# Things you assumed your kids knew **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803 "2014-12-21T04:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/101 "2014-12-24T03:11:20Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Cars today have sensors and gauges to measure all of that. I repeat, manually checking the oil in 2014 on a newish car is unnecessary. I just checked the oil, which I hardly ever do. It was running below the “low” position, and took 600ml to bring up to “mid”. The reason I checked the oil is because the power steering fluid was running on “empty”. The wife could hear the power steering pump wine/roar as it tried to maintain pressure. Neither of these conditions raised any kind or alarm or warning on my 2010 GMH. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/102 "2014-12-24T03:15:50Z")
> [@Ms\_Boods](#): > > Also magical where the students of everything from 1000 word essays through to the dreaded 10K extended essays have no idea that they’re already supposed to have a thesis and conclusion when they sit down to write. This simply doesn’t work for me. If I try and nail down a thesis and conclusion first, by the final draft it will be totally different. Often I’ll just come to the opposite conclusion and it will require effort to remove all references to my stupid presupposed conclusion and add in the new one. I find it much less effort to write the thesis and conclusion last. When I draft, I usually aim to overshoot the true length of my paper by about 20%. I do my research and write a paragraph for every piece of evidence I have, and explain which side I think it supports – whether it backs up my initial ideas or not. After I do all this writing, I **finally** have an idea about what I actually believe. Then I can start reorganizing paragraphs, cutting weak ones, and morphing others into counterargument/rebuttal sections. That’s when I add a thesis to my introduction, and do my conclusion. No matter how many times teachers tried to drill pre-writing techniques into me, they never stuck. Outlining, brainstorming, whatever. The problem is with history, English, philosophy, whatever, I never actually know what I believe until I’ve already spent a significant amount of time arguing for it. Whenever I sit down and really try pre-writing, then final product doesn’t even remotely resemble what I planned. I can’t deny that outlines and the like work extremely well on the very rare occasion that I’m writing about something I already have strong feelings about, but that almost never happens. Even academic argumentative writing is usually an exploratory exercise for me. ---
**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:** [December 24, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/103 "2014-12-24T03:31:16Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I just checked the oil, which I hardly ever do. It was running below the “low” position, and took 600ml to bring up to “mid”. > > The reason I checked the oil is because the power steering fluid was running on “empty”. The wife could hear the power steering pump wine/roar as it tried to maintain pressure. > > Neither of these conditions raised any kind or alarm or warning on my 2010 GMH. What’s a GMH? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/104 "2014-12-24T11:11:34Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s a GMH? General Motors Holden. Australian member of the conglomerate. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/105 "2014-12-24T12:24:47Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > My mother has a teaching degree and doesn’t know jack-shit about a lot of things. She has no concept of integral and differential calculus and clearly isn’t a model of a modern Major-General. But then, she doesn’t need to be. Yeah, but in my case I found out after answering “no! Teachers are all STUPID!” to “and what do you want to be when you grow up? Do you want to be a teacher?” Mom wasn’t pleased… ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/106 "2014-12-25T05:05:08Z")
When my girls were quite young- I guess about 12- I assumed they would know what a Swastika was. I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/107 "2014-12-25T07:04:20Z")
I remember my mother being stunned that she had to teach me how to make a photocopy. I was 10 or 11, where did she think I would have picked that skill up before then? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/108 "2014-12-27T00:14:09Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > How come an inability to do quick math, on-the-spot, completely blindsided, with (apparently) a judging customer staring at you wondering why you couldn’t just do the math instantly considered a sign of stupidity/shame in this generation? > > Some people are bad at math, deal with it. I used to work at McDonalds. I can clearly remember a customer berating me for not being able to count as I told him the cost of his order, never mind that the till did that for you anyway. I had to bite my lip so as to not say anything. At the time I was well into the second year of a Mathematics degree. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/109 "2014-12-29T00:51:28Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > no problem here. “Business attire” is thankfully becoming an anachronism. neckties are nooses, and the only reason we cling to them is because we feel we’re supposed to. Oh my brother, TESTIFY! ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/110 "2014-12-29T05:58:51Z")
Imagine what our grandparents thought when we didnt know how to hitch up a team of horses, use a crank telephone, or even how to kill and clean a chicken. We dont even know what “peck” or “2 bits” mean. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/111 "2014-12-29T17:13:01Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Imagine what our grandparents thought when we didnt know how to hitch up a team of horses, use a crank telephone, or even how to kill and clean a chicken. We dont even know what “peck” or “2 bits” mean. I might still be able to hitch a team of horses. I can still do the rest. Four pecks make a bushel, if you buy apples, etc by the bag, you are likely buying a half-peck. 2 bits = a quarter i.e. a US 25 cent piece. Comes from a old large Spanish silver “dollar” coin with was commonly cut into 1/4 or even 1/8 to make change. You have never heard the phrase "“Shave and a Haircut, two bits” with the characteristic knocking? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/112 "2014-12-29T19:58:54Z")
