How did I not know that this entire time? I feel like I say that more often than I should. And I know I'm not alone.
There are simple facts of life that seem to elude all of us on a daily basis. Now many of the things that are new to us can be because of environment and general curiosity, not just just because we're lame in the brain, so don't worry.
I know a ton of my newly discovered knowledge is thanks in large part to the internet. I've lost track of the amount of sayings that I spoke without knowing their origins or true meanings. So I often find myself googling things I never thought to google, mainly because I never had a Google.
Let's learn, pencils up...
Redditor u/boy-1der wanted to hear about what fascinating things people have recently discovered that many of us have known since we learned to walk by asking:
What basic, children's-age-level fact did you only find out embarrassingly later in life?
I was in my twenties before I learned Elton John was singing about a "Tiny Dancer" and not serenading "Tony Danza." That was a relief. I like Tony Danza but he doesn't need a song. Now to find out who the Tiny Dancer is...
Clear
ghost library GIFGiphy"I always thought the term, "the coast is clear"...was, "the ghost is clear" (transparent)."
Snowed In
"I lived in a desert most of my life. No snow. Before my recent experience, I had spent maybe a total of 5 days of my life in snow, and the snow I was in was incredibly light. Because of this I always pictured snow as eternally white and ethereal, like in all the cartoons I'd watched as a kid. Went to spend time with my partner's family back in the Midwest in early February."
"I was absolutely enchanted on my first day of the two week stint. Then I watched what happened as the snow stayed around. And I got to see black ice and the nasty gray/brown snow blocks on the side of the road. I suppose I should have KNOWN snow got dirty and tracked over and nasty but I didn't. Robbed the childhood wonder and whimsy right from under my nose."
The Nub
"My great-grandfather had half a pinkie on his left hand and always said it was because he liked to use it to sop up leftover pancake syrup and had worn it down to a nub. This made sense to me because I'd seen him do that plenty of times. I was so embarrassed to be in college before I realized that was ridiculous and finally asked him what really happened."
"In reality, he and my uncle had been working in their blacksmith shop, and my uncle accidentally brought a sledgehammer down on his pinkie. He didn't want to traumatize me with the truth as a kid, but by the time I asked, I was more than old enough to handle it. 🤣"
Flying By
"When I was 4 or 5 my mother brought me home a balloon one day. Plain blue balloon with helium. I accidentally let it go and it flew away. Being little, I was devastated. Later that night she comes back from somewhere and tells me she was at the gas station and miraculously, my balloon just came floating by. Being a kid I was thrilled and totally believed it. So fast forward 20+ years. I'm on a date and we stop to get gas and we see a balloon floating by the gas station."
"Probably hadn't thought of that story again in all that time. So I start telling my date the story about how I had a balloon fly away and then my mother found the very same balloon at a gas station and then as I'm saying it out loud I realize (too late to not look like an idiot) that of course it wasn't the same freaking balloon. I've never seen someone laugh so hard."
- Bonzi777
The Mallow Tree
roasting episode 5 GIFGiphy"Not me, but my father once stole into the woods during a family camping trip and put marshmallows on a bush, so it looked like they grew on it. My sister made it to post secondary horticulture before she wised up."
I do wish marshmallows grew on bushes. Don't y'all? Life wold be so much more pleasant. And if balloons fly by, I'm running. I've seen "IT." So far I haven't learned much, so I'm more in the know than I thought.
The Meet Up
Season 1 Episode 1 Hbo GIF by Big Little LiesGiphy"As a kid I used to think the Black Market was an actual place like a bazaar where all the criminals would regularly meet up."
13
"I truly believed that for the longest time that hair grew from the ends of the strands, not from the scalp. When I was 13 I asked my friend who had dyed her hair what she was going to do when the ends grew her natural colour. Didn't hear the end of it. My stupidity still pains me to this day."
EST
"I thought until the age of about 21 that when companies had "Est" next to their name, it was estimated that companies were started around that time. It was only when I voiced my disgust profoundly to my then-partner that it was ridiculous that no one knew when these companies were formed, and why were they all estimated?! She just stared at me blankly for a moment and just went:"
"Established"
"Penny dropped real hard."
Cheers to the Romans
"Depends what you consider a child I suppose. But in my mid 20s I moved up the food chain from server to bartender at the restaurant I worked at. Some one order a Roman Coke. I didn't know what was in a Roman Coke so I told him so and but that I would figure it out. I figured out that what I had been understanding as a Roman Coke my whole drinking life, was in fact a Rum & Coke... that, I knew how to make!"
The Clef
GIF by HULUGiphy"I didn't realize the handicap sign was a person in a wheelchair for a long time. I had always thought it was just a neat little symbol, kind of like a treble clef."
I could use a Roman coke right about now. In fact, I may concoct a drink using that name. And now I'm going to google some more sayings. And also, I'm intrigued about signs. Thanks for the new rabbit hole Reddit.
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