# 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:** 26
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/501 "2012-03-20T00:35:04Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Because the “v” sound followed immediately by the “w” sound (spelled here, as it often is on French, “oi”) is NOT a valid sound sequence for native English words. So, English speakers (unless they’ve learned some French) tend to find it easier to skip the “v”, and some don’t even “hear” (perceive) it. > > In this case, the “wahlah” pronunciation has been reinforced by its frequent use by magicians (and parodies of them - Sesame Street comes to mind), so even English speakers who DO speak some French, and so “know better”, will pronounce it this way sometimes. I’ve never heard anyone in the UK fail to pronounce the v so that should be\* some \*English speakers, maybe _some English speakers in the USA_. _Beaten by **Amanset** _ ---
**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 20, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/502 "2012-03-20T00:36:13Z")
ETA: I meant that as a joke, but it turns out that, IMHO, the Wikipedia page I linked to, on the St. Johns River, is a terrific (yet not overwhelming) fount of information. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/503 "2012-03-20T00:47:42Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I think that’s nitpicking - and, in any case, I think there were probably enough people born in Upper and Lower Canada who participated in the war to say that Canadians had a role in it. Lots of people born in Canada had a role in the war. Next to nobody (it may in fact have been nobody, but I can’t say for sure) born in Canada had a role in the burning of Washington. To use a really easy comparison; lots of Canadians had a role in World War II. It would be damned strange for a Canadian to express pride at our winning the Battle of Midway. That said, Canadians generally have an understanding of their country’s history that is approximately 1% of yours, so I’m just being picky (but this is a thread about being picky.) Military history to most Canadians is: A Long, Long, Long Time Ago: Canada wins War of 1812 A Long Time Ago: Vimy Ridge Also A Long Time Ago, Maybe After Vimy Ridge But Maybe Before: Dieppe Probably After Those: Avro Arrow, Superplane Capable of Flying to Mars Today: Afghanistan ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/504 "2012-03-20T01:03:53Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I can find support for pronouncing Tokyo as [Toe-key-oh](http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/Tokyo) and as [Toke-ee-oh](http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/d291/Tokyo). > > So I don’t think it’s fair to say people are wrong for pronouncing it with three sylables. This question came up in [a recent thread about Haiku](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=632261). Conclusions were that “‘Tokyo’ has four moras, but only two syllables” (so maybe “three syllables” is a fair compromise 😉 ) and that “‘Tokyo’ sounds almost identical to how English speakers pronounce it.” I’d agree that a good example of ignorance is failure to understand that different languages use different phonetic systems. I have a friend who speaks almost no Thai and constantly complains that the servers give him blank stares when he orders a “burger” while trying to say “burger” with a Thai accent! :smack: (They’d probably have no problem with English-sounding “burger.”) (Thai is a _tonal_ language but, perhaps paradoxically, English-speaking people will often have a better chance of approximating a Thai word if they speak in a deliberate monotone.) ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/505 "2012-03-20T01:05:14Z")
A couple of years ago I was driving a car with a female friend, we’re both in our mid-thirties, and we were giving a lift to a second friend who was in her early twenties _(at that time)_. Myself and my friend were discussing the political situation here and talking about the dissident terrorist attacks which had recently occurred, I stated, “I wonder if they’ll start attacking England again”, my passenger in the back seat scoffed and replied, “The IRA never bombed England!”, before hesitating at the sudden silence as my front-seat passenger and I looked at each other and then at her, “…did they?” she continued tentatively. She genuinely didn’t know, the most surprising part is that she is a smart and well-educated person but as I later learned with very little interest outside of popular entertainment and information that is of immediate practical use to her. This is something I wouldn’t expect someone outside Northern Ireland to know but for someone who was born and grew up here to be unaware of it was truly surprising, and actually explains a lot, if someone like her can be ignorant of the recent history of her country how hard would it be for someone of less than noble intent to brainwash people less advantaged than her. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/506 "2012-03-20T02:11:28Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:495, topic:615416”] Like the fact that a 454-post thread may be 10 pages for you, but anywhere from 3 to 91 pages for someone else? [/QUOTE] i know that. similiarly, when i use kilometres it doesn’t mean i am unaware of miles. people are also quick to jump to conclusions. 