# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Southerner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Southerner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southerner)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/81 "2003-06-25T21:26:48Z")
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: ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/82 "2003-06-25T21:49:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > \*\*I thought everyone knew that the plural of octopus is octopuses - or, highly technically, octopoda. “Octopi” is a Latin construction of a plural, but the word _octopus_ is from the Greek: _octo_, eight, and _pus_, feet. It should therefore form its plural in the Greek way: octopoda. However, it is correct to refer to multiple species of the creature as octopoda and multiple creatures as octopuses. > > As I say, I thought everyone knew that. However, I now see that what started out as pseudo-erudition has grown popular enough that Merriam-Webster has added ‘octopi’ as an acceptable plural to ‘octopus.’ It’s a living language. > > - Rick \*\* Octopodes. 😃 ---
**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:** [June 25, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/83 "2003-06-25T22:01:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalvinHobbes \* > \*\*This doesn’t apply to the Pentecost Debate, but… > > I used to have a snapshot of the Eiffel Tower hanging on my bulletin board at work. A young guy I worked with, when seeing the photo, asked about my trip to King’s Island (an amusement park outside of Cincinnati that has a much smaller replica of the Eiffel Tower). When I said that the picture was taken in Paris and was of the _real one_, he was dumbfounded - “You mean there’s two of 'em?” \*\* Actually, there’s _three_ of 'em. We have one in Las Vegas, too. It was seen in the _Angel_ episode, retreating into the backround as the Fang Gang was driving North on Las Vegas Boulevard (the portion known as the Strip), and then saw Lorne’s picture on a billboard in front of the Tropicana, which, according to Mutant Enemy, is situated on the West side of the Strip, North of Paris, the Flaming O, etc… Never mind the fact that the Trop is actually on Tropicana Avenue, which is actually South of Paris, the Flaming O, etc, and actually about a quarter mile East of the Strip… I could rant about that all day, but I’d probably have to pit the only show on TV worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/84 "2003-06-25T22:54:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyla \* > \*\* Passover and Easter occur at the same time too, but they aren’t the same holiday. \*\* Oddly enough, in Greek, they are referred to by the exact same name: “Pascha”. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/85 "2003-06-25T22:56:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*[nitpick] > > Actually, more people voted for Gore. > > (And no, this is not some sort of whine about the 2000 election. It’s simply a fact that Gore won the popular vote.) > > [/nitpcik] \*\* Rubbish. Gore lost the popular vote. Bush won it. It all depends on which count you use. If you don’t want to get into the matter, then you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/86 "2003-06-25T22:59:00Z")
Oh, man, can I contribute here. I just got Food-Safe re-Certified yesterday. You read a pamphlet that uses very simple sentences, listen to a teacher read the pamphlet to you for an hour and show you pictures, and then take a 32-question test. You are allowed to take notes and use them during the test. The questions are very simple. When should you wash your hands? a.) When you have been handling meat, changing trash bags, and after using the bathroom. b.) When somebody is watching. c.) When they look dirty. d.) Whenever a customer asks you to. The rest of the questions are on absurdly simple food-safety things, like whether it is a good idea to store prepared food under dripping raw meat, and if you should store spray chemicals next to spray pan greaser. Most people should be able to pass the test WITHOUT reading a pamphlet, taking notes, and having this basic information drilled into their heads for an hour. And yet there are people who fail. Even my friend missed one, although I’m willing to attribute that to misreading the question. Are there seriously people out there that don’t know to how to keep a safe kitchen? Are they serving me my Whopper? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/87 "2003-06-25T23:00:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apollyon \* > \*\*A while back, when _Titanic_ came out, a co-worker and I were discussing the historical events (rather than the movie _per se_) within the hearing of the then 18 or 19 year old receptionist. Her comment? > > “It sinks?!” > > :eek: \*\* This reminds me… When the movie _Titanic]_ had just come out I was in a room of people talking about the movie and mentioned the ship sinking at the end. Someone, quite seriously, berated me for spoiling the movie for him. Thinking maybe he was pulling my leg I just looked at him and asked if he was kidding. He proceeded to detail how uncool it is to spoil movies for others. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/88 "2003-06-25T23:40:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\*Oddly enough, in Greek, they are referred to by the exact same name: “Pascha”. \*\* I’m assuming that comes from the Hebrew _Pesach_ - which also refers to both holidays. I have a map of the world in Hebrew, and I was amused to see that the Easter Islands are “Eii (islands) Pescha.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/89 "2003-06-25T23:42:32Z")
Wasn’t Martin Luther Lex Luthor’s bizarro world cousin? Since the bible is largely updated pagan myth, does it really matter? What, too existential? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/90 "2003-06-25T23:50:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Rubbish. Gore lost the popular vote. Bush won it. It all depends on which count you use. Uh… no. That’s completely wrong. Gore won by about 500,000 votes. You can argue whether or not he won the popular vote _in Florida_, but there’s no debate that he had more votes than Bush did in total. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/91 "2003-06-26T00:08:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeep’s Phoenix \* > **My next door neighbor does not understand why I move my Jeep onto level ground to check fluid levels and tire pressure.** TIRE PRESSURE? Why do you have to check tire pressure on level ground? Tire pressure should be the same if the Jeep’s upside down, much less level. ---
**Author:** ![\_ceQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b9bd4f/32.png) [@\_ceQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_ceQueen)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/92 "2003-06-26T00:21:52Z")
> [@](#): > > 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? IESL? Pretty please? I like it when they say, during some presentation or something, “As you can visually see…” OMG. ---
