# I was this old when I learned **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405 "2023-12-31T12:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/61 "2025-02-23T04:06:26Z")
I’ve called this vegetable Brussel Sprouts my entire life. So did my family. Until today in my sixties [Brussels Sprout](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_sprout) My head hurts looking at it. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/62 "2025-02-23T18:19:10Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > My neighbor has an impressive earthen ramp to nowhere in an old field, where a hay barn once stood. It is common in hilly areas to situate a barn such that you can drive a wagon up to the loft via a ramp, greatly easing the labor of loading hay into it. We call that a “bank barn” in Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/63 "2025-02-23T21:12:11Z")
Fortunately for the common language, that article refers exclusively to brussel sprout **s** at every mention, which is a whole whopping number of them. I think you’ll find that in ordinary conversation, an American would naturally find themselve referring to a “brussel sprout” if for some reason they were indicating a single one, even though “brussel sprouts” would be generic for a serving or a package of the vegetable. You and me and everybody else would be correct both ways in our usage our entire lives. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/64 "2025-02-23T22:05:58Z")
The s is silent in Brussels. That leads to confusion in spelling. I doubt I’ve written that word more than a few times in my life. It doesn’t really matter unless it’s a published article. My grocery list doesn’t need to be perfect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/65 "2025-02-23T22:10:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The s is silent in Brussels. That leads to confusion in spelling. Not really. It’s just that the “s” in brussels butts up against the “s” in “sprouts,” so unless you make a concerted effort to stop there to enunciate, the inclination is to elide the esses. At least that’s my take. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/66 "2025-02-23T23:00:50Z")
Yeah, I’ve always assumed (and Wikipedia confirms) that they’re named after the city of Brussels, Belgium, so I don’t understand why anyone would think they would be called Brussel sprouts. Is anything else named Brussel? [A bit of quick Googling later…] Not in English, apparently, although is it the name of the city in Dutch and German (with an umlaut over the U). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/67 "2025-02-23T23:56:49Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I don’t understand why anyone would think they would be called Brussel sprouts. I’m pretty sure that, as a kid, I heard of Brussels sprouts before I heard of Brussels, Belgium. And, as @pulykamell noted, it’s easy to miss that there are two s’s, not one. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/68 "2025-02-24T00:41:34Z")
Actually, there are five. I’ll see myself out. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/69 "2025-02-24T04:32:08Z")
English is like that. An ‘eke name’ becomes a ‘nickname’. And lots other similar examples. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405/70 "2025-02-24T08:58:16Z")
I was a week short of my fifth birthday. It was Christmas Eve and I learned for sure there was no Santa. I saw, though a crack in the ktchen curtains, my mom putting away the milk and cookies. So I figured there wasn’t any Easter Bunny either. But I didn’t say anything, as I didn’t want to spoil presents or chocolate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-this-old-when-i-learned/995405.md?page=3)