# Have you met someone who didn't know a really well-known pop or historical reference?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 22, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658 "2013-03-22T17:57:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/101 "2013-03-24T07:28:52Z")
I worked with a woman, late 20’s, college educated, Sheriffs Deputy. Lived in the USA her entire life.
She wanted to charge a man with Obstructing because at the beginning of her contact with him he told her his name was Bill. After she checked his ID she saw that his name was actually William. She thought he had given her a fake name.
:smack: She had no clue Bill was short for William. I had a hard time convincing her because she had never ever heard of that!
😕 WTF?
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/102 "2013-03-24T10:50:28Z")
> [@Essured](#):
>
> Hell, I married a guy who hasn’t seen any of the Star Wars movies, or any of the Indiana Jones movies. Or the LoTR trilogy for that matter. They just aren’t the sort of movies he’s interested in. I did persuade him to sit through a few scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and he humoured me, but only for a few scenes. Just not interested in that sort of thing and honestly, I don’t think it’s that big a deal, since everyone has different interests.
I don’t expect every single person in the English-speaking world to have made a conscious effort to sit down and watch those films, but some of them are nearly 40 years old at this point; so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume people have seen at least part of them on TV at some point, even if it’s only stumbling across them while channel-surfing.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/103 "2013-03-24T12:46:04Z")
> [@Shakes](#):
>
> One time I had a layover in some airport (Can’t remember which) I’m sitting at a table with some lady I don’t know. Playing on the TV is Buggs Bunny and Yo Sammity Sam. This lady couldn’t stop laughing to save her life. At one point she asked me if I knew who that was. (I told her)
>
> Granted, this lady was a foreigner of some sort but damn, where on the planet can you learn to speak good English and not ever hear of Buggs Bunny?
reminds me when Jay Leno said,
Somebody wanna get this kid a TV?
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### Author:  [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/104 "2013-03-24T15:14:47Z")
> [@pkbites](#):
>
> I worked with a woman, late 20’s, college educated, Sheriffs Deputy. Lived in the USA her entire life.
>
> She wanted to charge a man with Obstructing because at the beginning of her contact with him he told her his name was Bill. After she checked his ID she saw that his name was actually William. She thought he had given her a fake name.
>
> :smack: She had no clue Bill was short for William. I had a hard time convincing her because she had never ever heard of that!
>
> 😕 WTF?
I was an undergrad before I realized that Edward Kennedy and Ted Kennedy were the same person. I knew that the former was a senator, but I thought that the latter was perhaps a representative. It’s a political dynasty, after all, and obviously Ed is short for Edward, and Ted is short for Theodore, right? I was thinking of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and Ted “Theodore” Logan (a cultural reference that may escape some, now. Whoah.)
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### Author:  [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/105 "2013-03-24T16:27:07Z")
Regarding Bugs Bunny,
Only about 13 years ago I was in an online argument with someone who was a fan of a certain band and espousing some of their ridiculous political statements.
In any case I ended one post with the phrase “Whadda Maroon!” in an obvious homage to Bugs.
He replied triumphing “Its spelled MORON you dumbass”
😃
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### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/106 "2013-03-24T16:38:32Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#):
>
> I don’t expect every single person in the English-speaking world to have made a conscious effort to sit down and watch those films, but some of them are nearly 40 years old at this point; so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume people have seen at least part of them on TV at some point, even if it’s only stumbling across them while channel-surfing.
My wife has never seen Star Wars, the first one or any of the other episodes. When pressed to give an answer besides “not my bag” she claimed to dislike the hairy thing. YOU HATE CHEWBACCA?!?!
WAIT it gets better! She started watching The Clone Wars show, became an avid fan, and would ask annoying mythology questions, still refusing to watch the films!
“Why did that guy act like lightsabers are illegal contraband or something?”
“I think he was more curious how the hell a non Jedi had them”
“Why?”
“Because only jedi are known to use them, the sith are mostly unknown”
“whats a jedi and a sith?”
“Oh lord will you watch the saga?”
