# Things you were stunned that people didn't know **URL:** \ **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:** 10
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/181 "2017-07-04T00:53:33Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Mass has an OT reading, a NT reading, and a gospel reading. Well, I guess that shows how long it’s been since I went to mass. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/182 "2017-07-04T01:04:54Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Well, he is nominated for this thread 🙂 . Even praticing Catholics have to go through training to be Eucharistic ministers. There must be exceptions. I was in an airport chapel once. I had a long layover and it was _quiet_ in there. A priest came in to set up for a short service. I hung around as other people trickled in. I’d been there first, I guess the priest thought I was there for the service, so he asked me to hold the tray of wafers. I thought “what the heck” and did so. I’m Episcopalian, so the form of the short service as very familiar. I did not commune, I’m not sure if he noticed that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/183 "2017-07-04T03:37:28Z")
Known this good friend of mine ever since we were 10 years old. He didn’t go to college, but is a brilliant auto mechanic. He’s in his 60’s now and is still not completely sure about the order of the months of the year. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/184 "2017-07-04T05:34:47Z")
I grew up on the east side of Salt Lake City, just below the university for people familiar with it. SLC is flat below the foothills of the surrounding mountains and the closest ones were to the east of us. I only found out after growing up that my older sister thought that east was actually north because north is “up.” This belief continued well beyond when she should have known better. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/185 "2017-07-04T06:23:41Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Mass has an OT reading, a NT reading, and a gospel reading. . . . on Sundays and major feasts. But on weekdays, typically just an NT reading and a gospel reading. For example, on Monday 3 July the appointed readings were Eph 2:19-22 (the NT reading) and Jn 20:24-29 (the gospel reading). ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/186 "2017-07-04T13:23:23Z")
> [@susan](#): > > The sun rises in the east. Yes, that’s true in other states, too. Also: other countries. What about the southern hemisphere, eh?? Gotcha, Ms. Smarty Professor. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/187 "2017-07-04T13:35:52Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > My brother had an elementary school teacher who told the class that the temperature of ice was always exactly 32 degrees. He was one of those teachers with whom you quickly learn not to disagree. This is one of those almost-understandable misunderstandings. He probably had a teacher that told him that ice, _as it is melting_, is always 32 F. If you graph temperature against time, you’ll see the line trending upwards as the ice warms, then plateauing flat at 32 F as it melts, and then the (now water) temp continuing to climb. And what he retained from that was _the temperature of ice was always exactly 32._ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/188 "2017-07-04T14:01:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > What about the southern hemisphere, eh?? Gotcha, Ms. Smarty Professor. It’s true. Due to the Coriolis effect, the southern half of the Earth rotates in the opposite direction. > [@](#): > > 😃 Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/189 "2017-07-04T20:00:39Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > This is one of those almost-understandable misunderstandings. He probably had a teacher that told him that ice, _as it is melting_, is always 32 F. If you graph temperature against time, you’ll see the line trending upwards as the ice warms, then plateauing flat at 32 F as it melts, and then the (now water) temp continuing to climb. > > And what he retained from that was _the temperature of ice was always exactly 32._ Nope. Brother has a genius IQ, but he made the mistake of correcting the teacher in class and was punished for it the rest of the year. I remember brother telling me the arguments he’d used to try to get teacher to see his mistake. The rest of the students in that class probably still believe that the temperature of ice is always 32 degrees. I was told at some point that liquid water cannot get hotter than its boiling point since at that point it becomes a gas. Google hasn’t helped with this. Confirmation or contradiction will be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/190 "2017-07-04T20:10:12Z")
This reminds me of a calculus class I had once where one of the examples was about tossing something straight up, with the graph showing how the ball would rise to a certain point, slowing constantly, then reach a peak and fall back down, speeding constantly. Except you know how if you graph that as height over time, it forms something like a compressed bell curve, and the teacher couldn’t grasp that the object wouldn’t literally move over to the side if tossed straight up–that there are separate and independent vertical and horizontal elements to the object’s movement. She was mistaking the drawing of the graph with the actual trajectory of the object. I don’t remember how the subject came up, but it resulted in about 5 minutes of back and forth between me and the teacher with me trying to explain that concept, until they finally had to find and bring in a physics teacher to settle the argument–in my favor. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/191 "2017-07-04T20:15:35Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > I was told at some point that liquid water cannot get hotter than its boiling point since at that point it becomes a gas. Google hasn’t helped with this. Confirmation or contradiction will be appreciated. That’s true, to a first-order approximation. With an open container, water will stay at 100C until it is all boiled away, regardless of how much energy you put into it. [Figure](http://figures.boundless-cdn.com/10656/full/ating-20curve-20of-20water.jpeg). It is NOT true if the container is sealed. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/192 "2017-07-04T21:02:42Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s true, to a first-order approximation. > With an open container, water will stay at 100C until it is all boiled away, regardless of how much energy you put into it. > > [Figure](http://figures.boundless-cdn.com/10656/full/ating-20curve-20of-20water.jpeg). > > It is NOT true if the container is sealed. Well, it’s not true that it won’t exceed 100C, but it is true as it is stated by **ioioio** , that it won’t exceed its boiling point, as pressure changes the boiling point. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/193 "2017-07-05T00:40:33Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > My brother had an elementary school teacher who told the class that the temperature of ice was always exactly 32 degrees. He was one of those teachers with whom you quickly learn not to disagree. Had a co-worker once state this same idea to me. He didn’t know why but ice had some property of never being colder than 32F. Confession time. On another board I post on I asked a fellow member that lives in Liverpool England this: When looking at a gas lawnmower engine, vertical shaft, opposite of the blade, does it spin clockwise or counter clockwise? ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/194 "2017-07-05T02:30:31Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My brother made - _and served_ - raw potato salad. I always thought that would be pretty good. I always liked munching on raw potatoes. Nice and crunchy. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/195 "2017-07-05T16:42:27Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Certain Christian sects are more focused on the Old Testament than others. Catholics, for instance, are much more focused on the NT. A couple of years ago I was in a conversation with several people, most of whom were Catholic, and the rest were other Christian types. The subject of discussion was the giant Prestonwood Baptist Church in the Dallas area, how it’s like a city with coffee shops and stores and whatever else, and I, the atheist in the room, cleverly added “and they have several money changers!” Not a single person in the room knew what I was referring to. I got a blank look, and then someone asked “you mean like an ATM?” > [@Trancephalic](#): > > I twice came across someone who was unaware of Lord of the Rings, both Jackson’s film and original novels, which is fair enough, but they were self-proclaimed geeks. I’m a self-proclaimed nerd, but along the science side of things, not fantasy. I didn’t know any of that stuff that you listed as something everyone should know. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/196 "2017-07-05T19:31:59Z")
Until about 10 minutes ago I didn’t know Maria Scary and Celine Dion were different people. It’s not my genre. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/197 "2017-07-05T19:36:13Z")
Wouldn’t the fact that they have two different names tip you off? ---
**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:** [July 5, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/198 "2017-07-05T20:11:30Z")
The sun is not yellow and the sky is not blue, but I’m not likely to correct someone in either case unless the correction makes a substantial difference in the discussion or is in the context of education. 99.999987%\* of the time “yellow sun” and “blue sky” are perfectly acceptable descriptions. _Number courtesy of [trustats4u.com](http://trustats4u.com)_\* \*\*Also a made up thing ---
**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:** [July 5, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/199 "2017-07-05T20:39:23Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > I was told at some point that liquid water cannot get hotter than its boiling point since at that point it becomes a gas. Google hasn’t helped with this. Confirmation or contradiction will be appreciated. Generally true: if you are boiling a pot of water on the stove and turn the heat up higher, the water doesn’t get any hotter - it just boils away faster. However, there are rare, special circumstances in which water _can_ be heated past its boiling point without turning into vapor. For this to occur, one generally needs a smooth-walled vessel, and very clean water. In order to boil, a liquid typically needs [nucleation sites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleation) on which vapor can begin to form tiny bubbles that quickly grow into larger bubbles which then break free and rise to the surface, carrying away heat and keeping the temperature of the liquid at the boiling point. You may remember high-school or college chemistry classes in which you were supposed to add “boiling chips” to test tubes of water; these were cracked pieces of ceramic that provided the rough edges that served as nucleation sites, preventing delayed, explosive boiling. Without nucleation sites, it is possible to heat water well past its boiling point; a slight physical disturbance may then cause the water (or a portion of it) to violently flash into steam. This sometimes happens when heating water in the microwave in a clean ceramic mug. You heat it up for five minutes (instead of one or two), and then when you grab the mug, POOF - [you get a face full of scalding steam.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XaqCvOpKxs) ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146/200 "2017-07-05T20:58:16Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Wouldn’t the fact that they have two different names tip you off? You would hope! I dunno what to say. It was Canadian, and it was wailing and had long hair. I know that also describes Neil Young so there is some hope for me … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-stunned-that-people-didnt-know/790146.md?page=11)