# Real life stuff you actually learned from television **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271 "2009-06-28T18:11:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_first\_supraliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@the\_first\_supraliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_first_supraliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/1 "2009-06-28T18:11:49Z")
My son likes to say “If we’ve learned anything from television, it’s that we can’t learn anything from television.” Television has taught me to read the fine print on prescription drug warnings. An ad will show people playing with their dog as the voice-over says “May cause liver damage or death” and “Tell your doctor if you also take aspirin”. Lesson, don’t trust pharm companies or doctors to look out for you. From the original sitcom Ellen I learned not not to brush your teeth before you drink your morning orange juice, which ruins both. From infomercials I’ve learned that I really want a lot of gimmicky power tools. From ads I’ve learned that bail can be arranged in minutes if your mother owns her house. From home improvement shows I’ve learned that a coat of paint and “staging” a house for sale, so it looks like a model home, makes a world of difference. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/2 "2009-06-28T20:40:13Z")
Words mostly (and even good ones!) I learned Hypothetical from “Hey Arnold”. I learned Nepotism from Spongebob (I think…), I learned what a Hysterectomy was from “Home Improvement”. I always watch TV with the closed captioning on (small habit I picked up, my hearing is fine) so watching and reading TV has helped my spelling tremendously. I’m sure there is more… ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/3 "2009-06-28T21:17:07Z")
I learned “the rabbit died” meant someone was pregnant from an episode of **Gimme a Break**. Sam thought you got pregnant from kissing and Nell had to set her straight. The only time I’ve ever used this knowledge was in college. I was in a friend’s dorm room. She was on the phone with her mom talking about her cousin who had just “killed a rabbit.” My friend was confused. _She killed a rabbit?! Why?! Where would she even get a rabbit from?!_ All of a sudden that factoid just popped into my head. I wouldn’t find out that the rabbit dies whether she’s pregnant or not until much later. [http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/pregnancytests/a/rabbittest.htm](http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/pregnancytests/a/rabbittest.htm) ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/4 "2009-06-28T23:16:32Z")
The first place I ever heard of the Geneva Convention was on Hogan’s Heroes. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/5 "2009-06-28T23:54:31Z")
I watch James Burke, so the answer to “What have I actually learned from television?” is: Damn near everything! ---
**Author:** ![the\_first\_supraliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@the\_first\_supraliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_first_supraliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/6 "2009-06-29T13:26:34Z")
I learned, ironically, from an ad for Beef that beef fat is harder to clean from your pots than pork or chicken fat. Higher melting point. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/7 "2009-06-29T15:41:01Z")
I learned almost everything I knew about American history from the Simpsons, before moving to the US when I was 13. For example: the fact that John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln, from the Presidents’ Day episode where Bart kills Milhouse with a Nerf gun. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/8 "2009-06-29T15:55:33Z")
I learned from Family Guy that: A vasectomy’s a medical procedure, One that leaves you half a man _(you’re half a man)_ Remember how you twisted up your garden hose? Well, essentially that is the plan. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/9 "2009-06-29T15:57:15Z")
I’ve learned so many things from “Burn Notice”. It turns out that when shooting a target with your sniper rifle, pros do it from **inside** the room, not from the window. Boy, was my face red. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/10 "2009-06-29T19:16:11Z")
Well, this is from a movie, but the “Galaxy Song” from _Monty Python and the Meaning of Life_ helped me ace a physics test. It has stuff about the speed of light and how long it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/11 "2009-06-29T19:33:03Z")
> [@the\_first\_supraliminal](#): > > Lesson, don’t trust pharm companies or doctors to look out for you. FYI: This is information your pharmacist should be providing you, and is why you should be going to just one pharmacist - especially if there’s a chance you may be taking more than one prescription. If there’s an interaction, it’s their job to recognize that. Your doctor - not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/12 "2009-06-29T19:48:24Z")
