# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/381 "2010-01-21T11:42:23Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > 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. With regard to Northern Ireland, it is interesting to note that Roman Catholicism is the single largest religion, but because the other Christian religions tend to be counted together, NI is generally considered a majority-Protestant statelet. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/382 "2010-01-21T19:17:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > 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! 😕 Gas station guy? What’s that? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/383 "2010-01-21T19:32:53Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Wow, unbelievable. > > It’s really more of a mitten. True, true. And my Michigans really go with my Italys. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/384 "2010-01-21T20:03:49Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > 😕 Gas station guy? What’s that? The guy who works inside the convenience store, apparently. But all I ever do is hand over some cash. I can check the oil and, gasp!, even the other fluids. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/385 "2010-01-21T22:59:31Z")
Two weeks ago, my coworker (the one who’s my age, mid-20s) looks at a piece of paper on the printer, turns to me, and asks, “What’s a… ‘faks-uh-mile’?” Yes, she was unfamiliar with the word facsimilie. Fortunately, she has a good sense of humor, so we joke about it constantly. In sixth grade, somehow the idea came up for discussion that people act strangely around the full moon because our bodies are mostly water. I pointed out that, since the phases are just a function of the planet’s shadow on the Moon’s surface, it didn’t really seem to make much sense, since the Moon wasn’t actually getting any bigger. The teacher then began very earnestly to explain the tides to me. :smack: I cut my losses, smiled, and nodded. > [@chacoguy](#): > > No…New\* Braska\*! My little brother’s ceili team (eight people) qualified for the Irish dance world championships a number of years in a row. The first time I went with, I was amused to find in the program that our school was located in the state of “Westconsin.” (I have no expectation that an Irish person will know the names of American states, but I do assume that they’ll do a little spellchecking before publishing something like that.) > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Oh, also, I am perennially amazed by people who think _arse_ rhymes with the General American pronunciation of _farce_. I’m perennially amazed by people who think that the whole of the U.K. speaks a single dialect. Also, for most \*American \*English speakers, arse \*does \*rhyme with farce. How someone pronounces it in another dialect has no bearing on how we pronounce the same word. > [@scifisam2009](#): > > though you’d think ‘Hawaii 5-0’ would help. … Wait, _that’s_ what that’s referencing? I guess I always just assumed that “Five-O” was a slang term for police. In my defense, though, the show was over before I was born ('83 baby), so the title had already entered popular culture. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > He was honestly surprised that it was so much trouble, as he thought it was just like making instant coffee. To be fair, making instant hot chocolate \*is \*just like making instant coffee. And they both taste about as good compared to the real thing. > [@MLS](#): > > I was commenting to a woman here at work how nice it is that the nights are getting a little bit shorter these days. Now, this is a woman over 60 years of age. She said, “Yes, I noticed that. Must be global warming.” Are you sure she was responding to the same question you were asking? It’s entirely possible that she heard you as commenting on the weather. > [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > 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? Presumably, if you’re living somewhere that icy roads make the news, there isn’t much opportunity to teach people how to drive on them. > [@ZenBeam](#): > > That’s why they always draw a border around the map. It’s why the ones in classrooms roll up, too. Keeps it all contained. > [@Skammer](#): > > This reminds me of the unfortunate evening when Jay Leno put me in the position of having to explain to my parents what a MILF is. I had to explain a snowball to my dad. > [@Cardinal](#): > > I mean, a lot of people think that -5 is bigger than -2. Depends on your definition of “bigger.” After all, $5 is a bigger debt than $2. 😃 > [@Shamozzle](#): > > 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.” Raised Catholic, and I still have to check the calendar every year 'cause I can’t remember the date. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/386 "2010-01-21T23:11:38Z")
I’m surprised to find out that my stepmother didn’t know I’m gay. I mean, apart from the fact that I told my Dad years ago and went on holiday with my partner and one of my sisters earlier this year, my stepmum often posts on my facebook page, where it states clearly that my partner’s name is Helen. Yet it apparently came as a surprise! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/387 "2010-01-21T23:41:29Z")
> [@Lunchy](#): > > My female cousin who was 31 at the time, didn’t know how to put gas in her car!!! We mercilessly teased my college roommate for not knowing how to put gas in a car. Then she explained that where she was from (New Jersey), it is illegal for people to pump their own gas! The station attendant has to do it. Same for Oregon, I believe. I’m not sure if either state has changed the rules since I’ve been in college, but if your cuz was from either state, we should cut her some slack. If not… well, then, she is a special lady. Verrrry special. ---
