# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/381 "2003-07-20T19:33:11Z")
I haven’t been able to get over this one yet. I took a Greek Mythology class this summer, and halfway through a girl sitting behind me remarked: “I’ve never heard of Helen of Troy before.” Now, I’m reasonable. I don’t think everyone needs to know the details of Helen’s parentage and the plot of the Iliad. But for heavens’ sakes, shouldn’t people at least have heard the name before? I related this story to my brother and his friend. My brother was shocked and horrified, his friend admitted that he had never heard of her either. ---
**Author:** ![JungleLove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@JungleLove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JungleLove)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/382 "2003-07-20T22:58:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mynn \* > \*\*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. \*\* The [Shettles method](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=58810&highlight=Shettles+method) has not been shown to increase the odds of preselecting the gender of the child. ---
**Author:** ![JungleLove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@JungleLove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JungleLove)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/383 "2003-07-20T23:08:01Z")
Sorry about the hijack… but I thought I ought to answer this in the original thread rather than taking it to General Questions. More on the Shettles method: [here](http://www.psc.uc.edu/HS/HS_SelectSexBaby.htm) and [here](http://www.webmd.lycos.com/content/article/64/72354.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/384 "2003-07-21T02:44:36Z")
My fouth grade teacher thought that if you went around the world, you’d switch from going east, to going west on the other side, then come back around to where you started. I wasn’t up to the challenge of explaining to her that you’d keep going east ( or west) the whole way around. ( I spent a good amount of time trying though.) ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/385 "2003-07-21T02:55:59Z")
Errrrrrrr…fou **r** th! ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/386 "2003-07-21T06:19:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*OK so squids have beaks. > > I’ll file that into the useless knowledge folder. \*\* It’s not so useless when you’re trying to put one on a fishhook. They can give you a pretty good nip. ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/387 "2003-07-21T11:51:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Maureen \* > \*\*Conversate. A doctor A DOCTOR actually used that word the other day. I thought my jaw was going to dislocate it dropped so fast. How can someone with an advanced education NOT know that “coversate” is not a word? \*\* And here I was, thinking that “conversate” was a prefectly cromulant word. Thanks for leaving me embiggened.😉 ---
**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 21, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/388 "2003-07-21T12:09:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Algernon \* > \*\*Er, I think you have it backwards **Hoopy Frood**. In the most common flat world map, the [Mercator projection](http://www.eoascientific.com/cartography/aaMaps_M3_surface_Z.htm), Alaska actually appears _larger_ than it really is rather than smaller (relative to areas closer to the equator). If you look at the world map in the link above, you can see that Alaska appears to be as big as the entire US west of the Mississippi river! \*\* My mistake. I was actually basing my statement form a world map here at work, which is laid out flat but concave so as to mimic the curvature of a globe. Thereby squishing the ends (including Alaska to fit the curve. On it Alaska looks comparitively smaller (and longer) than it should be. It’s been a long time since I actually paid attention to a Mercator projection. Thanks for the clarification. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \* > \*\*From last night’s dinner at the Cactus Club: > > 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. > > (yes, there ARE chicken dogs and veggie dogs… she was talking about the general kind of hor dogs) > > F\_X \*\* Depends on the situation. Many ballparks, music concerts, and their like serve beef hot dogs because pork is neither Kosher nor Halal. By serving beef dogs, they don’t have to worry about cultural dietary restrictions to things like that. Though, if you go to a supermarket, it’s pretty much pork unless it says otherwise. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by anyi \* > \*\*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. \*\* I never understood that either. I probably should have asked my teacher. It’s not like it’s needed for meter or rhyme. Maybe we could make a GQ out of that? It’s such a burning question and all.🙂 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mynn \* > \*\*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, … \* \*\* Five fat fickle females sitting sipping scotch… Not only are they memory games, but they make for fun drinking games as well. I actually learned that one from a teacher friend of mine who uses it as a memory game for her students (without the potent potables of course). ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/389 "2003-07-21T13:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by DrDeth_ > Algernon- what does “one duck” help one remember? Absolutely nothing. Except of course the sequence of increasing challenging sentences to remember. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Godzillatemple_ > “Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolic denizens of the deep who all swim around the quo of the quay of the quivy at same time.” > Oh – and it’s Don Alphonso’s tweezers, not John Alverzo (at least, that’s how it was in the version I learned). > This wasn’t a menemonic – just a silly memory exercise. Excellent! Thanks **Godzillatemple** for sentence number ten. Regarding Don Alphonso vs John Alverzo, given the rhyme of the names I conclude that either your version or my version evolved from the other. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mynn_ > Thank you. Finally something to bug my husband with next road [t]rip. My pleasure. (mischievous grin) > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Hoopy Frood_ > My mistake. I was actually basing my statement form a world map here at work, which is laid out flat but concave so as to mimic the curvature of a globe. Thereby squishing the ends (including Alaska to fit the curve. On it Alaska looks comparitively smaller (and longer) than it should be. It’s been a long time since I actually paid attention to a Mercator projection. > Thanks for the clarification. Interesting. I rarely see any other world map than a Mercator projection. Thanks for explaining your conclusion. It makes sense to me now. As my link indicates, _all_ flat maps have some level of distortion. I made an incorrect assumption about what you were referring to. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Hoopy Frood, expanding upon Mynn’s new memory “game”_ > Five fat fickle females sitting sipping scotch… Good one. Except that I can’t even say it because it’s too much of a tongue twister. (embarrassed smile) ---
**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 21, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/390 "2003-07-21T14:26:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hoopy Frood \* > \*\*which is laid out flat but concave so as to mimic the curvature of a globe. \*\* Er…that should read convex. I thought convex, and told myself I wasn’t going to put concave, but somehow did it anyway (and didn’t someone earlier have a post about convex vs. concave, I think that post psyched me out or something). The map is shaped something like this: ```auto _____ / \ | | \ _____ / ``` ---
**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 21, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/391 "2003-07-21T14:28:31Z")
Oops, forgot that “code” tag doesn’t quite produce a WYSIWYG output due to font changes. Must remember to preview. Anyway, I think you all get the point. ---
**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 21, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/392 "2003-07-21T14:34:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Algernon \* > \*\*Good one. Except that I can’t even say it because it’s too much of a tongue twister. (embarrassed smile) \*\* You should see slightly inebriate people try it. ---
**Author:** ![jillzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@jillzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jillzy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/393 "2003-07-21T14:54:29Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Algernon_ > **I never learned the Fifty Nifty. But both my kids did, and they can still repeat it now (as college students). Score one for the public school system!** In addition to the Nifty Fifty, we also had to learn this gem (sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle) _The 16 counties in our State are Cumberland and Franklin, Piscataquis and Somerset, Aroostook, Androscoggin. Waldo, Washington and York, Lincoln, Knox and Hancock Sagadahoc and Kennebec, Oxford and Penobscot!_ I will never forget this list (a fact that becomes painfully aparent when it gets stuck in my head on auto-repeat during long car rides). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/394 "2003-07-21T16:23:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by anyi \* > \*\*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 distortionIf 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 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, states that some UN agencies and churches have condemned the Mercator system, and give some insight into the minority experience as regards to subtle such things as maps This is a standard topic in African-American studies and Asian-American studies. \*\* I’d think by now the “race card” would have been played so many time it’d be all greasy & dirty from over use- and it seems that I’d be right. Looks at the ridiculous arguements used on your first cite (they are talking about why the Mercator progection was used): “when colonial exploitation required that maps be used to navigate correctly”. :rolleyes: I have a surprise for them- even NON-“colonial” powers need to “navigate correctly”. And then this “teacher” taught her students that the mercator map was “wrong” and the Peters map “right”- whereas the Peters map, although a pretty picture I suppose- is the wrong one- not only distances, but _shapes_ are distorted in order to get a “PC” view of how the world looks. I can only hope that the next time this idiot “teacher” take a flight, that they use her “peters” map- then we’ll never see her again. 😃 Ya want to get an accurate world map- look at a **globe** for god’s sake, don’t distort the map to fit your odd political views. I never even heard of the “nifty fifty”- well, until now. ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/395 "2003-07-21T16:37:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > \*\*I haven’t been able to get over this one yet. > > I took a Greek Mythology class this summer, and halfway through a girl sitting behind me remarked: “I’ve never heard of Helen of Troy before.” > > Now, I’m reasonable. I don’t think everyone needs to know the details of Helen’s parentage and the plot of the Iliad. But for heavens’ sakes, shouldn’t people at least have heard the name before? > \*\* Well, if you asked me about it, I may have heard, but I couldn’t remember, nor care less. It’s like me saying I can’t get over how people, when they look at a static budget variance, can’t figure out that if they did the flexible budget variance, they’d be able to get an efficiency as well as a price variance for some products, which will better allow them to see why it occurred. Now if you had an interest in cost accounting, you should know this, but if not, why should it be surprising you don’t? Again, there are tons of names in history I heard, so it’s not a big deal to forget them. There are people who are still alive today and I forget their names, and some of these I know. The only Greek I remember is when someone had a big fat wedding, and I’ve forgotten their names as well. