# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/161 "2015-11-09T04:46:16Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Go to Hawaii where mountains are in the center of the island, the ocean is the outside and they have word for those (cannot remember them). So they dont usually use north, south, east and west. Mauka : Toward the mountains. Makai : Toward the sea. (What?? There’s somebody who doesn’t know this? I would have thought _everybody_ would know that! //old-rolleyes//) Note that these terms only work in the coastal areas around the perimeters of the islands. Once you get into the interior uplands, they don’t make any sense. In Honolulu specifically, there are the additional terms “Eva” (towards the community of Eva, which is east from Honolulu along the coast), and “Diamond Head” (towards Diamond Head; but this only works in the older part of Honolulu, where Diamond Head is to the west; the city now extends well beyond that). Did you know that Honolulu has some Interstate Highways? :smack: There were built, starting in the 1960’s (I was there then), with Interstate Highway funds, so Interstates they are. They are labeled, of course, according to the rules of the Interstate highways, that is, the directions are signed North, South, East, or West, and _not_ Mauka, Makai, Eva, or Diamond Head. When they were new, I think it took the local people a while to get accustomed to that. _Nobody_ in Honolulu ever used the directions North, South, East, or West before that. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/162 "2015-11-09T04:47:46Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I live in the south. I have been called y’all by native Southerners more times than I can remember. It never made me _feel_ plural. I have been told by several (over)educated Southern people that the true plural form of y’all is “all y’all.” Maybe when a Southerner addresses you as “y’all”, he is addressing the entirety of you, and not just some part of you? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/163 "2015-11-09T05:33:10Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I live in the south. I have been called y’all by native Southerners more times than I can remember. It never made me _feel_ plural. They were not addressing you as an individual, they were addressing or referring to a group of which you were a member. (Or, they were wrong.) > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I have been told by several (over)educated Southern people that the true plural form of y’all is “all y’all.” “All y’all” means _each and every one of you_ in the group, as opposed to just the group, collectively. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/164 "2015-11-09T07:19:22Z")
> [@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 knew he was a Communist. I was still amazed that, as a member of the Almanac Singers, recorded an album of anti-WWII songs after the Hitler-Stalin pact was signed. After Hitler broke the pact and invaded Russia, the Communist line executed a 180, so the album was withdrawn, and people who bought the album were asked to return it! Two songs from that album- [The Ballad of October 16th](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhbrYhL3OPk) [C For Conscription/Washington Breakdown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbrX9p90z7w) He was an icon, all right. An icon of hypocrisy and anti-Americanism. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/165 "2015-11-09T09:26:27Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > . . . it is the only edible bromeliad. . . That’s not strictly true. There are other edible bromeliads, but you won’t find them in stores in this country. For instance, the species Karatas plumieri (common name piñuela) produces an edible fruit. Young shoots and inflorescences are also sometimes eaten. It’s native to Central America. Back to the main topic: I was surprised when someone I know asked me when the next U.S. presidential election will be. This is a person with a college degree who works for a city government and who pays attention to politics. And it wasn’t that she didn’t know the exact date - she didn’t know it would be in November, 2016. ---
**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 9, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/166 "2015-11-09T12:53:48Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > \*\*Things you know that it never occurred to you others wouldn’t know… > \*\* > > The difference between burglary and robbery. I hear people constantly complaining about how their house got robbed. :smack: But “burgled” sounds so weird. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/167 "2015-11-09T13:19:01Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I knew he was a Communist. I was still amazed that, as a member of the Almanac Singers, recorded an album of anti-WWII songs after the Hitler-Stalin pact was signed. After Hitler broke the pact and invaded Russia, the Communist line executed a 180, so the album was withdrawn, and people who bought the album were asked to return it! > > Two songs from that album- > > [The Ballad of October 16th](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhbrYhL3OPk) > [C For Conscription/Washington Breakdown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbrX9p90z7w) > > He was an icon, all right. An icon of hypocrisy and anti-Americanism. There were a lot of American Communists before WWII. It’s not anti-American to be a communist per se, but you are right that they were hypocrites. These were the useful idiots Stalin spoke of. Pete lived among a group of communists (interspersed with the occasional anarchist) in the outskirts of Croton-on-Hudson in New York, an area that was called Red Row. But aside from their Stalinist sympathies (which they later dropped like so many others disillusioned when they learned the reality) they believed in freedom, equality, and justice. You can rightly call them fools, they were as hypocritical as virtually everyone else, but anti-American is an unfair assessment. ---
**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 9, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/168 "2015-11-09T13:23:05Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I was teaching DUI class one night They’re _teaching_ that now? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/169 "2015-11-09T13:34:14Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > They’re _teaching_ that now? Well sure. Do you want kids to learn that on a street corner somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/170 "2015-11-09T13:38:17Z")
When I was a kid, me and other piano-playing kids would be hauled around in minivans and station wagons to various piano recitals and competitions. To pass the time on these trips the kids and I would play some variation of 20 questions, often science based (like “think of an animal”, and with yes-no questions figure out which animal). Some of these kids were home-schooled, and I was shocked by the total lack of understanding of basic zoology. In a group of about 10-14 year olds, the home-schooled kids didn’t know the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates, mammals and reptiles, even insects vs non-insects. My 13 year old self felt great shock and pity. This was early 90s Louisiana, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/171 "2015-11-09T13:39:02Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > They were not addressing you as an individual, they were addressing or referring to a group of which you were a member. (Or, they were wrong.) > > “All y’all” means _each and every one of you_ in the group, as opposed to just the group, collectively. This, a thousand times this^ > [@kayaker](#): > > But “burgled” sounds so weird. And this^. If I were talking to the investigating detective I would say “My house was burgled”, because it means something different than “robbed”. In casual conversation I would say “My house was robbed” because “burgled” sounds pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/172 "2015-11-09T13:47:44Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > They were not addressing you as an individual, they were addressing or referring to a group of which you were a member. (Or, they were wrong.) To expand, in case anyone doesn’t understand: If I am talking to a friend, “How are y’all doing” = tell me how each family member is, currently. “How are you doing?” = tell me about your own self. Or, in a professional context, “How are y’all doing?” = how is business? what’s morale like? > [@](#): > > “All y’all” means _each and every one of you_ in the group, as opposed to just the group, collectively. I’d argue it can also just be used as an intensifier. “All y’all get your butts in here, now” is semantically identical to “Y’all get your butts in here, now”, but much more emphatic. ---
**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 9, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/173 "2015-11-09T14:09:46Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > 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… I’m always amazed when people don’t know an obvious joke when they see one. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/174 "2015-11-09T18:18:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > They’re _teaching_ that now? It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/175 "2015-11-09T20:44:26Z")
> [@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 still have one in the local grocery store here and I’m in South Dakota. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > When we were kids we thought babies come out of a mothers butt. Some do (or at least seem to). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/176 "2015-11-09T20:57:02Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > This is me. I have to think for a while till I picture a road I know is headed north and extrapolate back through town to what you are talking about. Also, distances like something being 100 yards ahead is lost on me. Wow, I thought I was the only one. When I was in high school many many decades ago the rooms were designated as being in the north, south, east, or west wing. I had no notion at all, if standing in an office in the center of the school, which way any of those wings were. I clearly recall my brother reassuring me “Don’t worry, you’ll figure out this directional thing.” Still waiting on that. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/177 "2015-11-09T20:59:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Re-read what **Xema** \*actually \*wrote, not what you skimmed and \*assumed \*he wrote. 🙂 > > I had to double-take it the first time to get the joke too. I… don’t get it. Here is the original post: > [@](#): > > I’ve been amazed at the number of smart, well-educated people who believe that in the real world dropped balls of the same size will fall at the same rate, regardless of their weight. > > They contend that Galileo proved this by dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Also, for people talking about calling electricity “hydro”, what sort of context would that be in? Would you say “turn on the hydro?” or “there was a blackout, so we had no hydro?”? ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/178 "2015-11-09T21:19:13Z")
The latter. “Our hydro went out last night!” “Really? Ours didn’t, weird!” We still say things like “turn on the light” or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/179 "2015-11-09T23:35:08Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I… don’t get it. > > Here is the original post: > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > Re-read what **Xema** \*actually \*wrote, not what you skimmed and \*assumed \*he wrote. 🙂 > > > > I had to double-take it the first time to get the joke too. Yeah, help us out. It went over my head, too. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696/180 "2015-11-10T01:08:02Z")
I, too, am interested, as I didn’t think I was making a joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-know-that-it-never-occurred-to-you-others-wouldnt-know/736696.md?page=10)