# It frightens me that people don't know these things **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207 "2003-06-25T03:02:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Moeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@Moeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moeman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/241 "2003-07-09T14:28:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShibbOleth \* > \*\*C’mon, bad as it was, you have to admit a certain selfish satisfaction at seeing your boardname worked into a horrible pun. \*\* Ok, so you are a shellfish. Then can you tell me how you carve those rocks into shells? Could not resist bad pun. Sorry to all readers.😉 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/242 "2003-07-09T19:58:16Z")
I’ve got five kids, and not one of them knows the “Thirty days hath September” verse. Every time there’s a lunar eclipse, the papers seem compelled to reassure everyone that you can indeed look at the moon during an eclipse. My wife can come in the room while I’m watching a baseball game, and she invariably asks where the game is played. Dang it, look at the score on the screen, the home team is always on the bottom! Or check the uniforms, check the field. ---
**Author:** ![mulletsunite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mulletsunite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mulletsunite)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/243 "2003-07-09T20:35:06Z")
I quote a fifteen year old girl, as quoted in Reviving Ophelia “you can’t get pregnant without oral sex because that’s how the sperm gets into your stomach” granted it’s an older quote, but there are still many girls who think this way… so sad ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/244 "2003-07-09T21:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobLibDem \* > \*\*I’ve got five kids, and not one of them knows the “Thirty days hath September” verse. \*\* “Thirty days hath September, all the rest I can’t remember.” 😉 No, I’m kidding, I know the whole thing. “…April, June and November.” > [@](#): > > \*\*My wife can come in the room while I’m watching a baseball game, and she invariably asks where the game is played. Dang it, look at the score on the screen, the home team is always on the bottom! Or check the uniforms, check the field. \*\* Honey, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/245 "2003-07-10T00:54:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobLibDem \* > **I’ve got five kids, and not one of them knows the “Thirty days hath September” verse.** How about the knuckle trick for the months? Does everyone know that one too? I have run into folks who never knew that one because the “hath” phrase was quite enough for them to get by. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/246 "2003-07-10T06:48:41Z")
I still don’t know the rhyme for the months, because pure and simple, it never came up in school. Seriously. I do know the knuckle thing now, though. OTOH, I was introduced to cursive writing three years in a row, as I went to different schools for grades 2,3, and 4. ---
**Author:** ![Adelita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Adelita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adelita)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/247 "2003-07-10T07:15:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\*I went from Indiana to New York some years ago and discovered that the attitude in that state is that the ID cards and drivers’ licenses of states not on one of the coasts are not actually legal documents with the same sort of ID use that a New York or New Jersey license would have. \*\* very true. I was not allowed to buy beer in Massachusetts with my Texas driver’s license. Heck, they had signs on the doors of all the liquor stores that anyone who does not have a Mass ID is not allowed in the stores! ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/248 "2003-07-10T11:39:03Z")
I’m not sure if I could name all 50 states in 5 minutes unless I could write them down. I would forget which ones I mentioned. I’ve gotten pretty good at not being surprised when people don’t know things. I’ve made quite a few enemies by saying “You didn’t know that?” Still shocks me how few people know the name of the system used to electronically file financial statements with the SEC. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/249 "2003-07-10T11:57:13Z")
Why on earth would you be shocked, **Odinoneeye**? The vast majority of people don’t know what the SEC is (or if they know what the letters stand for they don’t know what the agency does) let alone having any reason to electronically file documents with it. Am I being whooshed? I sense a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![grettle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@grettle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grettle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/250 "2003-07-10T12:12:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Adelita \* > \*\*very true. > > I was not allowed to buy beer in Massachusetts with my Texas driver’s license. Heck, they had signs on the doors of all the liquor stores that anyone who does not have a Mass ID is not allowed in the stores! \*\* But you are from Texas, which does the same thing to outsiders. I can’t use my Oklahoma ID in Texas to buy liquor at most stores in the Longhorn State. Boston, however, was never a problem for me. sorry for the hijack, Texas administration arrogance has always bothered me… Please feel free to return to sharing obscure facts that everyone should know. . . . ---