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### Author:  [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/107 "2013-03-24T18:07:13Z")
> [@Eliahna](#):
>
> Last night I saw [this](http://veryhilarious.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/wizard-of-oz-dorothy-i-miss-kansas.jpg) and laughed aloud. My other half asked what I was laughing at so I showed him. He didn’t get it. I said “‘Africa’ is by Toto”. He said “I don’t know what that is”. I put the [song](https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDAQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaCca5mPMp9A&ei=vBlNUeuEL4-iiAezz4CoDg&usg=AFQjCNEcJmOWO4Z4ZWfpeFR-sPHRRlXGvw&sig2=hS3sd8Q0ty62KV-LAg9W4A) on. He didn’t know it.
I have no clue as to the song reference in the first link, other than referencing The Wizard of Oz, so I clicked the second link.
It didn’t help either because the link is copyright blocked in Canada. So now I’ll never know.
> [@](#):
>
> I swear he grew up on another planet.
I emigrated from Mars.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/108 "2013-03-24T18:19:16Z")
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyosPwwTl7s)
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/109 "2013-03-24T18:31:33Z")
A couple of weeks ago, after the new Pope was elected, my wife mentioned that he had taken his name after St Francis of Assisi.
Me: “Are you sure?”
Wife: “How many other Francises are there?”
Me: “I don’t know… I thought maybe it was the mule.”
Wife: “The what?”
Me: “The mule.”
Wife: “What mule?”
Me: “Francis the talking mule?”
Wife: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Me: “You know, ‘Francis Joins The Army’? ‘Francis Goes To College’?”
Apparently my wife spent a lot less time in her youth watching Saturday afternoon movies than I did.
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### Author:  [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/110 "2013-03-24T20:33:30Z")
I’m batting about .500 in this thread, which makes me think that popular culture is more diffused than ever before. Everybody can access a lot more of their own particular interests than we could in the sixties and seventies. The trend of knowing people who are unaware of certain things that _seem_ generally well known is probably going to get more expansive.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/111 "2013-03-24T20:44:40Z")
> [@Shoeless](#):
>
> A couple of weeks ago, after the new Pope was elected, my wife mentioned that he had taken his name after St Francis of Assisi.
>
> Me: “Are you sure?”
> Wife: “How many other Francises are there?”
> Me: “I don’t know… I thought maybe it was the mule.”
> Wife: “The what?”
> Me: “The mule.”
> Wife: “What mule?”
> Me: “Francis the talking mule?”
> Wife: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
> Me: “You know, ‘Francis Joins The Army’? ‘Francis Goes To College’?”
>
> Apparently my wife spent a lot less time in her youth watching Saturday afternoon movies than I did.
I don’t know about any talking mules either. Is that Mr. Ed’s son?
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/112 "2013-03-24T20:52:19Z")
> [@Kenm](#):
>
> I have no clue as to the song reference in the first link, other than referencing The Wizard of Oz, so I clicked the second link.
>
> It didn’t help either because the link is copyright blocked in Canada. So now I’ll never know.
Go to youtube and search for “toto africa” (minus the commas). You’ll probably have heard the song before.
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#):
>
> Regarding Bugs Bunny,
>
> Only about 13 years ago I was in an online argument with someone who was a fan of a certain band and espousing some of their ridiculous political statements.
>
> In any case I ended one post with the phrase “Whadda Maroon!” in an obvious homage to Bugs.
>
> He replied triumphing “Its spelled MORON you dumbass”
>
> 😃
_That_’s where it comes from?
I knew that many people misspelled it on purpose, but I had no idea what was it they were referencing.
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### Author:  [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/113 "2013-03-24T20:56:43Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#):
>
> I don’t expect every single person in the English-speaking world to have made a conscious effort to sit down and watch those films, but some of them are nearly 40 years old at this point; so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume people have seen at least part of them on TV at some point, even if it’s only stumbling across them while channel-surfing.
