# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/161 "2013-11-18T14:49:13Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I didn’t know until embarrassingly late that green and red bell peppers were the same thing, only harvested at different times. :eek: Holy shit, you have just educated me. So what’s the deal with orange/yellow bell peppers? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/162 "2013-11-18T14:56:58Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Also, that swastikas were considered good luck symbols out in NM, at least until 1932. > > [DirtyTinder](http://southwestcompass.com/2012/12/swastika-symbol-in-new-mexico/) The [swastika](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) was around for a very long time before (and after) Hitler co-opted it for his purposes. [Google Maps still uses it](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=kyoto,+japan&hl=en&ll=34.947795,135.819254&spn=0.053257,0.055618&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=11.760646,14.238281&hnear=Kyoto,+Kyoto+Prefecture,+Japan&t=m&z=14) to identify temples/shrines in Japan (and probably elsewhere?). ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/163 "2013-11-18T16:31:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > :eek: Holy shit, you have just educated me. > > So what’s the deal with orange/yellow bell peppers? They are…bell peppers! Same species as green/red bell peppers, just with a new coat of paint. [WHFoods.com - Your Trusted Source for Supplements](http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=50&tname=foodspice) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/164 "2013-11-18T16:44:02Z")
The yellow, purple, etc. ones are a slightly different variety from the red ones. Any of them will be green if they’re picked early, or their ripe color if picked later. Though I suspect that the green ones you buy in the store are all of the variety that ripens to red, since they’re cheaper. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/165 "2013-11-18T16:44:09Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The [swastika](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) was around for a very long time before (and after) Hitler co-opted it for his purposes. [Google Maps still uses it](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=kyoto,+japan&hl=en&ll=34.947795,135.819254&spn=0.053257,0.055618&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=11.760646,14.238281&hnear=Kyoto,+Kyoto+Prefecture,+Japan&t=m&z=14) to identify temples/shrines in Japan (and probably elsewhere?). Lots and lots of the backward swastika in Taiwan. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/166 "2013-11-18T19:35:18Z")
Until I moved to New Mexico I didn’t know that roadrunners can fly. They prefer to stay on the ground but they are quite capable of flight and usually make their nests in trees (but not very high up). Pinons and junipers don’t get very tall in the desert to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/167 "2013-11-18T19:53:43Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > They are…bell peppers! Same species as green/red bell peppers, just with a new coat of paint. [WHFoods.com - Your Trusted Source for Supplements](http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=50&tname=foodspice) I had no idea they were all the same species of pepper. I am thirty-seven years old. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/168 "2013-11-18T21:07:06Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > Until I moved to New Mexico I didn’t know that roadrunners can fly. They prefer to stay on the ground but they are quite capable of flight and usually make their nests in trees (but not very high up). Pinons and junipers don’t get very tall in the desert to begin with. On that note, there was a woman in my classes at grad school who didn’t believe me when I told her that road runners were actual birds. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/169 "2013-11-18T22:04:44Z")
But road runners aren’t birds, they’re trucks. After all, they go “beep beep!” all the time. This can have disastrous results on coyotes. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/170 "2013-11-18T22:12:52Z")
I had no idea that road runners were as big as they are, about the size of a good size rooster. I only learned that by seeing one when I was in NM this year. Didn’t hear any ‘meep-meep’ or ‘beep-beep’ out of him though. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/171 "2013-11-18T22:28:36Z")
I think I was in my late teens or early 20’s when I found out that Tasmanian Devils weren’t something that Warner Brothers made up. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/172 "2013-11-18T22:50:36Z")
