# Things you know that it never occurred to you others wouldn't know... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696 "2015-11-05T11:07:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [November 5, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/21 "2015-11-05T16:02:07Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I was absolutely amazed that, when Pete Seeger died, people said “Who is Pete Seeger?” American people, how could you not know Pete Seeger? > > Man was an icon. Many people simply don’t give a hoot about celebrity. I know he was a successful musician of my era. I recall hearing his name. I have no idea what songs are his or what genre he worked in. I probably like some of his or at least could recite some of the lyrics if you started me out. I enjoy many sorts of music; I simply don’t care whit one about who made it. And since it’s free over the air, I never need to know a name to buy it since I don’t buy it. And that’s for somebody of the appropriate era. As \*\*Hermitian \*\*says, young folks aren’t much listening to their parent’s or grandparent’s music. I’m the same way about movie/TV actors. The names of the performers are utterly immaterial. The story is either intriguing and I go see it, or it’s not and I don’t. I have no idea who performed in the last movie I saw. Just don’t care. ---
**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 5, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/22 "2015-11-05T16:09:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s common for us in Ontario, and most of Canada, to speak of electricity as hydro. This stems from utility names such as Ontario Hydro, which really means hydroelectricity. So, we call electricity hydro and it baffles some people. > > 50% of our “hydro” comes from nuclear plants in Ontario, but we still call it hydro thanks to Niagara Falls, etc. When we say “hydro tower” we’re really talking about a tower suspending electrical distribution lines. > > Is this a strange usage in the US? I’ve never heard of it and would have been baffled by it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/23 "2015-11-05T16:20:53Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > As someone born and raised in Hawaii, I had no idea that some people didn’t know how pineapples grow until I saw a post on social media expressing astonishment at a photo of a pineapple field. I thought, well, yeah, that’s how they grow. So what? How did you think they grew? It turns out that not everyone knows that, having not grown up in a region in which they can grow. > > What’re your examples? > [@handsomeharry](#): > > Pineapples were my first thought. In keeping with the pineapples example, peanuts. People who have never [shaken peanuts](https://aztextpress.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/peanuts.gif) or seen peanuts growing in a field often think they are nuts and therefore grow on trees. & While we’re at it, outside of the south I run into people who have no idea that you can [boil them](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_peanuts) and eat them as a soft-textured morsel. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/24 "2015-11-05T16:21:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s common for us in Ontario, and most of Canada, to speak of electricity as hydro. This stems from utility names such as Ontario Hydro, which really means hydroelectricity. So, we call electricity hydro and it baffles some people. > > 50% of our “hydro” comes from nuclear plants in Ontario, but we still call it hydro thanks to Niagara Falls, etc. When we say “hydro tower” we’re really talking about a tower suspending electrical distribution lines. > > Is this a strange usage in the US? Yes, unless they are familiar with the Canadian usage (as I am, being Canadian-by-marriage hehe), the vast majority of Americans will think you are using a quaint word for the water bill, or water tower, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/25 "2015-11-05T16:22:53Z")
Road Runners vary from a little larger than a robin, to a bit smaller than a big crow. In no case do they stand upright, nor tower over even a small coyote. They have a rather pointy beak, and are variegated with white, tan, and black flecks…no purple at all. They occassionally squawk if harassed by a dog, they can and do fly short distances. Their diet is mostly insects and lizards, so are unlikely to step into an ACME brand trap baited with birdseed. They are pretty common in New Mexico, and are the state bird. I once had a girlfriend who had never seen one. I pointed several out to her, but she couldn’t see them, because she was looking for the cartoon version I guess. I’ve seen this happen with deer as well, when people who have never seen them can’t see three of them standing right F\_\_ing there. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/26 "2015-11-05T17:07:14Z")
I’m amazed that some people think the moon is never visible during the day. Don’t they ever look up? There are also lots of people who think we see by emitting light out of our eyes. :eek: ---
**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:** [November 5, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/27 "2015-11-05T17:11:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > … There are also lots of people who think we see by emitting light out of our eyes. :eek: To be fair, for most of those folks the light you see coming out of their eyes is coming in via their ears. 🙂 ---
**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 5, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/28 "2015-11-05T17:16:15Z")
In the legal arena, the difference between a verdict and a settlement. A news reporter last week reported on a big jury verdict, and repeatedly called it a “settlement.” A lot of things in the law are complicated, but I was very surprised to see this basic concept screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/29 "2015-11-05T17:30:27Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Road Runners vary from a little larger than a robin, to a bit smaller than a big crow. In no case do they stand upright, nor tower over even a small coyote. They have a rather pointy beak, and are variegated with white, tan, and black flecks…no purple at all. They occassionally squawk if harassed by a dog, they can and do fly short distances. Their diet is mostly insects and lizards, so are unlikely to step into an ACME brand trap baited with birdseed. They are pretty common in New Mexico, and are the state bird. Indeed. When I first saw a real roadrunner (on some nature show on TV), I was quite disappointed to learn it was nothing at all like the Looney Tunes version :). Tazmanian Devils, OTOH, really do look a lot like their cartoon counterpart. They even have a similar disposition (except for the tornado-spin-attack thing, of course). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/30 "2015-11-05T17:38:33Z")
