# 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:** 19
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/361 "2010-01-20T21:02:38Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > That definition gets used in the US, too- most of us would probably say Episcopalians are Protestants. Epsicopalians (and Anglicans) are really neither (Roman) Catholic nor Protestant, but individual Anglicans run the spectrum of evangelical or mainline protestant to (Anglo-)Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/362 "2010-01-20T21:23:15Z")
Regarding the Protestant issue, the term is/was used differently by different groups. At the time of the Reformation if you weren’t swearing unconditional loyalty to the Pope the you were a Protestant, even though pretty quickly into the Reformation there were several branches of Protestantism which have continued to multiply throughout the ages. Certainly England is a bit of strange case in that it separated from Rome but considered itself Catholic (at least Henry the VIII did) but by the time Elizabeth I took the throne around 80% of the country followed principles that were considered Protestant (specifically Calvinist). By the 17th century no-one would seriously consider England a Catholic nation in any way shape or form, and whilst admittedly Anglicanism has ended up in a form that can be pretty much termed “Catholicism without the Pope”, that is the end point of an evolution of church doctrine that has gone through numerous changes over time. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/363 "2010-01-20T21:35:24Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > **TEMPLE** [tãpl] _n.m._ … **2.** … (1535) Édifice où les protestants célèbrent leur culte. _Aller au temple. Pasteur «nommé au temple de l’Oratoire »_ (Chardonne). > > - _Le Petit Robert_ Interesting that it describes Protestantism as a “Cult”… Or is there a different way of translating “culte” into English that doesn’t have the same negative connotations? ---
**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 20, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/364 "2010-01-20T21:42:34Z")
I didn’t know until a couple of hours ago that Chaucer wrote stuff _besides_ Canterbury Tales. I feel like this is something I should have known, but no one’s ever mentioned it before. Even in English classes, it’s always “Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tale, which blah blah blah” and not a word about his other poems. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/365 "2010-01-20T22:15:43Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I once had a conversation with someone from Michigan. I asked him what part he was from. “The part that looks like a glove, or the other part?” > > He looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. “There are no parts. It’s all one land mass.” I guess that makes the Mackinac Bridge the original “bridge to nowhere”. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/366 "2010-01-20T22:59:59Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I’m 27 and I’ll say that I got hosed WRT learning about the Vietnam War (also the Korean War). Every single history class I had in grade and high school stopped after talking about the post-war baby boom. The problem seemed to be that anything after that “seemed” too recent to the textbook writers (and teachers) to really be covered in HISTORY class. Probably because _they_ remembered it happening, so it’s not HISTORY. HISTORY is OLD stuff. I’m not OLD! You sure it’s not just the collective embarrasment? I’m Dutch, 35 and I got no more than half an hour of history on the [Indonesian National Revolution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution) (then at least still called the “police actions”) in an entire _year_ of 20th century history. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/367 "2010-01-20T23:19:24Z")
> [@APB](#): > > Not even references to [the ‘Temple’ at Charenton](http://www.crommelin.org/history/Ancestors/Scheffer/Charenton/Charenton.htm), the most famous of all the Huguenot sites in France? No - my reading’s been about the Huguenot refugees that came to London.[There’s a place of worship on Brick Lane](http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/brick-lane/features/59-brick-lane) that’s been a Huguenot church, a Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque, reflecting the different immigrant communites that have taken turns in being the main dwellers of the area, and that’s what sparked my interest. The Huguenot church was called La Neuve Eglise. Even though I mentioned the Huguenots, I don’t think it’s actually relevant and it probably only came to mind for me because I find the Huguenots interesting. 😃 I mentioned it in context of asking whether all French protestants use the word temple, and it doesn’t really matter whether they did or didn’t hundreds of years ago - that doesn’t mean they might not have changed their nomenclature now. > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Yes, in France, _temple_ can mean Protestant church, although I don’t think it’s wrong to call it an _église_. (I’ve never heard anyone call a Protestant church in Canada a _temple_ instead of an _église_, but I imagine that’s because there are proportionally so many more than in France, even in Quebec.) > > Also, I suppose the French Protestant church in London you referred to didn’t use the word “temple” because the sign was in English. It was in French (eglise) and English. Besides, the original assertion was that French protestants use the word temple _in English_. > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > People have been killed for being Jewish. That doesn’t stop there from being several