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50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life

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As clever as we might think we are, we all have gaps in our knowledge. After all, it’s impossible to know everything about our world. You might live your whole life believing that dolphins are land mammals who swim just for fun. Or assuming that a "birthday suit" is a specific set of clothes people wear when they turn another year older. Then, when someone points out that it's completely not true, you can’t help but wonder whether others thought the same as you.

Well, negan2018's post on Ask Reddit revealed that there are plenty of people who have also experienced these embarrassing moments. The user asked fellow community members, "What really obvious thing have you only just realized?" and thousands started sharing their stories.

As they say, the more you read, the more you know. So get ready to take a deep dive into some of the best answers we have collected from this thread. Make sure to upvote the ones you enjoyed most and share your own little misunderstandings in the comments below!

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#1

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I recently realized I was allergic to carrots. I just thought they made everyone's mouth numb, you know, just like almonds.... I also learned recently that I have an almond allergy.

Canwerevolt , J E Theriot Report

Final score:

436points

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#2

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life The first time I visited the USA I was on my own and in NY and going to all the museums. I kept seeing signs that said "No strollers" and thought, because we call strollers prams in the UK, that you guys are super strict about the proper amount of attention required to visit a museum. I actually pretended to show more interest than I had in order not to be thougth of as some deadbeat out for a casual stroll.

It wasn't until about day three that I saw a "No strollers" sign that included a graphic for idiots.

Flibble21 , anokarina Report

Final score:

425points

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#3

I must've been around 11-12 years old, when I realized that "in order of appearance" during the end credits of a movie doesn't list the actors/actresses by who is the most good looking.

Tetrapawd Report

Final score:

397points

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To find out why many of us realize obvious things only later in life, we reached out to Joshua Klapow, Ph.D. He is a clinical psychologist and creator of MentalDrive, an initiative to help people improve their well-being by providing strategies they can use every day. According to him, we humans naturally adapt to things that happen frequently and regularly.

"We literally are hardwired to move the common occurrences into the background of our consciousness so that we can look out for novel things," he told Bored Panda. "This happens because things that are not obvious, that are not common, that stand out, could pose a threat to our well-being, or could be something really rewarding."

Klapow explained that we often take things we do and see every day for granted, "only to pay more attention to those actions and interactions that grab our attention. The obvious goes in the background, so we reserve brain bandwidth to notice the novel, standout occurrences in our life."

#4

The division symbol ÷ is just a fraction. The two dots represent numbers

Final score:

350points

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#5

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life This girl I know has a dog named Deoji. Two years into knowing her and being around Deoji, I was having a conversation with her sister in law and I said "I love the name Deoji, how did she come up with that?" Her sister in law responds, "Deoji" and I said "yea, it's a neat name". She started laughing and said "No, D.O.G. ...the way you spell dog"

I'm still mindblown about this lol.

PoTinkTink17 , James Barker Report

Final score:

349points

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#6

Saw a place labled as "Public house" when I moved nearby recently.

It was at that moment I realized "OH thats why they call them PUBS. Its short for public house"

Hahonryuu Report

Final score:

292points

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However, throughout our lives, there are fewer things that are different and unknown to us. "We start seeing the same things over and over. We call that maturity and growth and development." When we become adults, we can look at the seemingly common in a more detailed way. "And when we do, we often discover that that obvious has so much more to it that we missed earlier on," the clinical psychologist said.

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"Another reason we miss the obvious is that we sometimes are not ready psychologically to handle [it]," Klapow added. "A relationship that is toxic, a love interest that is too intense, a realization that we don’t have a skill or strength we believe we have." While these things may be crystal clear to the outside observer, "our own psychological defenses go up and protect us from seeing the obvious. Because to do so might overwhelm us emotionally and psychologically."

"This pattern can go on for years, until which time we either have the psychological maturity or our life circumstances change such that we can look at the obvious which once posed a psychological threat in a more mature, less defensive way."

Both of these processes are something that everyone has in common. "People have these in varying degrees and, more importantly, they learn to overcome these hardwired tendencies in order to see life more clearly and experience life more fully."

#7

VERY LATE BUT it's called the alphabet because the Greek "Alphabet" starts with the letter alpha, beta....

RocketSpider-Man Report

Final score:

286points

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#8

The piggy in 'This Little Piggy' didn’t go to the market to go shopping. ... I’m still horrified

—Valiantlycaustic Report

Final score:

277points

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#9

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life The Grammys are called that because the awards are gramophones.

L00katTheAww , CousinJacob Report

Final score:

270points

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#10

I only just today realized that the “walk the plank” plank on a boat is not a special addition pirates added to their ships as a means of public execution that looked like a little wooden diving board.

It is, in fact, the very same plank as the gangplank you’d normally use to get on and off of the ship. It is not the presence of the plank that is threatening, but the absence of dock.

[deleted] Report

Final score:

256points

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Klapow stated that we experience life from our perspective. So what can be 100% clear to others may be totally missed by us. "Our defense mechanisms, our rationalizations, our attention to other aspects of our life can carry us through time without any insight into what others see so clearly," he said. And when we realize we lived our whole lives believing untrue things, we might feel uncomfortable.

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"We are embarrassed because the obvious is often simple and clear to everyone else." He mentioned that we feel this way for several reasons. The first would be that we simply missed what others saw. Then, "we may have made mistakes, hurt others, missed out on opportunities because we didn't see the obvious. Lastly, we have to acknowledge to others and ourselves that despite how we think of ourselves or how we are seen by others, we have missed something."

#11

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life Not me but my sister asked me about 2 and a half months ago when we were watching John Wick 3 during the desert scene she asked me if they were real and I asked if what were real and she said “Sand Lands” and I busted out laughing so god damn hard and said “you mean deserts? Yes they’re real”. Thinking about it right now Got me laughing.

