# 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:** 28
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/541 "2012-03-21T05:17:47Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Now look. I thought that everyone understood that Cousin Vinnie and I have first dibs on any killing to be done. And that Ed doesn’t want to know about it, if it happens. Sorry, **Lynn**. I thought you and Vinnie just handled kneecaps and broken fingers and non-lethal persuasion. **Cat Whisperer** , we’ll have to save you for the really busy times when Lynn and Vinnie are overworked. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/542 "2012-03-21T05:22:01Z")
Vinnie and I do everything, when Jenny lets us. It’s just that she usually won’t let us. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/543 "2012-03-21T05:29:52Z")
Sorry, didn’t mean to step on anyone’s toes. I’m good with the on-call list. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/544 "2012-03-21T11:25:53Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > I bet you don’t like what we’ve done with _Los Angeles_ either. You filled it with roads! ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/545 "2012-03-21T12:36:47Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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. Finnish is a really practical language phonetic wise. A single letter is pronounced short and a double letter long (and vice versa) and if you spell or pronounce it wrong it totally changes the meaning. Swedes, who aren’t familiar with this, tend to make many mistakes, e.g. pronouncing the name Vesa with a long ss-sound, which means WC. ---
**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 21, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/546 "2012-03-21T17:10:44Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > You filled it with roads! Awesome response! Clap clap. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/547 "2012-03-21T18:08:19Z")
> [@TheBoltEater](#): > > Rivers that flow from south to north are probably the work of the devil, if they really even exist at all - which they don’t, no matter what those lying elitist Democrats/Europeans/Communists/EnviroFascists would have you believe. I’ll bite. The not insubstantial [**Red River**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_of_the_North) (not Marion Morrison’s), about 550 miles long. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/548 "2012-03-21T20:32:29Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > 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) I don’t think that event is still part of Quebecers’ history awareness. Dollard des Ormeaux was considered an important historical figure until maybe the 60s or so, but then his image was sort of replaced with that of a drunken bumbling idiot. Eventually he kind of faded out of our collective memory. My history teacher in high school told us about a humour sketch (maybe from a _Bye Bye_) comparing history classes in Quebec between the 50s and 70s. The “50s class” had the teacher (a nun) tell the pupils about Dollard des Ormeaux, the greatest hero in French-Canadian history, while the “70s teacher” (with a cigarette and PQ t-shirt) told his students the story of Dollard des Ormeaux, the biggest ass in Quebec history. But it was a long time ago, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen the sketch in question, and I cannot find it on Youtube. The same teacher also had an anecdote about a student calling the _Fête de Dollard_ the _Fête du Dollar_. (Also see below.) > [@](#): > > Louis Riel > WWI Conscription (boo! hiss!) > The Plaines d’Abraham (Oh God, _why?!?!?!_) To this I’d also add the Patriotes’ Rebellion and Durham Report. It’s interesting that in terms of early 19th century history, English Canadians (and especially Ontarians) tend to remember the War of 1812 – and this “We burned down the White House!” meme, already mentioned in the thread – while francophone Quebecers tend to remember the Rebellion. I guess we mostly remember what happened right down in our backyards, but there was also a rebellion in Upper Canada and Ontarians don’t remember that very much. And while the War of 1812 largely ended with the status quo for Canada, the Rebellions led to Canada being granted responsible government 10 years later. (Though I guess we could argue whether it would have happened anyway, and that’s a less-remembered historical event.) And of course, the _Fête de Dollard_ was renamed the _Journée des Patriotes_ a decade or so ago, reflecting the loss of importance of the former in our memory. (So I myself call it the _Fête du dollar, de la Reine et des Patriotes_.) As for **RickJay** ’s assessment of English Canadians’ history awareness: I guess he could probably include the Confederation of 1867 as well. They must know something about that, right? They tend to claim that “there was no Canada” before that date. > [@amanset](#): > > As an exercise, people should try speaking in a foreign accent (or in a language if you can) and then halfway through a sentence try and pronounce a single word “properly” from your native tongue and then go back to the foreign language. > > It feels weird, doesn’t it? It jars and breaks the flow of the sentence. Reminds me of my first Italian class. My oral exam partner and I were preparing for the exam, and wanted to write a dialogue about going skiing. So I said that we should claim to be going skiing _al [Monte Orford](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Orford)_. She felt she just wouldn’t be able to say that, so we changed it for _al [Monte Bianco](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc)_ instead. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/549 "2012-03-21T20:52:55Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > I’ll bite. > > The not insubstantial [**Red River**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_of_the_North) (not Marion Morrison’s), about 550 miles long. Please… a Wikipedia article? You probably just made that up. Communist. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/550 "2012-03-21T21:04:00Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > And of course, the _Fête de Dollard_ was renamed the _Journée des Patriotes_ a decade or so ago, reflecting the loss of importance of the former in our memory. (So I myself call it the _Fête du dollar, de la Reine et des Patriotes_.) My post was more than a little tongue-in-cheek. I think people know Dollard because of the town of DDO and because of the Holiday-what-is-it-called-this-year? Oh yeah, that guy fought some Indians. 🆒 I think the anglophone students have it right - [May two-four](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-grn7eCHjrzA/TVg3oknRDQI/AAAAAAAAAFw/ydlR7OBYgnY/s1600/molson24case.jpg). Oh yeah! 😃 Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, drank Molson Canadian - it’s downright vile. I just thought it was an appropriate image Although I am vaguely curious to know what kind of results a country-wide history test would reveal about what the average Canadian knows of history, or even what was taught compared to other regions. Personally, as I said, I don’t actually feel I know all that much, and I know that the perspective I was shown in high school is partially outdated and was filtered through a Québecois perspective. I haven’t even taken a history class since 1998, and so all I remember are keywords and bits and pieces picked up through discussions like this one. ---
**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 21, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/551 "2012-03-21T21:23:24Z")
> [@TheBoltEater](#): > > Please… a Wikipedia article? You probably just made that up. Communist. That traitor, the Red River! Water born in the good ol’ United States of America – love it or leave it! – just flees the country with no shame at all. Plus, every dozen years or so it destroys private property of thousands of God-fearin’ Murricans. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/552 "2012-03-21T22:15:19Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > As for **RickJay** ’s assessment of English Canadians’ history awareness: I guess he could probably include the Confederation of 1867 as well. They must know something about that, right? They tend to claim that “there was no Canada” before that date. That isn’t part of _military_ history. ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/553 "2012-03-21T22:32:03Z")
Yes, I’m surrounded by Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/554 "2012-03-22T00:05:09Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That isn’t part of _military_ history. Ah, sorry; I missed that part. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/555 "2012-03-22T01:12:41Z")
From today. Customer: I need to see your amphibians. Me: Frogs are over here, turtles are over here. Customer: No, the other ones. Me: That’s what I have right now. Customer: I mean geckos and bearded dragons and stuff. Me: Reptiles. Customer: Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/556 "2012-03-22T01:48:40Z")
Turtles are also reptiles. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/557 "2012-03-22T02:27:49Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Turtles are also reptiles. I’ll show myself out. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/558 "2012-03-22T02:30:21Z")
My daughter worked at Lowes lawn and garden one summer. A customer asked for Taxus. He was offended when she lead him to the yews. [Taxus Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/taxus?s=t) It was not a happy summer. Her boss was one of those people that hate intelligent, ambitious people that eventually will amount to more than a shift supervisor at Lowes. She was furious Lowes let my daughter miss inventory to represent our state at the National Envirothon. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/559 "2012-03-22T02:56:13Z")
I just remembered a hilarious one…This young guy (“young” being mid-to-late 20s) at the gas station, who had held the door for me as I entered, made a comment about how speedy I was in my chair. He then said how cool it would be if they made wheelchairs that moved on their own; so I wouldn’t have to push it all the time. 😛 I said, “They _do_ make those, they call them ‘electric wheelchairs’.” He looked at me with a blank stare and started shaking his head, “Never heard of 'em.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/560 "2012-03-22T03:31:34Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I just remembered a hilarious one…This young guy (“young” being mid-to-late 20s) at the gas station, who had held the door for me as I entered, made a comment about how speedy I was in my chair. He then said how cool it would be if they made wheelchairs that moved on their own; so I wouldn’t have to push it all the time. 😛 I said, “They _do_ make those, they call them ‘electric wheelchairs’.” He looked at me with a blank stare and started shaking his head, “Never heard of 'em.” :eek: I’d say something about how he can’t notice Stephen Hawking isn’t pushing his chair, but somehow I doubt this gentleman is all that familiar with Stephen Hawking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=29)