# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/121 "2015-11-06T21:33:41Z")
All Park Rangers have been asked “At what age (or altitude) do deer become elk.?” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/122 "2015-11-06T21:50:35Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > It’s still hard for me to grasp that some people really don’t know geographical North (much less south, east, west) in the areas they’ve lived and worked in for years. > “If you come out of your bank you’ll be on Main Street. Just head north about a block.” > “Which way is that?” > “North.” > “I don’t know which way north is.” > :smack: > “I’ll meet you at my child’s school where he has been attending for the past 5 years.” > “Okay, meet me at the south entrance.” > “Which one is that?” > “The one on the south side of the building.” > “I don’t know which side is the south.” > :smack: I know north south east west. Living in the same place for the past 15 years, I know when I’m going north or south (or east or west) on the major roads. But if I’m in a strange place, I can’t orient myself. I’m also directionally dyslexic and strongly right-handed. I have lost my car in parking lots more than once. It’s like my brain doesn’t click on someone telling me to go right means TURN RIGHT. ---
**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 6, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/123 "2015-11-06T21:57:28Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Is everyone clear that the confusing thing about “quarter of 7” is not the use of “quarter” to mean 15 minutes–it’s the use of the preposition “of”? > > Most of us understand “a quarter to 7,” or “a quarter 'til 7,” to mean 15 minutes before 7 o’clock. And we likewise understand “a quarter after 7” to mean 15 minutes after 7 o’clock. That 15 minutes is “a quarter of an hour,” that the clock face is being divided into four parts, is entirely clear. > > The problem is that there is no logical meaning for the word “of” that indicates whether it refers to before or after the hour. So “a quarter of 7” could plausibly mean either 6:45 or 7:15, and there is no obvious semantic way to figure out which one is meant. It seems so natural to me. Twenty of, quarter of, 10 of, 5 of. I think it might have started as “quarter short of” and just got shortened to “quarter of” ---
**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 6, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/124 "2015-11-06T22:20:03Z")
That there’s a [relevant XKCD](https://xkcd.com/1053/) for every situation. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/125 "2015-11-06T22:28:40Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I’m neither left-handed nor cross-dominant, and I need to think before determining where is my right and where is my left (right is the on the side of the hand I use to write, so I need to figure out first which hand this is. I in fact briefly think about writing. As a child, I needed to actually mimic writing in the air to determine which hand was which). I commonly point to the right while saying “turn left after this building” when giving directions because I motioned automatically without thinking first. > > From previous threads on this board, this inability to automatically and immediately identify right and left or your right hand and your left hand is pretty common. Yes, yes and yes. I wear a watch so I remember which is my left. And thank god I live in a flat valley so I can do directions with N, S, E & W or I’d be completely lost all the time instead of half the time. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, I almost failed high school geometry partially because of this. I am serious. The teacher took pity on me and said honey, your brain has issues with this–meaning rotating things around in space. ---
**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 6, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/126 "2015-11-06T22:31:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Hampshire View Post > It’s still hard for me to grasp that some people really don’t know geographical North (much less south, east, west) in the areas they’ve lived and worked in for years. > “If you come out of your bank you’ll be on Main Street. Just head north about a block.” > “Which way is that?” > “North.” > “I don’t know which way north is.” > > “I’ll meet you at my child’s school where he has been attending for the past 5 years.” > “Okay, meet me at the south entrance.” > “Which one is that?” > “The one on the south side of the building.” > “I don’t know which side is the south.” If I’m in the Seattle area, I know directions. Mountains to the East (and some to the West, but they look different), water to the West. But that’s only because I’ve lived here awhile (I don’t know how newcomers deal with signs on the side streets that say "no parking North of here). If I’m in Casper WY or Las Vegas, NV, I have no idea which way is North. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/127 "2015-11-06T22:43:14Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Even at the Kittery Trading Post! > > [http://www.woodstogoods.com/store/images/maineLobsterMagnet.jpg](http://www.woodstogoods.com/store/images/maineLobsterMagnet.jpg) One of my favorite places on earth. I never would have imagined that. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/128 "2015-11-06T22:57:35Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > Having grown up in New England, I’ve always been amazed at how many people are unaware that typical lobsters originally have green shells that only turn red when they are cooked. In fact, that bit of knowledge is apparently so obscure that [live lobsters are usually red when appearing in cartoons.](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pEP5jxWhWAAPf0unIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIyNTA2bGZ2BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM2OTVkNzUyNjY1YjQwMWYyODQ0MjUzYzljZTg5OTA5YgRncG9zAzIEaXQDYmluZw--?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3DHomer%2BSimpson%2Bpinchy%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-001%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D2&w=640&h=430&imgurl=images.wikia.com%2Fsimpsons%2Fimages%2F8%2F8c%2FPinchy_on_the_beach.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsimpsons.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FFile%3APinchy_on_the_beach.jpg&size=66.3KB&name=Image+-+%3Cb%3EPinchy%3C%2Fb%3E+on+the+beach.jpg+-+%3Cb%3ESimpsons%3C%2Fb%3E+Wiki&p=Homer+Simpson+pinchy&oid=695d752665b401f2844253c9ce89909b&fr2=piv-web&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&tt=Image+-+%3Cb%3EPinchy%3C%2Fb%3E+on+the+beach.jpg+-+%3Cb%3ESimpsons%3C%2Fb%3E+Wiki&b=0&ni=21&no=2&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11r4ha4qn&sigb=14eb76v6r&sigi=11toj8eqc&sigt=11thidvuk&sign=11thidvuk&.crumb=9/PtM2eEPiW&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&fr2=piv-web&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla) Green?? They have [reddish brown](http://www.freshatlanticseafood.com/images/livelobster2.jpg) shells while alive. But… if people don’t know that they’re not a bright red while they’re alive, does that mean away from the coasts it’s unusual to see live lobsters for sale in grocery stores? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/129 "2015-11-06T23:16:18Z")
You know, I haven’t seen a lobster tank at a grocery store in years. Seems like maybe they’ve fallen out of fashion? ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/130 "2015-11-06T23:34:11Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Green?? They have [reddish brown](http://www.freshatlanticseafood.com/images/livelobster2.jpg) shells while alive. > > But… if people don’t know that they’re not a bright red while they’re alive, does that mean away from the coasts it’s unusual to see live lobsters for sale in grocery stores? Other sources describe it as a greenish blue or brown. To me, personally, the dominant color has always been a very dark green. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/131 "2015-11-06T23:57:08Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > This just in: Bob Seger is still not dead. > > But Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. Eric Bloom isn’t dead either. MORE COWBELL! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/132 "2015-11-06T23:58:48Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You know, I haven’t seen a lobster tank at a grocery store in years. Seems like maybe they’ve fallen out of fashion? Around here, they only have them in the more affluent neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/133 "2015-11-07T00:27:27Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In the real world, if you drop two balls of different weight but so heavy that drag is negligible, they _will_ fall at the same rate. No, they won’t. If they are close to the same weight (or more properly, mass), they will fall at nearly the same rate - perhaps close enough that it will be hard to tell the difference. But they only fall at exactly the same rate if [dropped in a vacuum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJcZ-KoL9o). ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/134 "2015-11-07T09:54:30Z")
Hitler was Austrian and Einstein was German, you’d think most adults would know this but many think the opposite - which isn’t too bad - but many have no idea where Einstein was from or what, _specifically_, he did. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/135 "2015-11-07T11:18:55Z")
As for “eavestrough” – interesting! Without looking it up, I am now sure that this is where the expression “eavesdrop” comes from, which IS very commonly used in the US. Not dropping down from the eaves, just (metaphorically) hanging out at them, listening to conversation through an open window. As for Bob Seger – perhaps the poster had heard that PETE Seeger died (about two years ago), and things got confused. Now I’ve got a sing-along banjo version of “Night Moves” playing in my head… ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/136 "2015-11-07T13:41:49Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > As for “eavestrough” – interesting! Without looking it up, I am now sure that this is where the expression “eavesdrop” comes from, which IS very commonly used in the US. Not dropping down from the eaves, just (metaphorically) hanging out at them, listening to conversation through an open window. According to wikipedia, “eavesdropper” came first, as in “someone who hangs out where the drops falling from the eaves go – outside a window looking in”. Connected to “eavestrough” only through the very-uncommonly-used word “eaves”. ---
**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 7, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/137 "2015-11-07T13:52:22Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Green?? They have [reddish brown](http://www.freshatlanticseafood.com/images/livelobster2.jpg) shells while alive. > > But… if people don’t know that they’re not a bright red while they’re alive, does that mean away from the coasts it’s unusual to see live lobsters for sale in grocery stores? > [@Zsofia](#): > > You know, I haven’t seen a lobster tank at a grocery store in years. Seems like maybe they’ve fallen out of fashion? They were/are pretty universal in St. Louis MO, about as far from a coast as you can get in the US. And it’s not an area noted for its seafood-oriented cuisine. Or at least this was true in the more upscale parts of town. The same is certainly true here and now in Miami. ---
**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 7, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/138 "2015-11-07T14:20:06Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You know, I haven’t seen a lobster tank at a grocery store in years. Seems like maybe they’ve fallen out of fashion? > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Around here, they only have them in the more affluent neighborhoods. Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/139 "2015-11-07T15:03:56Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > It is DUCT tape > Not DUCK tape > Yes a brand may be duck; but originally it was for taping duct work No. It was originally called Duck tape (a brand) and people heard duct tape and thought it was for taping ducts. It isn’t. Someone I know redid all his heating ducts and used it to seal the joints. A couple years later, it was falling off. I believe they now make a variety that can be so used, but the original Duck tape is not suitable for ducts. However that is not what I know that astonishes me that others don’t. One thing that always astonishes me is that some people don’t know that the southern hemisphere has the opposite seasons of ours. I was going to an airport on my way to Australia in late June one year and had a light coat with me. The taxi driver asked why and I had to explain to him that it was winter in Sydney. “Why would they do that?” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/140 "2015-11-07T15:29:20Z")
some further comments on the postings. To continue Brother Cadfael’s post, when I was growing up we used Log Cabin syrup that then was 15% maple syrup (now it is down to some infinitesimal amount that cannot contribute significantly to the flavor) and my father claimed, not that pure maple syrup is too sweet, but that it is too strongly flavored. Now that I live in Quebec (where, BTW, it is illegal to dilute it with any other syrup, even you label it correctly) I know better. In fact, I used to look for the even more strongly flavored but darker grade B since it has even more flavor. Sadly, for the past ten years diabetes has prevented me from indulging. When I moved to Canada, I had to adjust to the fact that people didn’t understand “quarter of”. And I had to get used to the fact that “hydro” means electricity (99% of Quebec’s electricity is hydro-electric). While I always knew that peanuts grew underground and that in Hawai’i pineapples are grown in soil, I really did believe that in nature they were epiphytes (grew on tree branches). Once in Puerto Rico, I saw a very pineapple looking plant growing high up on a tree and many pineapple relatives are epiphytes, so that wasn’t unreasonable, but wiki assures me that pineapples grow in soil. And I have repeatedly explained to my wife that her right hand is the one she writes with but even the fortuitous homonymy does no good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696.md?page=8)