Tonychina23 , imdb Report

Final score:

249points

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#12

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life Super embarrassing but in college I would order Roman Cokes because I heard everyone else ordering the same...turns out I misheard everyone and found out it was just rum and coke

Kaylakamrie , John Arano Report

Final score:

244points

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#13

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I regret to inform you all that it just occurred to me the other day that the game is called Sims because they’re in a simulation. I’m 26.

haleyrose927 , Aaron Parecki Report

Final score:

230points

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When we uncover evident things, it can feel like discovering something brand new. It all depends on how we interpret the experience: "It’s easy to feel embarrassed, frustrated, guilty that we missed something that was there the whole time."

We should try to "turn the internal dialog around and tell ourselves: 'I now see things differently, more clearly, and that is going to help me from this day moving forward'. Then, the initial embarrassment and frustration can transition into gratitude and excitement for arriving at the discovery of the obvious," he continued.

#14

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life That parents have children write letters to Santa so they can figure out what to buy them for Christmas. I can’t believe how I never put that together after 32 years on this earth I just thought it was fun little tradition..

currentlydownvoted , Mike Arney Report

Final score:

229points

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#15

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I realized that to be in one's birthday suit it means to be without clothes. I thought for the longest time it was a specific set of clothes you would wear on your birthday each year. I found out when I asked, "what happens when you don't fit in your birthday suit anymore?" Lol

BeastofWhimsy , Christian Bowen Report

Final score:

229points

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#16

My grandpa used to ask me when I was a kid if I could talk without moving my lips. Being a dumb ass kid I would always give it my best effort, and thought I was pretty good at it. 20 years later I realised the old bugger was just telling me to shut the f*ck up haha. Too bad I can't let him know I finally figured it out.

buttsphincter Report

Final score:

226points

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"We are growing, learning, adapting organisms. What is foreign at one point in time can become obvious later as we learn and develop. At any point in our life, we have a chance to look at what we see every day and look at it differently. We never know what we may discover if we are courageous enough to consider the obvious when the world around us is telling us it is sitting right in front of us," Klapow concluded.

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#17

I was playing Monopoly, and someone owned a load of properties all clustered together. I said, 'You’ve got a bit of a monopoly on that part of the board. Hey that’s funny, because we’re playing Monopoly, and you got a...oh, I see now.

Phase3IsProfit Report

Final score:

210points

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#18

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life That they put measurement stickers next to gas station doors so if a robber is running out of the store you can get a better estimate of their height. I always thought they were just there for something fun to do on road trip stops....

iamconfusion0815 , Ouael Ben Salah Report

Final score:

198points

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#19

A screensaver has a purpose and it literally saves your screen from an image being burned into it. I'm 37

Final score:

197points

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#20

That Michelangelo's David is David from David and Goliath. How did I not know this?? I thought it was just dude called Dave.

gene_parmesan_PEYE Report

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191points

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#21

Raincoats typically have bright colours so you're easier to spot during heavy rain, not because raincoat designers have bad taste

AvoidAtA11Costs Report

Final score:

188points

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#22

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life That Jessica Rabbit is not a rabbit, but took Roger Rabbit's last name.

joshg6108 , disney.fandom Report

Final score:

186points

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#23

Thought that raw hazelnuts don't taste good, because they give this weird tingle in your mouth. Found out I had a nut allergy when it suddenly turned from "tingle" to "anaphylaxis" and I ended up in hospital for eating nut chocolate

LadyWaldfee Report

Final score:

183points

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#24

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life My mom used to make my sisters and I “belly-buttons” for dinner. I was 27 when I realized that they were actually tortellini, but she knew we were dumb kids and would refuse something named so strange even though they were delicious.

no1flyhalf , Yoav Aziz Report

Final score:

178points

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#25

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life For the longest time, I always thought Prima Donna was Pre-Madonna

imbouttonutongod , G.F. Nesbitt & Co Report

Final score:

172points

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#26

I always thought “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too” was a weird saying because why wouldn’t I be able to eat my freaking slice of cake? It’s my cake.

Nobody was telling me that I can’t have my cake. Turns out they mean you can’t eat the cake while also still retaining it. Once it is eaten, it is gone. An idiom I did not understand until this year. I am 27.

crossradical Report

Final score:

170points

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#27

Oh you want a freaking doozy? For YEARS, I did not realize it was Mike Myers playing both Austin Powers AND Dr Evil. I don't know how I missed it, but it never twigged that it was the same actor. Felt like a right royal twat when that was pointed out to me!

[deleted] Report

Final score:

169points

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#28

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I live in a part of Chicago called Greektown for 8 years and never realized the blue and white Christmas lights were meant to represent the colors on their flag. It just dawned on me today.

letsgetrandy , Renee Fisher Report

Final score:

165points

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#29

I'm in my fifties. I grew up in a rural area north of New York City, I'm a veteran, I'm reasonably intelligent, reasonably well-traveled.

I've been hearing (and repeating this expression on and off for all of my life:

Friend/acquaintance 1: "Hey, man see you soon!" Friend/acquaintance 2: "Not if I see you first." smirk

It's just within the last few years that I realized that's a -almost always joking, kind- jab at Friend/acquaintance 1.

It was so ritualized as a way to say goodnight to a buddy, that it never occurred to me that it meant that the friend would choose to avoid the other person.

MordicusEgg Report

Final score:

164points

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#30

In the movie "Cats vs Dogs" when the dog goes "Son of my mom!" He's actually saying Son of a b*tch

Albus-PWB-Dumbledore Report

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156points

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#31

The mommy in that Christmas song wasn't cheating with Santa but instead, it's the dad dressed in a Santa Claus costume. That's why 'I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus

maven-blood Report

Final score:

156points

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#32

Cruella de Vil was a cruel devil.

anonymouspimp Report

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155points

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#33

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life This is going to make me seem dumb as hell but I recently realized why pickles don’t ever.. come fresh...

thisisisle , SuckerPunch Gourmet Report

Final score:

149points

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#34

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life For a long time I thought "to bust a nut" meant that you were going to kick a guy in the balls or beat him up. So anytime I was getting worked up or angry talking about some guy I would say " I'm going to bust his f*cking nut" not knowing the real meaning. Nobody ever said anything but it was always followed by my friends laughing so I assumed it was because I was being dramatic.

