# Outdated information you were taught in school **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329 "2006-08-26T15:22:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/1 "2006-08-26T15:22:07Z")
Between Pluto’s demotion from planet and the abunance of media hand-wringing over the state of America’s eating habits, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about information I learned in school that’s now considered false, inaccurate or outdated. I’m curious to see how much has changed over the years. For some background, I attended K through 12 between 1985 and 1998. The old four-squares model of the food groups became a pyramid. During the earliest nutrition lessons that I can remember, ice cream was included in the dairy group. Geography became more complicated after elementary school, with the breakup of the USSR. The DARE officer devoted a lot of time to making sure we knew how to tell off a pushy drug dealer who keeps offering you drugs, the likes of whom no one I know has ever encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/2 "2006-08-26T15:39:58Z")
Apparently my middle school, in one of the best-funded districts in the U.S., didn’t have enough money to buy new science films; we were still watching some of the ones my mom had watched when she was in school. Does anyone else remember [Hemo the Magnificent?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6302182484/sr=8-3/qid=1156606644/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-1171455-9978366?ie=UTF8) (I was in middle school from 1979 - 1982. Maybe our science teacher was just showing it for the cheese factor, but I doubt it.) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/3 "2006-08-26T15:57:37Z")
[QUOTE=Eva Luna] Apparently my middle school, in one of the best-funded districts in the U.S., didn’t have enough money to buy new science films; we were still watching some of the ones my mom had watched when she was in school. Does anyone else remember [Hemo the Magnificent?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6302182484/sr=8-3/qid=1156606644/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-1171455-9978366?ie=UTF8) (I was in middle school from 1979 - 1982. Maybe our science teacher was just showing it for the cheese factor, but I doubt it.) [/QUOTE] I remember that film! I actually liked it, the first time I ever saw film of a heart working. I graduated high school in 1973, so I would have been in grade school until 1967, and I’m sure that’s where I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/4 "2006-08-26T16:09:38Z")
Canada has ten provinces and 2 territories. Not that that’s changed _much_, but I can never remember how to spell Iqaluit. I’m sure things would get worse if I’d learned much international geography, but my knowledge there has always been hazy at best. Hurray for small rural schools 😕 (On the other hand, my sex-ed curriculum was pretty good) (K-12 1990-2003) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/5 "2006-08-26T16:10:47Z")
Hey! Hemo was cool! The linking of sea water to blood is something I recall to this day. It even impressed my hematology attending back in med school when I told him that blood was just specialized sea water! I didn’t know “Hemo the Magnificent” was directed by Frank Capra! That explains a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/6 "2006-08-26T16:21:55Z")
I remember learning about the food pyramid in grade school, but it was a more horizontal pyramid than the one used today. [See here](http://www.pedialliance.com/images/fp_images/2006FoodPyramid.jpg) I remember the old one in the picture. A lot of the dinosaur stuff seems to have changed too. I miss the brontosaurus. \*Graduated high school in 1986. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/7 "2006-08-26T16:31:26Z")
I remember learning about the metric system “because the US would be converting soon.” I also remember the food pyramid. I missed DARE by a few years, so I didn’t have to deal with that. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/8 "2006-08-26T17:06:43Z")
I was taught that there were nine planets, and 2 Germanys. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/9 "2006-08-26T17:18:36Z")
Freaking everything. I graduated in 1973! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/10 "2006-08-26T17:31:57Z")
I graduated in 1999. [ul] [li]Never, under any circumstances, even if hell freezes over, will an adult brain regenerate neurons.[/li][li]When you have your own household, you will write or receive checks.[/li][li]BASIC with optional line numbers exists but shouldn’t be taken seriously.[/li][li]Forget BASIC, prepare for the future, learn Turbo Pascal![/li][li]My younger brothers already learned a different style of cursive writing.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/11 "2006-08-26T17:36:58Z")
