# 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:** 15
**Author:** ![Some\_User\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Some\_User\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_User_Name)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/281 "2003-07-17T00:53:11Z")
The normally way to use the can opener is to open the knife to the can opener attachment. The opener kind of looks like a “J”, with the top of the J being the sharp end. Hold the knife with your thumb on the back of the J, which should not be sharp. Put the top of the J against the rim on the top of the can, following the edge of the can. Put the lip of the can in the crook of the “J” . Use the knife handle as the lever against the fulcrum of the crock of the J to push the tip of the blade into the can. If you can catch the rim of the can with the hook of the J, that works well too. After you have rotated the knife so that all of the sharp part (at the top of the J) is in the can, move the knife and blade around the can so that the tip of the blade is just in the can. Pull the knife back up, so that you make the hole a bit bigger. Continue this all the way around the can. You can expect your first can to take a while to open; with practice, you can open a can like this in 20 seconds or so. Once, I was on a camping trip where we brought soup for lunch. We realized that we had all neglected to bring a can opener, or a knife with a can opener. We ended up trying to open the soup with a hatchet, which resulted in a large mess; we probably spilled half the soup or more. ---
**Author:** ![LauraLittlePony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LauraLittlePony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauraLittlePony)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/282 "2003-07-17T01:04:15Z")
This has been one of the most enjoyable threads I’ve read anywhere in a long time. . . I did know about Chick tracts before getting here, but I didn’t know about the website with all of them, so I missed out on a lot of hilarious running trends such as the “HAW HAW!” I did know about puppy teeth but hadn’t thought about it in a long time. I also had to dissect a squid in high school, but I almost passed out during the experience (my partner did all the work) and couldn’t tell you a thing about their anatomy. This is the best story I could think of offhand; I’m sure I know MANY others, especially with my brother, but I can’t think of them. My brother, despite being a straight-A student is an idiot. Every night both my parents and my brother and I are at my parents’ house, we play euchre. To determine who deals first, we deal cards one at a time to each person (face-up) until someone gets a jack; that person deals the first hand. One time it took a little longer than usual and my brother asked, “What if no one gets a jack?” . . . This is the same kid who will go alone when we only need one trick to win. :smack: If I’d been involved earlier in this post, I would beg and plead **Lobsang** to use this quote in my signature. For some reason, I find it hilarious. 🙂 > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Lobsang_ > **When I see an octopus I see lots of tentacles, and a jelly like body. I do not see an orange rigid triangular mouth.** So _true_!! ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/283 "2003-07-17T03:32:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > \*\*I once was talking with two administrative assistants who had been using computers to do word processing for several years. When in the course of our conversation I mentioned the “Save As” button, they asked me, “Yeah, I’ve never used it. What’s it for?” > > I mean, there’s a REASON so many people voted for Bush. \*\* * * * Yes. We’re the intelligent ones. It’s the mouthbreathers that voted for Gore. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/284 "2003-07-17T03:40:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny B. Goode \* > \*\*This has just become a showcase for poxy bits of trivia that certain people take for granted or skills that some people think, for whatever reason, should be innate even though it seems perfectly reasonable that some people don’t have certain skills. > > The only thing that I can think of at the moment that sort of amazes me is that the so-called “leader of the free world” and the man who has the executive power to launch enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world several times over thinks that the word is “nuculear”. \*\* * * * No, he doesn’t. He just pronounces it that way, as do many thousands of other people with similar accents. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/285 "2003-07-17T03:54:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NurseCarmen \* > \*\*Completely unrelated to pentecosts or beaks: > > I am constantly amazed at people who don’t know that when stoplights are out, the intersection should be treated as a four way stop. > \*\* ============== I am constantly amazed at people who don’t know that when the light turns yellow, you are not supposed to mash the accelerator to the floor, especially when you’re the 8th car back in line. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/286 "2003-07-17T04:29:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\ ***TheFunkySpaceCowboy** as I was reading this thread I was thinking of a friend of mine that set up a ski trip to Alaska for her ski club. > Three members brought passports to the airport (no not for ID, for immigration into Alaska) and one guy was real ticked off that he could not find the currency conversion from US to whatever Alaskans use for money. > \*\* Well, to be fair, on THIS issue, the military DOES treat Alaska as “overseas” and its members are required to get all the shots and go through all the same briefings etc that those going to europe etc have to get. But I love **TheFunkySpaceCowboy’s** bringing up these things. One other I’ve thought of is the Jay Leno “man on the streets” interviews where so many people think Alaska is located off the California coast. That’s where they show us on TV news weather maps, but it’s to save ROOM on their map (so it’s not so wide). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/287 "2003-07-17T04:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Clothahump: \*\*No, he doesn’t. He just pronounces it that way, as do many thousands of other people with similar accents. I didn’t realize there was a “stupid” accent. I guess I need to spend more time in the liberry. ---
**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 17, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/288 "2003-07-17T07:14:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Granted, she grew up in a Detroit suburb, but you’d think a 20-year-old would have caught at least ONE lightning bug in her life, or at least seen a picture of one! I absolutely guarantee you that most kids in California wouldn’t even know what you’re talking about, much less have seen one up close. Don’t assume that your local animals are everywhere, dude. Many kids in southern California haven’t even been in snow. I taught 4th grade in neighborhoods that were so Hispanic that I had to make the point that California was not part of Mexico. > [@](#): > > I didn’t realize there was a “stupid” accent. I guess I need to spend more time in the liberry. Unless you actually say “Wed-nes-day”, then just admit that some words in some regions are pronounced different from the way they are spelled, or even different from the “proper” pronunciation. And for the record, I’m one of the biggest grammar and pronunciation geeks I know. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/289 "2003-07-17T13:24:23Z")
I had never encountered Chick Tracts until another messageboard gave a link to a spoof of the old “Dark Dungeons” tract. At the time I was 23. I don’t know how I managed to escape knowledge of these things for that long, but that’s the way it turned out. I had even been using the internet for 5 years already and never encountered them. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > \*\*People also tell me that when I make the “loops” for letters like “o”, “p”, “d”, and “g”, I make them “backwards.” (Clockwise instead of anti-clockwise.) \*\* The loops for print and cursive are done the same way. ‘p’ is done clockwise normally, as well as ‘b’ (which lacks a loop in cursive). > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Thea Logica \* > \*\*I could rant about that all day, but I’d probably have to pit the only show on TV worth watching. \*\* Hey, don’t pit The Simpsons! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Thea Logica \* > \*\*Baby squid do. They use them at the Feast of Pentecost to rend the flesh of people who don’t know who Martin Luther is. > > You can see them in the reflecting pools in front of replicas of the Eiffel Tower. They start to gather there about six weeks after Easter, when they celebrate the Electoral College casting their votes for candidates who lost the popular vote in the last election. \*\* Six weeks after Easter? So if Puxatawney Jesus hadn’t seen his shadow when he came out of the tomb, that would mean the Electoral College would have been just around the corner, eh? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by suezeekay \* > \*\*I graduated from high school in 1960 and I have found that I know a lot of things younger people don’t know, like…how much pi is. \*\* Wow! You know how much pi is. That’s impressive! Considering as of december the current calculation is only out to 1.24 trillion decimal places… 😛 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bren\_Cameron \* > \*\*I’m not sure this is the case, and I’m sure someone who understands both dating systems will enlighten. Easter is tied to a particular day of the week, so Good Friday always falls on Good Friday. I had understood that Passover wasn’t quite the same–it isn’t tied to a particular day of the week (or is it?) so Passover won’t always fall on Friday. Or so I had gathered. And in fact, I recall at least one of the gospels mentioning that Passover happened to fall on the Sabbath that year, though I can’t find the passage right now. > > In addition, there are several ways of determining the date of Easter that don’t neccesarily line up with Passover. Eventually the Roman Catholic Church adopted a particular one, but I have no idea how close it is to the method for determining the date of Passover. It seems to me that I notice Passover generally within a few days of Easter, but I’m not sure if that’s always the case, and I also seem to recall that some Orthodox churches use a different method from Roman Catholic ones and it doesn’t fall on the same date.