Years go by and my coworker is telling me about some rude person he met and I said "you should definitely bust that guy's nut", to which he paused and said "do you even know what that means?" Suffice it to say I was extremely embarrassed and horrified when he explained it to me.

Seacreeplandcreep , Creaslim Report

Final score:

148points

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#35

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life When I was little for some reason I hated toast. Just hated it. My parents always tried to make me eat it but I always refused. My grandma decided to try something different. She took toast, cut it up into tiny squares, put some butter on them and called them “Little Pillows.” I ate them all the time. Only now, at 22 years old, did I realize it was just freakin toast.

Cosplaybaby13 , charlesdeluvio Report

Final score:

144points

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#36

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life When I was little we had an Australian shepherd named Sydney. I didn’t understand why her name was Sydney until 18 years later.

Doggieboy5 , Joséphine Menge Report

Final score:

141points

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#37

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I live in Denmark so english is not my native language and I just realised that weekend means the end of the week.

denmark-the-best , Isabella and Zsa Fischer Report

Final score:

138points

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#38

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I thought astigmatism was A stigmatism. So I thought you could have two stigmatisms

matthewdeanschmittw , Amanda Dalbjörn Report

Final score:

134points

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#39

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life That big ship's wheel I got to turn as a kid was not actually controlling the cruise ship.

MiscWalrus , Ray Harrington Report

Final score:

133points

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#40

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life The song "it's getting hot in here" isn't actually talking about here temperature

I felt very, very stupid

ekoth , Nelly Report

Final score:

131points

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#41

I’m 30 and I realized a few months ago that “howdy” is Cowboy for “how do you do”

Azor_a-hole Report

Final score:

129points

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#42

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life My friend (22 y.o) only realized last year that dolphins have to swim and live in the water to survive. He thought they're land mammals but they just really like to swim for fun.

marshmeowllo , Ádám Berkecz Report

Final score:

128points

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#43

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life That to take off the plastic piece on top of deodorant you just simply twist the bottom a few times lmao

woodyprowlers , Ana Essentiels Report

Final score:

126points

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#44

That the phrase mint condition means like new because it's the condition coins leave the mint in

BiracialMonster Report

Final score:

122points

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#45

I kept seeing the same Chinese characters on restaurant's signs and I always wanted to know what it meant. A week ago I found out: they mean restaurant.

TiredOstrich Report

Final score:

118points

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#46

My boyfriend did not know that his electric toothbrush has a timer on it that goes off at 1 minute and 2 minutes. He actually returned it and got a new one thinking it was broken, since the “timer” is just a brief sort of pause/reduction in the vibration. He would be like “wtf I literally just charged this f*cking thing” thinking that the battery was already dying. One day, and I can’t remember exactly what the conversation was, I brought up how I liked that my toothbrush let me know when I had brushed long enough, and it was like a lightbulb went off in his head and suddenly he put it together that that was what his toothbrush was doing all along.

rileyjw90 Report

Final score:

117points

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#47

Cilantro and Coriander are the same plant.

MongoBongoTown Report

Final score:

109points

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#48

My whole life I thought "Pay-per-view" was actually "paper view" because I had only ever heard people say it, and only recently saw it written out.

BuffyFischer Report

Final score:

107points

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#49

I was 28 before I realized the meaning to the why is 6 afraid of 7 joke. I always just thought it was dumb, 7,8,9, like you’re just counting.......the electric bill wasn’t paid until later in my life.

RemyDodger Report

Final score:

99points

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#50

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life The houses in Bikini Bottom are car mufflers...

hi_its_lizzy616 Report

Final score:

94points

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#51

When I was a kid my mom told me my rabbit Rosie went to live on a farm. In my early twenties I saw an episode of The Sopranos where everyone makes fun of Tony when he realizes his dog didn't really go to live on a farm. That's when I realized Rosie had not gone to a farm either. Edit: I would like to officially apologize for the cascading wave of terrible realizations my post has caused. Truly we sit on Thrones of Lies. ~~~~~edit 2: it turns out a lot of animals really do get to go live on the farm from the responses here so that's cool

Final score:

52points

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#52

I just finished reading Dracula by Bram Stoker. At the end of the book, there was a little blurb about the author, Abraham Stoker. Bram is short for Abraham. I didn't know that.

AM-SPARTA81 Report

Final score:

48points

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#53

This is so so stupid but I didn’t realize my moms were gay until I was almost 14 and I literally heard my mom say “I’m gay” to my grandma as a joke.

I knew that lesbians/same-sex/gay were relatively interchangeable but it didn’t click as “my moms are lesbians which is another term for being gay and they are gay” until that moment.

Final score:

45points

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#54

As a child I was confused as to why Mary, Kate, and Ashley were referred to as the Olsen twins and why ads on TV only ever showed two of them at a time.

And then 16 year old me found out about Mary-Kate.

PM_ME__RECIPES Report

Final score:

44points

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#55

English is not my first language, so I was mind blown when I realized how "keys", "kiss", "he's", "his", "this", "these", etc differed in sound (pronunciation).

I first noticed this when I told my boyfriend I wanted a "keys" and he looked very confused lol. Now I try my best to pronounce them properly

hercanick Report

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44points

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#56

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life Valve released Steam. It took me a long time to realize the pun.

hobbitdude13 , Magnet.me Report

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43points

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#57

Not just now, but I think it applies. I'm currently in my mid 30s. I didn't realize until I was about 28 years old that my mom's name was Betty and her sister's name was Wilma. Betty and Wilma. From the Flintstones. (And yes, they were definitely named after the cartoon, I asked.)

