# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/381 "2012-03-17T04:13:58Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Well, considering that tomato sauce is the primary component of most (American) barbecue sauces, this was only slightly less “shocking” than somebody asking if there were any tomatoes in the ketchup. The thought of what barbecue sauce is made from has \*never \*crossed my mind, if you’d asked me if there were tomatoes in it I would have had no idea. I hardly think that’s shocking. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/382 "2012-03-17T04:28:42Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The thought of what barbecue sauce is made from has \*never \*crossed my mind, if you’d asked me if there were tomatoes in it I would have had no idea. I hardly think that’s shocking. I make three barbecue sauces whenever I make barbecue. Only one contains any tomato product. Yes, I agree tomato tends to be in what is “generic” barbecue sauce, but it’s not necessarily a stupid question. If you happen to be in the Carolinas or talking to someone from there, then it’s _especially_ not a stupid question. However, if you’ve seen the barbecue sauce, then you should usually be able to tell whether it contains tomato products or not. I’m having a hard time thinking of a reddish or brown barbecue sauce that doesn’t have tomato in it. (Well, Owensboro-style barbecue sauce/dip is dark, I suppose, and doesn’t have tomato.) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/383 "2012-03-17T04:28:59Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Well, considering that tomato sauce is the primary component of most (American) barbecue sauces, this was only slightly less “shocking” than somebody asking if there were any tomatoes in the ketchup. Especially coming from a person whose reason for asking was a tomato allergy (something I neglected to mention). I assume (assuming is bad, I know, but the thread _is_ basically about those things we _assume_ everybody knows) people with food allergies are in the habit of checking ingredient labels, and would think somebody with a tomato allergy would have noticed a pattern in the labels on bottles of barbecue sauce at some point. If I had a tomato allergy, I’d ask the same question, precisely because tomato sauce is only in \*some \*American barbeque sauces. I’d be hoping that, especially in a buffet setting, you had some mustard/vinegar sauces without tomato in them. Today in Chicago, most barbeque joints have three sauces on the table, only one of which is the tomato based thick and sweet Chicago barbeque is known for. There’s also usually a [thin Carolina style vinegar based sauce](http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/r/ble31017a.htm) and a [mustard based sauce](http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/r/bl80905a.htm), too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/384 "2012-03-17T04:41:14Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Today in Chicago, most barbeque joints have three sauces on the table, only one of which is the tomato based thick and sweet Chicago barbeque is known for. There’s also usually a [thin Carolina style vinegar based sauce](http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/r/ble31017a.htm) and a [mustard based sauce](http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/r/bl80905a.htm), too. Yep, and those are the three I serve with my barbecue. (To nitpick, the old school South and West Side Chicago joints are only going to have two sauces: hot and mild [and you can mix these.] Both are usually tomato-based. The vinegar sauce and mustard sauce is something borrowed from the Carolina tradition and something you’ll find in fancier, sit-down “new wave” Chicago barbecue. You certainly won’t find it at places like Lem’s, Barbara Ann’s, Uncle John’s, or even Honey 1, all examples of traditional Chicago barbecue.) ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/385 "2012-03-17T04:54:01Z")
> [@Misaheun](#): > > I’ve come across an absurd number of Americans who have never heard of Illinois, Sometimes I wish I never had, and I’m from there! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/386 "2012-03-17T05:14:06Z")
Goddamn, North and South Carolina’s sauces are good. I hardly ever make a thick Kansas-style red anymore. I’m tempted to tell them to fuck off, but they do have their place. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/387 "2012-03-17T05:18:31Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Sometimes I wish I never had, and I’m from there! Hahahahaha… I don’t know why but that really cracks me up. Hahahahaha. But just the same I hate the Chicago TV anchors who’s been around for years still can’t pronounce Chicago properly; it’s not _Chit-ca-go or Shit-ca-go_ damn it! ---
**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 17, 2012, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/388 "2012-03-17T08:04:00Z")
On the subject, ketchup was originally a term for any number of thick sweet-and-savory condiments made from fruits or vegetables. I’ve seen old recipes for banana ketchup, grape ketchup, mushroom ketchup, onion ketchup, and walnut ketchup, none of which contain any tomatoes. Admittedly, tomato ketchup has long been the default flavor. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/389 "2012-03-17T10:14:07Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > I’m not trying to be an elitist jerk here, and it’s not like I think people should all be well versed in Shakespeare to be considered intelligent, but working with the general public has made me realize just how ignorant some people are with things I assumed were public knowledge. > > Today, for example, I had this exchange with a customer (BTW, I own a pet store, so many of these are animal-related): > Customer: My cockatiel keeps laying eggs, but none of them ever hatch. > Me: Do you have a male? > Customer: No. Why? > > Now, I assumed that it was fairly common knowledge that most species require a male and a female to reproduce. > > Another time, a lady was disturbed to see her aquatic frog rise to the top of the bag to take a breath. She freaked out and asked what it was doing. I told her it was taking a breath. She looked at me for a moment, confused, and asked, “So, it’s not a fish?” > > Please share your similar stories and convince me that I don’t live in the stupidest town in America. Good heavens! I don’t think you’re being elitist at all. That’s just moronic, how on earth can people reach adulthood and not know these things? The fertilization thing, shouldn’t that be obvious? wow. Now, I can give the frog lady a bit of a break if maybe she picked out what she thought looked like a fish, maybe she hadn’t realized what she thought was a pretty fish, was actually a frog? (bad eyesight, old?)