# Things everyone knew but you **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785 "2006-11-01T21:32:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/81 "2006-11-03T14:07:06Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Fight my ignorance. 🙂 [This is?](http://www.banana-tree.com/) [/QUOTE] A type of grass, like sugarcane. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/82 "2006-11-03T14:26:08Z")
It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/83 "2006-11-03T14:36:52Z")
I didn’t know that the four Gospels told mostly the same story in four different ways until I went to a retreat when I was 16. [QUOTE=Pocito] It was only after the Segway transit unit was introduced that I wondered why I had never actually seen the word in written form. I embarrassingly asked several people why that was, only to be informed that the segue\* word I’d been reading my whole life was the same thing. Gah! - pronounced seg-ooey, of course [/QUOTE] Even before the segway came out, my friend and I (who did know how _segue_ was pronounced) made mix tapes for each other that sometimes had a theme that connected two songs - we called this a _segueway_, since the _ue_ looks like it’s silent 🙂 We pronounced this “seg-way-way”. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/84 "2006-11-03T14:40:57Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Fight my ignorance. 🙂 [This is?](http://www.banana-tree.com/) [/QUOTE] \*\*thirdwarning \*\*is being a little pedantic here. In the same way tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables, and watermelons are berries but raspberries are not, the banana plant is not a tree. Instead of being made up of wood and bark, the main stem (what looks like a “trunk”) is made of tightly wrapped leaves. Newer leaves grow from the inner part, older leaves make up the “bark”. More neat information about [banana plants is available here.](http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1453046.htm) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/85 "2006-11-03T14:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] \*\*thirdwarning \*\*is being a little pedantic here. [/QUOTE] Thanks, WhyNot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/86 "2006-11-03T15:25:28Z")
[QUOTE=Black Train Song] It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. [/QUOTE] Seriously! Get out! I’m going to have to go out to my car and see if this is true!! I am learning so much today…that pineapples don’t grow on palm trees…calico cats are always girls… But I’m still mixed up about the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Why wouldn’t I want him? I thought he was good? ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/87 "2006-11-03T15:37:12Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that you could run more than one software program at a time under MS Windows. I used to close each program before starting up a new one. [/QUOTE] That reminds me of when I discovered that I could open more than one Internet Explorer window and look at more than one website at a time! Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/88 "2006-11-03T15:37:42Z")
[QUOTE=Lillith Fair] But I’m still mixed up about the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Why wouldn’t I want him? I thought he was good? [/QUOTE] It’s “want” as in “War on Want”. In other words “I shall not lack anything”. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/89 "2006-11-03T15:59:17Z")
[QUOTE=Black Train Song] It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. [/QUOTE] Do they only do that in rentals? I checked. My car doesn’t have one. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/90 "2006-11-03T16:00:17Z")
[QUOTE=Black Train Song] It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. [/QUOTE] Mother fucker!! I used to travel extensively for work and I have literally rented hundreds of cars. Every time I would try to remind myself to look at where the gas fill side is and not a single time did I remember to do it. It was always a guessing game on the way to the airport. That ruined my whole morning. Fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/91 "2006-11-03T16:23:36Z")
I habitually pronounce segue as ‘Seg’, and used to spell ‘segway’ segue-way. When I finally figured out that segue was ‘segway’ - in my second year of university! - I managed to stop spelling it segue-way (and, thankfully, I don’t think I ever spelled it that way in anything anyone else ever read - I just used the ‘short’ form. \<\_\< ), but I still SAY ‘Seg’. (Also used ‘all intensive purposes’ until I was 14 and gave it a little thought. Always knew pineapples didn’t grow on trees, although I didn’t know just what the plant looked like.) ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/92 "2006-11-03T16:32:35Z")
[QUOTE=Black Train Song] It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. [/QUOTE] :eek: Really? I GOTTA check this out. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/93 "2006-11-03T16:44:41Z")
I didn’t realize one of my co-workers … no, let me take that back – someone in my workgroup, of whom I’m the supervisor – was pregnant. I thought she _was_ putting on some weight, but I didn’t like to say anything. It wasn’t until she began passing around the ultrasound photos that I got clued in. Turns out she was rather surprised herself by the occurance, and kept pretty tight-lipped about it, but man, I’m dense! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/94 "2006-11-03T17:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=Black Train Song] It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. [/QUOTE] I feel the same way as the others in this thread. WOW! I’ll have to go check this out. I rent cars a few times a year, too. Thank you!!! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/95 "2006-11-03T17:11:50Z")
[QUOTE=Black Train Song] It took my wife to point out to me (in a rental car) that the little picture of the gas pump in the instrument panel also has an arrow next to it indicating which side of the car the gas fill thingy is on. Who knew? …everyone but me. [/QUOTE] Heh. Until I found this out, I used to just pull the lever to pop the fuel door, then look for it in the left and right rear view mirrors. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/96 "2006-11-03T20:18:21Z")
I’m another ‘amazed by the pineapple revelation’ person. I just learned that Israel is in Asia. (from these boards) I just realized that I’ve mixed up William Styron and Thomas Tyron for years. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/97 "2006-11-03T20:46:12Z")
I’ve never seen ‘The Sopranos’. I’ve only heard the hype. It took me a season or two before I realized it wasn’t about the lives of some opera singers. You’d never guess that, offstage, they were such a ruthless bunch, would you? I’ve known for quite some time the proper pronunciation of ‘segue’ but in my mind it will always be ‘seeg.’ [QUOTE=levdrakon] I embarrassed myself in college by not knowing there was a difference between flagellation and flatulation. Imagine sitting in biology class and talking about how some micro-organisms move via flatulation. [/QUOTE] Imagine being told that your class was going to participate in a mock trial and you exclaiming that you want to be the prostituting attorney. My friend did that. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/98 "2006-11-03T20:49:49Z")
[QUOTE=Pocito] It was only after the Segway transit unit was introduced that I wondered why I had never actually seen the word in written form. I embarrassingly asked several people why that was, only to be informed that the segue\* word I’d been reading my whole life was the same thing. Gah! - pronounced seg-ooey, of course [/QUOTE] Oh my god. No, that can’t be. I must be misinterpreting your post. No way. - checks dictionary \* DAMNIT! Well, I’ve got **Tengu** beat - I’m now in my _third_ year of college. Although I’ve been going around pronouncing it ‘seeg’. Stupid Europeans…let’s not even talk about hors d’oeuvres, okay? Whore’s doovers. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/99 "2006-11-03T20:51:00Z")
Don’t worry too much about not noticing the fuel gauge arrow. They’ve only done that the last few years. I just checked my car and my department chairs…both 2000s and neither has the arrow, but my mother’s 2003 does. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/100 "2006-11-03T20:51:16Z")
[QUOTE=Tikki] I’ve never seen ‘The Sopranos’. I’ve only heard the hype. It took me a season or two before I realized it wasn’t about the lives of some opera singers. You’d never guess that, offstage, they were such a ruthless bunch, would you? [/QUOTE] Don’t even ask me what I thought the series ‘Oz’ was about. How did I know they call Australia ‘Oz’? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785.md?page=6)