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People acquire different knowledge depending on their age. You start to realize that the sun still exists even when the night comes and you can’t see it, and that the moon is also always there, so it’s not surprising to sometimes see it during the day.

You learn these kinds of facts by experiencing them, reading about them or talking about them with someone else. But sometimes they just don’t come up and you end up not knowing what is obvious for everybody else. It is never too late to learn, but you can’t help but feel embarrassed when you’re the last one to find out something.

Reddit user PralineStriking wanted people to remember that embarrassment and asked what things they learnt at an age that seemed too late for them and the thread got over 18k answers. We collected some of the best ones and we would like to know if you found anything that you experienced as well. If not, share your own facts you learnt at a late age that you should have known about earlier in life in the comments!

More info: Reddit

#1

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That narwhals are real. I thought they were cute mythological creatures, until I saw a brooch a friend had and asked if it was part of the companies mythological line. She asked me if I thought narwhals were myths, like unicorns. I laughed and said of course they are.

I was 35.

katikaboom , Jessica Simpson Report

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Kitty Kat
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're marketed as the unicorns of the sea, so I can see why people would think this.

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    #2

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That I needed glasses. At age 21 my friends were hassling me about being dyslexic because I kept getting words mixed up (second year at Uni). Until then, I had just been reading by looking at the shape of words and guessing the words based on the context and wider story. I had been reading this way for years and survived Uni before finding out my prescription was +1.50. The optometrist said it was amazing I hadn’t noticed. When I put the glasses on, everything was in 4K Ultra. I can now see individual letters.

    CasualPhilosopher25 , Nate Steiner Report

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    DUN DUN (she/her)
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "When I put the glasses on, everything was in 4K Ultra" We all who wear glasses felt that

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    #3

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That the more work you get done at work, the more they will pile it on. I could have saved a lot of my mental health in my 20’s

    Miserable-Penalty188 , Christmas w/a K Report

    #4

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) “Paradigm” is pronounced “pear-uh-dime”. It is definitely NOT pronounced “pear-uh-dig-um”.

    …I learned this at age 19. In college. While delivering an oral report.

    I try not to think about.

    ItsPaulKerseysCar , Helder da Rocha Report

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    DrBronxx
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I pronounce it as "pa-ra-dime", but that's just an accent thing.

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    #5

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That Abuela and Abuelo were not my Cuban grandparents actual names

    MarzipanJoy-Joys , Hugo Chisholm Report

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    #6

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I thought everyone’s mouth got itchy when eating bananas. Almost 40 years old and find out I’m somewhat allergic to them.

    tbr6742 , Amaury Laporte Report

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    Foxxy (The Original)
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's called oral allergy syndrome. It really sucks, at least it's only bananas for you. My list of fruit and veg that affects me gets longer every year.

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    #7

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) The Lion King is basically Hamlet. That was Monday. I'm 41.

    west_end_squirrel , Loren JavierFollow Report

    #8

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) The the longest time I always heard of sports teams “Drafting” people. And I am tall, so as a kid I was constantly afraid I’d get drafted for the state basketball team just out of the blue, I thought it worked like a military draft.

    I learned this wasn’t the case when I was like 10-12.

    Asone2004 , cruisedotco Report

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    #9

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That if you wear a white bra, you can see it through a l white shirt, but if you wear a nude colored bra, you can’t. I was 40 when a coworker shared this with me.

    midwesternvalues73 , Gabriel White Report

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    Valerie G.
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The same thing holds for wearing white panties under white slacks. You need to wear nude coloured ones under those.

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    #10

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That sodas were called soft drinks because they had no alcohol lol

    zejus_christ , supcece Report

    #11

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That you can flush used toilet paper. Parents taught us as kids to throw away the paper in the trash can for fear of backing up the toilet. Wasn’t until college that I realized my parents were accustomed to that method because they had s***ty plumbing where they grew up in Central America

    f**kintacos , Carlos ZGZ Report

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    #12

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Wasn't until I was 21 when I drank Lactose Free milk and DIDN'T go sit on a toilet for an hour that I realized I am lactose intolerant. I thought it was normal to s**t constantly after drinking milk.

    xeredge , Neil Turner Report

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    Jo Choto
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In 21 years, you never met anybody who didn't rush to the toilet after dairy products?

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    #13

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) It’s “for all intents and purposes” not “for all intensive purposes”

    charlessturgeon , Trevor Pritchard Report

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    #14

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That our next door neighbors were lesbians and not just “good friends”. Lovely people. Didn’t figure it out until I was in college

    secretbaldspot , Les Chatfield Report

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    Jo Choto
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hopefully nobody told you they were good friends to avoid talking about same-sex couples with you.

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    #15

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Ponies are NOT baby horses

    phrygN , Rigothamus Report

    #16

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Womens pads stick to their underwear and not themselves like a band-aid.

    brettrknowlton , pikulkeaw_333 Report

    #17

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I learned how to ride a bike at the ripe age of 24

    newhvac Report

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    DUN DUN (she/her)
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's okay...we all learn something new everyday, it's not mandatory for you to learn this when you're a kid.

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    #18

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Baby carrots are just shaved down big carrots. I was devastated a few years ago.

    Txflood3 , dee m Report

    #19

    At roughly 37, I learned pineapples grew from the ground. Not from a tree.

    Human_Watch4506 Report

    #20

    “What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Corned beef wasn’t made by cattle that were strictly fed corn. My mom couldn’t stop laughing.

    Ilikestarwarstoo , Frank Hebbert Report

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    Scagsy
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is it just me or is corned beef a lot less affordable these days than it used to be? It seems very expensive for what it is.

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