> [@](#): > > I had no idea they were all the same species of pepper. I am thirty-seven years old. Ignorance fought. In general, vegetables comprise a lot fewer species than you’d think. If two vegetables seem even vaguely similar (and often even if they don’t), they’re probably the same species. Most of what we think of as related vegetables are just different varieties of the same species. Not only are the bell peppers all the same species, for instance, the same species also includes the [cayenne, paprika, and jalapeno](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Capsicum_cultivars#Capsicum_annuum), among others. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/173 "2013-11-18T22:53:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In general, vegetables comprise a lot fewer species than you’d think. If two vegetables seem even vaguely similar (and often even if they don’t), they’re probably the same species. Most of what we think of as related vegetables are just different varieties of the same species. Not only are the bell peppers all the same species, for instance, the same species also includes the [cayenne, paprika, and jalapeno](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Capsicum_cultivars#Capsicum_annuum), among others. Broccoli and cauliflower are different cultivars of the same species, too. On a more personal note, we didn’t find out until Bush I that my father doesn’t like broccoli all that much. We’ve been eating it for years. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/174 "2013-11-18T23:40:46Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Lots and lots of the backward swastika in Taiwan. And the third level in the original Legend of Zelda. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/175 "2013-11-18T23:51:49Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The [swastika](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) was around for a very long time before (and after) Hitler co-opted it for his purposes. [Google Maps still uses it](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=kyoto,+japan&hl=en&ll=34.947795,135.819254&spn=0.053257,0.055618&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=11.760646,14.238281&hnear=Kyoto,+Kyoto+Prefecture,+Japan&t=m&z=14) to identify temples/shrines in Japan (and probably elsewhere?). It was popular in America pre-that nasty guy, too. That would be in the early 1900’s. [I inherited evidence](http://theguiltlist.blogspot.com/2013/03/postcards-did-i-mention-that-political.html). (Scroll down.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/176 "2013-12-06T12:05:08Z")
I thought of another one while in a meeting on Wednesday when the subject of art therapy came up: When I was in the first grade, my grandmother’s breast cancer came back, and after a year or so she died. I had an adjustment disorder (aka situational or reactive depression) and saw both the school psychologist and an independent one for a year or two. Little kid therapy involves a lot of conversations, drawing, and playing games with the psychologist. Now, more than 25 years later, I work doing IT stuff for a program that serves people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness, which means I record and distribute lots of lectures on either ID, MH or both topics. One of the lecturers this year showed what the materials for an IQ test look like… and I finally figured out some of the “games” I played with the school psychologist weren’t games after all. I knew that my IQ had been tested as a kid, but I didn’t know how or when until I saw that stuff and thought “hey!” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/177 "2013-12-06T12:44:41Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Carmel the city is pronounced car- MEL while the candy is pronounced ‘carmil’. I always pronounce the candy care-a-mel. Opposite coast: They have the same spelling, but in NJ, Newark is pronounced like saying “New Work” quickly. In Delaware its pronounced “New Ark”. And as to the OP, I was a teen before I knew that Church/Religion isn’t something you were stuck with for life, like bad family or a birth mark. I thought Atheists had to get up on Sunday, drive to a building, and sit on benches while some guy spouted into mike for an hour, “You still don’t believe…? _Pause_ Cool…” I have a neighbor to thank for telling me when I was 4 or 5 that “…they round up all the Atheists & now they make them live in Greenwich Village.” :smack: Today, I’d have replied, “Rent free? Where’s that bus at…!?” ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/178 "2013-12-06T22:35:39Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > And as to the OP, I was a teen before I knew that Church/Religion isn’t something you were stuck with for life, like bad family or a birth mark. I thought Atheists had to get up on Sunday, drive to a building, and sit on benches > while some guy spouted into mike for an hour, “You still don’t believe…? _Pause_ Cool…” [Now they can.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21319945) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/179 "2013-12-07T09:28:31Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > On the other hand, I have wild turkeys in my back yard and they most certainly can fly if they want to. … They are not nice birds but the ones I know would survive a skydive quite well and then go on to terrorize everyone near their landing zone. If they realize what is going on. I’ve read a report of a Chicken dropped out of a helicopter (They can fly a bit, depending on the breed). It looked around, tucked it’s wings in, and dropped. Somewhere closer to ground it looked around, spread it’s wings out, and exploded in a ball of feathers. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906/180 "2013-12-07T14:47:01Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Broccoli and cauliflower are different cultivars of the same species, too. As are Brussels sprouts, broccolini, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, and collard greens - basically, every veggie that tastes like crap and your mom made you eat. All cultivars of _Brassica oleracea_ - or, “that damned weed”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-didnt-know-were-real-until-you-were-an-adult/672906.md?page=10)