# Things everyone should know about but probably don't. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 17, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150 "2012-05-17T00:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Patience\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@Patience\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patience_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/21 "2012-05-17T15:44:41Z")
The time zone of the person you’re trying to call. ---
**Author:** ![Brewah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/53a042/32.png) [@Brewah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brewah)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/22 "2012-05-17T15:48:38Z")
How to merge into traffic; and maintain proper distance. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/23 "2012-05-17T15:49:23Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Get some jalepenos on your hands, handle your private bits for a while, then report back. Oh, I see. I read it wrong. I thought that it said to wash your hands before handling jalapenos. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/24 "2012-05-17T15:49:52Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Get some jalepenos on your hands, handle your private bits for a while, then report back. No jalapenos here, but I’ve been handling my private bits for a good while now, and I’ve come to report complete success. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/25 "2012-05-17T16:55:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No jalapenos here, but I’ve been handling my private bits for a good while now, and I’ve come to report complete success. Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/26 "2012-05-17T18:05:34Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > Wash your hands after using the restroom. Unless you’re eating jalapenos. Then wash your hands **before** and after. To save the poor hamsters, here’s the thread: [Goddammit holy shit a jalapeño burned my dick - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563468) ---
**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:** [May 17, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/27 "2012-05-17T20:23:27Z")
People should know how to properly budget their money and put away savings. For that matter, they should know how to tell the difference between what they want and what they need. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/28 "2012-05-17T20:31:38Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Gray does \*not \*go with beige. I don’t care if they are both “neutrals.” Hey, it works for the Rebellion. Throw in some black and you’re solid. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/29 "2012-05-17T21:37:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Boiled eggs should be cracked at the little end. Of course you know, this means war. 😉 Echoing the ‘changing a tire’ above. Motor clubs and all that are fine, but in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to do it yourself. My daughter and several friends were on their first after high school trip and went to Chicago by themselves. On the way home, they had a flat. My daughter changed it with the spare, since none of them had AAA or anything. The other girls were amazed. “How did you know how to do that?!?!” She answered by asking “How do you not?” That’s my girl. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/30 "2012-05-18T03:06:54Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > Looking after old people isn’t some fulfilling, rewarding pastime. I disagree. I looked after my Uncle Max (He was in his nineties and had Parkinson’s) for years. He was a great short order cook. He was full of interesting stories of how the world used to be.\* I always advise people to get to know their elderly relatives. He love women, Jack and coke, and neapolitan ice cream. I currently work part time as a home health aide to another man with Parkinsons. He’s a former English professor and fascinating to talk to. - Seriously, I was always after him to record his stories on a dictaphone I gave him. Sadly, he never did. I once asked him what was the first film he saw in a theater. He replied that he did not recall. But, he did remember that the ticket was a nickel. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/31 "2012-05-18T03:11:54Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > - Seriously, I was always after him to record his stories on a dictaphone I gave him. Sadly, he never did. I once asked him what was the first film he saw in a theater. He replied that he did not recall. But, he did remember that the ticket was a nickel. Everything used to cost a nickel. A ticket, a car, a house, all were 5 cents. It was the only unit of currency. Just ask an old person how much anything used to cost if you doubt me. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/32 "2012-05-18T03:16:54Z")
Government gets all the money it gives out from US, our taxes. It’s OUR money: “We, the people…”. Related: There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/33 "2012-05-18T03:16:55Z")
Everyone should know about the [law of averages fallacy.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_averages) Lately I’ve run into this way too many times. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/34 "2012-05-18T03:39:48Z")
Automobile cooling systems and Newton’s Laws. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/35 "2012-05-18T03:47:13Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Why should everyone know about atlatls? How many people use spears or darts these days? Atlatls are [back in fashion](http://www.gundogsupply.com/chuckit.html). ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/36 "2012-05-18T03:57:23Z")
Facebook is a fad. It may be a huge and overpowering fad, but it will fade away as everything else does. Telling someone you don’t have a FB page is like telling them you don’t have a SSN. Facebook is a website, not a mandatory part of human culture. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/37 "2012-05-18T03:59:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Everything used to cost a nickel. A ticket, a car, a house, all were 5 cents. It was the only unit of currency. Just ask an old person how much anything used to cost if you doubt me. A very old dude once told me about how, when he was 18, he could fill his gas tank and buy a ten pound bunch of bananas for some tiny sum. So, he would drive around all day eating bananas. Uh. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/38 "2012-05-18T04:24:21Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > You can give Benadryl to a Golden Retriever with an allergic reaction to a bee sting, just like you’d give to a human, and save a $200 ‘Emergency Vet’ bill… Make sure the dog weighs more than a child, otherwise give a “childrens” benadryl. Saved me (my bills) and my dogs twice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OldnCrinkly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@OldnCrinkly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldnCrinkly)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/39 "2012-05-18T04:26:57Z")
I think everybody should know how to swim. I’m surprised how many adults do not. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150/40 "2012-05-18T04:38:13Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > Echoing the ‘changing a tire’ above. Motor clubs and all that are fine, but in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to do it yourself. My daughter and several friends were on their first after high school trip and went to Chicago by themselves. On the way home, they had a flat. My daughter changed it with the spare, since none of them had AAA or anything. The other girls were amazed. “How did you know how to do that?!?!” She answered by asking “How do you not?” Even if you can change a tire, you need to also make sure that the spare is full of air. After a few years, it may not be. Learned that one the hard way. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-everyone-should-know-about-but-probably-dont/622150.md?page=3)