# Stuff that took you too long to realize **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506 "2012-08-05T09:37:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/221 "2012-08-21T20:57:25Z")
> [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > In a different vein, I only realized a few months ago - and still have trouble remembering - that even if I’m totally justified in being angry about something/at someone, that doesn’t mean I _have_ to be angry. I always used to feel like I earned that anger fair and square, and I’d be damned if I was going to let it go unused. And if it was a person that made me angry, I felt like they deserved to know how pissed I was. Now, I try to remember that it’s okay to feel angry, but it’s also perfectly fine to just let it go, and that my anger is not really a punishment to anyone but me. This is something I try to teach people I care about. Learning it changed my life. They only thing I’d argue with you about is: “And if it was a person that made me angry…” People do what they do, you _choose_ to be angry about it. Also, for the most part, it pays to not think that people do things _to_ us. One exception is physical violence. If someone is beating you, I can’t really claim they are not doing it _to_ you. ---
**Author:** ![ledheadpenguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@ledheadpenguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ledheadpenguin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/222 "2012-08-22T22:54:09Z")
I always thought the show was titled to be ironic that a fat guy is with a hot chick, and is a ladies man. Just recently I realized that the show takes place in Queens, thus he is the King of Queens. A while back I had a party at my place, and I needed my friends to see the ridiculousness I discovered in my fridge earlier that day, so I pulled out a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of barbeque. The ketchup container was much bigger but had 3 fewer ounces cited on the label. My least intelligent friend explained that one was measured by weight while the other was measured by volume. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/223 "2012-08-23T05:57:24Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > \ > And on the other side of the coin I’m proud to say I’ve NEVER confused “Calgary” and “Calvary”. Just yesterday I heard a news announcer mentioning a “Calgary Chapel”, and, as always, it made me cringe. Buh-whaa? There are people in the world mixing up Calgary and calvary? Mind you, I was boggled when I learned that there are US Americans who think Canada is divided up into providences, then I actually heard someone saying that in real life. 🙂 I realized today that there is always some place on earth that has daylight at any given time. It was something that I’ve just never thought of before. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/224 "2012-08-23T06:05:22Z")
That when someone is being verbally abusive/threatening, the best reaction is no reaction at all. A work one: Bosses generally couldn’t care less about excuses for why something went wrong - they just care about if, and then when, you can fix it. Something I am yet to work out: How to deal with/not be affected by condescending people, particularly in social/group situations. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/225 "2012-08-23T19:00:02Z")
> [@benbo1](#): > > I’d trade 1/2 of my accumulated savings for a more adventurous & fun youth. Hey, I’ll trade my misspent youth for half your savings any day. Send me an email, I’m sure we can work out a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/226 "2012-08-24T03:15:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Woody Woodpecker’s voice. I never realized that that’s exactly how a woodpecker would sound, if he could talk while he’s pecking wood. [**His wife voiced Woody**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Lantz). I’m not sure whether to applaud her or feel sorry for him. > [@Senegoid](#): > > Y’know all those scenes you see in old Western movies with people traveling to/from the Far West in horse-drawn stage coaches? God knows how mere horses dragged those heavy coaches around with the wheels going backwards. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I realized today that there is always some place on earth that has daylight at any given time. It was something that I’ve just never thought of before. Queen Victoria and [**Colonel Blimp**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Blimp) would not be amused. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/227 "2012-08-24T05:26:22Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Here’s how to remember whether a month is short or long: > > Make a fist with your right hand. Start at your outside (pinky) knuckle. > > Pinky knuckle = January (long) > Between pinky and ring finger = February (short) > Ring finger knuckle = March (long) > Between ring and middle fingers = April (short) > Middle knuckle = May (long) > Between middle and index fingers = June (short) > Index knuckle = July (long) > > Now, switch over to your left hand, but continue counting from right to left. > > Index knuckle = August (long) > Between index and middle fingers = September (short) > Middle knuckle = October (long) > Between middle and ring fingers = November (short) > Ring finger knuckle = December (long) > > Hope that helps! I learned the rhyme when I was a little kid. Learned the knuckle method from a guy on the boat when I was in my early thirties; he did it all on his left hand, though. Started at the index knuckle with January and ended with the pinky knuckle as July, then started with the pinky knuckle as August and worked backward until he ran out of months at the middle knuckle. ---
