# Stuff you were embarrassed that you didn't know **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206 "2010-11-19T06:42:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/61 "2010-11-20T11:16:58Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > My teacher explained that England was Great Britain and Scotland and Ireland, etc were the Lessor Britains (I figured at the time it was due to size.) I never questioned it, nor, if later in life I was taught differently, it didn’t stick. This is incorrect too: England is a subdivision of the island of Great Britain, which is shared with Scotland and Wales - not the other way round. [Here’s a diagram](http://www.crowaptok.com/images/british_isles.gif) to help furriners understand our geography. (And yes, as mentioned there was a bit of France known as Brittania Minor.) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/62 "2010-11-20T14:35:07Z")
I was probably legally grown before I knew that “cock” meant a male sex organ and not a female one. It finally became clear what a cocksucker was and why that was significant. All that time I had been visualizing a chicken lollipop! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/63 "2010-11-20T15:19:01Z")
I’m a fountain of useless information, important and un-, after a long lifetime of obsessive reading, and being an unpopular recluse. My problem is somewhat esoteric, but…I’ll read a book, watch a movie, and completely miss the ‘subtext’ until I read a deep, learned review pointing out what obviously flew over my head! Colors. Names. The mythical underpinnings, ‘the hero’s journey’. All mean something under the surface! Why don’t I know that?? … And it wasn’t that long ago that I found out the word ‘learned’, referring to being educated, was pronounced ‘ler-ned’. Not ‘learned’ as I ‘learned’ my lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/64 "2010-11-20T15:51:34Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [Here’s a diagram] to help furriners understand our geography. (And yes, as mentioned there was a bit of France known as Brittania Minor.) And here’s a [Venn diagram](http://qntm.org/uk)! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/65 "2010-11-20T16:39:35Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > And here’s a [Venn diagram](http://qntm.org/uk)! That’s actually quite useful. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/66 "2010-11-20T17:13:33Z")
Something I just learned last week, which still kind of blows me away, is that Caddyshack is the ONLY movie that Bill Murray and Chevy Chase have ever appeared in together. I know that during Bill Murray’s early days at Saturday Night Live that he was allegedly goaded into hitting Cheve Chase by John Belushi, (who was jealous of Chase) but for some reason I was sure that after the success of Caddyshack that any old bad feelings had been worked thru. I could have sworn that there were other movies with both Murray and Chase, but apparently I was mistaken… ---
**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:** [November 20, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/67 "2010-11-20T17:49:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Long outstanding in-joke about people here who thought pineapples were like coconuts and grew on trees instead of bush-like plants. (Me included!) Kind of. Actually a pineapple is the only edible [bromeliad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromeliaceae) ---
**Author:** ![ChickenLegs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@ChickenLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickenLegs)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/68 "2010-11-20T18:34:05Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I’m guessing \*\*tdn \*\*only recently learned pineapples don’t grow on trees. > > I had no idea ragout wasn’t pronounced “rag out” until I was about 40. I’d never heard og “ragout” until right now. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/69 "2010-11-20T18:43:07Z")
> [@ChickenLegs](#): > > I’d never heard og “ragout” until right now. And you don’t want to. 'Cause when Og rag out, Og smash! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/70 "2010-11-20T23:01:08Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > And here’s a [Venn diagram](http://qntm.org/uk)! Brilliant! Wish I’d thought of that. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/71 "2010-11-21T00:59:03Z")
At the end of the page: > [@](#): > > Lastly, to be pedantic, this is actually an [Euler diagram](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_diagram), not a [Venn diagram](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venn_diagram). ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/72 "2010-11-21T01:46:29Z")
I just had a moment: someone was writing about how excited they were that Daniel Day Lewis was going to be in an upcoming Spielberg film. My reaction: “Daniel Day Lewis? I thought he was dead. Didn’t he write The Last of the Mohicans?” Um, yeah. So far off, I think I’m losing my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/73 "2010-11-21T02:02:47Z")
I just read this week that GPS technology was kept exclusively by the military, until Ronald Reagan released it for civilian use in the aftermath of that Korean airliner the Soviets shot down. Did you know that? I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/74 "2010-11-21T02:17:22Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > I just had a moment: someone was writing about how excited they were that Daniel Day Lewis was going to be in an upcoming Spielberg film. > > My reaction: “Daniel Day Lewis? I thought he was dead. Didn’t he write The Last of the Mohicans?” > > Um, yeah. So far off, I think I’m losing my mind. That is AWESOME!!! Sorry, but I LOLed! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/75 "2010-11-21T03:02:26Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > My reaction: “Daniel Day Lewis? I thought he was dead. Didn’t he write The Last of the Mohicans?” > > Um, yeah. So far off, I think I’m losing my mind. Nah, you’re not losing your mind. You just got confuddled because he _stared in_ the '92 movie version of [The Last of the Mohicans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104691/). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ChickenLegs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@ChickenLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickenLegs)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/76 "2010-11-21T04:10:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Nah, you’re not losing your mind. You just got confuddled because he _stared in_ the '92 movie version of [The Last of the Mohicans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104691/). 🙂 Did he stare at og? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/77 "2010-11-21T04:13:41Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > And here’s a [Venn diagram](http://qntm.org/uk)! Nice! When I had some kids last year researching England, I had a helluva time explaining this to them, since I barely understood it myself. Mostly I just had them draw pictures of Guy Fawkes Day. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/78 "2010-11-21T04:40:10Z")
It’s worth noting as in that linked diagram > [@](#): > > The ROI is not British. However, the “British Isles” include both the UK and ROI. Irish citizens and Irish-ethnic people hate this, but there is no consensus on what to call it instead. (May I suggest “The British and Irish Isles”?) It’s not that big a deal but I usually use “Britain and Ireland” or “Ireland and Britain” instead of the term The British Isles, even though I understand it is merely a geographic not political designation. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/79 "2010-11-21T05:31:43Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > What did he think “lavatory” means? Literally, washroom. You are sometimes going in there to wash (your hands) but mostly not. Even “toilet” doesn’t even really, at the root, discuss the actual purpose of the room. There is no polite, accurate word for a room you go to to urinate and defecate. ceramic defecatorium\* \*coined by a guy who wrote for the Westwood High School newpaper back when I was in seventh grade. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206/80 "2010-11-21T05:48:07Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Second grade, but I thought of myself as an advanced student. We were new kids in town. When the fastidious principal of the new school was showing us around on the first day, he said, “Now I’ll show you all the **lavatory**.” > > I was very excited, and asked if I could use the microscope. > > For a kid who prided himself on his vocabulary, that was humiliating. It was a long time before I realized that it might be an affectation to use “lavatory” when talking to second graders. 😕 My grade and high schools all used “lavatory” instead of bathroom or restroom or something. Usually just “lav”. “Ms. Jones, may I please go to the lav?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-were-embarrassed-that-you-didnt-know/561206.md?page=5)