So this was prompted by a recent thread Ambivald started about a swinger convention he went to at a hotel. Going in, I expected people to be surprised or offended at the idea of a big sex party happening, and that’s not what this thread is about. But a number of people in the thread appeared to be shocked at the idea that events rent out all of most of a hotel; this is a very common thing that happens for all kinds of bland and boring events. More than one person skeptically asked about how a hotel could possibly handle such a thing, and theorized that it would require a lot of new procedures - even though handling vacancies and being booked full is pretty standard, and is the kind of ‘problem’ that any hotel non-sarcastically loves to deal with. Also, there was a significant contingent of people who seemed to think that sex in hotels is such an unusual thing that they would need special cleanup procedures after a swinger convention, which just struck me as odd. People get hotel rooms specifically for sex all the time, and lots of non-swinger events involve late-night alcohol fueled shenanigans (some of which leave much more disgusting and difficult fluids around for cleanup, like a closet full of vomit).
So has anyone else run into an interesting conversation or thread where you were really surprised at what other people were surprised at?
On a flight from Houston to Tokyo, I sat next to a man who had never flown long distance before, apparently. He was stunned that the flight took 14 hours. He apparently thought it would only be a few.
When my fiancee was surprised to learn plenty of people aren’t baptized; I’d say maybe half the people I knew growing up (and no immediate family) were baptized so his thinking surprised me.
I’m frequently surprised by how little my students (high school) understand about space. They’re surprised to find out that humans have not visited other planets, that humans haven’t travelled even to the moon in decades, and that stars are really, really far away.
Yahoo headlines written by fashionista wannabes - [some celebrity] wore [some article of clothing] AND THE INTERNET IS FREAKING OUT!
I’m sure the survivors of Hurricane Matthew are relieved to know their misfortunes are considered just as important and impactful to society as the way somebody dresses.
I remember some surprise around 9/11 when the WTC buildings collapsed. After being hit by planes. I believe there were a few different scenarios that might have played out, damage-wise, but that it struck me as surprising that people were surprised that the buildings collapsed. I feel like once you fly a Boeing 767 into something, you should be expecting pretty significant outcomes.