# Hey, did you know...Oh, you've heard that 1,000,000 times? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 21, 2011, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625 "2011-11-21T09:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/41 "2011-11-22T01:33:58Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I used to go around telling everyone that… then I took biology and learned what the technical definition of a fruit is. Yeah, tomatos are scientifically a fruit- so are zucchinis, peppers, **wheat** , peas, eggplants, and a whole lot of other stuff. Tomatos are nothing special. Seriously? Wheat? I thought wheat was a cereal. Or a grain. Or something. (Checks wiki, finds: “botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis”.) Learn something every day! (BTW, the watermelon is the largest type of berry. And it’s also a fruit. But you probably knew that.) ---
**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:** [November 22, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/42 "2011-11-22T01:46:42Z")
I hear these trivia items from my father who apparently forgets that nine times out of ten, I was the one who originally told them to him. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/43 "2011-11-22T01:59:31Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > Hey guys, I’ve got a trivia question for you!! > > _(Note: at least half of everybody reading this can give the correct answer right now, withouth even having read the question.)_ > > What was the first video ever played on MTV? Well, I’d have a hard time answering it without knowing the question. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles What’s the first album released on CD? “52nd Street” by Billy Joel What are the first movies released on VHS in the United States? The Sound of Music, Patton, and M_A_S\*H What’s the last movie released on VHS (outside of promotional releases)? A History of Violence What’s the first movie released on DVD? Twister ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/44 "2011-11-22T02:06:37Z")
Scientist can’t explain how bumblebees fly! Stupid fucking scientists. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/45 "2011-11-22T05:04:16Z")
Jokes and “gotcha” questions that people tell/ask when they find out I’m a vegetarian… I’ve heard them all a bazillion times yet each person thinks they’re oh so clever for saying them. “If we weren’t supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat? har har har!” “But you’re killing plants, too! GOTCHA!” and so many more. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/46 "2011-11-22T05:16:12Z")
About half of the responses so far are what the OP requested, i.e. factoids that are true, but are so often repeated that they’re no longer interesting. The other half are misconceptions often repeated as true factoids, which is not what the OP requested, and in fact is kind of the opposite. So be sure and check before repeating anything you see here. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/47 "2011-11-22T05:26:45Z")
“Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are…” “fcuk off.” One of my daughter’s friends comes out with these all the time. He’s only 13, so he has some leeway, but he also has the internet; this is where he gets all this stuff, so he should also check it with just one more click or two. I actually saw him open his mouth and slowly say ‘did you know that a duck’s quack…’ and had the relevant page open before he’d finished his sentence. Pwning a 13-year-old is not the highlight of my life, but eventually he’ll learn that there is better pwning through research. (Also: they usually do this in the living room while I’m working. And some of these memes are older than they are.) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/48 "2011-11-22T06:00:59Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > And that peanuts are not nuts. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > [They’re legumes.](http://www.hark.com/clips/ttffqmjwxd-hes-not-a-person) [Fascinating](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0vjMladACE#t=8m32s). ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/49 "2011-11-22T06:41:40Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > For example, one I hear all the time is, “What we (Americans) call Canadian bacon is called back bacon in Canada.” Not only have I never heard someone say this, but I agree with the other poster who called it out as simply being wrong. Canadian bacon = ham. Canadians call it ham. We might just need to do a poll on this, but I’m too lazy to start one. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/50 "2011-11-22T07:21:16Z")
Anyone who calls it maize apparently has an insurmountable urge to also explain that they’re talking about corn. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/51 "2011-11-22T16:25:53Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Seriously? Wheat? I thought wheat was a cereal. Or a grain. Or something. (Checks wiki, finds: “botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis”.) > > Learn something every day! > > (BTW, the watermelon is the largest type of berry. And it’s also a fruit. But you probably knew that.) That’s it’s a fruit, yes. That it’s the largest berry, no. That’s it’s even considered a berry in the first place- whoa. Learn something every day! ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/52 "2011-11-22T17:59:07Z")
We don’t eat Yams on Thanksgiving, we eat Sweet Potatoes. They aren’t the same thing. Yeah…gotcha…yet again. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/53 "2011-11-22T18:29:49Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > We don’t eat Yams on Thanksgiving, we eat Sweet Potatoes. They aren’t the same thing. > > Yeah..gotcha…yet again. AFAIK I have never eaten an actual yam, but I read a book set in Africa where it seems like the only food they talked about was yams. It was really odd. Are real yams at all even native to the 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:** [November 22, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/54 "2011-11-22T18:52:38Z")
Then there’s turnips and rutabagas. I may have never had an actual turnip in my life - I don’t know about you guys, but the things I call turnips are actually rutabagas. I should probably call them that. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/55 "2011-11-22T19:05:06Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Jokes and “gotcha” questions that people tell/ask when they find out I’m a vegetarian… I’ve heard them all a bazillion times yet each person thinks they’re oh so clever for saying them. > > “If we weren’t supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat? har har har!” > “But you’re killing plants, too! GOTCHA!” > and so many more. The joke actually goes “If we aren’t supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of _food_?” I usually say it like “If God didn’t want us to eat animals why’d he make them out of food?” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/56 "2011-11-22T19:07:48Z")
“Didja know potatoes used to be poisonous?!” ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/57 "2011-11-22T19:12:52Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > AFAIK I have never eaten an actual yam, but I read a book set in Africa where it seems like the only food they talked about was yams. It was really odd. Are real yams at all even native to the US? You can occasionally get real yams in the U.S. but they’re rare birds. Be sure to thoroughly cook them because they’ve got something or other that’ll make you itch. It’s the juice mainly, IIRC. They’re originally African, and basically the staff of life, so you can imagine how that’d lead to festivals and such celebrating them. Why do I know this much about yams? Ah yes; trivia freak, gardener and foodie converging. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/58 "2011-11-22T20:25:51Z")
“The human body is 90% water.” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/59 "2011-11-22T20:27:54Z")
“Dogs are color blind.” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625/60 "2011-11-22T20:31:39Z")
“Your hair and fingernails don’t really continue to grow after your dead, it’s that your tissues and skin retract making it appear so.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-oh-youve-heard-that-1-000-000-times/603625.md?page=4)