**Author:** ![lycopersiyum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc29f/32.png) [@lycopersiyum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lycopersiyum)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/228 "2012-08-24T10:42:06Z")
That belief trumps reason in every single person on the planet, including me. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/229 "2012-08-24T12:01:10Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > That Germans call a penalty kick an “Elfmeter” because the penalty spot is eleven (_elf_) meters from the goal. > > “Hahaha an ‘eleven meter’ what a stupid. . .ohhhhhhhh.” [Doctor McCoy] Heart rate too fast. Body temperature all wrong. Age is…Jim, this man is an Elf![/Doctor McCoy] ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/230 "2012-08-24T13:26:47Z")
King of Queens > [@ledheadpenguin](#): > > I always thought the show was titled to be ironic that a fat guy is with a hot chick, and is a ladies man. Just recently I realized that the show takes place in Queens, thus he is the King of Queens. > [snip]. I’d heard of the show but never actually saw it until recently. I’d always thought it was about gay guys, maybe a _Cage aux Folles_ thing. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/231 "2012-08-24T14:13:06Z")
> [@lycopersiyum](#): > > That belief trumps reason in every single person on the planet, including me. And some of the married ones as well. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/232 "2012-08-24T18:21:33Z")
This falls more into the category of “trivia I can’t believe I only _just now_ learned, but I had to share it anyway”: **What inventor of Calculus has a brand of cookie named after him?** [SPOILER]Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, after whom [Leibniz-Keks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz-Keks) are named. If you said Isaac Newton, thinking of Fig Newtons, you’re wrong: they were named after the town of Newton, Massechusetts.[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![ginman999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@ginman999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ginman999)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/233 "2012-08-26T15:02:47Z")
A black co worker had to point out that it’s pronounced collard greens not colored greens. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/234 "2012-08-26T16:35:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Which part of your hand? The top, or the bottom? 😃 Well done! Well done, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/235 "2012-08-26T16:36:55Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This falls more into the category of “trivia I can’t believe I only _just now_ learned, but I had to share it anyway”: > > **What inventor of Calculus has a brand of cookie named after him?** > > [SPOILER]Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, after whom [Leibniz-Keks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz-Keks) are named. > > If you said Isaac Newton, thinking of Fig Newtons, you’re wrong: they were named after the town of Newton, Massechusetts.[/SPOILER] I got this wrong! Even though I knew it, and am from MA! Though not Newton. ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/236 "2012-08-26T17:19:21Z")
I’ve liked the Talking Heads since the 80’s, but I just found out that “Take Me to the River” is a remake of an excellent[Al Green original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGD8aQ2GKr0). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/237 "2012-08-26T22:49:48Z")
I used to think that birds swooping down at my car as I was driving down the highway was because their eyesight was such that a big object going fast in the distance looked like a small object (bug) close up. Come to find out, they think I’m a buffalo running through the grass, stirring up the bugs. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/238 "2012-08-27T02:08:44Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I used to think that birds swooping down at my car as I was driving down the highway was because their eyesight was such that a big object going fast in the distance looked like a small object (bug) close up. Come to find out, they think I’m a buffalo running through the grass, stirring up the bugs. One time when I was lying on a beach, I saw a helicopter way far away over the water. Turned out to be a dragon fly about two feet away. Maybe I should have posted this in the depth-perception thread. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/239 "2012-08-28T10:15:47Z")
Something I’ve always wondered: are Lois and Clark named after Lewis and Clark? ---
**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:** [August 28, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/240 "2012-08-28T11:49:34Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > “Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey” always seemed a bit too cutesy for me. My dad taught me the somewhat pithier mnemonic “Clock: Lock”. Which raises the question: are there kids today who aren’t familiar with analog clocks and thus to whom the words “clockwise” and “counterclockwise” are meaningless? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506.md?page=13)