😉 like the OP - just because you know that reproduction generally requires a male and a female, it doesn’t mean you were taught that there are such things as unfertilised eggs. it’s counterintuitive, why would you lay eggs that would never hatch? even if you knew, you may not make the connection between that and period juice. which is more likely? that a person can’t tell the difference between fins and legs or she might have simply assumed all along that frogs, like fishes, are able to breathe in their natural habitat. > [@Alias](#): > > … > > 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?” > > … ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/507 "2012-03-20T02:20:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Military history to most Canadians is: > > A Long, Long, Long Time Ago: Canada wins War of 1812 > A Long Time Ago: Vimy Ridge > Also A Long Time Ago, Maybe After Vimy Ridge But Maybe Before: Dieppe > Probably After Those: Avro Arrow, Superplane Capable of Flying to Mars > Today: Afghanistan And for Québecois, toss in Dollard Des Ormeaux (contrary to my family’s jokes, he had nothing to do with Dollaramas and doesn’t actually share a birthday with Queen Victoria) Louis Riel WWI Conscription (boo! hiss!) The Plaines d’Abraham (Oh God, _why?!?!?!_) (ETA: obviously not in that order… that’s just the order I thought of them in!) And while I appreciate your comment that I know more history than most, I really just remember keywords, know about [www.wikipedia.com](http://www.wikipedia.com) and am literate. Which may, or may not, be more than most…:dubious:😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/508 "2012-03-20T02:28:30Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > This is something I wouldn’t expect someone outside Northern Ireland to know… I think we English might know a little about it too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/509 "2012-03-20T02:53:45Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > And the Egyptions. Fuck those guys. I think you mean the Greeks. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/510 "2012-03-20T03:17:31Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > I’ve got a friend called something similar to Juan Singh - I observed he’s got some Spanish and Indian connections. That’s interesting he says, he wondered why I would say that. Really? I love names like that (maybe because I’m Whitey McWhiteguy whose parents don’t really know anything about our background). My favorite was a guy running for office in Houston named Aloysious Hoang. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/511 "2012-03-20T03:24:34Z")
I got engaged my senior year of college. I went to my part-time job in the accounting department of a dot-com (ah, the good ol’ days…) to share the news, and one of my co-workers - who was at least 30 - asked if we were going to have a full mass for our wedding. I said something like, “Well, we’re Protestant, so we don’t do mass, but we’ll have a church wedding.” She said, “What do you mean ‘Protestant?’ You won’t have a mass?” I sort of looked at her, saying, “You know, Protestant. Like… not Catholic?” She said, “But I thought you were a Christian.” The conversation went on like that - she’d never heard of Martin Luther, or Henry VIII, or anything, and apparently had no awareness of non-Catholic Christians (she’d been raised Catholic). She had a college degree and everything. I was floored. ---
**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 20, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/512 "2012-03-20T11:25:32Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Myself and my friend were discussing the political situation here and talking about the dissident terrorist attacks which had recently occurred, I stated, “I wonder if they’ll start attacking England again”, my passenger in the back seat scoffed and replied, “The IRA never bombed England!”, before hesitating at the sudden silence as my front-seat passenger and I looked at each other and then at her, “…did they?” she continued tentatively. > > She genuinely didn’t know… I don’t doubt a word of your story, and it sounds like she really was ignorant about this, _but_ the phrase “XXX **bombed** XXX”, at least in the American vernacular I’m familiar with, implies _“dropped bombs from airplanes”_…and"XXX bombed _England_" implies “dropped bombs from airplanes over a large part of the country”. We would say, rather, that “IRA terrorists blew up bombs in England”, or some such. (Or correct me if I’m wrong and they DID have an air force!) ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/513 "2012-03-20T12:17:05Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I think we English might know a little about it too. 