# Things you're shocked to find out some people don't know. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353 "2010-01-10T02:44:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/1 "2010-01-10T02:44:53Z")
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 video. So I put it on youtube for them and asked them how cool they thought it was that all those artists and singers got together to make a song. Only one problem. It was hard for them to think it was so cool because they didn’t know/recognize anyone. I stopped the video. Went back to the start. I asked them to name those who they recognized. Final count? 1. They recognized Michael Jackson. Nobody else. This astounded me. How in the hell can a 20 year old NOT KNOW ANYONE (save for MJ) from the We Are the World video?! To say I was surprised is putting it mildly. Shocked the hell out of me. It also made me feel very, very old (I’m only 30). So tell me a specific instance where you were surprised at what someone didn’t know. See if you can top mine. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/2 "2010-01-10T02:53:03Z")
I think the low point was when a psychiatrist I was seeing thought birds were reptiles. :smack: A lot of the things I’m surprised at are about science and pop culture. I’ve seen plenty of references to Schrodinger’s Cat in books, essays, jokes, etc, so I was a bit taken aback that most people had never heard of it. I guess they looked blankly at the joke and passed on. Also, I once misjudged someone. I was at a dorm floor party, and I was telling a story that featured the phrase “conspicuous absence of spoons”. One girl interrupted me and asked for a translation. I couldn’t understand what she didn’t understand- was she stupid, or was this a failure of the educational system? Nope, turned out she was an immigrant from Israel and hadn’t quite picked up the English language yet. This time the :smack: was on me. ETA: I don’t know about the OP’s friends, but I’m twenty years old and pretty ignorant of pop culture myself. I don’t really watch movies, I don’t watch TV, I don’t (ugh) read gossip magazines, and when I do listen to radio pop, I do it on the radio. Not that I’d watch music videos anyway- I’m a synesthete, and it would clash with my mental colors. So I’d probably only identify Michael Jackson as well- and only because he was so ugly he was scary. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/3 "2010-01-10T02:58:26Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I think the low point was when a psychiatrist I was seeing thought birds were reptiles. :smack: Birds _are_ reptiles, at least according to modern classifications. [Class Reptilia](http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Reptilia.html) > [@](#): > > Reptilia, presented as a Class in our classification, includes turtles (Testudines), snakes and lizards (Lepidosauria), crocodiles and their relatives (Crocodilia), and birds (Aves), as well as a number of extinct groups. > … > Why are birds included within Reptilia, and how are they and other members of this group related to each other? Both the fossil record and comparative analyses of living species (especially those based on molecular evidence) convincingly establish that, among living reptiles, birds and crocodiles are more closely related to each other than they are to lepidosaurs (snakes and lizards). ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/4 "2010-01-10T03:11:55Z")
Idle: I am shocked. Only MJ?! I just ran through it and knew: Ray Charles Bob Dylan Michael Jackson Cyndi Lauper Willie Nelson Lionel Richie Kenny Rogers Diana Ross Bruce Springsteen Stevie Wonder I had a hunch on Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Kenny Loggins too. How one could not know at least Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles baffles me. BTW, I am 37. For mine, I am shocked at how few (Americans) don’t know the difference between Sweden and Switzerland (or Swedish/Swiss). ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/5 "2010-01-10T03:14:52Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Idle: I am shocked. Only MJ?! > > I just ran through it and knew: > > Ray Charles > Bob Dylan > Michael Jackson > Cyndi Lauper > Willie Nelson > Lionel Richie > Kenny Rogers > Diana Ross > Bruce Springsteen > Stevie Wonder > > I had a hunch on Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Kenny Loggins too. How one could not know at least Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles baffles me. BTW, I am 37. > > For mine, I am shocked at how few (Americans) don’t know the difference between Sweden and Switzerland (or Swedish/Swiss). Yes, so I’m glad someone else can imagine my disbelief. I didn’t know how anyone wouldn’t know who Ray or Stevie or Bruuuuuuce were…but they didn’t. What’s this world coming to? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/6 "2010-01-10T03:21:31Z")
I recognized like three but most of the rest gave me a “hey i know that guy” vibe. And i’m 31. ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/7 "2010-01-10T03:42:01Z")
I only recognised may be half of them, I’m 30. I don’t think you should be shocked, why would you assume that younger people would recognise all celebrities from older generations? Particularly when most of them (or even all of them?) haven’t had a major hit in years? ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/8 "2010-01-10T03:44:15Z")
