# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/101 "2006-11-03T21:06:26Z")
Or, **Tikki** , imagine you are a reporter and are sent out to do a story on a proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting the _defecation_ of the American flag. It happened where I work. Thank god for editing. Thank god I wasn’t there when she was asking these people what they thought about the defecation of the flag! ---
**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, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/102 "2006-11-03T21:11:20Z")
Up until last year I didn’t realize that the name of the band _Lipps, Inc._ was a pun. (Yeah, I expect to get a few :smack: s with that post.) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/103 "2006-11-03T21:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Up until last year I didn’t realize that the name of the band _Lipps, Inc._ was a pun. (Yeah, I expect to get a few :smack: s with that post.) [/QUOTE] I didn’t realize until i read your post. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/104 "2006-11-03T21:14:34Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] I didn’t realize until i read your post. [/QUOTE] ditto ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/105 "2006-11-03T21:20:12Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] Okay, now that’s funny. I keep getting a mental image of an amoeba being like a balloon that swells up then zips around when the air is released. [/QUOTE] I was also confusing the term _self-flagellate_ with _self-flatulate_. So if one of my friends were beating themselves up over something I’d offer them the sage advice; “Oh for heaven’s sake, there was nothing you could do. Don’t self-flatulate yourself!” ---
**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, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/106 "2006-11-03T21:39:31Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] I didn’t realize until i read your post. [/QUOTE] Same here…it’s a pretty clever name, innit? ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/107 "2006-11-04T00:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=Rock n Roach] I thought tome was pronounced as two syllables with the second syllable having a long “A” sound. [/QUOTE] There is an area ~20 mi. south of Albuquerque with that name, and the locals pronounce it as you do. (did) It is marked by a prominant hill in an otherwise flat (Rio Grande flood plain) area, known as Tome (TOE-may) Hill. I think Tome may be one of the spanish land grant communities, but not really sure. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/108 "2006-11-04T00:27:57Z")
[QUOTE=bigbabysweets2000] Paramedic is a higher certification. I guess it doesn’t make a huge difference to the person having chest pains, or the body being scraped off the rode whether you’re certified as a paramedic or just an EMT. But apparently it’s a big distintion to those who are in the field. [/QUOTE] It would make a big difference to you if you were the one having chest pains. (YMMV the quailifcations and training may vary from state to state so all the following is from NJ specifically). EMTs are what is called BLS, basic life support. Paramedics are ALS, advanced life support. EMTs are trained in first aid and CPR/AED. Paramedics intubate, they run IVs, there is a whole bunch of meds they can push on their own and a bunch more they get an OK from a doctor via phone. There is a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/109 "2006-11-04T00:34:11Z")
[QUOTE=malkavia] I was in my early twenties when I realized that no one is ever “towing the line”. I could never figure out \*why \* you would tow a line and to where it would be towed. :smack: [/QUOTE] Tow the line to me means work together. Essentially “pull together”. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/110 "2006-11-04T01:37:48Z")
Thanks to the people who clarified the banana question. I don’t get here often enough to keep up. I learned that from the sign at the botanical gardens. Looks like a tree to me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/edb3f5/32.png) [@Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Push_Up_Bra)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/111 "2006-11-04T01:39:36Z")
I’m still wondering how I should pronounce ‘plaid’ (plaahed?) but just wanted to chip in about the ‘segue’ thing. I’ve been saying it was ‘say-g’ in my head and still am. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/112 "2006-11-04T01:41:02Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Push Up Bra] I’m still wondering how I should pronounce ‘plaid’ (plaahed?) but just wanted to chip in about the ‘segue’ thing. I’ve been saying it was ‘say-g’ in my head and still am. :smack: [/QUOTE] ‘plad’. Like glad, sad, fad, bad, etc. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/113 "2006-11-04T01:49:00Z")
[QUOTE=thirdwarning] Thanks to the people who clarified the banana question. I don’t get here often enough to keep up. I learned that from the sign at the botanical gardens. Looks like a tree to me. [/QUOTE] Anything that looks like a tree can be called a tree. I have a ‘tree fern’ growing outside my front door. Wisteria vines can be groomed into a tree. Roses, fuschias, they can be pruned into “trees.” Pomegranates I believe are technically a shrub but I’ve only ever seen them growing in a tree form. Just as long as you know it’s a banana _plant_, it’s okay. I have a neighbor who has her lemon trees pruned into lemon _bushes_, forming a lemon _hedge_. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/114 "2006-11-04T01:51:25Z")
\*Originally Posted by Ludovic Up until last year I didn’t realize that the name of the band Lipps, Inc. was a pun. (Yeah, I expect to get a few s with that post.) I didn’t realize until i read your post.\* Um. Count me three. I heard it as “lips, incorporated” in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/115 "2006-11-04T01:59:33Z")
[QUOTE=LilyoftheValley] Until about a month ago, I had no clue that Joyce Kilmer was male. [/QUOTE] :smack: :: hides bachelor’s degree in literature in case university officials show up to repossess it in shame :: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/116 "2006-11-04T02:15:08Z")
Okay, my prediction that others had also missed the pun came true, giving me m@d p5ych1c skillz! Unfortunately, it seems that everyone but me knew that the title of this thread was “things _everybody_ knew but you” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/117 "2006-11-04T02:43:38Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] Tow the line to me means work together. Essentially “pull together”. [/QUOTE] Wait, isn’t it “toe the line”, like what old school boxers had to do (think Far and Away)??? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/118 "2006-11-04T03:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] :smack: :: hides bachelor’s degree in literature in case university officials show up to repossess it in shame :: [/QUOTE] If you came from around where I grew up you would be much more likely to know Joyce Kilmer was a male. Lots of [things](http://www.skylighters.org/places/ckpamph.html) are named for him in the area. SGT Joyce Kilmer was killed in WWI while a member of the famed 69th Infantry where he served with [Father Duffy](http://www.sixtyninth.net/duffy.html) and [Wild Bill Donovan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan) . You can also see him portrayed in the James Cagney movie _The Fighting 69th_. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/119 "2006-11-04T04:04:35Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] It would make a big difference to you if you were the one having chest pains. (YMMV the quailifcations and training may vary from state to state so all the following is from NJ specifically). EMTs are what is called BLS, basic life support. Paramedics are ALS, advanced life support. EMTs are trained in first aid and CPR/AED. Paramedics intubate, they run IVs, there is a whole bunch of meds they can push on their own and a bunch more they get an OK from a doctor via phone. There is a big difference. [/QUOTE] Like I said, I had no idea there was a difference until recently… and it seems to be a very big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785/120 "2006-11-04T10:10:00Z")
[QUOTE=postcards] Until two years ago, I thought the ‘No Child Left Behind’ act had to do with school bus drivers checking their vehicles for sleeping kids at the end of the route. I swear, I really thought this. [/QUOTE] Wow, you must have been really confused about why it seemed so controversial! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-knew-but-you/378785.md?page=7)