# Obvious things about real life you realize after the millionth time **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352 "2016-03-09T00:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/41 "2016-03-09T21:36:24Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > I actually learned about the fuel gauge thing last year on The Dope. It’s changed my life. > > What’s the foil box revelation? My fuel gauge doesn’t have an arrow, so I have to stick to looking at what side of the gauge the picture of the pump is on. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/42 "2016-03-09T21:39:44Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I learned several things about interstate highways a few years ago. > > Even numbered interstates run east-west, while odd numbered ones run north-south. > > A three digit interstate number is connected to the two digit one. (526 in Charleston is connected to the 26.) If it starts with an even number it will eventually meet back up to the interstate, if it starts with an odd number it just branches off and won’t connect back. So if you’re on I-95 going through Jacksonville and want to skip the traffic, hop on I-295 (but not I-795.) > > The little exit sign on top of the big signs indicates which side of the road the exit is on. So Exit 270 is flush left with the Kirkman exit, which means the exit will be on the left side of the highway. > > The white line on the highway is ALWAYS on your right side. If you see it on the left, you’re going the wrong way.:eek: Also, the exit number is related to the mile marker, as opposed to just being sequential numbers. That’s why if there are several exits between mile marker 270 and 271, they will be 270-a, 270-b, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/43 "2016-03-09T21:52:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [End locks: aluminum foil and saran wrap box tabs are a great invention. (PHOTO)](http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/05/20/end_locks_aluminum_foil_and_saran_wrap_box_tabs_are_a_great_invention_photo.html) Oh. My. God. Then again, the fuel gauge arrow was a revelation to me a few years ago, so I shouldn’t be surprised about learning something new in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/44 "2016-03-09T22:04:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Also, the exit number is related to the mile marker, as opposed to just being sequential numbers. That’s why if there are several exits between mile marker 270 and 271, they will be 270-a, 270-b, etc. That’s not universal, many older Interstate highways still have sequentially numbered exits that are unrelated to the mile markers; they were grandfathered. I-90 in MA is one example. And the Highway numbering system for 3-digit roads aren’t universal either, although that’s because they ran out of “correct” numbers in some densely built up urban areas. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/45 "2016-03-09T22:26:16Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I learned several things about interstate highways a few years ago. > > Even numbered interstates run east-west, while odd numbered ones run north-south. > > A three digit interstate number is connected to the two digit one. (526 in Charleston is connected to the 26.) If it starts with an even number it will eventually meet back up to the interstate, if it starts with an odd number it just branches off and won’t connect back. So if you’re on I-95 going through Jacksonville and want to skip the traffic, hop on I-295 (but not I-795.) How odd … 691 runs between 84 and 91here in CT. [hit google and type in Cheshire CT, I know about it because I used to traverse it every day while working in Cheshire.] [URL=“[http://boards.straightdope.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://boards.straightdope.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/46 "2016-03-09T22:30:47Z")
Some of you have undoubtedly been putting your straws into cans of fizzy juice in a non-optimal fashion: > **[So Apparently, We've Been Using Soda Cans All Wrong](https://www.foodbeast.com/news/so-apparently-weve-been-using-soda-cans-all-wrong/)** > > If you've ever used a straw to sip out of your soda can and found yourself looking like a fool in public because that suck-cylinder bobs around your tongue like you're making out with a ghost, we've got you covered today. Apparently, once you pop a... Tip: Spin the pull tab round 180 degrees and anchor the straw by sticking it through the hole in the tab. Also, monkeys know how to peel bananas properly… ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/47 "2016-03-09T22:46:12Z")
I was very old when I realized that “alpine” didn’t just mean “related to mountains”, but literally meant “like the Alps”. The Italian tour guide I was with had a similar revelation that in English, the term “alpine” could also refer to non-Alps mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/48 "2016-03-09T22:47:16Z")
I didn’t realize this until I bought a house where this was the case. The town in your mailing address has nothing to do with where your house is. It is where the post office with your Zip Code is. People in more rural states probably grew up knowing that. I grew up in a relatively densely populated part of the most densely populated state. When I bought a house in a more rural part of the state I realized how the system worked. Now for 10+ years I’ve had to explain “The address says X but I actually live in Y.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/49 "2016-03-09T22:47:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Also, the exit number is related to the mile marker, as opposed to just being sequential numbers. That’s why if there are several exits between mile marker 270 and 271, they will be 270-a, 270-b, etc. Depends on where you are. New York (except for I-890, which is so short that no one notices) and Massachusetts number exits sequentially. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/50 "2016-03-10T00:03:07Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Same holds true for corn kernels and potatoes. Is that just an attempt to provoke someone’s gullibility? > [@billfish678](#): > > That you can have RED jalapenos. You just let the green ones stay on the vine until they ripen. That may be, but it’s far from obvious. If you don’t grow peppers yourself, you’d never know that there aren’t separate red and green varieties. > [@billfish678](#): > > That line in that rather odd and haunting song…“knights in white satan…never reaching the end…waaaaaaa waaaaa”. > > I pictured something like Knights, you know dressed in white satin, on a very long ride…kinda like upscale KKK members going cross country or something. > That it referred to nocturnal recreational activities I came to realize WAY later than I should have :smack: Isn’t that more of an [obvious thing about a creative work](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=525685)? > [@ivylass](#): > > If it starts with an even number it will eventually meet back up to the interstate, if it starts with an odd number it just branches off and won’t connect back. So if you’re on I-95 going through Jacksonville and want to skip the traffic, hop on I-295 (but not I-795.) That is interesting. I never knew that. But as someone else pointed out, it’s not always true. Even in areas where they haven’t “run out” of correct numbers. For example, in greater Philadelphia, 476 intersects 76 and runs North-South; neither terminus intersects with 76. > [@Loach](#): > > I didn’t realize this until I bought a house where this was the case. The town in your mailing address has nothing to do with where your house is. It is where the post office with your Zip Code is. Although that just raises the question of why they don’t just designate your post office to be the one whose zip code matches the town your house is actually in. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Depends on where you are. New York (except for I-890, which is so short that no one notices) and Massachusetts number exits sequentially. Yes, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike used to use sequential exit numbers but switched to mile-marker exit numbers in the late 90’s or early 2000’s. It was quite jarring since I wasn’t much used to driving on any other interstate yet, and it seemed “wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/51 "2016-03-10T00:50:59Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Although that just raises the question of why they don’t just designate your post office to be the one whose zip code matches the town your house is actually in. Because town/city boundaries are not always the most efficient ways to divide other districts. Post office boundaries, school districts, library districts, etc may include multiple cities/towns or parts of cities/towns. Some towns don’t have their own post offices and for some locations, it’s easier to get mail service from a different post office. For example , Rikers Island in NYC is actually a part of Bronx County\*. The mailing address is East Elmhurst (the name of the post office and a neighborhood (not even a town) in Queens county) because the only way to get to the island is over a bridge from Queens. \*which many,many people do not know. But anything that gets handled on the county level ( like court cases) is handled through the Bronx. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/52 "2016-03-10T00:59:30Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I did not know that. That term has always puzzled me, because I’ve never seen anyone whose skin was the color of green _or_ black olives (and I’ve only seen “olive” the color referring to a shade of green). Back in 1993 or 1994, when I worked for Fisher Scientific, I was sent to Long Island for a week to get trained on the Brinkmann product line. One of my instructors actually had an olive-green complexion. He was from Peurto Rico. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/53 "2016-03-10T01:07:40Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Although that just raises the question of why they don’t just designate your post office to be the one whose zip code matches the town your house is actually in. There isn’t a post office in the town I live in. We are serviced by the post office in the next town over. It doesn’t make sense to have a post office in every single town just so each town has it’s own post office. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/54 "2016-03-10T02:00:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Because town/city boundaries are not always the most efficient ways to divide other districts. Post office boundaries, school districts, library districts, etc may include multiple cities/towns or parts of cities/towns. Some towns don’t have their own post offices and for some locations, it’s easier to get mail service from a different post office. For example , Rikers Island in NYC is actually a part of Bronx County\*. The mailing address is East Elmhurst This is getting off-topic, but I thought the proper way to address mail to New York City, regardless of the destination borough, was simply “New York, NY”? ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/55 "2016-03-10T02:09:35Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I learned several things about interstate highways a few years ago. > > Even numbered interstates run east-west, while odd numbered ones run north-south. > > A three digit interstate number is connected to the two digit one. (526 in Charleston is connected to the 26.) If it starts with an even number it will eventually meet back up to the interstate, if it starts with an odd number it just branches off and won’t connect back. So if you’re on I-95 going through Jacksonville and want to skip the traffic, hop on I-295 (but not I-795.) Exception to that rule: I-290 in Massachusetts does not make a loop back to I-90; it connects I-495 to I-90, and then becomes I-395 the I-90 exit. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/56 "2016-03-10T02:44:45Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > And they both mean “Adore theo,” or, the deity. Our Huxtable who art in heaven… > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Growing up along the Pacific Coast I was in college before I realized zip codes can start out with a digit other than 9. And Social Security Numbers start with any number **except** 9 (those are reserved for ITINs). There are of course some which are excluded within the range, like 666. Also, the first three digits give you a clue about where the person was born/registered. > [@ivylass](#): > > Even numbered interstates run east-west, while odd numbered ones run north-south. In California, there is a stretch of highway that mostly runs north/south. It is labeled I-80 East **and** I-580 West :dubious: Also nearby, 238 is one of those bizarre ones which is not connected to I-38 or anything else. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Depends on where you are. New York (except for I-890, which is so short that no one notices) and Massachusetts number exits sequentially. > > There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Yeah, I had no idea that some places did it by mile markers, and was puzzled when I hit the hundreds so fast (Oregon?). It was a delayed headsmacker. In places that label sequentially, the A/B exits often mean that one offramp splits into two directions. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/57 "2016-03-10T03:10:31Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > This is getting off-topic, but I thought the proper way to address mail to New York City, regardless of the destination borough, was simply “New York, NY”? It will get to any borough if you address it to New York, NY with the correct area code, but the custom is “New York, NY” for Manhattan, “Bronx” , “Brooklyn” or “Staten Island” NY for those boroughs and the neighborhood/post office name for Queens. Even [USPS](https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input?longitude=-73.860889&state=NY&address2=&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B(800-275-8777)&address1=8642+FOREST+PKWY&locationName=WOODHAVEN&locationTypeQ=all&locationID=1388182&city=WOODHAVEN&radius=20&latitude=40.6923238&zip5=11421&locationType=po&zip4=9997&address=11599) does it that way. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/58 "2016-03-10T03:10:36Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I learned several things about interstate highways a few years ago. > … > A three digit interstate number is connected to the two digit one. (526 in Charleston is connected to the 26.) If it starts with an even number it will eventually meet back up to the interstate, if it starts with an odd number it just branches off and won’t connect back. So if you’re on I-95 going through Jacksonville and want to skip the traffic, hop on I-295 (but not I-795.) > … > [@Telemark](#): > > …And the Highway numbering system for 3-digit roads aren’t universal either, although that’s because they ran out of “correct” numbers in some densely built up urban areas. > [@aruvqan](#): > > How odd … 691 runs between 84 and 91here in CT. [hit google and type in Cheshire CT, I know about it because I used to traverse it every day while working in Cheshire.]… > [@Arcite](#): > > … > That is interesting. I never knew that. But as someone else pointed out, it’s not always true. Even in areas where they haven’t “run out” of correct numbers. For example, in greater Philadelphia, 476 intersects 76 and runs North-South; neither terminus intersects with 76. > … > [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Exception to that rule: I-290 in Massachusetts does not make a loop back to I-90; it connects I-495 to I-90, and then becomes I-395 the I-90 exit. \*\*Ivylass \*\*misstated the actual rule. Which makes all the rest of the exceptions not really exceptions, but different instances of the more correct rule. Which is: 3-digit interstates starting with odd numbers are branches leading \*into \*or \*out of \*the main metro area. Those starting with even numbers are bypasses \*around \*the main metro areas. In areas like the Northeast where the various “main metro areas” are busy merging with one another the distinction between bypassing city A and simultaneously being a branch into city B can be hard to detect. A side effect of even numbers being bypasses is they generally intersect some other route in at least two places. But there’s no requirement they intersect their base numbered route in two places. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/59 "2016-03-10T03:20:17Z")
My 55th birthday is coming up, but until last month I knew of two ways to moisten the glue on an envelope flap: lick it, or get one of those water-dispensing sponge tubes you see in office supply stores. Now in my new job I occasionally need to seal envelopes but didn’t want to be unhygienic, so I asked if we have any of those letter-moisteners. The reply: “use a damp paper towel”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352/60 "2016-03-10T04:33:42Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > It will get to any borough if you address it to New York, NY with the correct **area** code, but the custom is “New York, NY” for Manhattan, “Bronx” , “Brooklyn” or “Staten Island” NY for those boroughs and the neighborhood/post office name for Queens. Even [USPS](https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input?longitude=-73.860889&state=NY&address2=&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B(800-275-8777)&address1=8642+FOREST+PKWY&locationName=WOODHAVEN&locationTypeQ=all&locationID=1388182&city=WOODHAVEN&radius=20&latitude=40.6923238&zip5=11421&locationType=po&zip4=9997&address=11599) does it that way. My bold. **Zip** code? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-real-life-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time/748352.md?page=4)