# Stuff that took you too long to realize
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506
**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:** 4
### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/61 "2012-08-08T06:49:05Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#):
>
> On a lot of cars, including mine, there’s a U-shaped thing fastened to the inside of the little door that covers the fuel intake. It’s there to hold the gas cap while you’re fillling up. One does not, in fact, have to place the gas cap on the roof of the car.
Good thing you’d never driven a Yaris, then: the gas cap is anchored by a thin plastic strip. A couple of times I’ve had gas station attendants try to put it on top of the car; so far, none has actually managed to do it but given enough time I expect I’ll run into one strong enough to break the strip without specially trying to.
They do a real good imitation of the :o smiley when they realize why the stupid thing isn’t going anywhere.
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### Author:  [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/62 "2012-08-08T06:56:39Z")
There’s no such thing as a momento.
In English, anyway. Maybe it means something in Spanish?
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### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/63 "2012-08-08T07:36:26Z")
> [@AaronX](#):
>
> There’s no such thing as a momento.
>
> In English, anyway. Maybe it means something in Spanish?
You nearly drove me stark mad. Not even kidding. I started googling, Google wasn’t giving me the “do you mean” prompt, I couldn’t find anything to help me ‘know’ what ‘momento’ was, I just knew somehow that it was a word.
Worst part is, I was shaky on the meaning…Some kind of nostalgic souvenir felt right, but I just couldn’t be sure. And the internet wasn’t helping, and it’s 3:30 in the morning and nothing was making sense and I nearly felt my sanity slipping…slipping…
But then, just a second more of googling and frantically clicking links helped me realize that I meant ‘memento’ and sanity slowly returned, like an old friend. I would have gone to my grave certain that the word was ‘momento’ though, had not I seen this post. These kinds of threads never fail to blow my mind. (The pineapple plant thing blew my mind years ago, but it was one of these kinds of threads on this board.)
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/64 "2012-08-08T07:45:26Z")
That Kanye West and Cornell West are two different people.
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### Author:  [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/65 "2012-08-08T08:24:29Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#):
>
> You nearly drove me stark mad. Not even kidding. I started googling, Google wasn’t giving me the “do you mean” prompt, I couldn’t find anything to help me ‘know’ what ‘momento’ was, I just knew somehow that it was a word.
>
> Worst part is, I was shaky on the meaning…Some kind of nostalgic souvenir felt right, but I just couldn’t be sure. And the internet wasn’t helping, and it’s 3:30 in the morning and nothing was making sense and I nearly felt my sanity slipping…slipping…
>
> But then, just a second more of googling and frantically clicking links helped me realize that I meant ‘memento’ and sanity slowly returned, like an old friend. I would have gone to my grave certain that the word was ‘momento’ though, had not I seen this post. These kinds of threads never fail to blow my mind. (The pineapple plant thing blew my mind years ago, but it was one of these kinds of threads on this board.)
Oops sorry, I should have put the correct word there. But so someone else had my experience! And the fact that Google doesn’t offer to correct you makes it seem like this is a rare mistake. My whole life I thought it was “momento”, until one day I paid attention and thought, “what’s a memento?” And I found out I’ve always been wrong! Now I’m wondering if it’s pronounced momento or memento?
A bit like kindergarden, but I found that out a bit earlier.
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### Author:  [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/66 "2012-08-08T09:16:30Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#):
>
> Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. (Directions for screws, lightbulbs, etc.) I think I was in college when I had that revelation.
I’m 58. I never realised this until I was trying to remove a pump from an IV pole and a patient’s parent helped me out with this mnemonic.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/67 "2012-08-08T10:14:27Z")
“Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey” always seemed a bit too cutesy for me. My dad taught me the somewhat pithier mnemonic “Clock: Lock”.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/68 "2012-08-08T11:35:00Z")
> [@SirRay](#):
>
> _Oh No, there goes Chicago!
> Go Go Chick-Fil-A!_
> [@MadTheSwine](#):
>
> Don’t fear the peeper.
Needs more cowbell.
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### Author:  [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/69 "2012-08-08T12:04:23Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#):
>
> It’s better to be kind than to be right. Spent most of my early adult life thinking the latter. \* embarrassed\*
This is great advice. Thank you!
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### Author:  [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/70 "2012-08-08T12:07:50Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Women want men to listen to them, not hear how awesome you are.
Yea youre right. I should’ve said that too.
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### Author:  [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/71 "2012-08-08T12:12:31Z")
> [@Nava](#):
>
> Good thing you’d never driven a Yaris, then: the gas cap is anchored by a thin plastic strip. A couple of times I’ve had gas station attendants try to put it on top of the car; so far, none has actually managed to do it but given enough time I expect I’ll run into one strong enough to break the strip without specially trying to.
>
> They do a real good imitation of the :o smiley when they realize why the stupid thing isn’t going anywhere.
You drive a Yaris? … and admit it? 😉
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### Author:  [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/72 "2012-08-08T12:18:16Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#):
>
> Being a good father is not that same as being a good husband.
Insert your own incest joke.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/73 "2012-08-08T12:24:51Z")
The Boy Scout motto, _Be Prepared_ , has the same initials as the founder of Scouting, Baden-Powell. Except they’re the initials of his hyphenated last name (his first name was _Robert_)
I wouldn’t think much of this, ascribing it to mere coincidence, but Baden-Powell himself points it out in the seminal text he wrote, _Scouting for Boys_.
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### Author:  [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/74 "2012-08-08T12:44:12Z")
A couple years ago my wife explained the difference between cling and freestone peaches. I thought they were named randomly not literally.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/75 "2012-08-08T13:02:50Z")
> [@SirRay](#):
>
> In most of the Self-Serve stations around NY (NOT NJ, for obvious reasons), there is no such tab to hold the pump nozzle trigger - you stand there and hold the trigger down (some people jam things into the trigger guard to hold the trigger down).
Apparently they’re outlawed here in Ontario. All the pumps have the tab strip removed. We’re too stupid to use the auto-pump feature.
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### Author:  [@ChickenLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickenLegs)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/76 "2012-08-08T13:09:21Z")
There’s a little arrow on your car’s instrument panel, next to the fuel gage, that points either left or right. (It’s right next to a symbol that looks like a gas pump, usually.) That arrow points to which side of the car you put the gas in.
Took me 47 years and many rental cars tp figure this one out.
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### Author:  [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/77 "2012-08-08T13:10:35Z")
> [@ChickenLegs](#):
>
> There’s a little arrow on your car’s instrument panel, next to the fuel gage, that points either left or right. (It’s right next to a symbol that looks like a gas pump, usually.) That arrow points to which side of the car you put the gas in.
>
> Took me 47 years and many rental cars tp figure this one out.
To be fair, not all cars have this (or any indication at all).
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### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/78 "2012-08-08T13:55:59Z")
> [@Jragon](#):
>
> To be fair, not all cars have this (or any indication at all).
I think all new cars have this, but they certainly didn’t 47 years ago.
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### Author:  [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/79 "2012-08-08T14:17:22Z")
Rhapsody Rabbit and Cat Concerto are an awful lot alike. Seen both cartoons countless times but until I youtubed them a few days ago I didn’t realize they had more than just Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 in common.
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### Author:  [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/80 "2012-08-08T14:32:18Z")
It took me two 3-year relationships and many short-term boyfriends before I realized that as someone’s girlfriend \* I \* am supposed to be their priority, not drugs/booze/friends/anything else. My now-husband said one day “YOU are my girlfriend. YOU are my priority.” and I was like “Whaaa…?” ☹
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