Flash forward two years later, my aunt Wilma informed me that they were fraternal twins. Again, another thing for 30 years I had not known.

Edit: A few folks have asked for a bit of context on the twin thing. My mom died when I was fairly going so I never had her birthday as a thing. I wasn't super close to Wilma, so I wasn't really celebrating hers either. I guess it was just "known" in my family so nobody ever mentioned it until totally randomly she said something about it.

On the name thing, they actually both went by nicknames their whole lives so I never even thought of them as Betty and Wilma, but just Mom and Aunt Cookie (she likes to bake).

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42points

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#58

...learned from a similar thread, but I was 40 years old before I realized that there is an arrow indicating what side the gas cap is on by the gas gauge.

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#59

That people who always seem to know what direction it is (north, south, east, west) AREN’T somehow magical magnets but are rather just noticing where the goddamn sun is in the sky... why did no one tell me?!

vegansunshine1 Report

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41points

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#60

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life I learned that allspice is actually one spice and not a blend of spices containing cinnamon and nutmeg.

sarloui , hue12 photography Report

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40points

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#61

I always found it funny how ABBA songs fit the movie Mamma Mia so well...it took me years to figure out the movie was made around the songs

janny124 Report

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40points

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#62

Today my friend realised pipe cleaners were originally for cleaning pipes....

(after I suggested using one to clean a metal straw because it's similar to a pipe)

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#63

Personal injury lawyer commercials play more frequently during daytime TV because their clientele is injured, stuck at home, and watching daytime TV.

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#64

The reason the cord hook on the vacuum spins is so you can take the whole cord off at once instead of unraveling it one loop at a time, like I have been my whole life.

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39points

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#65

When people said 'it's a double-edged sword,' I thought the sword's hilt was also a sword. Only until yesterday, it was explained to me by my brother that it was just sharp on both sides of the blade

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39points

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#66

Phineas and Ferb are shaped like a p and an f

misterman573 Report

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#67

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life Pancakes are cakes made in a pan I thought they were invented by a guy named Pan until this morning

izoom19 , Nikita Broutman Report

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38points

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#68

Undergarments and socks are there to cover places that sweat and stink so that you don't sweat and stink on the thing on top of the undergarment and can replace the undergarment more often

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38points

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#69

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life That my girlfriends name is actually spelled Kihyah , I really though it was spelled Kia. Luckily she never found this fact out.

MrSir_ , Sonnie Hiles Report

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38points

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#70

Dove soap and Dove chocolate are different companies.

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37points

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#71

Eeyore' is the noise donkeys make

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36points

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#72

I was a voracious reader and was way ahead of the curve during school, but didn't realize until age 50 that there are two discreets/discretes.

One website said the trick to remembering them is the two E letters stay next to each other when they want to whisper a secret.

RealisticDelusions77 Report

Final score:

35points

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#73

That calling some one simple is just a nice way of calling some one stupid. Wife informed me of this, after 28 years of my grandma calling me simple.

masterlink91 Report

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35points

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#74

When teenagers said “we’re going to TP a house” I always thought it was “teepee” and it never made sense to me since they just covered a house with toilet paper. I recently realized that TP was the initials for toilet paper.. I’m 27.

jordybee Report

Final score:

35points

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"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

#75

I didnt know the characters on Family Guy had accents. Live in New England Watching with my wife (not from here) and she says wow they really nailed the accents! I say "what accents?" Blew my mind when she explained not everyone talks like that lmao

MrsUnicornRainbow81 Report

Final score:

33points

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#76

When I realize words I use all the time are painfully literal in their meaning. For example, breakfast implies you are literally "breaking your fast". Afternoon is "after the noon hour". I feel that when I find words like these, I've had an radical realization, but, I'm just dense.

spennymac Report

Final score:

33points

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#77

i realized at the age of 26 that narwhals are real because they were on an octonauts episode

i walked into the room and was like, "i thought they only do real animals on this show" then the kids' dad said, "you're joking... right?"

sjoy1147 Report

Final score:

33points

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“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

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College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

#78

That Ecuador is named after the Equator.

badgeringbadger Report

Final score:

33points

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#79

In order to properly use a hand dryer, you have to rub your hands.

I used to just put my hands under it and question why it was taking so long, but then I saw one of my friends rubbing their hands, and I felt stupid

yFakeNameIsGUS Report

Final score:

33points

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#80

It's "For all intents and purposes", not "For all intensive purposes." How did I not recognize what I'm saying just doesn't make sense?

Final score:

32points

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#81

I learned a couple years ago that it's not "The mayor of bad news" it's actually "the bearer of bad news". I'm 25.

SentientKayak Report

Final score:

32points

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#82

Say My Name by Destiny’s Child is about a girl on the phone to her man and she wants proof that he’s not with another girl

mikeybeeee Report

Final score:

32points

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#83

It's called a Department Store because there are, wait for it, separate departments within the one store.

I had a Sudden Clarity Clarence moment with that one recently.

BlueShoeLover Report

Final score:

31points

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#84

My bedroom door was broke and I finally got around to fixing it. Thought the knob was broke cause it was pushed in towards the door so I pulled it out and realized that was how you locked the door.

GoldenRaider2 Report

Final score:

31points

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#85

Ok, this was a couple of years ago, but it was something I realized WAY too late in my life...

You're supposed to use the towel to dry yourself after a shower. I was just wrapping it around myself and sitting / walking around in it until I air dried.

EnoughToBeAnnon Report

Final score:

29points

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#86

The Lead singer of Blur, is the lead singer of Gorillaz.

