# 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:** 19
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/361 "2003-07-19T23:36:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AndrewT \* > \*\*One of my co-workers, a fellow Australian, had no idea that there was a difference between Washington DC and Washington state. > \*\* I work for a car company. We bring in our cars through three ports here in the US. Baltimore Maryland, Newark New Jersey, and Port Hueneme in California. I ordered a car for my training center in Seattle Washington. want to guess which port is was unloaded in? You got it, Baltimore. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/362 "2003-07-19T23:46:29Z")
I should add that the choice of port was done by people in America not Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/363 "2003-07-20T00:25:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by anyi \* > Of course, maps have a messy history of their own (racism, e.g., the graphical shrinking of Africa and the swelling of America, etc.). Here’s a chance for me to learn something. Are you saying maps of Africa were shrunk for non-map-projection reasons? That is, a Mercator-type projection of a sphere onto a flat map distorts size. Do you have a cite for this? ---
**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 20, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/364 "2003-07-20T00:31:40Z")
I think the point, **Bricker** , is that some people argue that the Mercator projection was chosen over other types specifically _because_ it tends to make northern countries seem larger. I’m no map projection expert, but from the little i’ve read it seems that it’s impossible to project a globe onto a flat surface without some sore of distortion. Based on my limited knowledge, it seems to me that the critiques of the Mercator projection can someties see a conspiracy where there really isn’t one. ---
**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 20, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/365 "2003-07-20T00:37:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*Based on my limited knowledge, it seems to me that the critiques of the Mercator projection can someties see a conspiracy where there really isn’t one. \*\* I blame Greenland, frankly. Or maybe Antarctica. Bloody penguins… ---
**Author:** ![MrBerious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MrBerious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBerious)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/366 "2003-07-20T01:07:13Z")
Again with the ill-informed teachers: I distinctly remember my primary school teacher (in the first year) telling the class if you mixed all the colours of the rainbow you’d get a yellow-brown colour \because that’s what she got with her chalks on the blackboard\. Really, no kidding. ---
**Author:** ![MrBerious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MrBerious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBerious)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/367 "2003-07-20T01:08:55Z")
Image that’s bold eh? Frightening I don’t know these funny tags. ---
**Author:** ![anyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@anyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/368 "2003-07-20T03:10:26Z")
Regarding bad teachers: I had a teacher who wouldn’t let us fan ourselves on hot days because our fanning “excited” molecules, and “excited” molecules caused heat. That story would be better if she was my chemistry teacher, but she wasn’t. Thank god. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > **I think the point, Bricker, is that some people argue that the Mercator projection was chosen over other types specifically _because_ it tends to make northern countries seem larger.** Yes, thanks. In addition, you have the effect of the maps on generations of children raised looking at the distortion with no realization that there _is_ a distortion. I don’t mean to imply that there was a sinister motive at first–it was quite a chore to map the world at all in the beginning–but I do think there was a definite lack of interest in changing things later since it didn’t help the US and Europe to do so. If the US were located on the equator, I suspect that the Mercator system would have been replaced with the Peters map decades ago. This isn’t really fact, it’s just argument. I just can’t imagine most Americans wouldn’t have been outraged to know that their country was shrunk relative to the rest of the world. I haven’t studied this since college, so I honestly can’t remember sources. But [this](http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_03/Map153.shtml) provides guidance on the effect on children, [this](http://www.praxagora.com/sierra/flum/9204.htm) states that some UN agencies and churches have condemned the Mercator system, and [this](http://www.culturalpartnerships.org/productspubs/stories5.asp) give some insight into the minority experience as regards to subtle such things as maps. Sorry about the generic nature and potential unreliability of the sources. The Internet has less on this than I though it would. I’ve graduated, so I no longer have access to academic journals via Lexis, etc., for better sources. But I’m sure they are available. This is a standard topic in African-American studies and Asian-American studies. Asia is often split on many maps, so that causes its own set of problems. When it’s not split, it’s always on the right, which give the impression that Asia is east of the US, when it’s actually closer to west. Sometimes tiny things shape the very perception of civilization. ---
**Author:** ![fd10801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e5b9ba/32.png) [@fd10801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fd10801)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/369 "2003-07-20T03:43:53Z")
I’m not sure I nuy your theory about the Mercator projection, but is true that maps are made with their country of origin in mind. See here: [http://www.flourish.org/upsidedownmap/](http://www.flourish.org/upsidedownmap/) ---
**Author:** ![anyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@anyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/370 "2003-07-20T04:40:49Z")
Oh, very cool maps. Thanks for that. So was everyone else who had to learn the Fifty Nifty United States song forced to pronounced Iowa - Io-WAY? I was. Couldn’t even tell you why. Nobody in the area pronounced it that way outside of the song. ---
**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 20, 2003, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/371 "2003-07-20T10:10:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by anyi \* > \*\*So was everyone else who had to learn the Fifty Nifty United States song forced to pronounced Iowa - Io-WAY? I was. Couldn’t even tell you why. Nobody in the area pronounced it that way outside of the song. \*\* And in _The Music Man_, don’t forget: _“You’re in Iiiiiowaaaaaaay…”_ Nifty upside-down maps, to be sure, but speaking of maps and Greenland, can anyone tell me how big Greenland _really_ is? Comparison with a US state would be particularly helpful. The horrendous distortions on most maps make it look like it’s the size of Africa (which it quite obviously isn’t). ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/372 "2003-07-20T12:37:22Z")
My ex-wife once expressed amazement that the light poles in parking lots extended into the ground. She thought that the cement barriers around them simply “stuck” to the pavement. Heh. When will I ever stop telling this story? ---
