# Things that you didn't know and other people did
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 30, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270 "2016-09-30T06:07:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/1 "2016-09-30T06:07:31Z")
I had never even heard of the Marco Polo game until it was featured in an episode of The Sopranos. Even then I thought they made it up for the show as Tony was all about Italian heroes like Columbus.
To be fair we never swam in our family.
Dennis
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### Author:  [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/2 "2016-10-02T22:08:03Z")
I just learned about it in the last decade, I wasnt quite sure what it was, maybe still not? :smack::eek:
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/3 "2016-10-03T05:15:54Z")
We had to play it occasionally in swim class in high school, over 50 years ago. I still don’t understand it … something about a llama?
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/4 "2016-10-03T06:19:30Z")
A simple game, really. Similar to blind man’s buff in a swimming pool.
> [@](#):
>
> A player, designated It, closes his eyes for a set number of seconds while opposing players disperse in the pool. It, with eyes closed, then swims around the pool, attempting to tag the other players. It may detect the presence of others by feeling around with his limbs, or by sound, calling out “Marco!” The other players, regardless of their location, must respond, “Polo!” When the It player succeeds in tagging another player, the latter becomes It.
[http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/marco-polo](http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/marco-polo)
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/5 "2016-10-03T11:24:55Z")
I played Marco Polo all summer long in the 70s and early 80s and watched younger kids play it as a lifeguard in the late 80s and early 90s.
Common where I grew up.
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### Author:  [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/6 "2016-10-03T11:56:32Z")
Funny story about the compulsion one feels to reply “Polo!” when someone shouts “Marco!” (hint: Not a good compulsion to follow when hiding from police)
[http://blogs.herald.com/dave\_barrys\_blog/2007/11/we-cannot-belie.html](http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2007/11/we-cannot-belie.html)
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/7 "2016-10-03T12:04:51Z")
We played it all the time in the 80’s. And, come to think of it, there’s nothing about the game that requires a swimming pool. The only things the pool brings to the game are slower moving players, natural boundaries and no (less) obstacles.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/8 "2016-10-03T12:16:15Z")
And getting to yell “fish out of water” when someone cheats!!
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/9 "2016-10-03T12:25:30Z")
I never heard of the Marco Polo game either until well into adulthood.
Seems remarkably dumb.
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### Author:  [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/10 "2016-10-03T12:29:14Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> And getting to yell “fish out of water” when someone cheats!!
Oh yeah, well if you saw me get out of the water then it means you opened your eyes and we’re cheating too! Cheater cheater pumpkin eater!
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### Author:  [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/11 "2016-10-03T15:05:18Z")
> [@ftg](#):
>
> I never heard of the Marco Polo game either until well into adulthood.
>
> Seems remarkably dumb.
So do lots of kids games when seen through adult eyes. I mean, Duck, Duck, Goose:
[ul]
[li]Walk around a circle tapping people on the head saying Duck[/li][li]Eventually say goose instead of duck[/li][li]Be chased by the goose[/li][li]Goose chases It until either Goose catches It or It sits in Goose’s spot. If the former, It stays It, if the latter, Goose becomes It. [/li][/ul]
It seems ridiculous, but kids have fun with it. Same with Marco Polo.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/12 "2016-10-03T15:17:39Z")
All my life, I thought it was some sort of owl making the sound. Turns out it’s a [mourning dove.](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/sounds)
I played Marco Polo more than 45 years ago.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/13 "2016-10-03T16:22:46Z")
Am I the only person here who had to play Marco Polo naked?
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### Author:  [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/14 "2016-10-03T16:26:14Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> Am I the only person here who had to play Marco Polo naked?
HAD to, or GOT to?
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/15 "2016-10-03T16:27:30Z")
_Had_ to, or _wanted_ to?
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/16 "2016-10-03T16:29:54Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#):
>
> Funny story about the compulsion one feels to reply “Polo!” when someone shouts “Marco!” (hint: Not a good compulsion to follow when hiding from police)
>
> [http://blogs.herald.com/dave\_barrys\_blog/2007/11/we-cannot-belie.html](http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2007/11/we-cannot-belie.html)
On the contrary, this was a smart criminal. He saw that the policeman shouting “Marco” had his eyes open, so the case will be dismissed as a violation of his constitutional right to due process.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/17 "2016-10-03T18:10:09Z")
Couple things about transportation equipment I didn’t know untl I was pretty well along.
1. Air brakes are default-on and power-release.
2. Diesel locomotives are run by electric motors, with the electricity generated by the diesel engines.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/18 "2016-10-03T19:23:53Z")
I never heard of it as a kid growing up in the Bronx in the 1950s and 1960s. I was vaguely aware of it when I saw the Sopranos episode, but didn’t know how it was played until I saw the episode.
The games we played in the Bronx usually ended up with someone getting beat up at the end.🙂
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/19 "2016-10-03T19:47:53Z")
> [@Cardigan](#):
>
> Oh yeah, well if you saw me get out of the water then it means you opened your eyes and we’re cheating too! Cheater cheater pumpkin eater!
Only the “Marco” had his eyes closed. Us “Polos” had eyes open. We were the Marco Polo narcs. Some of us grew up to be message board moderators.
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### Author:  [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-didnt-know-and-other-people-did/767270/20 "2016-10-03T20:13:19Z")
I’d never heard of the Marco Polo game until I saw a “Family Circus” comic where the mom is rushing to the bathroom because the kids were playing it in the bathtub. I assumed it was a game with lots of splashing. I’ve never played it myself and I’m 43. I did see some people playing it in a hotel pool a couple months ago.
I never learned “left” and “right” as a kid. I figured that out myself.
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