ReadaboutitXD Report

Final score:

28points

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#87

That when I was a kid and my dad would take me to the video store on Friday nights and he would go into the back room where only adults were allowed, that he was looking at porn.

FashunHouzz Report

Final score:

28points

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#88

That you have to add a can of water to Campbell's soup. Apparently I've been drinking straight condensed soup...

seyEycipS Report

Final score:

27points

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#89

Not me but my husband just understood that queue is pronounced 'q' and not 'quay'. His mind was blown

yourmomeatscatpoop Report

Final score:

26points

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#90

By “tornados sound like trains” they don’t mean tornados whistle a “choo choo” sound.

dysenteryjerry Report

Final score:

26points

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#91

Alucard from castlevania is Dracula backwards

ZenTheCrusader Report

Final score:

26points

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#92

A chef is called a chef in a restaurant because restaurants originated in France and ‘chef’ just means 'boss' in French

TheRaptureCircuit Report

Final score:

26points

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#93

This sounds ridiculous, but I recently found out about the term "knee jerk reaction"

My whole life I had been saying it how I heard it, and just figured it was spelled something like "neidric reaction" like it was some psychology term

fblake91 Report

Final score:

23points

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#94

I used to always pour water into our coffee maker one glass at a time. It was such a pain in the ass, especially to fill the reservoir to the number of cups I wanted. Until I realized I could just fill the carafe with water, which has the exact same measurements, and pour the water in that way

bchillerr Report

Final score:

23points

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#95

Up until last year I thought Nat Geo was a person. I then realised it was short for National Geographic.

fffffffffrrrr Report

Final score:

23points

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#96

The villain in Halloween is not played by Michael Myers.

Final score:

22points

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#97

Tenure is the word - not ‘ten year’, which is what I thought teachers got as like job security once they’d worked for 10 years.

maxxhock Report

Final score:

22points

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#98

It called Men’s Wearhouse and not Men’s Warehouse. It’s been a couple years since I realized this and I just think that’s a clever name.

Will_Dove Report

Final score:

21points

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#99

That the Houston Astros name comes from astronauts

[deleted] Report

Final score:

20points

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#100

Today the radio taught me Mariah Carey wrote and sang “All I Want for Christmas is You.” All this time I thought it was just a cover that she did so well, people loved it more than the original. Turns out it is the original

Snoopl0ver69 Report

Final score:

20points

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#101

50 Obvious Things People Found Out Hilariously Late In Life that a skirt and a dress are two different things. I'm 42.

Owlmoose , Artem Maltsev Report

Final score:

20points

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#102

Principal Belding from Saved by the Bell is named "bell ding."

2milkshakes1straw Report

Final score:

19points

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#103

I am never 0% responsible for my issues. I am always 1% - 100% responsible.

[deleted] Report

Final score:

16points

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#104

SNL cast members are listed in alphabetical order in the opening credits. Have been watching for 30 years...

Spaventoo Report

Final score:

16points

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#105

That alcohol doesn’t freeze in a regular freezer.

kittyxandra Report

Final score:

14points

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Ieva Gailiūtė

Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.

Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.

Ilona Baliūnaitė

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

What do you think ?

Agfox 2 years ago

I'm disappointed that no-one mentioned the well-know hymn lyric, "The cross eyed bear for Jesus"

17points

Kristin Corlett 2 years ago

It's Gladly, the cross eyed bear. The bears name is Gladly!

12points

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GoddessOdd 2 years ago

And that wonderful woman, Amazing Grace.

3points

Lauren Caswell 2 years ago

What about the festive classic, "D**k the horse eats bowls of holly"?

1point

ZAPanda 2 years ago

Also to "forgive the people that sin again, stus."

1point

HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago

I had just moved to Nova Scotia and went to the MicMac Mall in Halifax. I assumed it was recognition of the Scots (Mac) and Irish (mic) who settled there. I mean Nova Scotia means New Scotland .Boy, was I wrong. It is named for the First Nation's tribe the Mi'kmaq, pronounced Meeg Maw. Learn something everyday.

10points

Gopi Gopi 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

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Kate Jones 2 years ago

That when you tell someone to break a leg, it's because you hope they get cast.

9points

Anthony Roberts 2 years ago

No it's not. It's because of a superstition about wishing an actor good luck.

11points

Load More Replies...

WoodenLion 2 years ago

til thanks

4points

Little Wonder 2 years ago

This makes no sense. If an actor is about to go on stage, they have already BEEN cast. It's about not wishing an actor good luck, it's considered bad luck to wish them good luck.

3points

Signe Manat Hansen 2 years ago

It's just opposite speak because of superstition

1point

Kate Jones 2 years ago

There are many ideas where the term came from. It may be traced back to the Elizabethan language. To “break a leg”, in Shakespeare's time, meant, literally, to bow- by bending at the knee. Since a successful actor would “break a leg” onstage and receive applause, the phrase would, in effect, be a wish for good luck. In the 20th century it became a term to promote good luck as saying 'good luck' is a superstition before someone goes on stage. In cases of an audition, many actors say 'break a leg' as a hope that they get cast.

1point

APL 2 years ago

No. Nobody really knows where the term comes from.

0points

Noam Ben Moshe 2 years ago

"to break a leg" is becuase in the past, intsted of throwing flowers at actors people used to throw moeny. if someone really like your performance they will throw a heavy sack of moeny. so when people say "break your leg" they mean that the preformance be so good that someone throw a sack of many so heavy that it can break your leg.

-1point

JB 2 years ago

Slightly more chilling version; not me, a great aunt. She and her parents only realized she was blind in one eye when they tried to play a game of “I spy” covering up the right eye and she said “don’t be stupid, we have to cover the left eye…”

7points

ZAPanda 2 years ago

ooof.

1point

Load More Replies...

whodunnitfan2013 2 years ago

I was shocked to discover as a teenager that sand dollars were actually alive at some point.

