# 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:** 11
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/201 "2010-01-12T03:38:08Z")
Years ago I was involved in a conversation in which a co-worker was asked which route (freeway) she took to get to work. She did not know. Because I knew generally where she lived, I piped up: “You take I-70 to work.” “Oh,” she replied, “which one do I take home?” More recently, I was surprised when I used the work ‘precarious’ and the two people I was speaking with had never heard the word before. So I asked a third nearby person to explain, and she didn’t know either. I spent the next several minutes in search of a single soul who knew the word, and I found not a one. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/202 "2010-01-12T03:54:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > No it’s not – if you count Dec. 22 as the middle of a three-month winter then the beginning of winter must be a month and a half earlier – which pushes it into October. > But even if you were right about Nov. 11 being the beginning of Winter, it’s still\* a longer period of time between the start of winter and the maximum cold in February than it is now – so people will still complain about a longer winter. And the spring will start earlier, so they can still complain about a colder spring. So we’re basing the seasons on how cranky people are, rather than astronomical data? Gotcha. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/203 "2010-01-12T03:56:18Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I am probably an idiot, but how can you consider yourself talking properly when you do not pronounce words properly? I really do not know of any rule of grammer where R is considered silent. It’s the rule of “being from Boston, MA”.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/204 "2010-01-12T04:23:09Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It’s the rule of “being from Boston, MA”.😃 I lived there for a while. Loved it. I was always curious as to why no one spoke of “horse” racing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/205 "2010-01-12T04:45:04Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > We’ve had this debate around here before. I think it’s because some women (and men) don’t know exactly what the term “vagina” refers to. They think it’s the whole area, rather than just the… em… chimney. It makes me cringe when I hear anyone refer to a shaved or waxed vagina, when they’re trying to be proper and not say pussy. It’s just not possible, folks! Depending on how close you are and all that jazz, you could suggest mons veneris, Venus’ mound, pubis. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/206 "2010-01-12T08:58:45Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > There’s a website somewhere that collects especially stupid comments from various message boards. One was part of a discussion on evolution. Someone had explained that the evolutionary change is a very slow process, and takes place over thousands of years. Someone had replied “There’s only one problem with that. Monkey’s don’t live thousands of years!” :smack: You mean Fundies Say the Darndest Things? (Too lazy to link it.) That’s a pretty mind-numbing (but at times hilarious) read. Also, I just remembered another one. When I was working at Subway, I was talking to a manager once, and she was reminiscing about old products they’d carried. I told her I thought it would be good if we carried hummus. She stared at me and said “…is that a kind of bread?” I mean…I guess in retrospect I can see why she didn’t know that, but it floored me all the same. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/207 "2010-01-12T13:21:55Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > You mean Fundies Say the Darndest Things? (Too lazy to link it.) > > That’s a pretty mind-numbing (but at times hilarious) read. Yep, that was it, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/208 "2010-01-12T14:20:28Z")
> [@SP2263](#): > > I’m 46 and had the exact same experience as you in grade school and high school. I always thought either our school was too poor for recent textbooks or the Vietnam War was still too controversial. Nothing explains why I know nothing about the Korean War. The Vietnam War is controversial. But I think the real explanation is that most history teachers just run out of time toward the end of the semester. ---
**Author:** ![silvermist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvermist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silvermist)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/209 "2010-01-12T14:21:50Z")
I am amazed that young people aren’t taught that when walking in a public area, if someone is coming from the opposite direction you keep to the right to avoid collisions. Do they think this only applies when driving? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/210 "2010-01-12T15:19:09Z")
Sometimes one is blinded by one’s own perspective and experience. Or at least this seems to be true for me. I have a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and work with a bunch of similarly overeducated folks. I have an interest in all sorts of technology and machinery, and just generally enjoy understanding things. Some things are good to understand because they help ensure your survival and minimize expenses. The other day the news folks were talking about icy roads, and showed several scenes of people skidding sideways in their cars. The front wheels on these skidding cars were pretty much pointed straight toward the front of the car, i.e. the drivers were making no attempt to steer into the skid and regain any semblance of control over the vehicle. Now that most cars are front wheel drive, do driver-education instructors think this is not so important? Do parents these days no longer take their kids to an empty, snowy parking lot and show them how to straighten out once the car gets sideways? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/211 "2010-01-12T15:41:13Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > Some things are good to understand because they help ensure your survival and minimize expenses. The other day the news folks were talking about icy roads, and showed several scenes of people skidding sideways in their cars. The front wheels on these skidding cars were pretty much pointed straight toward the front of the car, i.e. the drivers were making no attempt to steer into the skid and regain any semblance of control over the vehicle. Now that most cars are front wheel drive, do driver-education instructors think this is not so important? Do parents these days no longer take their kids to an empty, snowy parking lot and show them how to straighten out once the car gets sideways? That’s going to vary with where people learn to drive, as well as with different instructors or parents. I could see it not being emphasized so much in, say, Florida or California. Just as a practical matter, an empty, snowy parking lot is going to be harder to come by there than it would be in, say, North Dakota. Of course, just because someone is taught something doesn’t mean they retain it. That’s true of driving skills just like it is for pretty much everything else. And just because you know something doesn’t mean you automatically apply it in a stressful situation (which skidding in your car is, for a lot of people). People panic and don’t do what they should. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/212 "2010-01-12T16:07:03Z")
> [@](#): > > So we’re basing the seasons on how cranky people are, rather than astronomical data? Gotcha. The influence of crankiness on demarcations has , in my opinion, been severely underrated. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/213 "2010-01-12T17:00:08Z")
> [@](#): > > For mine, I am shocked at how few (Americans) don’t know the difference between Sweden and Switzerland (or Swedish/Swiss). We have a Swedish post-doc on our floor, we intentionally confuse Sweden and Switzerland just to bug him. It was all fun and games until an undergrad repeatedly had the two confused and kept asking Patrik if he lived in the Alps… ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/214 "2010-01-12T17:11:08Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > two classic ones: > > 1. the idea that no or very few rivers flow north. I’m pretty sure that this idea emerged because most of the continental US drains into the Atlantic, the Pacific, or the Gulf of Mexico, so indeed few rivers in the US flow north. However, come on: the Mackenzie, the Nelson, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena, the _Rhine._ The freaking _Nile._ (I have heard the version wherein the Nile is the only river that flows north, which makes it extra super special.) Drains, shmains. Rivers flow south because the bottom of the map is the south, and water flows downhill. Duh!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/215 "2010-01-12T17:15:29Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Drains, shmains. Rivers flow south because the bottom of the map is the south, and water flows downhill. Duh!! Then how come the water doesn’t leak out the bottom of the map? Huh? Huh? Therefore, I win the thread. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/216 "2010-01-12T17:28:56Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > We have a Swedish post-doc on our floor, we intentionally confuse Sweden and Switzerland just to bug him. It was all fun and games until an undergrad repeatedly had the two confused and kept asking Patrik if he lived in the Alps… I really hope you throw some "BORK! BORK! BORK!"s in there on occasion 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/217 "2010-01-12T18:13:13Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > We have a Swedish post-doc on our floor, we intentionally confuse Sweden and Switzerland just to bug him. It was all fun and games until an undergrad repeatedly had the two confused and kept asking Patrik if he lived in the Alps… When I was a little kid, the show “The Monkees” was on Sunday mornings. This was pre-cable, so kids were desperate. Anyway, I could never keep the four of them straight. Fast-forward 30 years or so, and I’m watching the opening credits, and for all four of them, they label them “Mickey”. Dammit. > [@tdn](#): > > Then how come the water doesn’t leak out the bottom of the map? Huh? Huh? > > Therefore, I win the thread. That’s why they always draw a border around the map. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/218 "2010-01-12T18:24:14Z")
> [@silvermist](#): > > I am amazed that young people aren’t taught that when walking in a public area, if someone is coming from the opposite direction you keep to the right to avoid collisions. Do they think this only applies when driving? No, that’s pretty much all people regardless of age. I run into this (sometimes literally 😛 ) all the time when out running. Also, that people have absolutely no idea what “On your left” means. Apparently in some language I’m not aware of, it actually means “Stop, turn around, and stare blankly.” (You’d think self-preservation would kick in at some point, but apparently this is not so.) ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/219 "2010-01-12T19:16:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > From the tropics. 😃 > > [Here you go](http://www.etawau.com/HTML/Agriculture/Pineapple.htm). Thanks for that link. Although I know where pineapples come from that is by far the best photo I’ve ever seen of one. I’ve never seen one that close up, and always pictured them closer to the ground, similar to maybe cabbage. As to the We Are the World, by the time I got to the video link and watched it I’d read enough comments to be tipped off to who was in it, so I’m sure I had an unfair advantage when it came to put names to faces. Who was that one white girl with the bad bleached hair, was that Linda McCartney? She was harsh looking. Not Cindy Lauper, she’s adorable, but the one that sang with her. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/220 "2010-01-12T19:41:24Z")
> [@maladroit](#): > > As to the We Are the World, by the time I got to the video link and watched it I’d read enough comments to be tipped off to who was in it, so I’m sure I had an unfair advantage when it came to put names to faces. Who was that one white girl with the bad bleached hair, was that Linda McCartney? She was harsh looking. Not Cindy Lauper, she’s adorable, but the one that sang with her. Kim Carnes. Did “Bettie Davis Eyes”. And for the record, I know every single singer on “We Are the World”. I was born in 1970. This was my life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=12)