**Author:** ![mulletsunite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mulletsunite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mulletsunite)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/251 "2003-07-10T12:21:20Z")
## quote: Originally posted by Adelita very true. I was not allowed to buy beer in Massachusetts with my Texas driver’s license. Heck, they had signs on the doors of all the liquor stores that anyone who does not have a Mass ID is not allowed in the stores! * * * another Bostonite here! i live in Boston, and I understand the difficulting in buying alcohol of any kind here - I am originally from NH and have an NH licence, and it is often required that I show a backup picture ID with my licence (like a student ID) in order to buy alcohol most liquor stores in Boston do this because of the tremendous amount of students in and around the city - there are so many fake licences (and students that borrow IDs from friends) around that it actually does make sense not to accept other IDs besides MA without backup ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/252 "2003-07-10T15:31:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mulletsunite \* > \*\*most liquor stores in Boston do this because of the tremendous amount of students in and around the city - there are so many fake licences (and students that borrow IDs from friends) around that it actually does make sense not to accept other IDs besides MA without backup \*\* Sorry, but this policy only makes sense if: a) Massachusetts has a more rigorous ID-issuing process than other states. b) Massachusetts-issued IDs are harder to fake than those of other states. c) IDs from outside Massachusetts don’t have pictures on them. d) Boston-area liquor store operators are not intelligent enough to look at the picture on an ID and determine whether it’s the same person who is trying to buy the alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/253 "2003-07-11T18:51:03Z")
Count me among the people who get aggravated by other people’s lack of “common public knowledge.” I don’t expect folks to know the significance of pi or what size underwear Washington wore (or even if he wore them), but there’s some information that is SO ubiquitous I can’t understand how someone managed to go through life not knowing it. This is the reason I have to change the channel if I come across the “Jaywalking” segment of “The Tonight Show” – its just too darn painful to watch. True story… I’m sitting in my English 101 class, a COLLEGE course, mind you’ when the prof talked about common public knowledge and how depressing he found it when someone didn’t know simple things, like who was president during the Civil War. He turns to the 18-year-old student seated nearest him and asks her, “Who was president during the Civil War?” Would you believe she said she didn’t know? :smack: The teacher looked exasperated and, to her credit, the student looked embarrassed. I have to wonder how a person could avoid knowing the answer when that same president is on our $5 bills and pennies. Shaking My Head, Patty ---
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/254 "2003-07-11T18:56:22Z")
Count me among the people who get aggravated by other people’s lack of “common public knowledge.” I don’t expect folks to know the significance of pi or what size underwear Washington wore (or even if he wore them), but there’s some information that is SO ubiquitous I can’t understand how someone managed to go through life not knowing it. This is the reason I have to change the channel if I come across the “Jaywalking” segment of “The Tonight Show” – its just too darn painful to watch. True story… I’m sitting in my English 101 class, a COLLEGE course, mind you’ when the prof talked about common public knowledge and how depressing he found it when someone didn’t know simple things, like who was president during the Civil War. He turns to the 18-year-old student seated nearest him and asks her, “Who was president during the Civil War?” Would you believe she said she didn’t know? :smack: The teacher looked exasperated and, to her credit, the student looked embarrassed. I have to wonder how a person could avoid knowing the answer when that same president is on our $5 bills and pennies. Shaking My Head, Patty ---
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/255 "2003-07-11T20:18:22Z")
Count me among the people who get aggravated by other people’s lack of “common public knowledge.” I don’t expect folks to know the quare of pi or what size underwear Washington wore (or even if he wore them), but there’s some information that is SO ubiquitous I can’t understand how someone managed to go through life not knowing it. This is the reason I have to change the channel if I come across the “Jaywalking” segment of “The Tonight Show” – its just too darn painful to watch. True story… I’m sitting in an English 101 class, a COLLEGE course, some years ago when the prof spoke about common public knowledge and how depressing he found it when someone didn’t know simple things, like who was president during the Civil War. He turns to the 18-year-old student seated nearest him and asks her, “Who was president during the Civil War?” Would you believe she said she didn’t know? :smack: The teacher looked exasperated and, to her credit, the student looked embarrassed. I have to wonder how a person could avoid knowing the answer when that same president is on our $5 bills and pennies. Shaking My Head, Patty ---
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/256 "2003-07-11T22:38:18Z")
Um, sorry about the tripple post…:crawls under a rock.: Patty ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/257 "2003-07-11T23:27:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobLibDem \* > **My wife can come in the room while I’m watching a baseball game, and she invariably asks where the game is played. Dang it, look at the score on the screen, the home team is always on the bottom!** Is it? **I** had no idea. > [@](#): > > \*\* Or check the uniforms, check the field. \*\* I’m guessing it’s a helluva lot quicker and easier to just ask you, frankly. ---
**Author:** ![Borusa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Borusa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borusa)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/258 "2003-07-14T21:05:20Z")
I was once on a boat with someone, and he asked me why marker buoys don’t float away. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/259 "2003-07-15T00:19:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by panache45 \* > \*\*\ > 4. At work, we were discussing the difference between a low-calorie diet (in which you’re allowed a certain amount of carbohydrates) and the Atkins diet (in which you’re allowed a certain amount of fat). One co-worker surmised that if you eat lots of carbs and lots of fat, you’d lose weight twice as fast. > \ \*\* Sorry, gotta say something here … Sounds like you’ve got your diets reversed. Atkins is low-carb; low-calorie diets usually cut a lot of fat. Carry on! ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/260 "2003-07-15T04:52:59Z")
Someone was preparing a bucket of mop water when the manager told him to add a packet of powdered bleach. The mop water dispenser says “do not mix with bleach”, and I assumed that it contained ammonia. I warned said manager about that, and she replied that she’s always done it that way… there’s no reason to worry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=14)