6points

Candia Lee 2 years ago

And they are full of little birds ...

1point

Load More Replies...

Mindghost 2 years ago (edited)

Last year i realized that "cinderella" has the word cinder in it, because the original was called "Aschenbrödel". Asche is ash.... cinder... ok >_>

5points

Signe Manat Hansen 2 years ago

In Danish we call her Askepot. Pot of ashes.

0points

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Zophra 2 years ago

This was a really nice distracting read admist all the worry and anxiety with the Ukraine.

4points

Ozacoter 2 years ago

I was about 11 when I discovered that my aunt was not called as i always called her. Her brother gave her a nickname that struck so everyone in the family calls her by the nickname.

4points

Magoomba 2 years ago

I had an aunt named Geraldine. She was the youngest & was called ‘Babe’. She lived into her ‘80s & during her funeral the pastor asked for a show of hands of people who knew her real name. There was about 50 people there. I was one of three to raise my hand.

7points

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Raven DeathShade 2 years ago

I have an aunt known as "Tiddo". My older brother heard my mom call her "sister" and my grandpa call her "kiddo", so he combined the two when he learned how to speak and Tiddo has been Tiddo for the past 21 years.

3points

Jennifer Crompton 2 years ago

My paternal grandmother is named Yvonne. Her nieces and nephews couldn't pronounce it, so it came out as Auntie Bon. Then neighborhood kids started calling her Bon, and she was Grandma Bon to us. I was married to my husband for 10 years before he figured out her name was Yvonne and not Bonnie. 😆

0points

Jo Choto 2 years ago

I grew up with an Auntie Henry and people used to laugh at me and tell me that couldn't be her name, but I insisted it was. Turned out she was Rosamund and Henry was a nickname. Also as a child, didn't realize that my dad and his four sisters had four different fathers. Looking back, it's obvious, but you just don't question stuff as a child!

2points

ZAPanda 2 years ago

The ones about songs make me realise I am old because all the songs referenced here were like - when I was 20 something.

2points

John Baker 2 years ago

We're doomed.

2points

Scarlett 2 years ago

So today I learned several new things (not the realization that I’m an a idiot, I came to that long ago). Also, as a child I thought Rihanna’s Rude Boy was about a fight since I thought rude boy was an insult and that time to get it up meant get your fists up.

2points

BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 2 years ago

I learned this year that that one song in Annie doesn't I fact go "It's a hard NOT life" it goes "it's a hard KNOCK life" and honestly I feel like my whole life has been a lie because of it.

2points

Jessica N 2 years ago

My childhood best friend thought deer cross the road at "deer crossing 5 miles signs", thought they lined up in 5 miles. Learned she thought that because she noted it was inconvenient that the deer cross the highway :D

2points

BusLady 2 years ago

I've been waiting my entire life to actually see a deer crossing the road at one of those signs, so I can take a photo. Wish me luck.

3points

Load More Replies...

Monica Pryts 2 years ago

I'm gonna start calling tortellini "belly buttons."

1point

similarly 2 years ago

Okay, here's a historical one for you. In Canada, in colonial times, there was a French area called Acadia. There were problems and a bunch of them decided to WALK to the nearest French settlements ... in Louisiana. In those times, "di" sounds often got changed to "j" sounds, hence "Indian" became "Injun". In the same way, Acadian was pronounced "Acajun", and when one of the Acadians was identified as being "Acajun", others misunderstood it as "He is A CAJUN" rather than "He is Acadian". The Cajuns are the descendants of the French Canadian Acadians who left Canada to resettle in Louisiana.

1point

Meg Curry 2 years ago

I worked at a restaurant and people constantly called asking for the "bilgerone" but it was different every time. I assumed it was a special sandwich that used something called "bilgerone". About a month later did I finally realize they meant "build your own" sandwich and that's why every order was different. Oof.

1point

Bettie-Jean Neal 2 years ago

Two things... My dad always told me as a kid, "you can catch a bird by putting salt on it's tail." It wasn't until I was around 40 and realized that of course, if you're close enough to put salt on it's tail, you're close enough to grab the d*mn thing. Duh! The second... we were down the shore on vacay on year and I was about 7 or 8. Its was raining, so we were stuck inside. My dad was reading the Philadelphia Inquirer and I picked up a page and started read. A few minutes in I said, "what does DETTER mined mean?" Dad asks me to spell it, so I do. He starts cracking up and says, "DETERMINED! You know what that means!" Duh. I had never seen it in print before and at that age had never written it either.

1point

GoddessOdd 2 years ago

How do you catch a wild bird? Put salt on it's tail. How do you catch a tame bird? Tame way.

0points

Load More Replies...

Heather Talma 2 years ago

I thought that since people said "A cold" and "THE flu" that there was only one flu and it took turns going to everyone.

1point

DigitalCoke 2 years ago

I thought all ice cream was vanilla ice cream until I realized vanilla ice cream was its own flavor.

1point

Dru Mode 1 year ago

I was in high school when Terrence Trent D'Arby came out with his first album( 1986 and on) It was the first time I realized that there was black people that were English *as in from UK*

0points

Darragh Lucey 1 year ago

That when you see fathers in old movies eating dinner in their underclothes it was because they couldn’t afford to change their work clothes every day or couldn’t wash them. I thought it was just a weird character thing.

0points

Shadow 1 year ago

When I was little my parents had a car that talked. When the door was open and the key was on it was say "The door is ajar." This really confused me as a 6 year old because while I knew the car ment "the door is open" I didn't understand why it was saying the door was a (glass) jar. My dad really struggled with trying to explain the difference.

0points

Marnie 2 years ago

This quickly devolved into just "fun facts".

0points

Kaylyn van der Merwe 2 years ago

I used to think that Pluto was our moon for an embarrassingly long time...

