# Stuff you learned from The Big Bang Theory **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534 "2017-04-15T23:31:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/1 "2017-04-15T23:31:44Z")
A quantum computer uses Shor’s algorithm to factor large numbers. The line of scrimmage is the imaginary transverse line between the offense and the defense. If you shoot close to a raccoon, it craps itself. “Planetes” is Greek for “wanderer.” How to say “purr” in German and Mandarin. Apparently you can turn skin cells into neurons. That ambiguity in a contract benefits the person who did not draft it. That a lot of people were fooled by the 16th century woman’s joke about the names for groups of things. That the astronauts left shiny stuff on the moon, so we can prove they were there. Hah! That Einstein worked in the patent office. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/2 "2017-04-15T23:51:32Z")
The Romans put pieces of toast in their punchbowls, hence the expression “to make a toast” with a drink. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/3 "2017-04-15T23:57:54Z")
Euclid Ave. in Pasadena has speed bumps. “Toby” is a stupid name for a common field cricket. Penny does not use hormonal birth control, or didn’t when she and Leonard started dating the second time. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/4 "2017-04-15T23:59:17Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > That the astronauts left shiny stuff on the moon, so we can prove they were there. Hah! A laser reflector filled with prisms, to be exact. > [@](#): > > That Einstein worked in the patent office. The \*Swiss \*patent office, to be exact. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/5 "2017-04-16T00:03:28Z")
Selective mutism is a recognized medical condition. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/6 "2017-04-16T00:25:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Selective mutism is a recognized medical condition. An anxiety disorder, to be exact. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/7 "2017-04-16T00:30:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Penny does not use hormonal birth control, or didn’t when she and Leonard started dating the second time. I’ve successfully used the diaphragm for more than 30 years, and considering that it took me only 2 weeks to get pregnant the one time we tried on purpose, I’m probably pretty fertile. Also, old ones can be used like Diva cups when you want to go swimming during your period. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/8 "2017-04-16T00:43:10Z")
Penny was cute. What…? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/9 "2017-04-16T01:03:59Z")
_Kreplach_ are not Klingon meat-filled dumplings. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/10 "2017-04-16T01:06:57Z")
The cat could be dead _ **or** _ alive, dead _ **and** _ alive, or _ **half** _-dead and _ **half** _-alive. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/11 "2017-04-16T01:12:54Z")
The Chinese character for “soup” looks a lot like the one for “courage.” It really does! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/12 "2017-04-16T03:48:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The Chinese character for “soup” looks a lot like the one for “courage.” It really does! Hmm, not according to my translation software. The word for courage has two characters, for example. Maybe it’s a word similar to courage? Here is what I get in traditional (not simplified) characters: soup 湯 courage 勇氣 ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/13 "2017-04-16T03:52:19Z")
Can’t say I recall any particular knowledge from the show other than some of the plots and funny scenes and that one Indian girl looks hot. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/14 "2017-04-16T06:45:51Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Hmm, not according to my translation software. The word for courage has two characters, for example. Maybe it’s a word similar to courage? > > Here is what I get in traditional (not simplified) characters: > > soup > 湯 > > courage > 勇氣 The characters don’t look alike, but the words sound alike in at least one Chinese dialect, so it’s possible there was some mistranslation somewhere, and Penny really did get the wrong tattoo. On the other hand, Sheldon doesn’t know as much about languages as he thinks he knows, so he could have learned the wrong character, albeit, he probably remembers it from a Chinese menu, so it’s doubtful. FWIW, I love the mistakes Sheldon makes with languages. They’re making fun of other shows with a stereotypical genius who knows 6 or 7 languages-- which it is possible to know. My mother knows 8. But she’s a linguist, and three languages she learned in childhood, one she only reads and writes, and the rest are in the same language family, and she had been in the countries where they are spoken, so she’s had a chance to use them (and I think there may be a second she only reads and writes as well). Plus, that’s not even counting Hebrew, which she has just they typical American Jew’s grasp of. The only language Sheldon seems to know well is Latin, which makes perfect sense. Scientists need to know Latin. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/15 "2017-04-16T07:52:54Z")
Laugh tracks are no substitute for a real audience reaction. That’s probably not what you meant. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/16 "2017-04-16T11:39:57Z")
The fig newton was named after the town of Newton MA, not the scientist. ---
**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:** [April 16, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/17 "2017-04-16T12:17:24Z")
When you pray in church you only get one wish. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/18 "2017-04-16T12:21:00Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > When you pray in church you only get one wish. But you _can_ wish for a thousand more wishes. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/19 "2017-04-16T12:27:25Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > When you pray in church you only get one wish. 'Course, Howard said that. His knowledge of religion is abysmal. He said Jesus was the last Jew to do crunches. He forgot about Mark Spitz and that guy in the WWF. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534/20 "2017-04-16T13:04:01Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Laugh tracks are no substitute for a real audience reaction. > > That’s probably not what you meant. But it’s the reason I don’t watch the show. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-learned-from-the-big-bang-theory/784534.md?page=2)