# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/161 "2012-08-13T22:56:51Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > It’s not the top or the bottom that you move one way or the other, i_t’s your hand_. Grab the knob and turn your hand to the right to tighten and to the left to loosen. Easy peasy. Until I saw it on this board, I’d never heard righty-tighty, etc. It’s always been clockwise/counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise). And on matters clockwise, it was only a few years ago I realised that clockwise was the direction the Sun appears to travel, but only in the NORTHERN hemisphere. I’ve never been north of the equator so had never seen the clockwise motion of the Sun through the sky. (BTW, I’m 56, so it has been a long time to realise that.) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/162 "2012-08-14T06:00:45Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Which part of your hand? The top, or the bottom? And what if I use an underhand grip? ---
**Author:** ![Lily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@Lily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lily)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/163 "2012-08-15T21:56:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > And what if I use an underhand grip? I’m starting to feel some sympathy for panache45’s dad… ---
**Author:** ![CraterLayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/87869e/32.png) [@CraterLayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CraterLayer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/164 "2012-08-16T01:41:13Z")
I had always thought that trees and other plants got most of their mass from the soil, and figured that the soil wasn’t disappearing around trees due to dead leaves. After growing a large orange tree in a pot and not seeing any change in the level of dirt, I realized my thinking of long ago was wrong. Boy was I surprised to discover that trees are formed out of thin air! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/165 "2012-08-16T02:35:29Z")
> [@Lily](#): > > I’m starting to feel some sympathy for panache45’s dad… No kidding. _For most people this is not that complicated_. ---
**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 16, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/166 "2012-08-16T04:40:23Z")
> [@grude](#): > > As for the why, ever have your back cracked? It is basically like stretching strongly, your back feels a lot better afterward for a short while. I’d liken it to a massage. > > Now as for curing ANYTHING ELSE(some chiros claim to cure all sorts of ailments) that is where the woo comes in. Last year, for some reason, a chiropractor gave a presentation in the breakroom at work for anyone who would submit to it (actually they bribed us with sandwiches). I wish I would have recorded it- the guy claimed to have cured a kid’s peanut allergy. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/167 "2012-08-16T05:08:52Z")
When people are sweating bullets because everything they do is wrong, especially as a kid, _nothing_ is simple. Everything has the potential of being a trick question, like the term Stage Left. Whose left? Whose right? Why don’t I know? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/168 "2012-08-16T10:33:37Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > When people are sweating bullets because everything they do is wrong, especially as a kid, _nothing_ is simple. Everything has the potential of being a trick question, like the term Stage Left. Whose left? Whose right? Why don’t I know? Hell, I still have no idea which is the left side of the bed. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/169 "2012-08-16T12:53:56Z")
> [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > And on matters clockwise, it was only a few years ago I realised that clockwise was the direction the Sun appears to travel, but only in the NORTHERN hemisphere Actually, the Sun travels in a clockwise direction if you’re facing south, pretty much from anywhere on the Earth’s surface. The concept of clockwise actually comes from the movement of shadows cast by objects in direct sunlight, which (conversely to the above) is observable if you’re facing north pretty much from anywhere on the Earth’s surface - from that perspective the sun appears to move counterclockwise. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/170 "2012-08-16T13:10:57Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > When people are sweating bullets because everything they do is wrong, especially as a kid, _nothing_ is simple. Everything has the potential of being a trick question, like the term Stage Left. Whose left? Whose right? Actors’ left, as they’re facing the seats. Because it makes more sense to refer to 12 people’s left instead of the director’s left as she faces the stage. (Or, according to one director I had, because actors are idiots.) > [@](#): > > Why don’t I know? That I don’t know, but you’re not alone. I think that director may have been on to something. (Not saying you’re an idiot, you just don’t know. But \*actors \*who don’t know their Stage Directions are very annoying to work with.) “Upstage” is away from the audience, and so named because of raked stages - stages which are literally built higher upstage to provide the audience a better view of what’s going on back there behind the actors in front. “Downstage” is towards the audience. If the audience sits on three sides in a “U”, then the part with no audience is upstage, and left and right delineated from the actors’ perspective with their backs to upstage. If the theater is in the round (audience sits on all sides), then you generally use compass directions or assign one spot “12” and use clock points. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/171 "2012-08-16T14:24:26Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > It’s almost as bad as that moronic poem about the months, whose cadence and rhyme works with pretty much any combination: “Thirty days hath December, May, July, and November.” The only way to remember it is to already know the answer you need. 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! ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/172 "2012-08-16T15:05:49Z")
[quote=“Why\_Child, post:121, topic:630506”] Thank you, I am so glad you said that! I have told my friends that cilantro has that weird taste, and they can’t taste it. I thought it was just me. [QUOTE] You’ll be glad to know that [you aren’t the only one](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html). ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/173 "2012-08-16T15:40:49Z")
The best way to convince a fool that they are wrong is to let them have their way. If the fool is your boss, definitely let them have their way. Not just because of the truth mentioned above, but because letting them have their way maximizes their potential for getting fired by their bosses. If you always manage to save them from themselves, you’re just prolonging the agony for everybody. ---
**Author:** ![jim\_58694523](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58956e/32.png) [@jim\_58694523](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jim_58694523)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/174 "2012-08-16T16:18:25Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > No kidding. _For most people this is not that complicated_. It’s only complicated if you think about it. Or if you’ve never driven a car. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/175 "2012-08-16T16:59:07Z")
The Beatles were in my life from birth, so much so that it wasn’t until I was a 35 year old that I realized the play on words that was going on with their name. It just didn’t occur to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_G7subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/176 "2012-08-16T18:38:06Z")
> [@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! The rhyme “Thirty days have September, April, June and November” works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/177 "2012-08-16T19:30:07Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Actually, the Sun travels in a clockwise direction if you’re facing south, pretty much from anywhere on the Earth’s surface. > > The concept of clockwise actually comes from the movement of shadows cast by objects in direct sunlight, which (conversely to the above) is observable if you’re facing north pretty much from anywhere on the Earth’s surface - from that perspective the sun appears to move counterclockwise. Well, sorta. It’s just that if you’re facing South anywhere south of the Tropic of Capricorn you’ve got your back to the midday sun, and you’ve got to look back over your own head to see it - you could sort of describe that as “clockwise” if you really wanted to, but it’s a stretch; and the shadows in those latitudes aren’t moving clockwise. (Also applies anywhere south of the Equator for half the year, and anywhere south of the Tropic of Cancer for at least some of it.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/178 "2012-08-16T19:45:38Z")
> [@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’ve been sitting at my desk for 10 minutes trying to decipher this and can’t. Thankfully I know the rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Dr.Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Love)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/179 "2012-08-16T19:57:06Z")
[This might help](http://lifehacker.com/232828/macgyver-tip-use-your-knuckles-to-remember-each-months-days) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/180 "2012-08-16T20:13:14Z")
> [@Dr.Love](#): > > [This might help](http://lifehacker.com/232828/macgyver-tip-use-your-knuckles-to-remember-each-months-days) It did indeed. Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506.md?page=10)