0points

Faith Hurst-Bilinski 2 years ago

People should be more inquisitive and possibly give a few extra seconds of thought to stuff.

0points

Koi Dragon 2 years ago

In my early 20's I kept wondering what the meaning was behind the name of the Victoria's Secret store. Then one day It dawned on me that her secret was her lingerie. Yikes!

0points

LynzCatastrophe 2 years ago

A dumb one I had as a kid that I held on to for a very long time: my eyesight is crap, I've worn glasses since I was 5. And for so many years I couldn't understand why I had to and hardly anyone else did. I used to think everyone had the same eyesight and I was being picked on.

0points

Peter Weir 2 years ago

lots of really dumb people wow

0points

Mimi M 2 years ago

Kanga and Roo (from Winnie the Pooh) make kangaroo. Took me decades to realize this, despite them both being (clearly) kangaroos.

0points

ChickyChicky 2 years ago

This post made me feel very smart. I only didn't know the one about nut-busting.

0points

Jaguarundi 2 years ago

I'm not sure if I'm well-educated, intelligent or just plain heavily experienced (old). None of these held any type of surprise for me. I was surprised by how many people did not know these "common sense" words, phrases, traditions & etc. though!

0points

Kenny Kulbiski 2 years ago

There's quite a few things here that I didn't know either. Of course I'd never admit it in public. Oops.

0points

DragonsCrushesCatsMe 2 years ago

When I was little, I always thought that Mabel from Gravity Falls was a robot. Now I think that she got replaced by a robot.

-2points

Agfox 2 years ago

I'm disappointed that no-one mentioned the well-know hymn lyric, "The cross eyed bear for Jesus"

17points

Kristin Corlett 2 years ago

It's Gladly, the cross eyed bear. The bears name is Gladly!

12points

Load More Replies...

GoddessOdd 2 years ago

And that wonderful woman, Amazing Grace.

3points

Lauren Caswell 2 years ago

What about the festive classic, "D**k the horse eats bowls of holly"?

1point

ZAPanda 2 years ago

Also to "forgive the people that sin again, stus."

1point

HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago

I had just moved to Nova Scotia and went to the MicMac Mall in Halifax. I assumed it was recognition of the Scots (Mac) and Irish (mic) who settled there. I mean Nova Scotia means New Scotland .Boy, was I wrong. It is named for the First Nation's tribe the Mi'kmaq, pronounced Meeg Maw. Learn something everyday.

10points

Gopi Gopi 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Load More Replies...

Kate Jones 2 years ago

That when you tell someone to break a leg, it's because you hope they get cast.

9points

Anthony Roberts 2 years ago

No it's not. It's because of a superstition about wishing an actor good luck.

11points

Load More Replies...

WoodenLion 2 years ago

til thanks

4points

Little Wonder 2 years ago

This makes no sense. If an actor is about to go on stage, they have already BEEN cast. It's about not wishing an actor good luck, it's considered bad luck to wish them good luck.

3points

Signe Manat Hansen 2 years ago

It's just opposite speak because of superstition

1point

Kate Jones 2 years ago

There are many ideas where the term came from. It may be traced back to the Elizabethan language. To “break a leg”, in Shakespeare's time, meant, literally, to bow- by bending at the knee. Since a successful actor would “break a leg” onstage and receive applause, the phrase would, in effect, be a wish for good luck. In the 20th century it became a term to promote good luck as saying 'good luck' is a superstition before someone goes on stage. In cases of an audition, many actors say 'break a leg' as a hope that they get cast.

1point

APL 2 years ago

No. Nobody really knows where the term comes from.

0points

Noam Ben Moshe 2 years ago

"to break a leg" is becuase in the past, intsted of throwing flowers at actors people used to throw moeny. if someone really like your performance they will throw a heavy sack of moeny. so when people say "break your leg" they mean that the preformance be so good that someone throw a sack of many so heavy that it can break your leg.

-1point

JB 2 years ago

Slightly more chilling version; not me, a great aunt. She and her parents only realized she was blind in one eye when they tried to play a game of “I spy” covering up the right eye and she said “don’t be stupid, we have to cover the left eye…”

7points

ZAPanda 2 years ago

ooof.

1point

Load More Replies...

whodunnitfan2013 2 years ago

I was shocked to discover as a teenager that sand dollars were actually alive at some point.

6points

Candia Lee 2 years ago

And they are full of little birds ...

1point

Load More Replies...

Mindghost 2 years ago (edited)

Last year i realized that "cinderella" has the word cinder in it, because the original was called "Aschenbrödel". Asche is ash.... cinder... ok >_>

5points

Signe Manat Hansen 2 years ago

In Danish we call her Askepot. Pot of ashes.

0points

Load More Replies...

Zophra 2 years ago

This was a really nice distracting read admist all the worry and anxiety with the Ukraine.

4points

Ozacoter 2 years ago

I was about 11 when I discovered that my aunt was not called as i always called her. Her brother gave her a nickname that struck so everyone in the family calls her by the nickname.

4points

Magoomba 2 years ago

I had an aunt named Geraldine. She was the youngest & was called ‘Babe’. She lived into her ‘80s & during her funeral the pastor asked for a show of hands of people who knew her real name. There was about 50 people there. I was one of three to raise my hand.

7points

Load More Replies...

Raven DeathShade 2 years ago

I have an aunt known as "Tiddo". My older brother heard my mom call her "sister" and my grandpa call her "kiddo", so he combined the two when he learned how to speak and Tiddo has been Tiddo for the past 21 years.

