# Things you didn't know but everyone else did **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673 "2003-02-12T21:55:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/221 "2003-03-08T04:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Psycho Pirate \* > \*\* I also stink at deciphering song lyrics. Examples? Sure. > Theme from the Jeffersons. > “Now we’re up in the big leagues. Kiss my burnin’ fat.” > \*\* 😃 I’ve got one too, but a different line. In my defense, “The Jeffersons” went off the air when I was eight, so this was a misconception I held in first or second grade. So, the Jeffersons are black, right? As is one of the characters in “The Facts of Life”. I knew that both shows had been on for years by the time I was old enough to watch tv, and I was beginning to grasp the concept of a spin-off. Therefore, it made perfect sense to me that the line was " Movin’ on up, Tootie’s gone." Yep, she must have been on the show before leaving to go to the school. 😛 Now, I don’t know if _everyone_ knows this, but I had a mystery solved just a few days ago. There’s this new band called **Zwan** who’s been on the radio lately with their song “honestly.” I don’t really care for the song, and every time I heard it, I thought to myself " Boy, they really sound like The Smashing Pumpkins would if everyone in the band took mood stablizers." A few days ago I played some videos from AOL, and I developed a suspicion as I looked at the name before clicking on the video…So I’m the only one who didn’t know that Billy Corgan started a new band, right? Then there’s the fact that it took until two and a half years ago for me to realize that food can be re-heated in an oven. I’d grown up believing that ovens were only for cooking, and that if you needed to reheat something, you needed a microwave. Which is why in the old B&W shows, made before microwaves were invented, the mothers would freak out if dinner got cold… ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/222 "2003-03-08T19:22:27Z")
what a smoking gun is what wag is what dubya is ( I think its george bush) and why ppl were saying pie in some threads I havent done a search to learn what those other things were… but i did ask in lj what pie was. ---
**Author:** ![mishaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@mishaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mishaa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/223 "2003-03-08T20:02:40Z")
I still don’t know what the pie reference is… ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/224 "2003-03-08T21:29:18Z")
This is embarrassing… I just found out a few days ago that 2% milk is milk with 2% fat. I thought it was water with 2% milk in it. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/225 "2003-03-08T21:38:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mishaa \* > \*\*I still don’t know what the pie reference is… \*\* I’m not sure either…people generally use it when responding to trolls. “When come back bring pie” is the line, I believe. Of course, you can’t search on pie because it’s only three letters… ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/226 "2003-03-09T05:45:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunspace \* > \*\*OEM stands for ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer’. When Company A buys Company B’s pretty-much-finished-but-unbranded product and further customizes it then puts the Company-A name on it, Company A is said to be buying an OEM version of Company B’s product. \*\* Um…yes and no. OEM _does_ stand for Original Equipment Manufacturer, but the process you’re describing is actually called Private Labelling. Sometimes Private Branding (cattle are not involved ;)). OEM is generally used in conjunction with “parts” (OEM parts), as in “Be sure the auto mechanic uses OEM parts”. The idea being that OEM parts are better quality than “aftermarket” parts. Sorry if this has already been addressed. I haven’t finished reading the thread, but I knew I’d never find my way back to it if I didn’t do it, now. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/227 "2003-03-09T05:49:17Z")
pie: [http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm](http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/228 "2003-03-09T06:35:15Z")
Okay. I have to get these off my chest, even if the OPs never see them. For the guy who thought Exit Only signs meant you couldn’t get back on the highway if you got off at that exit…you were right, until you changed your opinion. That’s exactly what they mean, at least around here. For the woman(?) who didn’t know _Ocean’s Eleven_ was a remake…don’t take any crap from your mother about it, because the remake is nothing like the original, as she claims. For **garius** (sp?..sorry, it was pages ago) and the iceberg…hysterical! Beautifully written! And, don’t feel badly. My GF probably knows less than you, about cooking. Also, the friend who drank the straight cordial mix, after ragging you about it…also hysterical. For the woman whose bf wanted an awl (or, whatever he said) to baste the turkey with…yes, the tapered tube thingie with the rubber bulb on the end _is_ called a baster. Mine? Let’s see. I still don’t know how to do a spoiler. I don’t know what FOAK stands for. Even the acronym dictionary I checked didn’t have that one. I always thought oxygen _was_ extremely flammable, until…umm…I think it was yesterday, when I ran across a related thread in GQ. That’s particularly embarassing for a science major. Somehow, I managed to avoid ever learning that. I blame Walter Cronkite for that one. I can still hear him talking about how Apollo 1 burned so badly due to the high oxygen content inside capsule. I guess I’ve misunderstood that one all my life. It came as quite a shock. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t want to be a chemist. Well, I’m old; that was a long time ago. Maybe they’ve improved oxygen’s flame retardancy since I was in school. No? Damn! I feel like _I’m_ the one with retardancy issues. Oh! And, a former MIL misheard the Huey Lewis and the News song lyric as “…I want a new truck…” I’ll also throw in a plug for _Shanghai Noon_, since it was mentioned several times, but no one seems to have seen it. It’s a great movie, even if you don’t think you like kung fu/martial arts movies. It’s hysterically funny. ---