\*\* While I don’t know how the Passover is calculated. Easter was set by Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. as being the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21st. However, I hadn’t heard that Orthodox churches use a different method. I’m not doubting you, I just haven’t heard it. Regarding the mention of the Passover falling on the Sabbath in the gospel, Friday night is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath (I believe it starts at sundown), which continues through Saturday (and ends at sundown on that day, IIRC). The Christian denomination of 7th-day Adventists got their name because they celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday, similar to Jews, whereas most other denominations use Sunday. Many European countries that had their founding based in Roman Catholicism (e.g. France) consider Monday the first day of the week, thereby making the seventh day of the week end up on Sunday. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sternvogel \* > \*\*Hmmm, Jefferson Davis’s portrait doesn’t appear on any of my money…😃 Seriously, though, I’d have mentioned the Confederacy’s leader unless the professor had specified “President of the **United** States of America”. \*\* When I read the post that mentioned the Civil War president, I had the same reaction you did. I would have said Jefferson Davis just to be a smartass as well. ---
**Author:** ![philfromfsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@philfromfsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/philfromfsu)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/290 "2003-07-17T13:43:44Z")
I had a long argument with my manager at the country club where I work about whether or not “badder” is a word. I swore up and down its not, and even if it was, there would be no correct gramatical way to use it in a sentence. We made our bets (like we always do if we have differing opinions) and he came in the next day with a dictionary with the word badder in it. It said “slang” next to it, but still, i suppose if its in the dictionary, its a word huh? I lost the bet but come on, “badder”? ---
**Author:** ![Moeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@Moeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moeman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/291 "2003-07-17T14:08:58Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Hoopy Frood \* \*\* Wow! You know how much pi is. That’s impressive! Considering as of december the current calculation is only out to 1.24 trillion decimal places… 😛 \*\* Where is the site for showing the current pi listing? (no not the whole number just hoow many places) ---
**Author:** ![RobertP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@RobertP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertP)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/292 "2003-07-17T15:02:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > > My fundamentalist neighbor (who is _homeschooling_ her daughters) expressed amazement when I told her about saving Zen’s baby canines. She was totally unaware that dogs had baby teeth. > > \*\* When I first read this post I thought Zen was a human. It would have been correct too – baby humans have canine teeth, and young canines have baby teeth! In either case, I had never heard of the practice. You know what is the epitome of grammer stupidity? People who write “…for e.g…” My boss does it. Drives me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![ThatDuckIsEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@ThatDuckIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThatDuckIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/293 "2003-07-17T15:29:50Z")
thanks to the ever-changing world of urban music, yes “badder” is a slang word. An example for you, off the top of my head - This song is ancient, (ok, from the 1980’s) but I’m pretty sure it qualifies as “techno” of some sort. I believe the lyrics go like this: I’m bigger and badder and rougher and tougher In other words, sucka, there is no other I’m the one and only dominator I’m not saying badder is grammatically correct, but it is in use. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/294 "2003-07-17T15:38:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Moeman \* > Where is the site for showing the current pi listing? (no not the whole number just hoow many places) \*\* There are a few if you Google for **+pi +calculation** but here are two sources: [http://pw1.netcom.com/~hjsmith/Pi/Records.html](http://pw1.netcom.com/~hjsmith/Pi/Records.html) [http://crd.lbl.gov/~dhbailey/dhbpapers/dhb-kanada.pdf](http://crd.lbl.gov/~dhbailey/dhbpapers/dhb-kanada.pdf) (table on fourth page gives chronicle of pi calculations) ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/295 "2003-07-17T17:20:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > \*\*One thing I think all people need to know, and I let them know whenever the opportunity presents itself (like this thread): > > Never, never, never mix chlorine bleach and ammonia! \*\* No doubt. I actually did not know this, and for about a month was pouring a little bleach into the bottom of the bag in my son’s diaper pail after emptying and cleaning it. I was trying to disinfect and kill a bit of the smell, of course, but then read that they’re never supposed to mix. Urine contains ammonia, right? I felt like SUCH an idiot. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![JungleLove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@JungleLove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JungleLove)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/296 "2003-07-17T17:28:43Z")