definitions of who, exactly, is Jewish. Someone could have been considered Jewish under the Nuremberg Laws, with all the persecution that would imply, but not be considered Jewish by Orthodox or Conservative Judaism (if their maternal grandmother was not Jewish, but their other three grandparents were). True. And it’d be rather arseholish to tell their relatives that they weren’t really Jewish, if they identified as such and died because of their faith. It is very interesting to discover that many people wouldn’t consider the Anglican church to be protestant, when the protestant/catholic divide has been such a big deal for so long here. I’m not saying the people who are using a definition that excludes the Anglican churches are _wrong_, it’s just that I didn’t know such a definition even existed, so that’s interesting to find out; I do think they’d be wrong to tell someone who identifies as an Anglican protestant that they’re wrong about their own religion. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/368 "2010-01-20T23:21:56Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Interesting that it describes Protestantism as a “Cult”… Or is there a different way of translating “culte” into English that doesn’t have the same negative connotations? ‘Cult’ in English has a spectrum of meanings. The Macquarie Dictionary’s first entry is the more orthodox version that simply means “religious rights”: > [@Macquarie Dictionary](#): > > noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies. > 2. (derogatory) a religious or pseudo-religious movement, characterised by the extreme devotion of its members, who usually form a relatively small, tightly controlled group under an authoritarian and charismatic leader. > 3. an instance of an almost religious veneration for a person or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: a cult of Napoleon. > 4. the object of such devotion. > 5. a popular fashion; fad. > –adjective 6. taken up by a small but enthusiastic group: a cult figure; a cult film. > 7. made up of a small but enthusiastic group: a cult following. [Latin cultus care, worship] > –cultism, noun > –cultist, noun > –cultic, adjective ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/369 "2010-01-21T00:04:06Z")
I just happen to have a French dictionary here, so I will give a brief translated definition of both “le culte” and “le temple.” Both of these are from the Dictionnaire Littré. Culte: 1. Religious hommage to God, another divinity, or a saint 2. Religion considered from the perspective of its exterior manifestations 3. Religion in general What we would call a cult in English is usually called un secte in French. Temple: 1. Public building consacrated to to the divinity of a certain “culte.” 2. The Temple at Jerusalem 3. In high-falutin’ language, any Catholic church 4. The religious building where Protestants do their thing The word temple does have a link to Protestantism in French, but it’s far from universal. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/370 "2010-01-21T01:59:48Z")
> [@Bacon\_Salt](#): > > Okay, so lots of people are oblivious to any pop culture that happened after they turned 25. Especially if they were doing the Jesus freak thing at the time. But. Come. On. Completely missing _that_ song in the over 25 years that it’s been out? You’ve named two of the big reasons my dad would have no idea. I think he would be pointedly proud not to recognize it. He thinks listening to Peter Schickele give radio lectures about classical music is a fine evening’s background audio. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/371 "2010-01-21T02:09:37Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I just happen to have a French dictionary here, so I will give a brief translated definition of both “le culte” and “le temple.” Both of these are from the Dictionnaire Littré. > > Culte: > > 1. Religious hommage to God, another divinity, or a saint > 2. Religion considered from the perspective of its exterior manifestations > 3. Religion in general > > What we would call a cult in English is usually called un secte in French. > > Temple: > > 1. Public building consacrated to to the divinity of a certain “culte.” > 2. The Temple at Jerusalem > 3. In high-falutin’ language, any Catholic church > 4. The religious building where Protestants do their thing > > The word temple does have a link to Protestantism in French, but it’s far from universal. Thanks for that! Certainly clears the translation up a bit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/372 "2010-01-21T02:35:01Z")
> [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](#): > > The morning news today mentioned a study which found that “many Americans” (no exact percentage provided) don’t know the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon and that this ignorance is the primary source of accidental OTC med overdoses, especially liquid acetaminophen. That surprised me - thought everyone learned that by the age of eight or so! I’ve taught way too many people to believe that the general public would know the difference these days between those two. Too many women don’t really cook anymore, and too many men wouldn’t believe or ask someone if they didn’t know themselves. The situation of the wife dosing the husband is too far gone, and there’s too much stuff to pay attention to. I assume that the general public will make an error like that about 30%-40% of the time. I mean, a lot of people think that -5 is bigger than -2. