# Things you are shocked people don't know **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 19, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348 "2016-09-19T14:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/261 "2016-09-28T16:44:39Z")
I’m gonna be disgusted at myself: For the life of me – and no matter how many times I’ve looked it up over the years – I cannot accurately guesstimate what the metric system equals in the Americcun sistem. When I was in third/fourth grade the big push was to teach kids the metric system because the change was\* imminent\* (1970s). Well, it didn’t happen and around fifth grade we were back to feet, yards, miles, quarts, gallons . . . 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/262 "2016-09-28T16:58:50Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Fair call, but I think anyone dumb enough to stick their hand into the spinning blade shouldn’t be operating any equipment more complicated or powerful than a plastic tricycle:D Like a toddler for example? [Or in case an FBI agent is fighting a drug dealer near you while you’re mowing the lawn?](https://vimeo.com/36457378) The safety bar is there so you can’t leave the lawnmower running unattended, lose control of it or otherwise need to stop the blade quickly. Also to prevent it from accidently starting or even just doing something dumb like putting your hand into the guard to clear an obstruction while the engine’s running. ---
**Author:** ![PrimalEnvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85f322/32.png) [@PrimalEnvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrimalEnvy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/263 "2016-09-28T17:49:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > But can they name the capital of Newfoundland? Because that might help. Yeah. As soon as you ask them what the capital of Newfoundland is, the answer to the first question hits them. It’s really a kind of ‘gotcha’ thing, except they actually do not recognize that the capital of Labrador is St. John’s. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/264 "2016-09-28T19:25:03Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > I will admit, however, that I have defeated the kill switch on my current mower. At one time, the cable that controlled the switch rusted away (probably something to do with how it has been stored), so I had it rigged to be always on; you had to pull the spark plug cable to get it to stop (not bad, once you learn to make sure you are not touching any metal when you pull it). But, when the throttle cable also rusted, I bought two new cables so it runs like it is supposed to, now. When I need to run mine out of gas at the end of the season, I just put a cable tie around the safety bar and handle so it stays running and I can go do other things until it runs out of gas. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/265 "2016-09-28T19:50:54Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > For the life of me – and no matter how many times I’ve looked it up over the years – I cannot accurately guesstimate what the metric system equals in the Americcun sistem. It’s not exact, but a rule of thumb I use for converting kilometers to miles is to divide by 2, then add 10% of the original number. For example, 100 kilometers divided by 2 is 50, then plus 10% or 10 equals 60 miles. In fact, it’s more like 62 and some change, but close enough for government work. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/266 "2016-09-28T20:01:37Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Simple things like, you don’t need your ID to vote … You do in NC, because of our 0.0007% voter fraud. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/267 "2016-09-28T20:06:25Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I did some more research, and found that not all of them contain abrasives now, and they are beginning to use OxiClean type compounds in place of chlorine bleach. But I still think these factors are the main reasons why some objects are labeled as not dishwasher safe. Not necessarily. There are many items that the hot water, and worse, hot drying, will destroy without any help from harsh detergent. Putting a wooden spoon, cutting board or wooden handled knife through a dishwasher, even with no soap, will destroy it in no time. Also putting good kitchen knives in the dishwasher can really shorten their lives. In this case it is a purely physical damage. You put all the utensils together and then the high pressure spray rattles then against each other for 30 minutes to an hour at a time. After a few treatments of this a knife can be practically beyond repair. It takes a serious resharpening and not just a few strokes with a steel. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/268 "2016-09-28T20:20:24Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Fair call, but I think anyone dumb enough to stick their hand into the spinning blade shouldn’t be operating any equipment more complicated or powerful than a plastic tricycle:D I’ve come close to being mutilated by my mower: mowing on a slope, I have slipped, and the mower could’ve (but never did) run over my foot. With the safety bar, the blade would stop and I’d be bruised, but whole (if the mower hit me, which it never did–slipping only gave me a slightly twisted ankle). With a spinning blade, there would be blood on the outside of me. I prefer my blood to be inside. There have also been mowers with plastic blades, but they apparently didn’t work too well, or else they’d have caught on. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/269 "2016-09-28T20:22:43Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > Putting a wooden spoon, cutting board or wooden handled knife through a dishwasher, even with no soap, will destroy it in no time. I have been doing all of these things all of my adult life, and never noticed any problems. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/270 "2016-09-28T21:13:16Z")
I took a minor poll and was truly amazed at the number of people who didn’t know that flour was ground grain, most often wheat. They had no clue as to the origin. How could you not know that? StG ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/271 "2016-09-28T22:23:53Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > You dont have to register guns? 😕😕 With only a very few states as an exception, no. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/272 "2016-09-28T22:30:36Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s not exact, but a rule of thumb I use for converting kilometers to miles is to divide by 2, then add 10% of the original number. For example, 100 kilometers divided by 2 is 50, then plus 10% or 10 equals 60 miles. In fact, it’s more like 62 and some change, but close enough for government work. Don’t over-complicate things; just multiply kilometers by 0.6. It’s completely accurate enough for everyday use. ETA: And for temperature, just double Celsius and add 30 to get Fahrenheit. (20 C = 70 F) Again, completely fine for weather temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/273 "2016-09-28T22:59:55Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Don’t over-complicate things; just multiply kilometers by 0.6. It’s completely accurate enough for everyday use. Well, that’s the same thing, of course. But some people find it easier to divide by two and add 10%. That’s the mental math I would do, myself. Back when the standard of tipping was 15%, I’d do something similar: move the decimal place over one space, and add half of that number to it. If it’s easier for you to multiply something by 0.6 in your head, great! Do that. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/274 "2016-09-28T23:24:44Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > How can one tell what is and what is not…I learned very little grammar I guess while I was in school. I was good at spelling for a time but hyphens were not something I learned! My rule of thumb: In “college-educated person”, the “educated” describes the person, but “college” modifies “educated” – not the person directly. So it is hyphenated. Contrast “smelly educated person”. Both “smelly” and “educated” modify “person” directly, so no hyphen. I.e. a “smelly educated person” is an “educated person” who is also a “smelly person”. But a “college-educated person” is not an “educated person” who is also a “college person”. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/275 "2016-09-28T23:34:10Z")
That deleting a file is not enough. Even re-formatting isn’t always enough. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/276 "2016-09-28T23:34:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, that’s the same thing, of course. But some people find it easier to divide by two and add 10%. That’s the mental math I would do, myself. Back when the standard of tipping was 15%, I’d do something similar: move the decimal place over one space, and add half of that number to it. If it’s easier for you to multiply something by 0.6 in your head, great! Do that. Some people find it easier to divide by two and add 10%? Really? Sure, our brains don’t all work the same way, and I certainly can use that method (like you, I have for tips), but multiplying by point six is like a no-brainer; you multiply by 6, and (obviously) shift the decimal point. What could be easier than that? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/277 "2016-09-28T23:37:02Z")
Donald Trump is married to a woman who lived the first 23yrs of her life as a Communist, as an ideological enemy of the United States. Now he wants us to make her our First Lady. (Dropped this bomb on an old couple, talking politics. Closed with “makes being a mere Democrat as American as apple pies and ice cream”) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/278 "2016-09-29T00:58:36Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Some of us, to manage navigating, have to turn the map around at need, to match the direction of travel. Regarded with great contempt by the truly adept map-practitioners… > [@panache45](#): > > Not “contempt” at all, but surprise that some people need to do this. I’m puzzled by this. It is elementary standard practice in navigation to orient the map so that north on the map points north, with the map is held horizontally. In other words, so that right/left on the map is oriented to right/left on the ground. The fact that (on a printed map) text may not be upright is of little consequence relative to the fact that landmarks may be identified in their natural positions without constant mental rotation. I can understand that many people do not orient their maps to the ground when driving, because the “landmarks” are usually just intersections, and the mental rotation is not difficult; keeping the text upright may be more important. But it’s certainly not true that “truly adept map-practitioners” fail to orient their maps to the ground. Any trained pilot or experienced cross-country hiker will always orient his map to the ground through force of (good) habit. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/279 "2016-09-29T02:56:14Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > A quick question for Stui. \*\* Do your mowers have a brake on the flywheel that stops the blade within a second or two of stopping the motor? \*\*In the US, the requirement (IIRC) is that the blade stop within two seconds of the operator releasing the handle. Most manufacturers use a combination of a kill switch and flywheel brake to meet this requirement. There are some models that use a clutch between the motor and blade to achieve the same result. > > But, you’re right; it is annoying as hell. I figure it’s just the nanny state forcing citizens to learn how to not let the little things bother you. Not that I’ve noticed. They seem to stop spinning pretty quickly once the motors off but I wouldn’t think they’d meet the 2 second rule. You basically down throttle to below idle to turn it off and the motor conks. Takes a few seconds to conk then a few more for the blades to come to a halt. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348/280 "2016-09-29T06:27:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Some people find it easier to divide by two and add 10%? Really? Sure, our brains don’t all work the same way, and I certainly can use that method (like you, I have for tips), but multiplying by point six is like a no-brainer; you multiply by 6, and (obviously) shift the decimal point. What could be easier than that? Dividing by two and adding 10%. It’s easier mental math than multiplying by .6. That’s how I do mental calculations, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-are-shocked-people-dont-know/766348.md?page=15)