**Author:** ![AfterAugust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AfterAugust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AfterAugust)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/229 "2003-03-09T07:14:31Z")
Until I was 10 years old, I thought “Pedestrian” was a religion. Everytime I saw signs that read “Pedestrians Only” and “No Pedestrians beyond this point,” and the like - it always seemed so unfair. For whatever reason, I didn’t say anything about my confusion to anyone, and because of this, I started to get a little paranoid. I’d walk with my family or friends into an area with a “Pedestrians Only” sign and get nervous…I mean, I wasn’t Pedestrian…I never went to church. God, I was stupid. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/230 "2003-03-09T13:01:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rowrrbazzle \* > \*\*pie: [http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm](http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm) \*\* That was…interesting. I’m assuming pie=wanker? ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/231 "2003-03-09T14:03:20Z")
When I was a kid and I first learned about the difference between boys and girls I was shown a cross-section diagram of the female anatomy (showing the urethra, vagina and anus). I was confused about how people had babies because there were 3 tubes so close together - how would the guy know which one is the right one to make babies. :eek: A few years later I figured it out, but not from first-hand experience. ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/232 "2003-03-09T14:05:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ca3799 \* > \*\*I though “Ibid” was some fabulous book that had everything I needed to know in it. \*\* What’s an “Ibid”? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/233 "2003-03-09T15:49:58Z")
Ibid is Latin. I’m not sure what the exact translation is, but it means the information came from the same source as the previously cited informatin. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/234 "2003-03-09T16:08:46Z")
It’s short for ibidem, the same. You use it in this manner in scientific footnotes: 1. O O’Neill, Bounds of Justice, Oxford 2002, p. 15 2. _Ibid._, p. 13 Hilarious mistake, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/235 "2003-03-09T16:29:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ivylass \* > \*\*That was…interesting. > > I’m assuming pie=wanker? \*\* I believe that wanker means masturbator. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/236 "2003-03-09T16:59:37Z")
I checked the pie URL (Earl!) and still don’t get it. I guess you had to be there at the time. That, or my humor muscles are overworked after reading through this thread. ---
**Author:** ![EhhMon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@EhhMon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EhhMon)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/237 "2003-03-15T13:02:08Z")
I work for the Navy as a civilian, no one ever told me that there was a military phonetic alphabet. I talk with military personnel from other commands on a daily basis and before ending the conversation via the telephone we signed off with our initials. My initials are RA. So I always ended the conversation with something different like “Red Arrows”, “Raging Armpits”, “Rolling Aardvarks”…you get the gist…the guys on the other end would pause for a minute and would come back with the correct military phonetic alphabet. For two year I did this and I was running out of things starting with “R” and “A” to say. But imagine my surprise when I watched “Private Ryan”…yeah, Hull-Oh!!! And here I was thinking these people on the other lines had no imagination. After that realization, I’ve been “Romeo Alpha”, ever since. I’ve been here almost 5 years, the first two years I’d die to go back and redo…those gasps and smirks on the other end weren’t in amusement at the kewl names i was coming up with, those guys were laughing AT me.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![sonicsink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@sonicsink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sonicsink)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/238 "2003-03-15T19:16:53Z")
Until I was about 12 yrs old, at a guy friends house and put it on my face asking if it was some kind of doctors mask, I had no idea what a jock strap was,did or went. I also thought it was pretty strange that Madonna kept telling everyone what she prefered for breakfast…“oo I’m a cheerio girl”(material girl duh!) I also had no idea until I was about 17 that its the fumes of gasoline that are flamable and not the liquid. ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/239 "2003-03-15T19:54:40Z")
Just a couple of days ago I learned that the higher the thread count, the softer the sheets. Anytime I would shop for sheets, I would wonder what the big deal was about thread count. Dutch oven - I thought it was some brand name of oven like Whirlpool, GE, or Kenmore. ---
**Author:** ![lurker\_anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@lurker\_anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurker_anonymous)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673/240 "2003-03-15T23:49:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Soup\_du\_jour \* > \*\*Perhaps I’ve said this before somewhere else. > > I just learned about a year ago that Elton John is gay. I guess it was just one of those things that everyone assumes everyone else knows, but nobody tells anyone else. \*\* i guess i got hip around the the time “the b\*tch is back” came out (G) (no pun intended) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-but-everyone-else-did/154673.md?page=13)