# Things you didn't know were real until you were an adult **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906 "2013-11-02T03:51:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/1 "2013-11-02T03:51:21Z")
Dopers are pretty smart, but things like a widespread belief in pineapple trees prove most of us still have things to learn. In this case I’m curious what sort of things you thought were made up until you were an adult. So, I’ll go first. Until last year I believed that police cruisers having red and blue lights instead of blue and white was just something that they did for TV and movies, like all phone numbers starting with 555. If not for someone complaining about a “mistake” in a Stephen King book when the author said that the cruiser had blue and white lights I probably still wouldn’t be aware that non-fire vehicles are allowed to have red lights in other places. Fess up, what did you think was fake that turned out not to be? ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/2 "2013-11-02T04:20:39Z")
I thought that lobotomies were a fictional invention. You know, scary movies and mad scientists. Someone, maybe it was my mom, mentioned that JFK had a sister that was lobotomized and suffered brain damage from it. I asked her twice, to make sure that she wasn’t kidding! It just sounded so outlandish to me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/3 "2013-11-02T06:21:52Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > I thought that lobotomies were a fictional invention. You know, scary movies and mad scientists. > > Someone, maybe it was my mom, mentioned that JFK had a sister that was lobotomized and suffered brain damage from it. I asked her twice, to make sure that she wasn’t kidding! It just sounded so outlandish to me. A lobotomy is nothing more or less than brain damage intentionally inflicted. It was believed to have positive effects. The fellow who invented it was given a Nobel prize. I never really understood how casually cruel people could be in thought and deed until I was an adult. Sure I knew first hand how shitty junior high school students were, and sure I had read about the Nazis. But the prejudice and hatred against the poor by people who are supposed to be respectable is really just horrifying, and it is so common to find. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/4 "2013-11-02T12:20:24Z")
For years I thought [Jews For Jesus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_for_jesus) was merely a Richard Belzer joke. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/5 "2013-11-02T13:00:50Z")
I thought in _Dr. Strangelove_ General Ripper’s theory about fluoridation was simply the zaniest thing Kubrick and Sellers could come up with. The first time I met a real fluoridation conspiracy theorist and I started quoting lines from the movie, suffice it to say we were both confused. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/6 "2013-11-02T16:20:58Z")
When I was 23 I visited California for the first time. I took a city bus to get from the Greyhound station to someone’s house. I looked up in the hills as the bus went down one street (the Hollywood Freeway, I guess, from checking a map just now). I was surprised to discover it was real. I had seen it in movies and TV shows, but I assumed it was some odd joke. Why would a city put up a huge sign with its name? ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/7 "2013-11-02T17:09:26Z")
All the people who believe in UFOs, ESP, ghosts, creationism, and other assorted nonsense. When I was a kid, I knew there were some people who believed in this stuff, but I thought it was just a few crackpots, like the flat earthers. It still amazes me. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/8 "2013-11-02T17:52:28Z")
I was surprised to learn that cheese was an actual flavor for souffles, and that “cheese souffle” wasn’t just a “gross cuisine” gag from TV and films. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/9 "2013-11-02T18:44:22Z")
Well, sexually, I didn’t realize that a certain 10-letter epithet represented an actual activity, until I was an adult. Literally, until I could legally see porn and saw people doing it. Needless to say, I was repressed and clueless as a teenager. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/10 "2013-11-02T18:48:39Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Well, sexually, I didn’t realize that a certain 10-letter epithet represented an actual activity, until I was an adult. Literally, until I could legally see porn and saw people doing it. > > Needless to say, I was repressed and clueless as a teenager. > Roddy 10 letter epithet? ---
**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:** [November 2, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/11 "2013-11-02T18:52:23Z")
> [@Longshanks](#): > > 10 letter epithet? cucksucker? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/12 "2013-11-02T19:08:31Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > cucksucker? I think you meant “cucksocker”. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/13 "2013-11-02T21:46:30Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I think you meant “cucksocker”. “corksoaker” ---
**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:** [November 2, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/14 "2013-11-02T22:04:09Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I think you meant “cucksocker”. fock. I can’t type ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/15 "2013-11-02T22:14:27Z")
I had always thought a “cheese” danish was disgusting, that the cheese was either cheddar or swiss, and had no business being in a sweet pastry. When I grew up, I learned about cheesecake and other sweet cheese creations. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/16 "2013-11-02T22:30:35Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > When I was 23 I visited California for the first time. I took a city bus to get from the Greyhound station to someone’s house. I looked up in the hills as the bus went down one street (the Hollywood Freeway, I guess, from checking a map just now). I was surprised to discover it was real. I had seen it in movies and TV shows, but I assumed it was some odd joke. **Why would a city put up a huge sign with its name?** It was originally an advertisement for the Hollywoodland housing development, but when it was being renovated, the city of Hollywood had them take off the “land” part. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/17 "2013-11-02T22:35:32Z")
Yeah, I know: > **[Hollywood Sign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Sign)** > > The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling out the word “HOLLYWOOD” in 50-foot-tall (15.2 m) white uppercase letters and 450 feet (137.2 m) long, it was originally erected in 1923 as a temporary advertisement for a local real estate development, but due to increasing recognition the sign was left u ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/18 "2013-11-03T00:42:51Z")
I had no idea sex was for procreation. I thought the only purpose it could serve was recreational, and that my parents did not know about it. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/19 "2013-11-03T01:20:40Z")
I didn’t realize that cavalry and Calvary were different words. I mean, I knew one was mounted soldiers and one had something to do with Jesus, but I thought it was one word, calvalry, with two meanings, like “cross” can mean both “angry” and “two lines intersecting.” I was an adult before I realized that the two words 1) had only one “l” each and 2) had their "l"s in different places. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/20 "2013-11-03T03:12:16Z")
Furries. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906.md?page=2)