3points

Jennifer Crompton 2 years ago

My paternal grandmother is named Yvonne. Her nieces and nephews couldn't pronounce it, so it came out as Auntie Bon. Then neighborhood kids started calling her Bon, and she was Grandma Bon to us. I was married to my husband for 10 years before he figured out her name was Yvonne and not Bonnie. 😆

0points

Jo Choto 2 years ago

I grew up with an Auntie Henry and people used to laugh at me and tell me that couldn't be her name, but I insisted it was. Turned out she was Rosamund and Henry was a nickname. Also as a child, didn't realize that my dad and his four sisters had four different fathers. Looking back, it's obvious, but you just don't question stuff as a child!

2points

ZAPanda 2 years ago

The ones about songs make me realise I am old because all the songs referenced here were like - when I was 20 something.

2points

John Baker 2 years ago

We're doomed.

2points

Scarlett 2 years ago

So today I learned several new things (not the realization that I’m an a idiot, I came to that long ago). Also, as a child I thought Rihanna’s Rude Boy was about a fight since I thought rude boy was an insult and that time to get it up meant get your fists up.

2points

BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 2 years ago

I learned this year that that one song in Annie doesn't I fact go "It's a hard NOT life" it goes "it's a hard KNOCK life" and honestly I feel like my whole life has been a lie because of it.

2points

Jessica N 2 years ago

My childhood best friend thought deer cross the road at "deer crossing 5 miles signs", thought they lined up in 5 miles. Learned she thought that because she noted it was inconvenient that the deer cross the highway :D

2points

BusLady 2 years ago

I've been waiting my entire life to actually see a deer crossing the road at one of those signs, so I can take a photo. Wish me luck.

3points

Load More Replies...

Monica Pryts 2 years ago

I'm gonna start calling tortellini "belly buttons."

1point

similarly 2 years ago

Okay, here's a historical one for you. In Canada, in colonial times, there was a French area called Acadia. There were problems and a bunch of them decided to WALK to the nearest French settlements ... in Louisiana. In those times, "di" sounds often got changed to "j" sounds, hence "Indian" became "Injun". In the same way, Acadian was pronounced "Acajun", and when one of the Acadians was identified as being "Acajun", others misunderstood it as "He is A CAJUN" rather than "He is Acadian". The Cajuns are the descendants of the French Canadian Acadians who left Canada to resettle in Louisiana.

1point

Meg Curry 2 years ago

I worked at a restaurant and people constantly called asking for the "bilgerone" but it was different every time. I assumed it was a special sandwich that used something called "bilgerone". About a month later did I finally realize they meant "build your own" sandwich and that's why every order was different. Oof.

1point

Bettie-Jean Neal 2 years ago

Two things... My dad always told me as a kid, "you can catch a bird by putting salt on it's tail." It wasn't until I was around 40 and realized that of course, if you're close enough to put salt on it's tail, you're close enough to grab the d*mn thing. Duh! The second... we were down the shore on vacay on year and I was about 7 or 8. Its was raining, so we were stuck inside. My dad was reading the Philadelphia Inquirer and I picked up a page and started read. A few minutes in I said, "what does DETTER mined mean?" Dad asks me to spell it, so I do. He starts cracking up and says, "DETERMINED! You know what that means!" Duh. I had never seen it in print before and at that age had never written it either.

1point

GoddessOdd 2 years ago

How do you catch a wild bird? Put salt on it's tail. How do you catch a tame bird? Tame way.

0points

Load More Replies...

Heather Talma 2 years ago

I thought that since people said "A cold" and "THE flu" that there was only one flu and it took turns going to everyone.

1point

DigitalCoke 2 years ago

I thought all ice cream was vanilla ice cream until I realized vanilla ice cream was its own flavor.

1point

Dru Mode 1 year ago

I was in high school when Terrence Trent D'Arby came out with his first album( 1986 and on) It was the first time I realized that there was black people that were English *as in from UK*

0points

Darragh Lucey 1 year ago

That when you see fathers in old movies eating dinner in their underclothes it was because they couldn’t afford to change their work clothes every day or couldn’t wash them. I thought it was just a weird character thing.

0points

Shadow 1 year ago

When I was little my parents had a car that talked. When the door was open and the key was on it was say "The door is ajar." This really confused me as a 6 year old because while I knew the car ment "the door is open" I didn't understand why it was saying the door was a (glass) jar. My dad really struggled with trying to explain the difference.

0points

Marnie 2 years ago

This quickly devolved into just "fun facts".

0points

Kaylyn van der Merwe 2 years ago

I used to think that Pluto was our moon for an embarrassingly long time...

0points

Faith Hurst-Bilinski 2 years ago

People should be more inquisitive and possibly give a few extra seconds of thought to stuff.

0points

Koi Dragon 2 years ago

In my early 20's I kept wondering what the meaning was behind the name of the Victoria's Secret store. Then one day It dawned on me that her secret was her lingerie. Yikes!

0points

LynzCatastrophe 2 years ago

A dumb one I had as a kid that I held on to for a very long time: my eyesight is crap, I've worn glasses since I was 5. And for so many years I couldn't understand why I had to and hardly anyone else did. I used to think everyone had the same eyesight and I was being picked on.

0points

Peter Weir 2 years ago

lots of really dumb people wow

0points

Mimi M 2 years ago

Kanga and Roo (from Winnie the Pooh) make kangaroo. Took me decades to realize this, despite them both being (clearly) kangaroos.

0points

ChickyChicky 2 years ago

This post made me feel very smart. I only didn't know the one about nut-busting.

0points

Jaguarundi 2 years ago

I'm not sure if I'm well-educated, intelligent or just plain heavily experienced (old). None of these held any type of surprise for me. I was surprised by how many people did not know these "common sense" words, phrases, traditions & etc. though!

0points

Kenny Kulbiski 2 years ago

There's quite a few things here that I didn't know either. Of course I'd never admit it in public. Oops.

0points

DragonsCrushesCatsMe 2 years ago

When I was little, I always thought that Mabel from Gravity Falls was a robot. Now I think that she got replaced by a robot.

-2points

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