We all get blindsided by facts sometimes that we should definitely know but that have somehow escaped our brains for one reason or another.
Know what I’m talking about?
Little tidbits of information that we should’ve learned a long time ago but somehow just slipped through the cracks.
Let’s see what the people of AskReddit had to say.
1. I did not know that!
“A chipotle pepper isn’t its own type of pepper.
It’s just a smoked jalapeno pepper.”
2. Okay, that’s interesting.
“The word “set” has most amount of definitions for a single word.”
3. That makes sense.
“Cats, dogs, and other similar animals can’t see directly below their faces.
Because their snout gets in the way.”
4. Two different things.
“Antisocial means that you are hostile or harmful to organized society. As in being or marked by behavior deviating sharply from the social norm.
Asocial is rejecting or lacking the capacity for social interaction.”
5. Bet you didn’t know that!
“The words Laser and Scuba are actually acronyms and they stand for:
Laser- Light Amplification (by) Stimulated Emission (of) Radiation. Scuba- Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.”
6. Be careful how you use that word.
“Factoids have a second definition: a false “fact” that is generally accepted as the truth.”
7. Break it down.
“The word “helicopter” has two components. They aren’t “heli” and “copter”. They are “helico” and “pter”.
“Helico” (helix) and “pter” (wing, like with “pterodactyl”).”
8. The traveling circus.
“Everyone has seen shows or movies about traveling circuses, mainly in the 1930’s or 1940’s. During the Depression, running away to join the circus was a semi-reasonable option.
Many people scoff at the Florida law you must feed the meter where you park your elephant.
Those circuses had a travel season that heavily relied on summer and warmer months. They would spend the winter in Florida until the next travel season. AHS even had an entire season about this.”
9. Built with purpose.
“Covered bridges are designed with roofs to protect and preserve the wooden structure from the elements. Without the cover they’d last about 20 years, with the cover they can last up to 100. They’re not built that way just to look charming.”
10. Where am I?
“911 operators have no fucking clue where you are instantly unless you’re on a landline.
You HAVE to say where you are. It’s not our fault movies made you think we have a spy level video of you in your car.”
11. Came a little later.
“Potatoes didn’t arrive in Europe until the 16th century.
It’s so ubiquitous, you’d think it would’ve been a part of English culture since 10,000 BC.”
12. Get outta here!
“The plural version of cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac.”
13. Think about it…
“Pufferfish are filled with water, not air. It wouldn’t even make sense, yet a lot of people are like what??”
14. Be careful out there.
“Around 70% of all car accidents happen within 10 miles of your home……because over 70% of your driving is within 10 miles of your home.
It’s a statistic driving teachers love to toss out there, that most accidents happen close to your home. But if you think about it, most of your driving is close to your home. Even if you drive 20 miles to work, 50% of your driving will take place 10 miles from your home. The average commute is around 15 miles, and most people shop close to home. So it’s really common sense that the majority of your driving will take place in that 10 mile radius, even if you travel further for work or other activities.”
15. That’s a bummer.
“Almost all samples of Sea Salt that you can buy in supermarkets are contaminated by microplastics from all the crap in the ocean.”
16. Heard this one from a young age.
“If you touch a baby bird, the mother will not reject it. I don’t even know who came up with it.”
17. That’s only a tube.
“When a nurse gives you an IV – they aren’t leaving the metal needle inside your arm – they actually remove that and only a soft plastic tube remains – so you don’t need to keep your arm that straight, relax.”
18. Bothered by it.
“There’s a ‘d’ in fridge but not in refrigerator. It really bothers me…”
19. No way!
“Just like humans, British cows moo in regional accents.”
20. Some people would have you think otherwise.
“Violent crime in the US has fallen over 50% since 1994 (think about that for a moment). We only think it is more because of social media and 24 hour news stations where we hear more than before. Despite some spikes every once in awhile, violent crime has been plummeting for 25 years.”
21. Isn’t that adorable?
“Baby porcupines are called porcupettes.”
22. Mark Twain was full of wisdom.
“Mark Twain famously once said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
For instance: Carrots are good for improving night vision. Fact: During World War II, the British didn’t want the Germans to know they had secret radar technology. So, they spread propaganda saying that the good eyesight of their pilots was due to carrots. And everyone believed it.”
23. Lots of dead folks out there.
“There are far more dead people on Earth than living people.
In fact, there are approximately 14 dead people for every person living.”
Okay, now I feel a little more enlightened.
How about you? Did you know all of those facts above? Maybe you have some facts of your own that most people are clueless about?
Share them with us in the comments!
