# Things you were stunned that people didn't know
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 29, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146 "2017-06-29T17:59:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/1 "2017-06-29T17:59:23Z")
I was stunned that my mate who is a big Brock Lesnar fan didn’t know that he started WWE in 2002 , he thought the early 90s
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/2 "2017-06-29T18:21:30Z")
We’ve done a lot of these. Just sayin’.
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=805064](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=805064)
> **[Things you know that it never occurred to you others wouldn't know...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=774272)**
>
> 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? ...
> **[Things you're suprised people haven't heard of](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634379)**
>
> whether people in general, or in a specific circumstance. Brought to mind because of an article recommending comics with female protagonists. The writer mentioned Girl Genius, but not Digger. How could you miss Digger?! She’d never heard of it. How...
> **[Things you're shocked to find out some people don't know.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=547192)**
>
> So I was at my mom’s on Christmas. My brother and his girlfriend live there. They are both twenty years old. We got talking about music and then supergroups and, finally, the song “We Are the World”. Turns out they’ve heard it but never seen the...
> **[Surprised by ignorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=181571)**
>
> Obviously, all of us here are superior intellects who know all. But them people out there… Okay, maybe it’s not nice to point out the ignorance of others. But it’s fun. And I was surprised twice yesterday when I made a reference and the person I was...
> **[It frightens me that people don't know these things](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=193236)**
>
> There’s a woman in my massage therapy class who didn’t know before yesterday that octopi and squid have beaks. I thought everyone knew that. Well, OK, maybe that’s not all that scary, but… I was watching some late-night documentaries on MSNBC...
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/3 "2017-06-29T18:23:19Z")
Would you be stunned to know that I have never heard of Brock Lesnar and had to google WWE?
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/4 "2017-06-29T18:52:12Z")
I’ve mentioned this one before (maybe in one of the threads x-ray vision linked to).
Several years ago, I was shopping in a store that sold SF collectibles. I bought a model of the Protector, which is the starship from the movie _Galaxy Quest_.
I was making conversation with the guy as he rang up my purchase (keep in mind this was the owner of the store and that this was only a year after _Galaxy Quest_ had been released):
Me: _“I didn’t know they had made any models from Galaxy Quest.”_
Him: _“What’s Galaxy Quest? Is that a comic book?”_
Me: _“No, it was the movie. The one with Tim Allen.”_
Him: _“I guess I don’t know it.”_
You don’t know it? This is your business. You sell science fiction collectibles. Merchandise from science fiction movies. This was the second biggest science fiction movie to come out last year.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/5 "2017-06-29T19:07:48Z")
On more than one occasion, people have expressed surprise when they’ve seen me _manually_ move my legs. As in, I pick up my legs with my hands and move them into the position I want. “Oh, so you’re not paralyzed then?” 😕
#paralyzednotpetrified
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/6 "2017-06-29T19:20:48Z")
Heard in a bar some other night one of the regulars explaining to his friends that there’s no ham in hamburgers and hamburger is named after Hamburg Germany. They were stunned to hear this, I was stunned that anyone with a 3rd grade education doesn’t know that. I was tempted to give them the news about hotdogs.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/7 "2017-06-29T19:26:39Z")
That’s right, there’s no Frank in your Frankfurters!
(ETA: And we needn’t discuss the composition of Girl Scout Cookies.)
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/8 "2017-06-29T19:29:33Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Heard in a bar some other night one of the regulars explaining to his friends that there’s no ham in hamburgers and hamburger is named after Hamburg Germany. They were stunned to hear this, I was stunned that anyone with a 3rd grade education doesn’t know that. I was tempted to give them the news about hotdogs.
Amura-burgers and Freedom Fries for me! TYVM
---
### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/9 "2017-06-29T19:31:32Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> That’s right, there’s no Frank in your Frankfurters!
>
> (ETA: And we needn’t discuss the composition of Girl Scout Cookies.)
Or brownies.
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### Author:  [@Unabashed\_Fascist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unabashed_Fascist)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/10 "2017-06-29T19:32:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Heard in a bar some other night one of the regulars explaining to his friends that there’s no ham in hamburgers and hamburger is named after Hamburg Germany. They were stunned to hear this, I was stunned that anyone with a 3rd grade education doesn’t know that. I was tempted to give them the news about hotdogs.
I hear that one all the time.
I was helping a friend out this weekend, changing the oil filter on his car. He was asking me about various car parts while we went along; I’m no car expert, but I answered to the best of my ability.
He eventually got to the catalytic converter and asked what it was, so I told him.
“That can’t be right, I don’t drive a Cadillac”, was his reply.
I guess I wasn’t that surprising for someone with limited car knowledge, but it was still funny that he just assumed catalytic converters were only in Cadillacs.
