# Simple factual errors that drive you nuts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 19, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504 "2009-02-19T03:19:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**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:** [February 21, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/161 "2009-02-21T18:20:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But there are plenty of SAG members with skin tones other than the European norm. Why shouldn’t they be hired to play Vulcans? Why must Vulcans be portayed as all being Caucasian with slightly greenish skin? I was mostly kidding, you know. My WAG is that Vulcans look like white people simply because all the people who’ve been hired to play Vulcans are white. Note that the Vulcan characters all tend to speak with similar intonation- a sort of Received-English-cum-wildlife-documentary-narrator type accent. A bit like Roman characters in English-language films (see _Gladiator_), they all sound like they’re from English public (private) schools, for no apparent reason. I would guess that it’s pretty hard to find black actors who sound like that, though obviously not impossible. On the other hand, Klingons all seem to be baritones with a different but more easily faked non-accent (you know, more guttural), and are generally physically imposing, and it’s not difficult to find large actors with deep voices, so there are plenty of black ones handy. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/162 "2009-02-21T18:25:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Meh. Be a bit odd if melanin response evolved independently on different planets. > > While there are general variations in color in just about every species on earth, there isn’t as wide a range as seen in humans for the most part. Humans occupy a wide range of latitudes, hence a wide range of solar radiation, and humans do not have much fur. I can’t immediately think of another species with those characteristics. It’s not implausible that other species which occupy a wide range of latitude, and which do not have fur, so that their skin is exposed, will often or usually have a similar variation of skin color Vs. latitude. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/163 "2009-02-21T18:30:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I was mostly kidding, you know. We Rhymers never kid. We are entirely without senses of humor. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas the Rhymer (yes that one) established that rule when he founded the tribe; he sacrificed our sense of humor in exchange for the power to defeat Merlin in single combat. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/164 "2009-02-21T18:33:27Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas the Rhymer (yes that one) established that rule when he founded the tribe; he sacrificed our sense of humor in exchange for the power to defeat Merlin in single combat. Did he make a _whoosh_ noise while delivering the killing blow? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/165 "2009-02-21T18:35:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Did he make a _whoosh_ noise while delivering the killing blow? 😃 I said “defeat,” not kill. If you were all that bright, you’d know that it is impossible to kill Merlin before Ragnarok. I’d explain why, but I’m running low on bullshit and must recharge. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/166 "2009-02-21T18:38:33Z")
Oh, this one drives me nuts. You hung a picture, you hanged a cattle rustler. Who may or may not have been well hung. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/167 "2009-02-21T18:45:14Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Oh, this one drives me nuts. You hung a picture, you hanged a cattle rustler. Who may or may not have been well hung. Not strictly true. If the cattle rustler was strung up as capital punishment, hanged is correct. If you just stapled his chaps to a tree for shits and giggles, the correct form would be hung. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/168 "2009-02-21T19:23:44Z")
No, the correct form would be “stapled”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/169 "2009-02-22T00:20:06Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Similar: The Nazis lost against the Soviets because they were unprepared for a Russian winter. > Truth: The Nazis were better equipped for the Russian winter than the Soviet army was in terms of supplies and clothing (it wasn’t like “Russia gets really really cold and snowy” was a secret to them). They lost mostly due to a combination of very bad generalship (going all the way up the chain to Hitler) and because the Soviets fought like hell (partly from fear of Hitler partly from fear of Stalin). I’ve heard numerous times from “reputable” sources that Hitler insisted the main fighting would be over by winter, and didn’t allow for the massive shipments of cold-weather gear. Also, a tie goes to the defender, and I’ve seen documentaries saying that the Germans were still on the move when the rains hit, which then started to freeze, making it a double whammy. Are you saying that’s not true? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/170 "2009-02-22T00:23:35Z")
I think there’s a middle ground there. They were not “unprepared,” but the Russian winter still hit 'em damn hard. Either way, the Nazis fell victim to one of the classic blunders… ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/171 "2009-02-22T01:30:07Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I think there’s a middle ground there. They were not “unprepared,” but the Russian winter still hit 'em damn hard. > Either way, the Nazis fell victim to one of the classic blunders… They got involved in Land Wars in Asia? 😃 I’ll get my coat… ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/172 "2009-02-22T04:04:02Z")
