# 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:** 21
**Author:** ![fd10801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e5b9ba/32.png) [@fd10801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fd10801)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/401 "2003-07-22T05:28:23Z")
To get back to the original idea of the thread, I’ll tell you a story my Global Economics Professor (who has a Ph.D in Geography) told us. He said he was in a gas station in New Rochelle NY (a suburb just north of New York City), when someone showed him a road map, and asked how to get to NEW ORLEANS! My Professor said he told him, “It’s on the other side of the map.” ---
**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 22, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/402 "2003-07-22T11:51:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by greyseal \* > \*\*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. \*\* AFAIK, all automobiles using internal combustion engines require the engine to be running for AC to work. The compressor is driven by the engine. Although the blower is electric, and will operate with the key in the “accessories” or “on” position, the compressor would probably draw too much energy to run off of the battery alone. I do wonder why power windows don’t work when the key isn’t in the “on” position, though. ---
**Author:** ![petre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@petre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petre)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/403 "2003-07-22T17:40:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hoopy Frood \* > \*\*I do wonder why power windows don’t work when the key isn’t in the “on” position, though. \*\* My guess would be security. Otherwise a car thief might slip something into the door to short something and put the window down and gain access to the inside. Sure there’d be other ways to prevent it, but this one is hard to beat (well, a sledge hammer would work, but then that’s hard to stop). ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/404 "2003-07-23T01:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hoopy Frood \* > \*\*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.\*\* I can certainly understand serving beef hot dogs because of cultural dietary restrictions and things of that nature. The thing is, you’d grow up knowing that most hot dogs are made of pork. Melia somehow got to the age of nineteen thinking that most hot dogs were made of beef. (and she’d have no problem eating pork hot dogs either…) F\_X ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/405 "2003-07-27T21:30:41Z")
Perhaps her mother, when doing the marketing, always insisted on buying “all beef” hot dogs and weiners. They’re not that uncommon a product, even outside the concession stands of major sporting arenas. If Melia had seen the rubric “all beef” on every package of hot dogs her mom brought home, it would be quite understandable that she’d regard that as the default. Or maybe she’s not the kind of person who reads the labels of every package that comes into the house. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/406 "2003-07-27T23:32:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rowrrbazzle \* > \*\*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). \*\* When I was young(er) and I first heard that Helen had “the face that launched a thousand ships”, I immediately thought of the champagne bottles they break against ships when they’re completed… I had this mental image of someone slamming her face against a boat every now and then, and I couldn’t understand how she was still supposed to be pretty 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zippyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/839c29/32.png) [@zippyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zippyh)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/407 "2003-07-28T03:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hoopy Frood \* > \*\* > I do wonder why power windows don’t work when the key isn’t in the “on” position, though. \*\* Depends on the car. I know that in BMWs and Audis, the power windows will still work for X minutes (dunno what X is) or until you open the door after turning the key to off. ---
**Author:** ![Rudy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Rudy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rudy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/408 "2003-07-28T03:38:51Z")
The event that took the cake for me was in my Advance Placement United States History Class. We were all hard at work taking our test on WWI, when one of the girls (in an AP class) shouted out “Wait, who won World War One.” I could hardly contain my laughter. Or the other time when a my school was collecting things to sent to a school in Haiti, and my class was responcible for getting peanut butter. We had to get creamy peanut butter for some reason. One day we were discussing why we could not get crunchy peanut butter, when one of my good friends said “Because they may be alergic to peanuts.” People should know that Peanut Butter will contain…peanuts (the girl is now the valedictorian of our class) ---
**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 28, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/409 "2003-07-28T04:08:42Z")
But surely, since creamy peanut butter contains no discrete _peanuts_, it’s safe for people who are merely allergic to _peanuts_, as opposed to those with peanut allergies, who should obviously keep well away from even homogeneous emulsions of peanut which may contain salt or icing sugar. (Come on, try it. It actually feels kind of nice once you get used to it.) ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/410 "2003-07-28T06:14:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tsarina \* > \*\*We were cleaning out our mosquito traps at work the other day, and for the first time this summer we found a lightning bug in a trap. I showed it to the stupid girl I work with: > > “Hey look, a lightning bug.” > She looked puzzled. “That’s what lightning bugs look like up close?” > My turn to look puzzled. “Yeah, you never went around catching lightning bugs when you were a kid?” > “No, because we would only have one or two around my house in the summer.” > > 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! > > _Sigh_ \*\* I was 27 the first time I saw one. The only reason I knew what they were is that they were is that they have them in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and I remember asking my mom about them. Otherwise, I would have thought I was hallucinating when I saw the lights. Kind of ignorant of _you_ to think there are lightning bugs everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Moeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@Moeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moeman)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/411 "2003-07-28T15:39:09Z")
