ADVERTISEMENT

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

#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

#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

ADVERTISEMENT
#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

#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

#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

#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

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
#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

#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

#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

ADVERTISEMENT
#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

#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

#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

#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

ADVERTISEMENT
#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

#21

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That sea horses are not roughly the size of penguins. In fact, they are incredibly tiny. Stupid Saturday morning cartoons!

ninjaskooldropout , Krishna Santhanam Report

#22

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That puffer fish don't use air to inflate.

skewed-perceptions , Bernard Spragg. NZ Report

#23

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That puffins are in fact NOT extinct. I had a 3rd grade teacher misinform me. I found the truth as a teenager in an embarrassing group setting where I was quite confidently wrong.

shofawnda , Matthew Britton Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#24

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Washington state and Washington DC are two different places.

PotatoesPancakes , SounderBruce Report

#25

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That cows are female and bulls are male. I thought they are two different species

Mary99t , John McIntyre Report

#26

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) At 42 years-old, I realized there is no donkey in Donkey Kong.

Shelsb , SobControllers Report

Add photo comments
POST
Joe Reaves
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because it was named for a person who was Japanese and was trying to translate stupid or stubborn. Basically it's Jackass Kong lol

Load More Replies...
Allen Lavine
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have returned from The mysterious land of information ( google) and now I possess the knowledge that common folks will find interesting. Miyamoto used "donkey" to convey "stubborn" in English; while "Kong" was just a generic term for large apes in Japan, the name Donkey Kong was intended to convey "stubborn ape" to the American audience. When he suggested this name to Nintendo of America, people laughed, but the name stuck. ........ do not worship me i'm only a man with knowledge of Google

Allen Lavine
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm going to the land of google I shall return with an answer

Kate O'Brien
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a thing I make called Tuna Surprise. No tuna. That's the surprise.

Beaver boi🦫🇺🇦
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

well i thought it was about a donkey who climbed the empire state building and caught planes so :|

Venturing Outdoors, GMarin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was today years old when I realized that. I just never even thought about it. But I really like Joe Reaves comment of Jackass Kong. I think that'll stick 🤣

Noona Snest
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Atleast you didn't grow up calling him DonKingKong like I did--44yrs old

Leara Bridges Brown
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wtf? I'm 41 played Donkey Kong 1.6 million times and just now realized this.. wow!!

Caitlyn Fell
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

O.M.G. I'd never realised that either.... Honestly the things, that go right over your head when Ur so used to them...

YHZ
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"42 years old" is not hyphenated. Ages are only hyphenated when multiple words make one description, like, "The forty-two-year-old man just realized something" but "The man is forty-two years old."

Laura Ferber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Monkeys are not donkies! Quit messing with my head! the professor Futurama

Ella Covington
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well heck... I never thought about that and I am 50 and played the game

That pigeon ->
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I ligit just said : that's not a donkey?? Then was like wait, no it's not.its a gorilla 🤦‍♀️

Zanshin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is dumb. No one expected there to be a donkey in Donkey Kong, nor a pack in Pac- man.

Eri Wisniewski
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Don" means boss in Japanese. I think they put boss and monkey together and came up with Donkey but they didn't research that donkey was actually an animal already.

lena canepa
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

KING of KONG was filmed in my cousin's grandpa's arcade! FUN SPOT the largest arcade (2008) in the world!!

charlotte glasbergen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You know why the call it that? It's because the creator was Japanese and he thought the word for stupid was donkey, and the word for gorilla was Kong from King Kong

View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That Flo Rida spells Florida. Also will I am was William. Realized this last year. I’ll be 42 in a month lol

boring_prairedude , Eva Rinaldi Report

#28

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I was 20 years old when I learned that salt lamps are indeed made of salt.

I always thought that it was plastic carved into a rock-like shape

CapaxInfini , Tony Cecala Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#29

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That roadrunners are not the size of an emu.

PURKITTY , Josh McGinn Report

#30

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I was almost 30 when I realized that travelling uphill does not always mean you're travelling north. And similarly rivers can run north because they aren't going "uphill".

I'm not normally that stupid.

Dianacolada , Jeff Report

#31

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That when i deposit cash in the bank, there isn’t a specific money locker just for me.

Financial-Corgi1067 , Steven Depolo Report

#32

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That menstrual fluid isn’t blue. The tampon and pad commercials had me fooled.

Unoriginal920 , ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓ Report

#33

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I thought women get pregnant at a random moment in their life until my friend told me you have to have intercourse in 7th grade.

Ero-2005 , Britt-knee Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#34

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I thought the D is Disney was just some random symbol, kinda like a backwards G. It took me until like 7th grade to realize it and even as an adult I still can’t unsee the backwards G.

Death-By-Lasagna , Mike Mozart Report

#35

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) "TP" stood for Toilet Paper. I thought to "TP someone's house" you just put toilet paper over it to look like a teepee.

crusoestudio , Justin Baeder Report

#36

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I was 16 when I found out you're meant to spit toothpaste out after brushing your teeth, I had always just swallowed it and thought that's just what you do... Idk how tf I don't have flouride poisoning

Charlie483 , Kenneth Lu Report

#37

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) I thought an armadillo was a reptile rather than a mammal

failurebeatssuccess , David Shane Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#38

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) Those containers Chinese food come in unfold into plates.

Brother_Farside , Brad.K Report

#39

Up until 15 I believed If I swallow a seed and then drinks water a tree is going to grow inside me.

SuvenPan Report

#40

“What Did You Learn At An Embarrassingly Late Age?” (40 New Answers) That the game show Wheel of Fortune is named after the tarot card

CurvyNB , morebyless Report