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/373 "2010-01-21T05:23:23Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I’m not disputing that some protestants use the word temple. Obviously Kobal’s denomination does. But it’s wrong to say ‘protestants say temple’ unless all the major denominations do. The Anglican Church doesn’t, and that’s a pretty big part of Protestantism. Ah, yes, that would probably be a bit of Franco-French culturalism. In France, as far as I’m aware, “protestant” means either Lutheran or Calivinist, period. I.e., those churches that were founded during the Reformation, and no other. Anglicans are Anglicans, episcopalians are… I don’t know, since it’s pretty much an America-centric denomination. Most probably “episcopaliens”. And so forth. It has little to do with the actual religious doctrine each denomination follows you understand, it’s merely a question of vocabulary. It’s probably also that way because we simply don’t have as many different strands of Christianity this side of the pond. [QUOTE=scifisam2009] It was in French (eglise) and English. Besides, the original assertion was that French protestants use the word temple in English. [/QUOTE] Hah, no :). I’m the original assertionist, and my youth was most definitely spent in France. So the original conversation was in French, translated especially for you guys. Don’t say I never do anything for you, m’dears. Hence why I added the (French) clarification, as I’m aware the phrase “Protestants call it temple” makes no sense in an anglo-saxon context, be it linguistic or cultural. For that matter, I would expect any Brit or American would know what a protestant is in the first place ;). ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/374 "2010-01-21T05:29:21Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I’ve taught way too many people to believe that the general public would know the difference these days between those two. Too many women don’t really cook anymore, and too many men wouldn’t believe or ask someone if they didn’t know themselves. > > The situation of the wife dosing the husband is too far gone, and there’s too much stuff to pay attention to. Men shouldn’t cook? The woman should be dosing the husband? What era are you from? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/375 "2010-01-21T07:01:06Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Men shouldn’t cook? The woman should be dosing the husband? What era are you from? I’m pretty sure that **Cardinal** didn’t mean that men shouldn’t cook or women should be dosing the husband. They were saying that since fewer people now cook and are familiar with cooking measurements (including for reasons related to gender roles), many people are left not knowing the distinction between teaspoons and tablespoons for medication purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/376 "2010-01-21T07:23:25Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I once had a conversation with someone from Michigan. I asked him what part he was from. “The part that looks like a glove, or the other part?” > > He looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. Wow, unbelievable. It’s really more of a mitten. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/377 "2010-01-21T08:52:04Z")
> [@Bogeyman](#): > > One time I was visiting Canterbury Cathedral and overheard a middle aged woman ask one of the guides whether they had any of the dishes from the last supper in there. My friend and I looked at each other as though to ask “Did you hear that, too?” while the guide, completely unfazed, explained to the lady that while they did have the implements to celebrate the sacrament, none of the original dishes survive … > > And while I was in college I once presented a paper on illustrations to the Book of Revelations. I was using the terms “Revelations” and “Apocalypse” interchangeably, as one does in German (“Offenbarung” and “Apokalypse”, respectively). All through my paper two students kept whispering to each other. At first I discounted this as normal rudeness until one of them raised her hand and asked “You keep speaking of the Apocalypse. What is that?”. > > I truly do not understand how one can make it into college without knowing this. There is a game show on Basque TV we like to watch. They’ve had to eliminate any Biblic or religious questions because people fail “what is the first book in the Bible?”, “what is the name of Islam’s greatest prophet?” and “what are the names of the four Gospel writers?” I understand the breaking point was when someone failed “what were the names of Jesus’ parents?” And I don’t mean that they went into a theological discussion. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/378 "2010-01-21T09:54:06Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Ah, yes, that would probably be a bit of Franco-French culturalism. In France, as far as I’m aware, “protestant” means either Lutheran or Calivinist, period. I.e., those churches that were founded during the Reformation, and no other. Anglicans are Anglicans, episcopalians are… I don’t know, since it’s pretty much an America-centric denomination. Most probably “episcopaliens”. And so forth. > > . mrAru is episcopalian and refers to himself as Catholic Lite 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/379 "2010-01-21T09:58:45Z")
I had an argument with a friend of mine over the date for Christmas Day. He insisted for 30 seconds that it was on the 24th until he started to come around with, “The 25th? Really? Huh.” And he’s the Christian, not me! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/380 "2010-01-21T10:20:26Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > I have a friend who is nearly 46 and does not seem to know how to add oil to her car or how to check the oil level. > :eek: Hey, I know how to do that. See, when the gas station guy asks you, “Want me to check your oil?”, you say, “Sure” - and it gets done! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=20)