In high school I knew a young lady who was fond of having grilled sasquatch. At first I thought she was just joking around about eating grilled squash. When I asked her about it she looked at me and said, “No, I mean sasquatch. Its a yellow and kind of oblong vegetable.” I spent a few hours trying to explain to her the difference between sasquatch and squash to no avail. She still enjoys eating fresh grilled sasquatch to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/412 "2003-08-15T01:24:34Z")
A few weeks ago while in the family car going to dinner, my siblings and I were discussing our friends. Our friend Phil recently brought HIS friend Sylvester to Fellowship and church, and we were discussing that in the context of newcomers. (our friend Sean says it’s an “explosion of newcomers,” but I digress) Dad hears the word “Sylvester”… he immediately asks us: “Isn’t Sylvester a **dog**?” We looked at each other and had to laugh. Shouldn’t everyone who’s been exposed to Looney Tunes cartoons know that Sylvester is a **cat**? 😕 (and yes, my dad would have been exposed to them for some time… so it’s not like he was never exposed to them or anything) F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/413 "2003-08-15T01:31:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kaylasdad99 \* > \*\*Perhaps her mother, when doing the marketing, always insisted on buying “all beef” hot dogs and weiners. They’re not that uncommon a product, even outside the concession stands of major sporting arenas. If Melia had seen the rubric “all beef” on every package of hot dogs her mom brought home, it would be quite understandable that she’d regard that as the default. > > Or maybe she’s not the kind of person who reads the labels of every package that comes into the house. \*\* Hmm… maybe. I’ll have to ask Auntie Ying or Melia about that on the weekend. (incidentally, Melia is Phil’s sister… yes, the Phil that I made reference to in my previous post) If that’s the case, then yes… it would be totally understandable for her to think that was the default. Guess we’ll see whether she reads labels on packaging that comes nto the house or not! F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/414 "2003-08-31T03:07:03Z")
Haven’t asked Melia about the beef hot dogs yet, but I have another “DUH!” moment. (not from her) I was talking to my sister on MSN the other night, and she said that our mother had asked her: “Isn’t Ottawa in Quebec?” (this happned sometime in the last two weeks while my sister was booking my parents’ flight to the Atlantic provinces online) We were both shocked by Mom’s lack of knowledge concerning extremely basic Canadian geography. She’s been in Canada for **more than 30 years**! :eek: For those of you who don’t know: Ottawa is in Ontario, which is a totally different province than Quebec. AIYA! F\_X ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/415 "2003-08-31T07:22:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kaylasdad99 \* > \*\*Of which I will nitpick two. > And in all the versions I’ve read, the Last Supper was held on a Thursday. \*\* Ding ding ding ding!!! The Passover/Last Supper was, in fact, held on Holy Thursday. Christ was crucified on Great and Holy Friday (Good Friday to you Latin Riters) **kaylasdad99** gets the prize for obsevantness. The story so far- the Squid Mafia are sitting around in a gas station in New Rochelle, NY eating all-beef hot dogs and trying to figure out how to get to New Orleans by way of Ioway, having gotten lost because the Squid doing the driving insisted on using the politcally correct Peters map rather than the Mercator Projecton map that is now locked in the car because they left the keys inside. Also, the made member of the Octopus Family that they have kidnapped and are holding prisoner is slowly bakinng to death because he’s been left tied in the back seat and can’t reach a tentacle over to turn on the ignition switch so he can operate the power windows. It frightens me that there are so many people who know so many people who don’t know things that it frightens them that people don’t know that this thread is now in it’s ninth page. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/416 "2003-08-31T07:34:36Z")
ya know, **Thea** you reall ought to finish readng a page in a thread before you reply to a post in it. Someone else might have already beaten you to the point you wanted to make. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/417 "2003-08-31T13:05:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by anyi \* > **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.** Was she trying to convey the idea that fanning yourself creates heat because you’re using your muscles? I don’t know whether that does offset the cooling effect of moving air, but many people insist it does. My answer if generally that I’m trying to _feel_ cooler and fanning works very well thankyouverymuch. I might rethink if I was actually in danger from the heat, not just uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/418 "2003-08-31T13:28:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hoopy Frood \* > **AFAIK, all automobiles using internal combustion engines require the engine to be running for AC to work. The compressor is driven by the engine. Although the blower is electric, and will operate with the key in the “accessories” or “on” position, the compressor would probably draw too much energy to run off of the battery alone.** My AC works without the engine running, never tried it for very long as I don’t want to waste the battery. ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/419 "2003-08-31T13:52:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuco \* > \*\*My AC works without the engine running, never tried it for very long as I don’t want to waste the battery. \*\* What type of car do you drive!!! The blower may run but the engine must be running to have the commpresser work. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/420 "2003-08-31T14:38:26Z")
There may be no better example than [Heavy Boots](http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~det/phy2060/heavyboots.html). I hope no one has already posted this, but who has time to read 9 fleepin’ pages? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=22)