I learned the smattering of Spanish that I know from Sesame Street. The only problem is I can’t count to 10 in Spanish without singing in my head. I also giggle whenever I hear or read the word “entrada” (“entrance”) because the Sesame Street skit where I learned the word is very silly. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/13 "2009-06-29T19:48:41Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > FYI: This is information your pharmacist should be providing you, and is why you should be going to just one pharmacist - especially if there’s a chance you may be taking more than one prescription. If there’s an interaction, it’s their job to recognize that. Your doctor - not so much. Unless you only have one doctor - but yeah, pharmacists should always be checking for interactions (and pharmacy software does that for you anyway). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/14 "2009-06-29T20:45:36Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > The first place I ever heard of the Geneva Convention was on Hogan’s Heroes. I was in Germany about 15 years ago, and discovered that I could puzzle out a lot of the road signs, restaurant menus, etc., despite never having taken German in school. I later determined that this was the residual effect of having spent my youth watching Hogan’s Heroes (and various WWII movies, but more the former) as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/15 "2009-06-29T22:03:33Z")
SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apperatus (Family Ties) (I mean I learned it when I was like 12 or something!) ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/16 "2009-06-29T22:32:59Z")
Things I learned from “All in the Family”…( This all would have been late 70’s… I would have been between 8 and 10 when these episodes aired. At this time I was living in Northern Ontario, with one tv station. We had virtually no visible minorities, and your religion came in two flavours…Protestand and Catholic. Almost every week I had a question about some issue that came up. I remember us sitting in the kitchen during the closing credits and getting “debriefed”. Edith was upset because she was afraid she had cancer. Some people who get cancer die, but even if she didn’t die she might have an operation to have her breast cut off, called a mastectomy. Ladies don’t want to lose a breast, thats why she was so upset. No, Kleenex in her bra wouldn’t make it better, she would still be upset.(This one was a mother -daughter talk. Dad not included) Some people don’t like people with other colour skin. Its not right, because people are just the same. The people in the KKK are very silly people, who do bad things. It is against the law to treat people differently because their skin is brown—or in anyway different from you. People who don’t like people with darker skin are called biggots. Gays are men who love other men. This upsets some people, but it isn’t right to treat them any differently. (My dad is somewhat homophobic, but my parents taught me that anyway.And in retrospect I really apreciate the short sweet answer and no judgements attatched.) Some people don’t like Jewish people. Its wrong. (And I had more questions about that one, anti Semitism never made sense to me…not that racism or homophobia do either…) Thats called anti-semitism. Archie Bunker has a lot of mixed up ideas, and they show him on tv so people can learn his ideas are silly. So, there was the social issues of the late 70’s, in our living room and a precocious 9 year old asking questions. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/17 "2009-06-29T22:40:42Z")
Everything goes better with butter. Paula Deen. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/18 "2009-06-29T22:56:52Z")
Making a piggy bank out of a milk jug and some pipe cleaners. Thank you Superfriends! Making popsicles in ice trays, and making assorted cheese snacks. Thank you “hanker for a hunka cheese” dude! Veto, the words to the Preamble, interjections, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, nouns: Schoolhouse Rock. (Yes, I learned them in school, but that’s not where I remember learning them) ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/19 "2009-06-29T23:36:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I learned almost everything I knew about American history from the Simpsons, before moving to the US when I was 13. For example: the fact that John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln, from the Presidents’ Day episode where Bart kills Milhouse with a Nerf gun. Yeah, and the “mediocre” president William Henry Harrison died in 30 days. (Unfortunately I learned that when I was about…32. And I was born and raised in America.) ETA: not the same episode - just from the Simpsons ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271/20 "2009-06-30T00:17:06Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Yeah, and the “mediocre” president William Henry Harrison died in 30 days. > > (Unfortunately I learned that when I was about…32. And I was born and raised in America.) > > ETA: not the same episode - just from the Simpsons It is from the same episode, actually- the mediocre presidents song and Bart as John Wilkes Booth were both in a Presidents’ Day pageant. “Hasta la vista, Abey! You’re next, Chester A. Arthur!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-stuff-you-actually-learned-from-television/501271.md?page=2)