# Is there anything which is universally known? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989 "2014-08-30T19:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/1 "2014-08-30T19:08:25Z")
I was wondering if there is anything in the body of human of knowledge which is known by every human being that exists and is not autonomic. So for example, how to make my heart beat is certainly something which every human knows how to do, but is autonomic and so doesn’t count. Now, of course, newborns probably know nothing except those things which are autonomic so that means the answer is no. So, I was thinking then to qualify it further to include an by which it is typically known. Here is a false example, all humans by the age of 16 know how to drive a car. Obviously not all 16 years old humans learn to drive a car so this is false. I’m not concerned with language only with concepts, so something passes if the concept is translated identically across all humans. So for example, all humans by age X, know that the sun rises in the east. Clearly, sun and east are going to be language dependent but that’s ok because if it is true every human would have a term for it in their own head. The concept that the big firey thing in the sky always rises over there somewhere is all that’s important. Lastly, if there are more than one thing which are universally known and non autonomic, which one is known at the youngest age. My first thought was that the sun rises in the east. My concern is, does somebody who was blind from birth know the sun rises in the east? Probably not, although in the West most might be taught this I suppose, I imagine there might be a blind person in a less developed country that simply has never been taught this fact. So any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/2 "2014-08-30T19:11:00Z")
For a starter, I suppose any normally functioning human knows that you need air, food, and water to live. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/3 "2014-08-30T19:14:14Z")
Stuff falls _down_. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/4 "2014-08-30T19:16:38Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > For a starter, I suppose any normally functioning human knows that you need air, food, and water to live. And that eating and drinking will lead to urinating and defecating. Oh, and all living things require sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/5 "2014-08-30T19:28:33Z")
Since the OP is seeking opinions, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/6 "2014-08-30T19:39:42Z")
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/7 "2014-08-30T19:40:51Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Oh, and all living things require sleep. I’d suggest that this is not universally known. I mean, I can get up in the middle of the night and my fish are still moving around, do they need sleep? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/8 "2014-08-30T19:41:30Z")
“I am.” ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/9 "2014-08-30T19:45:35Z")
“Food goes in mouth.” In fact, try to put EVERYTHING in your mouth, in case it’s food. Observing babies for a while will demonstrate this behavior; toys? in the mouth. Hands? In the mouth. Feet? In the mouth. Bugs? In the mouth. And so on… ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/10 "2014-08-30T19:52:38Z")
That a single man in possession of a good fortune must be want of a wife? OK, sorry… I had a previous housemate who was unaware of which direction the sun rose, both in terms of it rising in the East and which side of the house it rose on. I suspect quite a few unobservant people who spent most or all of their lives in a city would actually be unable to answer that question with any certainty. Other than very basic things like “hot things can burn you”, I suspect there it very little that truly everyone, even everyone over a certain age, knows. Eta:Dammit! Beaten to the quote in the time it took me to look up the wording… ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/11 "2014-08-30T19:57:39Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Stuff falls _down_. I would vote for this. But … ( ya just knew I was gonna do this. ) Something involving things that will cause pain??? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/12 "2014-08-30T20:01:09Z")
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Dammit! Sattua and Filbert beat me to it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/13 "2014-08-30T20:02:09Z")
To the OP. What is East? I’ve run in to adults that don’t get that. I like the previous suggestion that things fall down. For most mammals, maybe it would be ‘find mom’. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/14 "2014-08-30T20:23:53Z")
I don’t know that things fall down. I used to know that, but then I learned that I was mistaken, and that things can fall in any direction at all. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/15 "2014-08-30T21:09:32Z")
I think all humans would recognize a smile, or know the meaning of a person crying. Certainly all humans know how to laugh if something strikes them as funny. If you toss an object toward their face, all humans would know to put up a hand to deflect it, or to duck. I think all humans know that their dreams are not real life events. All humans can distinguish a human face fro that of a non-human species. All humans can tell if you are looking at them or not – so can most higher animals… ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/16 "2014-08-30T23:16:01Z")
Manipulation, whether it be of their environment or of other people. (A survival skill.) ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/17 "2014-08-30T23:25:16Z")
That a singl… okay, I’ll stop. Does everyone know touching hot things hurts? ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/18 "2014-08-30T23:29:29Z")
Things fall down. All people know this, as do dogs, but most cats cannot figure it out. drop something and they will look to the ceiling for it. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/19 "2014-08-31T00:08:17Z")
I really like things fall down. I would say that’s pretty universal and probably learnt pretty early. I also like “I am”. I wonder which comes first. Thanks for all the replies. I really like this board, you can post a spur of the moment thought that springs into your head, and get some decent replies. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 31, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989/20 "2014-08-31T00:17:57Z")
How about counting? I think pretty much every society has some basic concept of “how many?” But unlike eating or breathing or facial recognition or falling down or avoiding pain, I don’t think counting is an inherited trait. So it’s a universal learned skill. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-which-is-universally-known/696989.md?page=2)