# 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:** 43
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/841 "2012-05-28T06:17:49Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > According to that article, up to 50% of college students still believe in that theory. > > Honestly, that is shocking. How they eye works is covered several times throughout school, from grade school on up. Maybe they inadvertently polled a bunch of graphics programming students? ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/842 "2012-05-28T06:57:25Z")
> [@Bamboo\_Boy](#): > > I get this all the time, in Denmark, except they insist there are 48 states. My stepson told me that his teacher taught them this and I corrected him. He went back to her and she told him that it’s amazing that “he doesn’t know anything about where he’s from”. :smack: The stupid HURTS! Apparently, one of the popular social studies books used in Norwegian schools back in the 1960s ago said that the US had 52 states. So many people who went to school during that era have that in the back of their heads. Some of my students (teenagers) have picked this up somehow, and though most of them believe me that the US has 50 states - and the English textbooks we use back me up of course - I have had one stubborn holdout. He said that the US did have 50 states, but then added Alaska and Hawaii. I said, no, the US had 48 states, then added Alaska and Hawaii, and that’s 50; check the US flag, it has 50 stars. He said, that’s because they couldn’t work out how to add two more stars, so they left it at 50 :dubious: In the end, I told him to look at the US map in his English textbook and count the states himself. He did indeed come to 50, three times, no matter how he tried to count them, but I’m still not entirely sure he believes me… ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/843 "2012-05-28T08:48:48Z")
Serial posting, but another thing I’m shocked some people don’t know: the difference between Arab and Muslim. What makes it worse is that many of them _resist learning_ the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/844 "2012-05-28T11:59:32Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > One. > > 3753 Cruithne is not a moon. 2010 TK[sub]7[/sub] and other Trojans? Not moons. > > What else you got? Like I said, it’s debatable. Some astronomers class these objects as moons. Some don’t. Anyway, someone telling \*\*bup \*\*that Earth has two, or even 5 moons isn’t necessarily ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/845 "2012-05-28T12:05:42Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > In the end, I told him to look at the US map in his English textbook and count the states himself. He did indeed come to 50, three times, no matter how he tried to count them, but I’m still not entirely sure he believes me… Try explaining what the deal is with Puerto Rico to someone not from the US, at the end I always get sooo it is a state? I’ve just started saying yes it is a defacto state but for political reasons no one wants to admit it. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/846 "2012-05-28T12:34:48Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > Apparently, one of the popular social studies books used in Norwegian schools back in the 1960s ago said that the US had 52 states Not true. There are acutally [60 states](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/847 "2012-05-28T12:41:43Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Try explaining what the deal is with Puerto Rico to someone not from the US, at the end I always get sooo it is a state? I’ve just started saying yes it is a defacto state but for political reasons no one wants to admit it. No, Puerto Rico isn’t a state in any way. There is no such thing as a ‘defacto’ state and even if you made that argument, Puerto Rico isn’t the only U.S. non-state territory. It could be a state one day if it wanted to but it most definitely is not one right now. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/848 "2012-05-28T13:34:27Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > No, Puerto Rico isn’t a state in any way. There is no such thing as a ‘defacto’ state and even if you made that argument, Puerto Rico isn’t the only U.S. non-state territory. It could be a state one day if it wanted to but it most definitely is not one right now. Yea and next someone will ask if Puerto Ricans are US citizens, and if you need a passport to travel there from the US. What well then that is a state! :smack: People are mostly going by what the average person would experience. It is a time saving measure, if they are interested in the minutia of territories they can check wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/849 "2012-05-28T15:34:35Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > One. > > 3753 Cruithne is not a moon. 2010 TK[sub]7[/sub] and other Trojans? Not moons. > > What else you got? Moon is kind of a nebulous term. People seem to gravitate to their own definitions, as if living in a vacuum. It’s a bit rocky, but if you define moon as being lunaoid (gravitationally spherical and in orbit of a planet), earth has but one. How ever if you define moon as a natural satellite, well, the second moon is kind of a [tag team](http://www.universetoday.com/92022/earths-other-moons/). > [@](#): > > They found that the Earth-Moon system captures NEOs quite frequently. “At any given time, there should be at least one natural Earth satellite of 1-meter diameter orbiting the Earth,” the team said. These NEOs orbit the Earth for about ten months, enough time to make about three orbits, before leaving. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/850 "2012-05-28T18:23:06Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Try explaining what the deal is with Puerto Rico to someone not from the US, at the end I always get sooo it is a state? I’ve just started saying yes it is a defacto state but for political reasons no one wants to admit it. I would think it would be easy to explain to people from outside the U.S. There are a whole lot of countries that either have territories or used to be territories themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/851 "2012-05-29T02:04:48Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Yea and next someone will ask if Puerto Ricans are US citizens, and if you need a passport to travel there from the US. What well then that is a state! :smack: People are mostly going by what the average person would experience. > > It is a time saving measure, if they are interested in the minutia of territories they can check wikipedia. The most important distinction is probably federal elections. You can’t vote for president in a territory like PR. In fact, US territories are the ONLY PLACES ON THE PLANET where a US Citizen cannot vote, even a US citizen abroad can cast a vote by mail to the last district they resided in. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/852 "2012-05-29T02:27:37Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > The most important distinction is probably federal elections. You can’t vote for president in a territory like PR. In fact, US territories are the ONLY PLACES ON THE PLANET where a US Citizen cannot vote, even a US citizen abroad can cast a vote by mail to the last district they resided in. And they have no representation in Congress. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/853 "2012-05-29T23:11:05Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > And they have no representation in Congress. No effective representation, although they do have a nonvoting delegate. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/854 "2012-05-30T09:36:44Z")
I’m surprised people don’t know that if you add 7 to today’s date, it’s the same day. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/855 "2012-05-30T13:30:04Z")
So May 37th is also a Wednesday? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/856 "2012-05-30T13:54:10Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > So May 37th is also a Wednesday? No, Wednesday+7=Wednesday. It’s a mathematical fact! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/857 "2012-05-30T15:36:10Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > The other day someone was admiring the baby macaws I’m hand-raising, and asked where they came from. I told her I own the parents, but I hand-feed the babies after 6 weeks so they’ll be tame pets. > She stared at me for a minute, and said, “But where did you get the parent birds?” I told her I’d purchased them from another breeder in the area who was getting out of the business. “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 think I would stare at you a little funny too. She wanted to know what part of the world they come from. You really didn’t get that? ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/858 "2012-05-30T16:53:49Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > So May 37th is also a Wednesday? Har har. May 37 = June 6, in my book. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/859 "2012-05-30T17:47:20Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > I can’t imagine it would be helpful to simply have someone nod and smile. One could use their bff for that. Don’t underestimate the power of listening. It can be very therapeutic. And don’t overestimate your bff’s ability to listen. Most people are pretty bad at it. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416/860 "2012-05-30T18:13:17Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > I think I would stare at you a little funny too. She wanted to know what part of the world they come from. You really didn’t get that? I’m not sure what type of low IQ it takes for someone to not be able to ask what they mean, and get frustrated at the correct answer to the question they ask. I’ve been asked “Where are you from?”, I answer and get a blank stare, then “But where your PARENTS from?” I answer and blank stare. They want to know my race but don’t have either the intelligence or social skills to ask that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-dont-know/615416.md?page=44)