…but other than that…sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/390 "2012-03-17T11:20:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > On the subject, ketchup was originally a term for any number of thick sweet-and-savory condiments made from fruits or vegetables. I’ve seen old recipes for banana ketchup, grape ketchup, mushroom ketchup, onion ketchup, and walnut ketchup, none of which contain any tomatoes. Admittedly, tomato ketchup has long been the default flavor. Yup. Even further back, it meant “brown sauce made from fish or shellfish”. The word is a Malay adaptation of a Chinese word – and of course neither place knew about tomatoes before the 1500s. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/391 "2012-03-17T12:14:02Z")
I’ve heard people insist that Mexico is in South America. “It’s south of America!”. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/392 "2012-03-17T13:43:46Z")
> [@Misaheun](#): > > I’ve come across an absurd number of Americans who have never heard of Illinois, and think that Chicago is a state (one of them labeled Indiana as such) I’m not sure how to break this to you, but Indiana IS a state. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/393 "2012-03-17T13:53:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > (To nitpick, the old school South and West Side Chicago joints are only going to have two sauces: hot and mild [and you can mix these.] G’wan, you know I’m a North Side girl! I’m sure you’ve known about this place forever, but the kids and I just discovered Fat Willy’s, tucked back by the movie theater on Schubert. OMG good, and lots of naturally gluten free options on the menu. Their collards and salads are simply phenomenal, too. 'Cause we all go to a rib shack for the veggies, right? 😃 I think tonight we’re going to try Pork Shoppe, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/394 "2012-03-17T13:55:12Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Sort of depends who you asked at the time: Communists said that Fascists were just Capitalists with the kid gloves taken off, Fascists said that Communists were Capitalists who took progressivism all the way, and Capitalists said that Fascists and Communists were equal and opposite varieties of Totalitarianism. > 😛 Okay, but what exactly are the _ **Feminazis** _ that Rush Limbaugh talks about? 😉 ---
**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 17, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/395 "2012-03-17T14:11:09Z")
> [@Jasper\_Kent](#): > > Okay, but what exactly are the _ **Feminazis** _ that Rush Limbaugh talks about? > > 😉 They were the ruling party of Femland allied with the axis powers in WW2. Jeez, don’t you know anything? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/396 "2012-03-17T14:52:20Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > They were the ruling party of Femland allied with the axis powers in WW2. Jeez, don’t you know anything? :rolleyes: Heh! Seriously, I will forever think of the Finns as “the only people who ever told Stalin to go fuck himself and made it stick”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/397 "2012-03-17T14:59:40Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > > [@Misaheun](#): > > > > I’ve come across an absurd number of Americans who have never heard of Illinois, and think that Chicago is a state (one of them labeled Indiana as such). > > I’m not sure how to break this to you, but Indiana IS a state. Unless I read **Misaheun** ’s post incorrectly, one person labeled the State of Indiana as the ‘State of Chicago’. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/398 "2012-03-17T15:06:13Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > G’wan, you know I’m a North Side girl! I’m sure you’ve known about this place forever, but the kids and I just discovered Fat Willy’s, tucked back by the movie theater on Schubert. OMG good, and lots of naturally gluten free options on the menu. Their collards and salads are simply phenomenal, too. 'Cause we all go to a rib shack for the veggies, right? 😃 > > I think tonight we’re going to try Pork Shoppe, though. Ah, yes, Fat Willy’s. That’s where my BBQ journey started. Up on the North Side, also try Smoque. That’s probably my favorite all around of the new wave of barbecue joints. Honey 1 (which is just down the street from Fat Willy’s on Western) is an example of traditional Chicago barbecue: aquarium smoker, (rib) tips, links, and spare rib slabs. Unlike a traditional Chicago barbecue, it also has a seating section. I have a feeling I may have mentioned that one to you before. Depending on what you like in barbecue, this may be hit or miss for you. Smoque is more general barbecue, and their brisket is simply the best I’ve had in the city (that’s not from my backyard.) ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/399 "2012-03-17T15:42:06Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > She literally (not figuratively) meant: there were no chickens, Mesopotamians made chickens, and then there were chickens. I am just giggling silly over the [“God-with-a-white-beard-in-the-clouds”](http://www.thatssoyang.com/google/) image saying, “Let the be chickens!” Chicken or egg? Asked and answeed! 'Twas just a silly thought. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/400 "2012-03-17T16:43:33Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I demand that you say “soory” right now! Sorry, but I don’t know what _soory_ means, so I won’t say it. I’m so sorry if that bothers you. I’ll just be going on my errands now, sorry as a step by you, and sorry for bumping your arm. Oh, and have a great day, eh? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=21)