A woman I know told me her pug was going to have puppies and she was looking for homes for the pug pups. I asked her who owned the male, and she said she didn’t know, a roaming male pug knocked her up. When I pointed out that any male dog could be the sire, she didn’t believe me at first. She thought that only a male pug could inseminate a female pug. ---
**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 5, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/31 "2015-11-05T17:47:37Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I was absolutely amazed that, when Pete Seeger died, people said “Who is Pete Seeger?” American people, how could you not know Pete Seeger? > > Man was an icon. I’m Canadian and I know exactly who he is/was, but had no idea that he died! It must have been on a busy news day. The man truly was an icon. ETA: I knew he was in his 90s but only a year or two ago I heard him and Arlo Guthrie being interviewed on the radio and Pete was completely coherent and very interesting to hear. Bummer. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/32 "2015-11-05T18:32:37Z")
Most people think that the Earth is a sphere, when in reality it is flat. …runs away…\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\> ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/33 "2015-11-05T18:38:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s common for us in Ontario, and most of Canada, to speak of electricity as hydro. This stems from utility names such as Ontario Hydro, which really means hydroelectricity. So, we call electricity hydro and it baffles some people. > > 50% of our “hydro” comes from nuclear plants in Ontario, but we still call it hydro thanks to Niagara Falls, etc. When we say “hydro tower” we’re really talking about a tower suspending electrical distribution lines. > > Is this a strange usage in the US? Based on my experience it is a strange usage even for parts of Canada. I spent most of my youth in Manitoba and Alberta with summers in BC and Saskatchewan and never heard the usage until I moved to New Brunswick when I was 18. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/34 "2015-11-05T18:39:17Z")
People who can’t tell common dog breeds apart. I have a friend who couldn’t tell the different between a German shepherd, a lab, a golden retriever, a collie, etc. I can understand when it’s a less common breed, or not being able to tell a miniature pinscher from a manchester terrier. Right up there with the people who used to ask me when my pony was going to grow up to be a horse. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/35 "2015-11-05T18:49:00Z")
I have met some educated professional adults who can not, under any circumstances, tell left from right. “Raise your right hand.” “Sorry, which one is it?” I accept that this is probably some sort of actual minor brain malfunction, but really? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/36 "2015-11-05T18:49:35Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I tend to associate referencing “quarters” in time to an older generation, but I have always heard “quarter to” or “quarter after.” > > “Quarter of” is a pretty ambiguous phrase. If I had to guess, I would have guessed it meant after. > > The different phrases may be reginal, but I will say that I consider the use of “to” and “after” to be superior terminology. Here we always say quarter of,quarter after, and half-past. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/37 "2015-11-05T18:49:59Z")
From one of my first-ever posts on the SDMB: [QUOTE=BrotherCadfael] In my experience, most people in the United States _think_ they use real maple syrup, but in fact have never even been close to the real thing. I once ran into a person from the South (for me, that is anything South of Rutland, Vermont) who insisted that no one _could_ eat real maple syrup, that it was so sweet it could only be used by blending it with other syrups. This was one of the few times that I could insist with perfect authority that “you simply so not know what you are talking about”. And to prove it, I brought him back a pint of the good stuff on my next trip home. He was gracious enough to admit he was wrong after sampling it. Yes, it is more expensive (unless you make it yourself…we tapped a couple of hundred trees and made 40 gallons one year), but there is simply no comparison. It’s pretty good cold, but it’s best to heat it just to boiling before you use it, which releases all of the flavors and aromas. Excuse me. I think I hear some waffles calling… [/QUOTE] ---
**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 5, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/38 "2015-11-05T18:58:11Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > Here we always say quarter of,quarter after, and half-past. We always say quarter to, quarter after and “X”-30. The first time I heard a quarter of was in New England somewhere and it confused me. I know what it means now, but it really makes no sense linguistically. A quarter of is 15 minutes, so how can a quarter of 6 mean 5 hours and three quarters? ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/39 "2015-11-05T18:59:26Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I have met some educated professional adults who can not, under any circumstances, tell left from right. > > “Raise your right hand.” > “Sorry, which one is it?” > > I accept that this is probably some sort of actual minor brain malfunction, but really? That’s my wife. When we’re in the the car talking directions it’s “your way” and “my way” not right and left. As in, “Turn your way at the next light.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/40 "2015-11-05T19:07:31Z")
It’s not a brain malfunction. It’s usually shown by someone who is either left-handed or cross-dominant. Not having a strong dominant hand weakens the immediate identification between right and left which righties tend to have. (Speaking from experience as a cross-dominant.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696.md?page=3)