😉 I imagine you probably noticed! :smack: > [@JKellyMap](#): > > I don’t doubt a word of your story, and it sounds like she really was ignorant about this, but the phrase “XXX bombed XXX”, at least in the American vernacular I’m familiar with, implies “dropped bombs from airplanes”…and"XXX bombed England" implies “dropped bombs from airplanes over a large part of the country”. > > We would say, rather, that “IRA terrorists blew up bombs in England”, or some such. (Or correct me if I’m wrong and they DID have an air force!) I can see where you’re coming from but in the context of a discussion about terrorist activities over here to say that somewhere was bombed the immediate image that leaps to mind is that of a car-bomb _(or Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device to use the current venacular, more accurate but not as catchy)_. The IRA didn’t have an air force but on at least one occassion they experimented with a radio controlled light airplane packed with explosives. Not sure why that particular means of attack didn’t go anywhere _(and thankfully it didn’t!)_. btw in a coincendence ‘Belfast Child’ by Simple Minds has just started on my playlist…I think somebodies trying to tell me something… ---
**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 20, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/514 "2012-03-20T12:55:04Z")
> [@stargazer](#): > > … “You know, Protestant. Like… not Catholic?” She said, “But I thought you were a Christian.” … This one cracked me up because I’ve heard the same mistake the other way around: “He used to be Catholic but now he’s a Christian.” ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/515 "2012-03-20T13:05:16Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > And for Québecois, toss in > Dollard Des Ormeaux (contrary to my family’s jokes, he had nothing to do with Dollaramas and doesn’t actually share a birthday with Queen Victoria) > Louis Riel > WWI Conscription (boo! hiss!) > The Plaines d’Abraham (Oh God, _why?!?!?!_) > > (ETA: obviously not in that order… that’s just the order I thought of them in!) > > And while I appreciate your comment that I know more history than most, I really just remember keywords, know about [www.wikipedia.com](http://www.wikipedia.com) and am literate. > > Which may, or may not, be more than most…:dubious:😃 For Louis Riel, would that not more appropriately read ‘for Francophones’ - it’s not like QC is the only place or perhaps even the key place where people know about him. ---
**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 20, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/516 "2012-03-20T13:21:04Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > I can see where you’re coming from but in the context of a discussion about terrorist activities over here to say that somewhere was bombed the immediate image that leaps to mind is that of a car-bomb… > The IRA didn’t have an air force but on at least one occassion they experimented with a radio controlled light airplane packed with explosives… Makes sense to me. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/517 "2012-03-20T13:29:44Z")
I don’t get the Tok-yo one. In any language, place names of countries or important foreign cities often have a local pronunciation that is different to the native pronunciation (or they may even have a completely different name, but that’s a different point). To an English speaker, Tok-yo is not difficult to say, but it is unusual to have a k and a y adjacent but spanning two syllables like that, so in the past it has been anglicized somewhat to toe-key-oh. I wouldn’t consider it ignorance necessarily. I bet there are western cities that have a different Japanese pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/518 "2012-03-20T13:37:05Z")
> [@Jasper\_Kent](#): > > I guess I’m weird, though. I understand very little Spanish, but give me some text to read aloud and it will sound perfect-- even though I may have no idea what I’m saying. You should be able to do the same with Finnish, then. The phonetics are almost the same, according both to my Finnish-speaking uncle and to the Finnish woman whose toddler brought me a book to read to him 🙂 They do differentiate Z and S and their LL is a long L. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/519 "2012-03-20T14:32:40Z")
The first time I said ‘hyperbole’ out loud it sounded like a really amazing football game - the Hyper Bowl! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/520 "2012-03-20T15:13:58Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > For Louis Riel, would that not more appropriately read ‘for Francophones’ - it’s not like QC is the only place or perhaps even the key place where people know about him. Oh, probably. I just grew up in Québec, and my high school history class was _The History of Québec and Canada_ and I remember learning an awful lot about Louis Riel - particularly the rebellions - but nothing much else about things going on out west (what? There are francophones there, too?) so I didn’t want to speak for other francophones when I made my post. Besides, my experience was that of an anglophone - I went through the English school system. To put the not-so-subtle politics of my high school history class in context, I took that course in [1995](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_referendum,_1995). Side-story: We also did a mock parliament that year - my gang of friends and I chose to represent the Bloc and were somewhat vilified by our friends in the other parties, until we pointed out that as the Official Opposition we had no bills to draft, no real work to do, and we could score points just by heckling everyone else. It wasn’t a political choice - it was a _lazy_ one 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=27)