---
### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/11 "2017-06-29T19:34:19Z")
I’m stunned by the number of Oh-so-Christians who don’t know much about the Old Testament. They can quote ad infinitum from a few choice passages of interest to Christian Literalists – the six-day creation story; Sodom and Gomorrah; a few verses from the Prophets that seem to foresee the coming of [del]Jesus[/del] Emmanuel.
But ask them about the story of Joseph’s life? All anyone seems to know is a vague bit about the “Coat of Many Colors” and something about some plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. (Oops – that was generations later, in the days of Moses). Come on! The story of Joseph’s life if nearly half the book of Genesis!
(I confess, I myself never knew that Samson and Delilah was a Bible story until the day I actually read the thing! I thought it was some Greek myth.)
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/12 "2017-06-29T19:36:11Z")
Two deejays on the morning show on the local classic rock station discussing a news story about Randy Meisner, formerly of the Eagles, who had been the subject of recent headlines, had never heard of him. Really. You’re on a station that plays the Eagles and you don’t know the band members? And these guys had been on the air for at least ten years.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/13 "2017-06-29T19:37:37Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> Or brownies.
But be advised that your boy can get kicked out of the Cub Scouts for eating one.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/14 "2017-06-29T19:52:24Z")
Years ago a friend of mine went to the dentist for the first time in her life.
When she came back, she asked me: “Did you know you’re supposed to brush the _back_ of your teeth?”
Me: “Um, yeah, I knew that.”
And this girl was a stripper too. Her whole livelihood depends on her being attractive. How the hell can you not know this?
Also, she wasn’t your typical “bimbo” stripper either. Girl was smart with her money. She owned three homes that she rented out to people. So she did have some savvy.
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### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/15 "2017-06-29T19:56:06Z")
If a guy at a strip club sees the back of a strippers teeth, then either he or she is doing it wrong.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/16 "2017-06-29T19:57:27Z")
> [@Unabashed\_Fascist](#):
>
> I hear that one all the time.
>
> I was helping a friend out this weekend, changing the oil filter on his car. He was asking me about various car parts while we went along; I’m no car expert, but I answered to the best of my ability.
>
> He eventually got to the catalytic converter and asked what it was, so I told him.
>
> “That can’t be right, I don’t drive a Cadillac”, was his reply.
>
> I guess I wasn’t that surprising for someone with limited car knowledge, but it was still funny that he just assumed catalytic converters were only in Cadillacs.
He probably misheard “catalytic converter” as “Cadillac converter.”
---
### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/17 "2017-06-29T20:40:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> I’m stunned by the number of Oh-so-Christians who don’t know much about the Old Testament. They can quote ad infinitum from a few choice passages of interest to Christian Literalists – the six-day creation story; Sodom and Gomorrah; a few verses from the Prophets that seem to foresee the coming of [del]Jesus[/del] Emmanuel.
>
> But ask them about the story of Joseph’s life? All anyone seems to know is a vague bit about the “Coat of Many Colors” and something about some plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. (Oops – that was generations later, in the days of Moses). Come on! The story of Joseph’s life if nearly half the book of Genesis!
>
> (I confess, I myself never knew that Samson and Delilah was a Bible story until the day I actually read the thing! I thought it was some Greek myth.)
Certain Christian sects are more focused on the Old Testament than others. Catholics, for instance, are much more focused on the NT. I was raised Catholic, and went to Catholic schools. We learned about the “big events” in the OT (A&E, Flood, Moses, David), but not a lot of the smaller stuff. We spent much more time on the NT. Now, some evangelical or fundamentalist Christians might be more heavily OT focused.
There is a Bible reading at ever Mass, and AFAIR, those were always (or almost always) from the NT.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/18 "2017-06-29T20:49:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Heard in a bar some other night one of the regulars explaining to his friends that there’s no ham in hamburgers and hamburger is named after Hamburg Germany. They were stunned to hear this, I was stunned that anyone with a 3rd grade education doesn’t know that. I was tempted to give them the news about hotdogs.
Not too long ago, I read (but don’t remember where) an anecdote from someone’s college days where there was a Hindu exchange student who loved eating cheeseburgers, convinced that they had no meat (did she think they were made of some sort of spiced cheese? I don’t know) and had one of those face-going-blank-with-horror existential meltdowns when someone pointed out otherwise.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/19 "2017-06-29T20:51:19Z")
> [@Unabashed\_Fascist](#):
>
> He eventually got to the catalytic converter and asked what it was, so I told him.
>
> “That can’t be right, I don’t drive a Cadillac”, was his reply.
>
> I guess I wasn’t that surprising for someone with limited car knowledge, but it was still funny that he just assumed catalytic converters were only in Cadillacs.
Or he thought that you said “Cadillac converter.”
(eta ningered.)
---
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/20 "2017-06-29T21:10:15Z")
Here’s one people definitely DON’T know, so I’ll spoiler it:
Racer X is really Speed’s brother Rex
You can really impress your friends with that one.
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