**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, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/388 "2010-01-21T23:59:21Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > 😕 Gas station guy? What’s that? Like a waitress, only with gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/389 "2010-01-22T00:02:38Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by MLS > > I was commenting to a woman here at work how nice it is that the nights are getting a little bit shorter these days. Now, this is a woman over 60 years of age. She said, “Yes, I noticed that. Must be global warming.” > > Are you sure she was responding to the same question you were asking? It’s entirely possible that she heard you as commenting on the weather. Yes. We were talking about how it was still light out at 4:30 pm. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/390 "2010-01-22T00:07:15Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > snip > > I had to explain a snowball to my dad. > > snip. You mean those little round pastry things with shredded coconut on them? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/391 "2010-01-22T02:10:38Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > … Wait, _that’s_ what that’s referencing? I guess I always just assumed that “Five-O” was a slang term for police. In my defense, though, the show was over before I was born ('83 baby), so the title had already entered popular culture. Five-O _is_ a slang term for the police, but it [came from the TV show](http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/fiveofaq.htm), not the other way around. > [@](#): > > \*\*Is there a real “Hawaii Five-O” – a state police agency? \*\* > No. Guidebooks have to keep telling tourists that Hawaii does not and never did have a state police force. According to Karen Rhodes,a “Five-0”-style police unit was proposed by governor John Burns (who was in office from 1962-1973), but apparently didn’t get anywhere, possibly because the legislature didn’t want to fund it or for some other reason. Leonard Freeman had a conversation with the governor, who told Freeman of the idea, and that’s where the idea for the series came from. > > \*\*Why was it called Five-O, anyway? \*\* > Hawaii was the fiftieth state in the union. (The original title was “The Man,” but producer Leonard Freeman changed his mind.) There’s an urban myth that the term five-o comes from the Mark III Ford Mustang 5.0, which was popular with cops in the eighties, but it’s not true. ---
**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 22, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/392 "2010-01-22T02:47:40Z")
> [@smaje1](#): > > We mercilessly teased my college roommate for not knowing how to put gas in a car. Then she explained that where she was from (New Jersey), it is illegal for people to pump their own gas! The station attendant has to do it. Same for Oregon, I believe. > > I’m not sure if either state has changed the rules since I’ve been in college, but if your cuz was from either state, we should cut her some slack. If not… well, then, she is a special lady. Verrrry special. So in other states, do people always pump their own gas? Or does it depend on the individual gas station? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/393 "2010-01-22T02:59:11Z")
New Jersey and Oregon require gas station attendants. I’ve never seen a gas station attendant elsewhere, although I’ve heard they were common in the South as late as the eighties. Florida doesn’t have gas station attendants, but there’s a button on every pump that allows disabled people to call a station employee to pump gas for them. ---
**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 22, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/394 "2010-01-22T04:29:04Z")
Becaue of the price wars, I’ve not seen a full service pump in So. Cal. in a long time, but I used to be the pump guy in 1988. Unocal had an image of being the local friendly helpful gas station, and we even took money from people at the self-serve and ran it in. I guess we could have had them come to a window, but we didn’t. I do wonder how the clueless little old ladies manage now. They used to come to the full service and expect the water and oil checked. One wouldn’t even fully open the window, but just roll it down enough to fit some money out and say an octane grade. ---
**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 22, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/395 "2010-01-22T06:30:18Z")
I’ve never understood the American insistance on self-service, especially in light of your obsession with drive-thru. What, you won’t get up for a cup of coffee, but you will for gas? Makes no sense. ---
**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 22, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/396 "2010-01-22T07:02:56Z")
There of course are plenty of places willing to let you pour your own coffee. Almost every doughnut shop has just a pot of coffee, a carton of milk, and a shaker for sugar. The difference comes when you want something complicated that involves actual knowledge and equipment. My cousin owned a coffee/snack shop and said that even the employees couldn’t be trusted to turn everything off so it wouldn’t burn out overnight. Putting in gas is so easy that even my most “CLANG!!”-headed students should be able to manage it. What are they going to do, put in the wrong octane grade? The worst they could do is put in diesel, and that’s not an expense for the business owner, it’s just “Duh” to them. Drivethrough occupies the time and effort of about as many people as anything else, as you pull away as soon as you get your stuff. The management is willing to let you drive through, because if they don’t, the people in a rush who think it’s faster, who aren’t wearing shoes, or have 4 kids to unpack will go somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/397 "2010-01-22T07:15:58Z")
Especially with the stations that allow you to swipe your card at the pump, it’s actually faster to pump your own gas than to tell Gomer and Goober what you want, wait for them to finish pumping, come back to your window for payment and then run inside to the cash register to make change for your twenty. And even if you come up with time and motion studies saying in some cases it isn’t faster, it _feels_ like it’s faster 'cause you’re in control of the process. ---
**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 22, 2010, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/398 "2010-01-22T07:32:45Z")
Then why not have both? Have attendants, \*and \*let you pump your own.Some people prefer to shave off a few seconds by doing it themselves, while other enjoy the convenience of being served. Shouldn’t a good business cater to both types? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/399 "2010-01-22T08:08:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Then why not have both? Have attendants, \*and \*let you pump your own.Some people prefer to shave off a few seconds by doing it themselves, while other enjoy the convenience of being served. Shouldn’t a good business cater to both types? Guess what? They do! If you don’t mind paying a couple of extra bucks for your gas, feel free to pull into the full service lane. ---
**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 22, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353/400 "2010-01-22T08:21:23Z")
If the gas stations were smart, they wouldn’t charge extra. Isn’t it all about customer service these days? Doesn’t research show that people almost always return to where received the best service? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-shocked-to-find-out-some-people-dont-know/524353.md?page=21)