**Author:** ![\_ceQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b9bd4f/32.png) [@\_ceQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_ceQueen)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/93 "2003-06-26T00:23:04Z")
err, I meant “ESL” (English as a second language) ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/94 "2003-06-26T00:30:37Z")
Umm… I had a book called “Song of the Pentecost” as a kid. Now, 15+years later, I actually know what a Pentecost is! > [@](#): > > _From Danalan_ > TIRE PRESSURE? > > Why do you have to check tire pressure on level ground? Tire pressure should be the same if the Jeep’s upside down, much less level. In you’re supposed to have the front tires at a difference pressure form the back ones. If the car is tilted, the weight distribution will be difference and affect the tire pressure. Check out your car’s manual some time 😉 My pet peeve is people who stop taking antiboitics as soon as their symptoms stop, try to cram their delivery schedule, or use left over tabs for viral infections. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/95 "2003-06-26T00:34:06Z")
Pentecost is not “what you pay for fifty squids.” I don’t care what they say on EBay. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/96 "2003-06-26T00:45:19Z")
What **Rabid\_Squirrel** said…I’m parked on just enough of an incline to affect pressure readings. To be fair to my neighbor, it’s not a noticeable incline–a bit like one of those “gravity hills”–but the slope is very noticeable when you pop the hood and look at the fluid level in the wiper fluid reservoir or the coolant reservoir. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/97 "2003-06-26T01:04:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\*Rubbish. Gore lost the popular vote. Bush won it. It all depends on which count you use. > > If you don’t want to get into the matter, then you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. \*\* Well, at least you’re providing plenty of fodder for the issue raised by the OP. It’s lucky that not all the conservatives on this board are as ignorant as you are, or we’d never have any interesting debates. Firstly, it wasn’t even me who “brought it up in the first place,” if you’d even bother to pay attention to whose posts you are addressing. Secondly, as **Marley23** pointed out, even if we ignore the whole fiasco in Florida and give the Republicans every vote that they claim, Gore still won the popular vote. According to [this site](http://www.2001inaugural.com/2000-election-map.html) the figures are: Popular Vote: Gore - 50,996,582 (48.4%) Bush - 50,456,062 (47.0%) Electoral College: Gore - 267 Bush - 271 [Wikipedia](http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_2000) gives the following figures: Popular Vote: Gore - 50,999,897 (48.38%) Bush - 50,456,002 (47.87%) Electoral College: Gore - 266 Bush - 271 [This site](http://www.presidentialelection.com/president_files/past/2000.htm) says: Popular Vote: Gore - 51,003,238 (48.38%) Bush - 50,459,624 (47.87%) Electoral College: Gore - 266 Bush - 271 [This site](http://www.polisci.com/almanac/exec/rper.htm) has closer figures than many of the others, but still has Gore ahead by over 200,000 votes. Popular Vote: Gore - 49,738,138 Bush - 49,530,305 Electoral College: Gore - 266 Bush - 271 [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/), which you’ll probably disqualify for being too liberal, says: Popular Vote: Gore - 50,996,116 (48%) Bush - 50,456,169 (48%) Electoral College: Gore - 266 Bush - 271 And [this one](http://www.uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/frametextj.html) gives the following figures: Popular Vote: Gore - 51,003,238 (48.38%) Bush - 50,459,624 (47.87) Electoral College: Gore - 266 Bush - 271 And if none of these convince you, perhaps you might believe the [Federal Election Commission](http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/elecpop.htm), which says: Popular Vote: Gore - 50,999,897 (48.38%) Bush - 50,456,002 (47.87%) Electoral College: Gore - 266 Bush - 271 Note that i make no argument about whether the electoral college system, in which the winner of the popular vote can still lose the election, is fair or not. That is beside the point for this debate. The point is that Gore won the popular vote, and that the debate over Florida is totally irrelevant to that, because Gore won the popular vote by over half a million votes, according to the Federal Election Commission’s own figures, and even the most optimistic Republicans never claimed that the differential in Florida was more than a few thousand votes. Now, of course, this whole discussion will have been in vain if you’re one of those people who thinks the electoral “college” is a place where they train politicians. And that wouldn’t surprise me too much. But i assume that anyone who makes an argument about American presidential elections has at least the most rudimentary knowledge of how they work. Is it dark where you are? If you pull your head out of your ass, things might become clearer. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/98 "2003-06-26T01:12:13Z")
Whoops, sorry for the intemperate and inappropriate (for this forum) language and tone, **Moderators**. I posted thinking this was in The Pit. If you want to delete any of my last post, please do so. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/99 "2003-06-26T01:19:07Z")
So, what you’re saying is that Pentecost is the differential between the number beaked dogs who voted for Gore and those who voted for Bush, as quoted by the octopodes who compile election statistics for E-Bay? ---
**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:** [June 26, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207/100 "2003-06-26T01:20:12Z")
Everybody thinks pool owners drain 18,000 gallons of water every winter and refill the darned thing every spring. It doesn’t work that way! The water that is in my pool today is the same water that was in it five years ago (minus a little for evaporation). Many inground pools cannot be left empty because of groundwater pressure. Does my own ignorance count? Before I owned a home and had to paint things, I thought that paint came from the factory in multiple colors. Not that I thought about it much, but once when I had to paint a fence a very special condo-association-approved tint, I was concerned that the store wouldn’t have that color in stock. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NurseCarmen \* > **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.** Several years ago I found out that my mom, a sharp individual and an attentive driver, did not know the purpose of the broad white line that you see painted across the lane in front of you while stopped at a light. It’s not that she was going around causing mayhem; simply that when she moved to a new state and had to take a driving test for her license, she lost points because her wheels crossed the “Stop line.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-frightens-me-that-people-dont-know-these-things/184207.md?page=6)