[Young People Don’t Know How To Fix Anything](https://www.yahoo.com/diy/young-people-dont-know-how-to-fix-anything-106523138575.html) > [@](#): > > Kids today. They don’t tinker or get their hands dirty when something breaks. They just toss it out and buy another disposable trinket to replace it. > > That’s the view of a leading engineering professor in England, at least, who warns that people under 40 are a “lost generation” when it comes to learning how everyday items work and how to fix them. > > \ > > And a commenter named Mark Lindsey is happy to point the finger. > > “Blame their lazy stupid parents for not making their little snowflakes change a tire, flip a circuit breaker or change a light bulb. Soccer never taught a kid how to figure out mechanical things,” he says. I could make some guesses about Mr. Lindsey based upon the perceived swipe at soccer. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/113 "2014-12-29T20:36:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Young People Don’t Know How To Fix Anything](https://www.yahoo.com/diy/young-people-dont-know-how-to-fix-anything-106523138575.html) I think there are two reasons for this: things aren’t as fixable as they used to be, and people today have more money than time. Household devices used to be mechanically and electrically simple. A toaster would have a few heating elements, a switch, a pop-up mechanism and a simple control for doneness. Now toasters are full of electronics that consumers don’t understand and that they can’t get parts for. The same is true of cars, TVs, stoves, telephones, music players. . . Also, over time people have become both busier and more prosperous than they used to be. Who would be more likely to try to repair a broken radio: a high-school student during the depression who doesn’t even think about getting into college, or a modern-day high-school student who can easily afford a new radio/phone/mp3 player/whatever and is busy with homework and extracurricular activities in order to get into college? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/114 "2014-12-29T22:47:13Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Imagine what our grandparents thought when we didnt know how to hitch up a team of horses, use a crank telephone, or even how to kill and clean a chicken. We dont even know what “peck” or “2 bits” mean. What’s a “horse”? Just kidding, but only a little. In 56 years I’ve probably touched one 3 times. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/115 "2014-12-29T22:54:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What’s a “horse”? You mean a ‘whorse’? [Spoiled for NSFW](http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Vaughn-Bode-Male-Landscape.jpg) And that’s another thing! Kids today haven’t heard of Vaughn Bode! . ---
**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:** [December 30, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/116 "2014-12-30T15:46:39Z")
My daughter is reading _Diary of a Young Girl_ by Anne Frank and was confused by the fact that they were in one country (The Netherlands) and could listen to the BBC. At first she was wondering why the Franks were bi-lingual and I said something along the lines of “Well, Europe has a lot of smaller countries, many of them with their own language, so it’s very common for Europeans to grow up knowing 2, 3, even more languages.” She still had problems with the concept so I showed her the following two images: [Texas](http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2012/11/16/17/enhanced-buzz-wide-28632-1353103917-7.jpg) (where we live) compared to Europe. [The UK](http://files.the-group.net/library/centrica/client_upload/Image/Texas_UK_resized.jpg) (where she has been before) and Texas. Her mother and she went on a trip to visit family, driving from San Antonio to Douglas, GA and back, and I showed her that the equivalent distance in Europe would have them going from Paris, France to a spot about 200 miles past Moscow, Russia. Her mind was completely blown. She just kind of assumed that all countries are big and you can drive for days in them, this despite having been to Greece, Italy, Turkey, and the UK. I had assumed that she knew that these countries were much smaller than the one she lived in, but apparently she never gave it any thought. I showed her [this](http://i.imgur.com/tapICdy.jpg) and [this](http://ntsj.com/euro_usa.jpg), and she literally thought I was making fun of her - “You just made those maps up, Daddy!” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/117 "2014-12-30T15:53:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I might still be able to hitch a team of horses. I can still do the rest. Four pecks make a bushel, if you buy apples, etc by the bag, you are likely buying a half-peck. > > 2 bits = a quarter i.e. a US 25 cent piece. Comes from a old large Spanish silver “dollar” coin with was commonly cut into 1/4 or even 1/8 to make change. You have never heard the phrase "“Shave and a Haircut, two bits” with the characteristic knocking? 😕 All phrase and the the knocking tells me is that two bits = 2. Since a haircut typically runs me $20, a kid could be forgiven for interpreting it as two bits = $2 or 2 × $5. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to do most of the practical Depression-era skills, though my mother (who was born in the 40s) could probably talk me through them. I can picture it now, the cell phone on speaker and an increasingly worried horse… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/118 "2014-12-30T16:06:30Z")
**JohnT** : I’ve wondered something for a while. Maybe you can ask your daughter. If you ask an American what foreign country or city will be the first one he gets to when flying directly east from Los Angeles, would most of them guess England or a country in Europe? (Casablanca, Morocco, Africa, is about half a degree lower in latitude than Los Angeles.) ---
**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:** [December 30, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/119 "2014-12-30T16:20:32Z")
Family Feud style (where you win points for guessing the _popular_ answer), I bet the largest # would answer “Mexico”. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803/120 "2014-12-30T16:22:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > My daughter is reading _Diary of a Young Girl_ by Anne Frank and was confused by the fact that they were in one country (The Netherlands) and could listen to the BBC. At first she was wondering why the Franks were bi-lingual and I said something along the lines of “Well, Europe has a lot of smaller countries, many of them with their own language, so it’s very common for Europeans to grow up knowing 2, 3, even more languages.” > > She still had problems with the concept… > > Her mother and she went on a trip to visit family, driving from San Antonio to Douglas, GA and back, and I showed her that the equivalent distance in Europe would have them going from Paris, France to a spot about 200 miles past Moscow, Russia. > > Her mind was completely blown. She just kind of assumed that all countries are big and you can drive for days in them, this despite having been to Greece, Italy, Turkey, and the UK. I had assumed that she knew that these countries were much smaller than the one she lived in, but apparently she never gave it any thought… This happens sometimes with European tourists in the US. Stories abound of tourists from E.g. the Netherlands or Belgium who expect to rent a car in NYC and take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Ain’t possible. It’s not just that it’s over a thousand miles of driving, it’s hundreds of miles of wilderness and desert driving. Bring water. I’m so seriously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-assumed-your-kids-knew/707803.md?page=7)