I recognized 18 or so, including, most shamefully, Huey Lewis. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/9 "2010-01-10T03:45:16Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Idle: I am shocked. Only MJ?! > > I just ran through it and knew: > > Ray Charles > Bob Dylan > Michael Jackson > Cyndi Lauper > Willie Nelson > Lionel Richie > Kenny Rogers > Diana Ross > Bruce Springsteen > Stevie Wonder > > I had a hunch on Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Kenny Loggins too. How one could not know at least Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles baffles me. BTW, I am 37. I just watched it, and the only ones I recognized on sight were Michael Jackson, Steve Perry, and Ray Charles. I subsequently recognized Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen when I watched it knowing they were in the video. But then, I’m 21. I’m always amazed when I get a blank stare when I mention _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. It doesn’t happen that often, luckily. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/10 "2010-01-10T04:48:47Z")
Now wait a second here, when did ‘We Are the World’ become _cool?!_ ---
**Author:** ![FallingLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/54ee81/32.png) [@FallingLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallingLeaves)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/11 "2010-01-10T04:54:09Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > This astounded me. How in the hell can a 20 year old NOT KNOW ANYONE (save for MJ) from the We Are the World video?! To say I was surprised is putting it mildly. Shocked the hell out of me. It also made me feel very, very old (I’m only 30). Because it was done 5 years before they were even born. MJ has been all over the news for years, much of it showing his progression from what he looked like as a child, to 1985, to now. Everyone else who recorded that song, not so much. So even if they recognized the names - Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Hall and Oats, etc, they’ve all aged 25 years! [Here](http://www.inthe80s.com/weworld.shtml) is a list of the singers How many have you heard a lot from in the past 10 years or so, from when your brother and g/f would have been 10 and on. Lindsey Buckingham? Kim Carnes? Steve Perry? I’m surprised they couldn’t get Bruce Springsteen, but not really the rest. Mine: I was surprised when a I had to teach a college age student, back in 2000 or so, how to use a typewriter. She knew the keyboard part, but was clueless about the rest: how to turn it on, adjust paper, correct a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/12 "2010-01-10T05:03:35Z")
Now wait a second here, who would need to use a typewriter in the year _2000?!_ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/13 "2010-01-10T05:03:57Z")
Well, I’m sort of shocked that people my age would think that people 10-20 years younger than they are would have the same perceptions of the world or pop culture. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/14 "2010-01-10T05:05:21Z")
There’s a shocking number of women who think they _pee out of their vaginas_. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![FallingLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/54ee81/32.png) [@FallingLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallingLeaves)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/15 "2010-01-10T05:13:12Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Now wait a second here, who would need to use a typewriter in the year _2000?!_ A library that had special bookplates made decades before, but needed the donors name typed on. A few years later we finally were able to get someone to scan it, but then we had to buy special labels for it so we still needed to use up the bookplates that had already been purchased. They weren’t self adhesive either, that was new to the student as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/16 "2010-01-10T05:24:18Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > I recognized 18 or so, including, most shamefully, Huey Lewis. :eek: There is no shame is knowing, and even loving, Huey Lewis. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/17 "2010-01-10T05:24:28Z")
I once had a co-worker turn to me and say, "Hey, you’re really smart - What’s further away from the Earth, the moon or the sun? Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/18 "2010-01-10T05:26:39Z")
During the political health care debates I was shocked how many people didn’t know medicare was a government program. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/19 "2010-01-10T05:38:51Z")
I woke up the other morning to find my roommate rummaging around his bedroom while his car ran in the garage. With the garage door closed. He didn’t seem to realize that 1) Filling a garage with exhaust is bad 2) especially when said garage is attached to my house 3) You really don’t need to warm up a car that’s been sitting in a garage all night. Now, I don’t think he’d ever been able to park in a garage before (he’s a transient, apartment-dwelling type)…but surely he’s seen movies and tv shows where people kill themselves doing almost exactly as he was doing. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/20 "2010-01-10T05:39:48Z")
Days before the last presidential election Sarah Palin held a rally here. It was widely reported on as she has many admirers here. We were standing around at work waiting on the buzzer and one co-worker asked another if she was going to see Sarah Palin that night. She said “Who’s that?” No joking around, she sincerely did not have any idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=2)