# Little facts people get wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575 "2016-10-15T02:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/1 "2016-10-15T02:48:38Z")
Sometimes I feel like I’m constantly hearing little mistakes that are very common but if I correct people I feel like a jerk. Like if someone uses less instead of fewer, or if they think that soldier is a blanket term for all uniformed military members. It drives my little brain mad but nobody else seems to care about accuracy. Personally I love it when I get corrected on something, it gives me a chance to learn as well as to look up and verify the correction. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/2 "2016-10-15T02:52:34Z")
saying buffalo when it is a bison ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/3 "2016-10-15T03:02:51Z")
“Your _other_ left!” ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/4 "2016-10-15T03:15:24Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Personally I love it when I get corrected on something, it gives me a chance to learn as well as to look up and verify the correction. In that case, you are going to love me for correcting you. None of the definitions of “soldier” strictly limit the use to a particular branch of the armed forces: 1.a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service. 2.an enlisted man or woman, as distinguished from a commissioned officer: 3.a person of military skill or experience: 4.a person who contends or serves in any cause: > **[Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words](https://www.dictionary.com/)** > > The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years! “Onward, Christian men and women serving in the armed forces” doesn’t have much of a ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/5 "2016-10-15T03:41:10Z")
Turtle when it’s a tortoise and vice versa. Different animals and only a turtle can survive underwater for long. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/6 "2016-10-15T03:46:30Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > saying buffalo when it is a bison There was an absolutely charming example of this in an old Green Arrow comic book. GA is in South Africa, out on the veldt, looking at the Cape Buffalo…and the artist drew American Bison. The subsequent letters column was utterly glorious. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/7 "2016-10-15T05:06:05Z")
Rectangle taillight e10s are as cool as round taillight e10s. Sorry, no. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/8 "2016-10-15T05:13:39Z")
Saying DEFCON-5 when they mean DEFCON-1. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/9 "2016-10-15T05:36:43Z")
“Seagull” is a misnomer. There are about 60 species of Gulls in the world, none are named “Seagull”. Although most gulls have an association with the seashore, they are found in nearly all inland locations, including 12 species that occur in Mongolia. They will not fly out of sight of land, and most small remote islands have not been populated by gulls. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/10 "2016-10-15T08:06:41Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > In that case, you are going to love me for correcting you. None of the definitions of “soldier” strictly limit the use to a particular branch of the armed forces: > 1.a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service. > 2.an enlisted man or woman, as distinguished from a commissioned officer: > 3.a person of military skill or experience: > 4.a person who contends or serves in any cause: > > [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) > > “Onward, Christian men and women serving in the armed forces” doesn’t have much of a ring to it. Perhaps I should clarify, if a person says that they are a soldier they always mean they were in the Army rather than another branch of service. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/11 "2016-10-15T08:28:30Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > “Seagull” is a misnomer. There are about 60 species of Gulls in the world, none are named “Seagull”. Although most gulls have an association with the seashore, they are found in nearly all inland locations, including 12 species that occur in Mongolia. They will not fly out of sight of land, and most small remote islands have not been populated by gulls. So what? It’s a common name, not a scientific description. An Angelfish is not supernatural; A Bluebottle Fly is not made of glass; A Clownfish is not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/12 "2016-10-15T08:47:12Z")
This one has gone full circle… ‘Da Vinci’ _ **was** _ in fact Leonardo Da Vinci’s surname. We proved it right here on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/13 "2016-10-15T09:20:39Z")
I am annoyed by the much bigger things so many people get wrong, don’t care about, or seem to be completely unaware of. It is those things that will likely cause more trouble for us. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/14 "2016-10-15T10:54:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > …A Clownfish is not funny. Not these days, for sure. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/15 "2016-10-15T12:14:43Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Saying DEFCON-5 when they mean DEFCON-1. This. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/16 "2016-10-15T13:25:52Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Perhaps I should clarify, if a person says that they are a soldier they always mean they were in the Army rather than another branch of service. That’s not because others were not soldiers. It is because the other branches indoctrinated their recruits to call themselves something else, airmen or marines or sailors or whatever. They’re still soldiers, but refuse to admit it, because of some phony pride thing going on. It’s like a rock saying I’m not a rock, I’m a statue. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/17 "2016-10-15T13:33:48Z")
We learn little facts in school are modern inventions, e.g.: > [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Turtle when it’s a tortoise and vice versa. Different animals and only a turtle can survive underwater for long. This is not a generally accepted scientific distinction, and certainly not taxonomic. So it comes down to actual use. Turtle is the general term in American English (and also by at least some American herpetologists). Tortoise is used in Australia for native freshwater turtles. Neither is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/18 "2016-10-15T13:38:46Z")
Jibe: to be in accord or consistent with something. Jive: to dance, talk, or mislead. hypocritically, the confusion betwixt the two seemingly came from the British bastardizing American English. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/19 "2016-10-15T14:00:13Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > It drives my little brain mad but nobody else seems to care about accuracy. People should care about accuracy only when it matters to them. I don’t care so much about my typos and malapropisms when I’m typing away on internet fora. But I do put extra care to keep them out in work-related reports and presentations ---
**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:** [October 15, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/20 "2016-10-15T14:31:11Z")
Saying ‘squash’ when ‘quash’ is meant. My wife, who is one of the most well-read people I know, and who has an MBA, steadfastly says ‘wreck’ instead of ‘wreak’, even though she knows the correct spelling and usage. I’ve tried to quash it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575.md?page=2)