It bugs me when sportswriters (and others) use the term **“All-American”** to refer to a player that has been selected to an **“All-America”** team. You wouldn’t call an “All-City” player an “All-Citizen” (or some such) would you? “All-American” is what Richie Cunningham and apple pie are. However, it \*\*is \*\*conceivable that a superb athlete selected to an All-America team happens to _also_ be as All-American as apple pie… but most probably aren’t. Say, for example, they were born and lived most of their life in another country. That’s not very All-American to me, yet they could still be selected to an All-America team. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/173 "2009-02-22T06:11:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > So’ve I. The study is right. Sugar doesn’t make kids hyper. > > From the moment she was born my parents, my father in law, everyone would say if she ate anything sugary, “Well, she’s got some sugar in her, she’ll go nuts” but I’d already heard it might not be true, so for years I’ve made a point of being very careful to see if sugar was likelier to make the Small One hyper. For awhile I even wrote down my observations. > > She is no more or less likely to get hyper or gain noticeable amounts of energy after she eats something sugary than at any other time. People NOTICE when kids get hyper after eating something, but they don’t notice when it doesn’t happen. It’s observational bias. Also, I think that some kids’ behaviour after eating a lot of sugary foods is partly based on what they think “should” happen, or what they expect to happen. Perhaps like the placebo effect? I know that when I was very young, my friends and I would expect to be hyper, and thinking back on it now I’m sure that if influenced any hyper behaviour I may have exhibited. ---
**Author:** ![freep5637](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@freep5637](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freep5637)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/174 "2009-02-22T06:18:18Z")
i hate it when people have no idea why the revolutionary war or the civil war were fought. it’s pathetic… ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/175 "2009-02-22T07:50:30Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Similar: The Nazis lost against the Soviets because they were unprepared for a Russian winter. > Truth: The Nazis were better equipped for the Russian winter than the Soviet army was in terms of supplies and clothing (it wasn’t like “Russia gets really really cold and snowy” was a secret to them). They lost mostly due to a combination of very bad generalship (going all the way up the chain to Hitler) and because the Soviets fought like hell (partly from fear of Hitler partly from fear of Stalin). I’ve been kind of obsessively absorbing WWII history for the last couple years, and all the accounts I’ve come across so far disagree with you. IIRC, Hitler did not supply his troops with winter clothing because that would’ve implied that they’d still be fighting in the winter; he thought it was better for morale for everyone to believe that the war would be over before the end of summer. Which is perfectly in keeping with much of the other stupid mistakes the Germans made on that front. Of course, it was just a factor, and probably not the biggest; the scorched-earth retreat and the nearly infinite capacity for retreat were probably greater factors. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/176 "2009-02-22T07:51:49Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I’ve heard numerous times from “reputable” sources that Hitler insisted the main fighting would be over by winter, and didn’t allow for the massive shipments of cold-weather gear. Also, a tie goes to the defender, and I’ve seen documentaries saying that the Germans were still on the move when the rains hit, which then started to freeze, making it a double whammy. Are you saying that’s not true? That’s my understanding too. The mud was as much a factor as the cold. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/177 "2009-02-22T08:00:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But evolution IS a theory. The speaker may not know what a theory is in scientific terms (gravity is “just a theory” in terms of its scientific explanation, but only the intelligent falling people doubt it exists) but the statement is not actually false. Dude. Seriously. When someone says “evolution is just a theory,” you can bet the farm that they are using the word incorrectly, and they believe that it means “hypothesis.” The intent behind that statement is utterly ignorant, even if they’re using a word which _they don’t even know_ can actually be used correctly in nearly the same context. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/178 "2009-02-22T12:30:26Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The farthest stars visible to the naked eye are about 4,000 light years away. You can see the galaxy Andromeda with the naked eye, and it’s 2.5 million light years away, but it’s a) not a star, and b) not 5 million light years away. > > I suppose you could theoretically wish upon a star while looking through a telescope, but I imagine it kinda ruins the moment. Touché! ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/179 "2009-02-22T17:12:33Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > What are you proposing as the mechanism? > > But virtually nobody ever uses that sense. At least, I’ve never heard it. It tends to be a psychological term. “Affect” being the outward appearance or state of a person to the observer. If a patient is, say, catatonic, they would show an “absence of affect.” It’s used a LOT this way, but admittedly it’s a bit of a niche market. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504/180 "2009-02-22T18:35:11Z")
I have a couple that drive me crazy- Using “literally” when someone really means “figuratively.” Saying “I seen” instead of “I saw.” Sets my teeth on edge every time. But lately, the one that drives me just batty, (and I seem to be seeing everywhere lately) is “regards” instead of “regard.” You give your regards to Broadway, but you write in regard to an issue. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-factual-errors-that-drive-you-nuts/486504.md?page=10)