[QUOTE=Jayn\_Newell] Canada has ten provinces and 2 territories. Not that that’s changed _much_, but I can never remember how to spell Iqaluit. [/QUOTE] Either I’m misreading this or missing the joke or something, but it’s actually 10 provinces and 3 territories. If it was still 2 territories, then you wouldn’t need to know how to spell Iqaluit! I can’t really think of anything else. I am reminded of a slightly unrelated story my mom likes to tell about her grade 1 class a few years ago (actually, I expect it happens every year!) When learning their shapes, the math book they use has useful pictures of things of that shape, such as balls and globes and oranges for “circle”. Another of the pictures is quite obviously intended to be a “record” but kids always call out “It’s a CD!” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/12 "2006-08-26T18:27:41Z")
Dangit, I was going to post “There are 9 planets,” but the OP beat me to it! Neurons never ever form after birth. Fat is bad for you, period, and you should avoid it at all costs. The English system of measurement (feet, pounds, etc.) is useful. (Used it entirely too much in Calc, especially for work problems, which we did in physics with metric units; much easier with meters and kilograms) Anything Caesar wrote could ever be interesting in its own right. (Does _anyone_ ever read _De Bello Gallico_ who isn’t studying that sort of thing?) No guys ever wear any jewelry but a watch (in every video I ever saw in Bio, Health, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/13 "2006-08-26T18:35:08Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] Either I’m misreading this or missing the joke or something, but it’s actually 10 provinces and 3 territories. If it was still 2 territories, then you wouldn’t need to know how to spell Iqaluit! [/QUOTE] I just worded it kind of badly. When I was learning Canadian geography Nunavut hadn’t been formed yet, so I was taught that Canada only had two territories. ---
**Author:** ![Sad\_and\_Deranged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Sad\_and\_Deranged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sad_and_Deranged)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/14 "2006-08-26T19:01:27Z")
Oh oh oh, I have something that someone hasn’t mentioned before! (Mental _yeeesssss_!) The taste buds on the tongue are divided into four sections. Sweet at the tip, bitter at the back, salty and sour at the sides. Such utter crap, eh? Oh, another note on taste… umami (sp?) didn’t exist! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/15 "2006-08-26T19:27:35Z")
- When I was a freshman in high school, we walked into our Government and Economics class one day, and were startled to see our teacher looking pale and shaken. We asked him what was wrong and he said “You’ve probably heard the news, but I’m shellshocked because I’ll never have to correct students again who say ‘Russia’ instead of ‘the USSR’. The USSR is gone, and you kids are finally right.” - When I was in elementary school we learned of prehistoric creatures called brontosauruses. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/16 "2006-08-26T19:53:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sad and Deranged] The taste buds on the tongue are divided into four sections. Sweet at the tip, bitter at the back, salty and sour at the sides. Such utter crap, eh? [/QUOTE] Um, they’re not? But Alton Brown says so! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/17 "2006-08-26T20:04:40Z")
Off the top of my head: [ul] [li]No woman has ever served on the Supreme Court.[/li][li]Andrew Johnson was the only president to have been impeached.[/li][li]Fermat’s Last Theorem has not been proved.[/li][li]Ditto for the Four Color Theorem.[/li][li]Ditto for Poincare’s Conjecture (hot off the presses)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/18 "2006-08-26T20:07:52Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] I also remember the food pyramid. [/QUOTE] At least you didn’t have the “four food groups,” sponsored by the meat and dairy councils. [QUOTE=ivylass] I missed DARE by a few years, so I didn’t have to deal with that. [/QUOTE] DARE was and is a public relations fraud; be glad you missed it. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/19 "2006-08-26T20:15:33Z")
China’s potential as an international economic power is severely inhibited by internal politics. How to record onto a multitrack cassette player. A whole Spanish lesson, I kid you not, just learning what the pesata coins we would encounter looked like. On the other hand, I did get a science teacher ten years ahead of his time, who told us the only reason to learn there were nine planets was because this was what the exam board wanted to hear. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329/20 "2006-08-26T20:28:30Z")
Vietnam is a just war. Good penmanship is essential. Marihuana (sic) makes you hallucinate and then jump out a window and kill yourself. Pluto is outside Neptune’s orbit. Dinosaurs had cold blood. America is a melting pot. Everyone loves Americans. You’ll need to know how to file a 1040 as a married person. > [@](#): > > Does anyone else remember Hemo the Magnificent? Oh, yeah. Great film! Saw it sometime before 1969. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-information-you-were-taught-in-school/370329.md?page=2)