Things that you couldn't believe YOU didn't know

[Zero Kelvin]

Most cars nowadays seem to have so much electronics controlling their operation that there's precious little you need to know or can do apart from how to check and top up the various fluids, check and adjust the tyre pressures, have the car serviced once a year, and call the breakdown service.

That is not true.

Well your average Joe can fiddle with their car, fuck it up 'cause they're clueless, and then pay to have it fixed. Known plently of people done that. You are obviously not your average Joe. Classic cars are also a lot simpler to understand and work on.

 

[Miss Chicken]

When I was a child I didn't know my alphabet. I was a very good reader but I just couldn't remember the order the letters were in the alphabet, a real problem if I had to put something in alphabetically order. I think I was about 11 before I actually mastered this.

 

[propita]

That "brooch," as in a decorative pin worn usually by women, is pronounced like "broach" with a long O sound. I pronounced it with the "oo" sound (as in "boo").

I could've sworn I heard it pronounced with the "oo" sound. Was I wrong?

 

[Captain Shaw]

Until Sunday i did not know the General Belgrano was the USS Phoenix.

I was thinking of that earlier as I saw it on iplayer over the weekend - QI possibly?

I knew it originally was an American warship though, just not the name, nor that it "survived" Pearl Harbour.

Yes it was on QIXL.

 

[thestrangequark]

There are so many I don't know where to begin. I learn something new almost every day that make me wonder, "How have I not learned this already in 26 years of life?!"

 

[Lindley]

Apparently, my blood type.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

As a companion piece to the other thread about things you couldn't believe others didn't know about, now is the time to express your own ignorance (past or present) about things we all really ought to know.

For instance, during the time when the 50th anniversary events of the start of World War 2 were going on, the TV was replaying historical moments on news bulletins as if the news was being broken for the first time. Mentions of Hitler were all over the news, combined with footage of Churchill walking around and being photographed, and for a moment, I thought that the big fat chap giving the V-sign while wearing a dark overcoat and top hat was Hitler.

Apparently, my blood type.

I love it when these Misc. topics all blend into one.

 

[Commander Rabbit]

i of course meant inches in a feet

So I guess the plural of "a feet" would be "several foot".

 

[Finngle Bells]

That according to the highway code if you are travelling up or down a hill and a vehicle approaches you, the vehicle coming up hill has right of way. - Just to clarify things, I do not drive and was informed this a few days ago while in my friends car and he gave way while travelling down hill.

I'm assuming this is a one-lane road? Otherwise it wouldn't matter. The cars would just pass each other.

Do we even have one-lane roads in America anymore?

Cities have them. DC has them all over the place. Chicago got them too (I checked)

 

[Commander Rabbit]

Do we even have one-lane roads in America anymore?

Of course we do. I live on one. One way, no parking on either side.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

As I said in the other thread, I didn't know (until the '88 election) that "Jack" is another form of the name "John".

And also I didn't know what a 'first down' is in football. (I mean, I could tell from the reactions of the crowd that it must be important, but I had no idea what was actually going on)

 

[Lindley]

I didn't know anything about football until I tried playing it a bit a couple of years ago.

Now, I know the basics, but I'm certain there are still plenty of aspects I'm clueless about.

 

[sidious618]

To this day I still don't know what anything under the hood of a car is and I really can't be arsed to learn.

 

[Bears Discover Fire]

I grew up in a politically neutral household (discussion of politics was taboo), and I was out sick the week my government & economics class covered political parties.

In short, I didn't know the difference between a republican and a democrat, a liberal, conservative or libertarian until my freshman year of college, when I learned it in a literature class of all places.

ETA: I have also never learned the 'proper' way to tie shoes.

 

[John Picard]

Do we even have one-lane roads in America anymore?

Of course we do. I live on one. One way, no parking on either side.

RoJoHen REEEEEEEEALLLY needz to get out from under that rock where he lives, and explore the US. He takes far too much for granted of what he believes this country really is like in many locations.

 

[RoJoHen]

Do we even have one-lane roads in America anymore?

Of course we do. I live on one. One way, no parking on either side.

RoJoHen REEEEEEEEALLLY needz to get out from under that rock where he lives, and explore the US. He takes far too much for granted of what he believes this country really is like in many locations.

I was kidding. You need to stop taking everything I say at face value.

Plus, ONE WAY streets don't count in this particular argument because they are, in fact, one way...so nobody should be driving in opposite directions in the first place.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I couldn't believe it when I found out wrestling was fake. It was like a huge punch in the face.


Granted, I was like 6, but still.

/cry.

 

[B.J.]

Until the new Doctor Who series began a few years ago, I was shocked that I'd never actually heard the word "Dalek" spoken. I thought it was pronounced "DAY-lek", not "DAH-lek"! I still have to think about it for a second.

Back in the early '80s, I remember seeing something on the news about Lenin's tomb. I remember thinking "Why is John Lennon buried in Moscow?"

 

[marillion]

I grew up in a politically neutral household (discussion of politics was taboo), and I was out sick the week my government & economics class covered political parties.

In short, I didn't know the difference between a republican and a democrat, a liberal, conservative or libertarian until my freshman year of college, when I learned it in a literature class of all places.

ETA: I have also never learned the 'proper' way to tie shoes.

Ok.. First off.. The fact that you learned about the political parties.. in college... in literature class is just so wrong.. I hope it didn't ruin you for life.

Second... What is the 'improper' way? I teach my kids the so-called "Russian" knot, which will not come untied until you're ready to untie it.

 

[Emher]

Most cars nowadays seem to have so much electronics controlling their operation that there's precious little you need to know or can do apart from how to check and top up the various fluids, check and adjust the tyre pressures, have the car serviced once a year, and call the breakdown service.

That is not true.

Well your average Joe can fiddle with their car, fuck it up 'cause they're clueless, and then pay to have it fixed. Known plently of people done that. You are obviously not your average Joe. Classic cars are also a lot simpler to understand and work on.

I'd say there's some merit to that. Besides it depends on what kind of modern car. On say a Hybrid car there's pretty much nothing you can do on it easily. It took my dad half an hour to figure out how to change a light since he refused to turn it into the shop to change a fucking light bulb!

For comparison it took half a minute to change a light bulb on my ten year old Saab.

Also there are arguments to be made that there are things about cars that would be considered shocking that I didn't know a few years ago, but I didn't really revive my interest in cars until 2007. So now I know how to change the windshield wipers on several cars, how to change oil on my Saab (and probably by extension how to do it on several more cars), what is what in the engine room, how to change spark plugs, how to change the back lights, what not to do when changing tires (clue, don't be an idiot), and so on.

I did not however, up until 2007, realize that the most common engine in cars is not the V6, but rather the I-4... Dad was very sweet about it though and let me find out for myself instead of mocking me. These days I am in fact very proud of the strong little Turbo 4 in my Saab.

Apparently, my blood type.

Yeah me neither. I really should learn that.