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![greyseal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@greyseal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greyseal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/396 "2003-07-21T19:57:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fd10801 \* > \*\*There is a way to simply turn the key in the “ON” position… This allows electricity to flow… Everything will run: A/C, Radio. and window… \*\* Slight nitpick: In my car (Saturn), the A/C does not run unless the engine is on. Most other accessories will run on battery alone. ---
**Author:** ![fd10801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e5b9ba/32.png) [@fd10801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fd10801)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/397 "2003-07-21T20:36:15Z")
Raaarrgh! ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/398 "2003-07-21T23:28:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Svt4Him \* > Well, if you asked me about it, I may have heard, but I couldn’t remember, nor care less. It’s like me saying I can’t get over how people, when they look at a static budget variance, can’t figure out that if they did the flexible budget variance, they’d be able to get an efficiency as well as a price variance for some products, which will better allow them to see why it occurred. No, it’s not like that at all. What you’re talking about is specialized knowledge. I’m a programmer and I don’t expect people to know about programming. Helen of Troy being described as “the face that launched a thousand ships” (by Marlowe) is one of the most famous lines in the English language and everyone who speaks English should know it. That, if nothing else, should make her memorable. LaurAnge is right to be surprised (as I am). ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/399 "2003-07-22T01:31:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Svt4Him \* > \*\*Well, if you asked me about it, I may have heard, but I couldn’t remember, nor care less. It’s like me saying I can’t get over how people, when they look at a static budget variance, can’t figure out that if they did the flexible budget variance, they’d be able to get an efficiency as well as a price variance for some products, which will better allow them to see why it occurred. Now if you had an interest in cost accounting, you should know this, but if not, why should it be surprising you don’t? Again, there are tons of names in history I heard, so it’s not a big deal to forget them. There are people who are still alive today and I forget their names, and some of these I know. The only Greek I remember is when someone had a big fat wedding, and I’ve forgotten their names as well. :smack: \*\* Have you read the entire thread? No, thought not, can I be so bold as to suggest that you go back to the beginning and work your way forward before posting. ---
**Author:** ![anyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@anyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyi)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/400 "2003-07-22T02:41:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrDeth \* > **I’d think by now the “race card” would have been played so many time it’d be all greasy & dirty from over use- and it seems that I’d be right. Looks at the ridiculous arguements used on your first cite (they are talking about why the Mercator progection was used): “when colonial exploitation required that maps be used to navigate correctly”. :rolleyes: I have a surprise for them- even NON-“colonial” powers need to “navigate correctly”. And then this “teacher” taught her students that the mercator map was "wrong"** First off, I just want to clarify what I was trying to do. In my first post, I only meant to acknowledge that there has always been controversy over maps, and I mentioned it because it seemed like a parallel issue with my personal midjudgment of the size of New England relative to the rest of the US. That’s all. I find arguments regarding the mercator maps interesting because of how maps shape people’s perceptions, but I don’t have some fierce desire to go changing every map. Education on the issue would be enough to counter the misleading effects of such maps, I think. I mean, how many of you knew that maps distorted the world _that much_? How many normal people have any idea? I had an inkling, but I didn’t realize the severity of the distortion until college. The issue of education leads to DrDeth’s post above. I don’t see _any_ arguments in the article I linked to. I don’t see where the author says non-colonial powers _didn’t_ need to navigate accurately. It was a statement of fact on how it was colonial powers who developed the map to begin with, nothing more. The author didn’t even take a position, specifically stating, “Whether or not Mercator meant consciously to diminish the South, it is worthwhile to focus on the effect of its widespread use today.” That points to _effect_ of the map, not its creation. And I don’t see where the teacher told the students the map was “wrong”. I thought this was a very reasonable statement and the point: “I did not want my students to take my word, nor anyone else’s, without questioning. I wanted them to both use mathematics to read their worlds and to see the value of doing so - that is, to also develop a particular disposition towards using mathematics for social analysis.” Personally, I saw the article as a story about teaching critical thinking and using applied learning as it comes to education and race. And I think that knowledge and education is the key here to understanding what supports racial attitudes in our lives. Does the author seem to have her own beliefs? Sure, but we all do. To teach critical thinking, you have to challenge establish thinking. That’s the whole point. A side note: I never understand why the “race card” isn’t a valid card to play when played fairly and honestly. It’s more conspicuous to me when it’s avoided. And calling it a “card” is redundant. Every argument is a “card” – the “race card” seems to one of the few that gets its own name. BTW, globes won’t fit in my glove compartment. Just sayin’. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=21)