This is more of an example of misinformation than ignorance but… A friend mentioned the other day that a man can choose the gender of a possible child by the way he has sex with his female partner. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/297 "2003-07-17T17:58:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JungleLove \* > **A friend mentioned the other day that a man can choose the gender of a possible child by the way he has sex with his female partner.** Heh. Earlier today a coworker was telling a group of us about his wife’s pregnancy and how he was sure it was going to be a boy because of the way she was carring the child (I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was something like if the woman carries the child low in her womb, it is a boy, but if she carries it high it is a girl). I was rather skeptical about this, so as a joke I said with a straight face, “You can’t tell the sex of a child by the way the mother carries it – everybody knows the sex is determined by why way the husband was facing when the child was conceived.” Amazingly, instead of a laugh, I got interested looks from my co-workers and comments of “Really?” and “I didn’t know that.” _sigh_ Barry ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/298 "2003-07-17T18:37:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JungleLove \* > \*\*This is more of an example of misinformation than ignorance but… > > A friend mentioned the other day that a man can choose the gender of a possible child by the way he has sex with his female partner. > > ☹ \*\* Of course that’s rather true. If his way of having sex with her is closer to her ovulation date (2 days prior up to day of), it’s more likely they’ll have a boy, as boy sperm are faster swimmers. If his way of having sex with her is further from her ovulation date (5-3 days prior) and abstaining the last few days before ovulation, it’s more likely they’ll get a girl, as girl sperm are hardier and live longer … plus they’re there “waiting” when eggie go down da hole. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Southerner \* > \*\*Here is a true story, about people not knowing something you thought everyone knew, that totally threw me for a loop. > > I knew a lady that had won a trip to London (she lives in Oklahoma) . We got to talking about the trip and I learned that she didn’t know what ocean she had to cross to get to the UK. She even admitted that she wasn’t sure she would be crossing a body of water at all. :eek: \*\* Well, she might cross a river or two but not necessarily [an ocean](http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&address=&city=London&state=KY). ---
**Author:** ![jillzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@jillzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jillzy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/299 "2003-07-17T18:59:06Z")
Must chime in with my own list… 1. A few years ago, my cousin came home from 3rd grade with her list of “Things I Learned This Week” (written by her teacher). At the top of the list was “The Star Bangled Banner” (yes, the school was located within the United States. Okay, it WAS central Maine, but not like it was in Alaska or anything! 😃 ) 2. I once spent a very painful hour trying to explain to an otherwise very intelligent friend that the “dark side of the moon” actually exists. I even used a grapefruit and a golf ball to demonstrate, but she just couldn’t/wouldn’t wrap her brain around the idea. 3. I still remember the day in grade school when we learned the difference between convex/concave and transparent/translucent/opaque. Such simple lessons that apparently were not learned by everyone. 4. Four years ago I moved to Chicago from Maine. All too often, when meeting people here and answering the inevitable getting-to-know-you questions, I am asked “So, what’s it like growing up in Maine?” My standard answer is “Oh, just like growing up in Illinois, except that I had a pet lobster under my bed and I rode a moose to school.” The disturbing part is how often people believe me. 5. (A little off-subject) There is a slightly embarrassing story that is now family legend about a very young jillzy watching mom frost a cake. As mom finished, I proudly told her that I was going to “lick the frosting off the bachelor.” ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/300 "2003-07-17T19:00:55Z")
I think that one of the most stunning examples of everyday ignorance that I came across was at the deli counter at my local grocery. I asked the guy behind the counter for 1/3 of a pound of turkey. He turns away and starts slicing, and when he turns back to weigh the quantity he’d sliced so far, it comes up on the scale as 0.4 lbs. I was just about to tell him that it was OK if it was a little bit over when he turned back to the slicer and started cutting more. I said “Excuse me, but I only wanted 1/3 of a pound of that,” and he turned back around and positively _snarled_ at me “Well, _I_ don’t know what a THIRD is!” :eep: I was totally flummoxed. I said “Ummm…that would be 0.33 on the scale.” I weep for humanity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=16)