**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 20, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/373 "2003-07-20T13:01:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*Nifty upside-down maps, to be sure, but speaking of maps and Greenland, can anyone tell me how big Greenland _really_ is? Comparison with a US state would be particularly helpful. The horrendous distortions on most maps make it look like it’s the size of Africa (which it quite obviously isn’t). \*\* Never mind; I found it, despite the perversity of most of the Greenland sites. On the off-chance you care: Total area: 2,175,600 sq km Land area (ice-free): 383,600 sq km Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of Texas So – still pretty big, if not comparable with Africa. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/374 "2003-07-20T13:21:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \* > **Melia turns to everyone and says: “Did you guys know hot dogs are made of _pork_?!?” We all looked at her strangely and said yes. Turns out she thought they were made of beef… at least, until the discussion they were somehow having on the subject in Bible Study last night.** My father swears a friend-of-the-family was about fifty before she learned that ham comes from pigs. I have no idea where she thought it came from before; ham trees, perhaps. The bits of ignorance that frighten me, though, are the “how did you manage to avoid killing yourself until now?” type. For instance, I witnessed one near-fire when someone old enough to know better put a plastic measuring cup on a stove to melt butter, and a friend of mine was awoken in the middle of the night by a roommate who decided to reheat leftovers in a paper tray in the oven and was concerned when the kitchen began to fill with smoke. The butter melter’s excuse was that plastic spatulas don’t melt, so how was she to know plastic measuring cups do? The paper fire guy figured that since it was an electric oven, there was no flame, and therefore no risk of fire… which might have actually protected him if he hadn’t cranked the temperature up to 500F :rolleyes: ---
**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 20, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/375 "2003-07-20T13:47:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flodnak \* > \*\*My father swears a friend-of-the-family was about fifty before she learned that ham comes from pigs. I have no idea where she thought it came from before; ham trees, perhaps. \*\* From the “Lisa the Vegetarian” episode of The Simpsons: > [@](#): > > Lisa: **No I can’t! I can’t eat any of them!** > > Homer: **Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute. Lisa honey, are you saying you’re _never_ going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?** > > Lisa: **No.** > > Homer: **Ham?** > > Lisa: **No.** > > Homer: **Pork chops?** > > Lisa: **Dad! Those all come from the same animal!** > > Homer: [_Chuckles_]\*\* Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/376 "2003-07-20T15:25:12Z")
I was managing a DQ at night and teaching during the day for a while. One night, I noticed an odd smell in the back and went back to see what it was. One of my teenage employees, instructed to mop the floors, had poured generous portions of both bleach and ammonia in a bucket and was busily filling it with hot water, coughing a little as the cloud of poisonous fumes rose around her. We had to evacuate the building. Girl was baffled- no one had ever told her that these things didn’t go together. Wasn’t one of those cases of I-didn’t-know-there-was-ammonia-in-that, either. Big bottle labeled ‘Bleach,’ big bottle labeled ‘Ammonia.’ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Green\_Feather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@The\_Green\_Feather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Green_Feather)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/377 "2003-07-20T18:16:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Theios \* > \*\*Back in 2000, when there were alot of news stories about whether or not 2000 was a leap year, my gf turned to me and asked “What’s all this leap year stuff”. Thinking that she needed an explanation on why 2000 was an exception to the normal exception rule (the details of which I already forgot), I started explaining it. She stopped me and said, “No. What is a leap year. I’ve never heard of this leap year stuff before” > > I just kinda blinked at her while trying to wrap my brain around the concept of a 31 year old not ever hearing about leap years. She got a little peeved and said “It’s okay not to know!”. Unfortunatly, I said the first thing that came to mind, which was “Well, yeah. It’s okay not to know… If you’re SEVEN!” > (I guess there’s a reason we’re not together anymore. I can be such an asshole.) \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Thea Logica_ > **Theios, I think your story just won the prize for being the Thing Someone Doesn’t Know that frightens me the most. > I mean, really, how could anyone not notice that there is an extra day in February every few years?** Please don’t tell me the extra day is a Monday. I hate Mondays. I don’t think I could handle an extra Monday even if it’s only every few years. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/378 "2003-07-20T18:24:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blackeyes \* > \*\*A fellower sufferer. > > Fifty Nifty United States, from thirteen original colonies… \*\* Fifty nifty stars in the flag that billow so beautifully in the breeze. See you at the meetings. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/379 "2003-07-20T18:26:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*I work for a car company. We bring in our cars through three ports here in the US. Baltimore Maryland, Newark New Jersey, and Port Hueneme in California. I ordered a car for my training center in Seattle Washington. want to guess which port is was unloaded in? > You got it, Baltimore. :smack: \*\* Reminds me of the story of the Britsh company that had a local representative in Vancouver .One day this rep got a message from his London office which said " Mr. Smith is arriving in Halifax , Novia Scotia .Could you meet him ?. The Rep replied " you meet him you’re nearer than me ". ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/380 "2003-07-20T19:10:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Algernon \* > \*\*One duck. Two hens. Three squawking geese. Four limerick oysters. Five corpulent porpoises. Six pairs of John Alverzo’s tweezers. Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array. Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt. Nine sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth. > > Hmmmm. Forgot ten. Something about quays… > > (… if this isn’t a thread-killer post, I don’t know what is…) \*\* Thank you. Finally something to bug my husband with next road drip. To counter \*One Fat Hen, Couple Duck, Three Brown Bear, Four Running Hare, … \* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=20)