - she _should_ know who Goldwater was.) Goldwater’s (AuH[sub]2[/sub]O, the newspapers called him) took a very libertarian stance. Later in his life, this arch-conservative became a very vocal supporter of gay rights. [Washington Post article of July 28, 1994](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/daily/may98/goldwater072894.htm): > [@](#): > > At 85, after a life in politics spanning five decades (he retired from the Senate in 1987), Mr. Conservative has found himself an unlikely new career: as a gay rights activist. While that’s not his sole pursuit – he returned to Capitol Hill yesterday to testify in favor of scenic overflights of the Grand Canyon – in recent years he’s championed homosexuals serving in the military and has worked locally to stop businesses in Phoenix from hiring on the basis of sexual orientation. This month he signed on as honorary co-chairman of a drive to pass a federal law preventing job discrimination against homosexuals. The effort, dubbed Americans Against Discrimination, is being spearheaded by the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the influential gay lobbying organization. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/300 "2012-03-15T00:08:46Z")
I had someone insist the city Port Of Spain was in Spain, now that is understandable at first glance. What is not understandable is insisting I am wrong when I repeatedly say it is no where near Spain, it is in Trinidad!:smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=16)