I disagree and I do think it’s unreasonable - they’re just movies. Of course he’s stumbled across them, and because he isn’t interested in those genre, he continues channel surfing, instead of making the choice (conscious effort) to remain seated and watch something he isn’t interested in. He’s seen enough from ads & trailers to decide it’s not his thing, and chooses not to sit through a few hours of something unappealing. He doesn’t sit down to watch TV, he sits down to watch a show. When the show is done, he’s off to do something else. I’m a bit the same with the Die Hard movies. Saw a little bit of the first one and it confirmed what I saw from the trailers - not my thing. So I haven’t watched any of them, other than a 10 minute snippet from the first. I’m pretty sure most people have a genre or type of movie that holds absolutely no interest to them, so they don’t watch it - it just happens that sometimes they happen to be very popular for a number of reasons. I have never seen the Princess Bride - that movie that people quote bits from. It’s just never crossed my path, or if it did, the synopsis didn’t sound like my cup of tea, so I moved on. I didn’t see Pulp Fiction until around 2008, as it just didn’t sound appealing (though I was wrong there - I thoroughly enjoyed it).
I just don’t think expecting everyone to watch a movie from one genre of one type of entertainment is reasonable (if they have no interest in it). Even if it’s something I loved and thought was fantastic. For something like Star Wars or LoTR, it would be very odd to have never even _heard_ of them, but not to have watched them? No big deal.
And I don’t have to share the popcorn!
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### Author:  [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/114 "2013-03-24T21:10:12Z")
And more on-topic, I’ve met people (Australians) who don’t know that Darwin was bombed by Japanese forces.
I don’t expect anyone from other countries to know that, but if you’ve been through the Australian school system, I’m shocked if you’ve never heard a whipser about it. Maybe not the details, but at least that it happened!
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/115 "2013-03-24T22:05:52Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> I don’t know about any talking mules either. Is that Mr. Ed’s son?
In a way, they’re related. Arthur Lubin, who directed six of the “Francis” movies, later went on to direct “Mr. Ed” for television. They were created by different people, though. Francis appeared in a novel by author David Stern and Ed came from a series of short stories by Walter R. Brooks.
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### Author:  [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/116 "2013-03-24T22:15:38Z")
> [@Essured](#):
>
> And more on-topic, I’ve met people (Australians) who don’t know that Darwin was bombed by Japanese forces.
Their teachers didn’t believe in Darwin.
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### Author:  [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/117 "2013-03-24T22:40:22Z")
There’s a fellow-UK citizen I once knew, who was born in 1962. I remember a conversation with him, when he was aged about 20. This chap made a big thing about being young in years, but highly politically and socially conservative, in a rather stuffy way – I suspect that the following bit of supposed non-knowledge on his part, may have been an act. (He came from a normal sort of background, and was at university – hadn’t been “living under a rock”.)
He told me that a year or so previously to our conversation, he’d become aware of a great to-do in the media, about the murder of somebody called John Lennon – whom he claimed never to have heard of up to then. As said, I’ve always wondered whether he was actually telling the truth about this; but he was an odd character in various ways – I can just about see him genuinely living 1962 – 1980, oblivious to Lennon and the Beatles.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/118 "2013-03-24T22:50:13Z")
> [@Nava](#):
>
> _That_’s where it comes from?
>
> I knew that many people misspelled it on purpose, but I had no idea what was it they were referencing.
If you ever hear somebody talking about stragety instead of strategy, that’s also a Bugs Bunnyism.
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### Author:  [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/119 "2013-03-24T22:55:47Z")
> [@Foggy](#):
>
> My ex-boyfriend didn’t know about **2girls & a cup** (DO NOT GOOGLE)😃
A quick google search would have told you it’s **2 girls 1 cup**.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-met-someone-who-didnt-know-a-really-well-known-pop-or-historical-reference/653658/120 "2013-03-24T22:58:54Z")
You have to ask at what point does ignorance of popular culture become just plain ignorance. Is not knowing about Mickey Mouse or Darth Vader or the Beatles somehow more excusable than not knowing about George Washington or Joseph Stalin or Martin Luther King? Popular culture is as much a part of what makes up society as history is.
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