# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/61 "2013-11-05T14:50:02Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > I did not know there was a constant and standing registration effort during peacetime in the United States. > > \ > > And yeah; what’s up with a list of people to nag into signing up for a list which contains the same information as the nag list? IS… Selective Service registration is still going strong from what I can tell. That’s different from the “Draft” though. If it comes to that, the government holds a sort of lottery to determine who’s drafted and who’s not, based on the info on people in the Selective Service database. As for the notification letters vs. actually registering I think the idea’s that they have some idea that there may be a 18 year old living at that address, but they may not have all the pertinent info. IIRC, even though the notification letter showed up at my parents’ house, I still had to go to the Post Office and fill out the card. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/62 "2013-11-06T00:05:12Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > When I was a kid, I had no idea that gypsies were real. I thought they were fairy-tale creatures, like elves, dwarves, etc. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my former coworkers came in one day and asked us if we knew storks were real. She was in her 50s, and had believed until then that they were made up like dragons and unicorns. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/63 "2013-11-06T02:01:22Z")
Kinda mundane, but I was probably in high school before I realize cornerback was a different football position from quarterback. Before that I always assumed the announcer was saying quarterback with poor enunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/64 "2013-11-06T08:07:18Z")
I was well into adulthood when I found out that cops generally won’t ticket other cops for speeding. I mean, the reason always given is that speeding can lead to car crashes, and sometimes cops would visit schools and talked about speeding being a bad thing. So I didn’t think that cops would consider one of their own putting people’s lives in danger no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/65 "2013-11-06T16:31:45Z")
I assumed — until I was in my 20s, married to a sports nut and immersed in the NFL — that the Washington Redskins hailed from Washington state. It seems a more likely location for Indians than the nation’s capital. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/66 "2013-11-06T16:36:25Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I assumed — until I was in my 20s, married to a sports nut and immersed in the NFL — that the Washington Redskins hailed from Washington state. It seems a more likely location for Indians than the nation’s capital. Please take a moment to learn about the Piscataway, Conoy, Pamunkey, and Patawomeck tribes. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/67 "2013-11-06T16:40:18Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > When I first heard about the Flat Earth Society, I thought it was just kind of social club that used the name as a joke. I think I was in my twenties when I found out that yes, they really believe that shit. Only because it’s true. 🙂 -Silvorange, member of both the Flat Earth Society and the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles. It’s turtles all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/68 "2013-11-06T16:44:35Z")
I wasn’t an adult before I realized the truth but when I was a kid, I thought that all of Canada was French speaking. I grew up in northern New York and all of the Canadians I had met spoke French. And it made sense to me - I figured the Spaniards had settled in Mexico, the English had settled in America, and the French had settled in Canada and each colony eventually became its own country. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/69 "2013-11-06T17:16:56Z")
It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that “Episcopalian” was a real word. For years, I always misread it as “Escopalian” and assumed that people said “E-piss-copalian” as a cutesy affectation. (Like when Homer Simpson calls Lisa’s instrument a “sax-o-ma-phone.”) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/70 "2013-11-06T17:24:25Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that “Episcopalian” was a real word. For years, I always misread it as “Escopalian” and assumed that people said “E-piss-copalian” as a cutesy affectation. (Like when Homer Simpson calls Lisa’s instrument a “sax-o-ma-phone.”) I’ve said this before in another thread, but I used to think “aeroplane” was a similar cutesy affectation. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/71 "2013-11-06T17:55:30Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I assumed — until I was in my 20s, married to a sports nut and immersed in the NFL — that the Washington Redskins hailed from Washington state. It seems a more likely location for Indians than the nation’s capital. I’m a huge football fan, and I still mentally file the Redskins under “West Coast Teams.” ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/72 "2013-11-06T19:46:52Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > 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? ? Do you live in an area where police cars and non-fire vehicles _ **only** _ have blue and white lights? I’ve only seen emergency vehicles (of all types, police, fire, EMTs) with red and blue. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/73 "2013-11-06T19:58:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > When I first heard about the Flat Earth Society, I thought it was just kind of social club that used the name as a joke. I think I was in my twenties when I found out that yes, they really believe that shit. I’m 54, and I just now (with your post) learned that that’s a fact. I had no idea there were still people who thought the earth was flat. wow. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/74 "2013-11-06T20:56:52Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Please take a moment to learn about the Piscataway, Conoy, Pamunkey, and Patawomeck tribes. Well, I meant _now_. You might be aware that many were sent west? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/75 "2013-11-06T22:37:07Z")
I said this in another thread, but until a few years ago I thought the part in the song “Let’s call the Whole Thing Off” about pronouncing tomato as toe-mah-toe instead of toe-may-toe was made up. Strange considering I watched a few British shows growing up. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/76 "2013-11-06T22:46:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > When I first heard about the Flat Earth Society, I thought it was just kind of social club that used the name as a joke. I think I was in my twenties when I found out that yes, they really believe that shit. They do? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/77 "2013-11-06T23:04:36Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Monsters. +10 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/78 "2013-11-07T00:00:52Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > ? Do you live in an area where police cars and non-fire vehicles _ **only** _ have blue and white lights? I’ve only seen emergency vehicles (of all types, police, fire, EMTs) with red and blue. Yes, just blue and white lights (except tail lights, obviously). This is several towns away, but [this](http://www.londonderryimages.com/Londonderry-Hometown-Online/High-Range-MVA/DSC0207/944688301_GZqzx-M-2.jpg) is what cruiser lights look like here. And an unlit one [here](http://www.masspolicecars.com/images/conwayspare.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/79 "2013-11-07T00:34:50Z")
Cannery Row. I thought Steinbeck invented the place and its weird characters. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/80 "2013-11-07T01:49:58Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Yes, just blue and white lights (except tail lights, obviously). This is several towns away, but [this](http://www.londonderryimages.com/Londonderry-Hometown-Online/High-Range-MVA/DSC0207/944688301_GZqzx-M-2.jpg) is what cruiser lights look like here. And an unlit one [here](http://www.masspolicecars.com/images/conwayspare.jpg). 😃 Well then, consider that just one more thing I didn’t know until WELL after adulthood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906.md?page=5)