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It’s no big secret that knowledge is essential to humanity. I mean, just consider all the things we wouldn’t be aware of if people didn’t believe in lifelong learning!

Folks would still think that the Earth was flat and sat on the back of a giant turtle that was flying through space, half of us would’ve perished from hunger and deadly diseases, language wouldn’t have been a thing, and yadda yadda yadda. The point is, we’d have an empty planet.

Most will probably agree that the enthusiasm one has for learning new things fades away straight after schooling, which is somewhat understandable. You know, we get busy with work and whatnot. However, as the saying goes, “It’s never too late to learn,” so even if you’ve just discovered that ponies are not, in fact, little horses – just be glad that you did. 

“What’s something you learned ‘embarrassingly late’ in life?” – this internet user turned to one of Reddit’s most enlightening and thought-provoking communities, inviting its members to unveil a couple of things that they happened to learn way too late in life. The now-viral thread managed to garner nearly 36K upvotes as well as 31.8K comments containing some pretty surprising answers. 

More info: Reddit

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#1

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group This is something my little sister did through high school. We're about 8 years apart so we never overlapped in school.

She's always been a straight-A student, and I found out she worked extra hard because she "wanted to catch up to me" in school. So we could be in school at the same time.

I almost cried.

rebel_croissant , Pixabay Report

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#2

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group While watching Game of Thrones, I asked my husband when dragons went extinct. He had to pause the show for that one.

ashforgold , John Lester Report

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Donkey boi
Donkey boi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They haven't gone extinct. I saw them a few years ago on Komodo Island!

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#3

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group That Bonsai are not a species of tree, but a way to grow them. Any tree can be a bonsai.

ixent , Andreas D. Report

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Bi Frog
Bi Frog
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WAIT WHAT I thought Bonsai was a species of tree! You can do that with any tree? Why do they all look the same?

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#4

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I was like, 22? working at a restaurant making myself a salad, and I asked the chef for bumps and he stared at me for like, 60 solid seconds trying to figure out what I wanted. I explained to him I wanted bumps for my salad. I have all the rest of the toppings but now needed bumps.

Guys … my family told me croutons were called bumps my entire life. I called my dad that night and confirmed that bumps are indeed, actually called croutons.

YesAccident5991 , jeffreyw Report

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Unknown
Unknown
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depending on the restaurant I'm surprised the cook didn't just pull some coke out no questions asked

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#5

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I live near the Hospital for Joint Diseases….when I was a kid I thought it was a special hospital for people who had two different diseases at the same time.

Baffhy_Duck , Wendy Wei Report

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#6

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I thought that horses had toes until I was 22. I thought the hoof was a “horseshoe” and the toes were tucked inside.

How did I learn how wrong I was, you ask?

I was walking past a cavalry museum and saw a horse statue and loudly remarked “it must hurt so bad when they fold a horse’s toes to put them into the shoe!” Dozens of horse enthusiasts turned and looked at me with wild bewilderment in their eyes.

BronNatsPulisic , Ken Bosma Report

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glowworm2
glowworm2
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Early prehistoric horses had toes. When they evolved, the toes slowly started to disappear.

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#7

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I learned that pork and beans are not called "cowboy beans". I was 18 and asked a grocery store clerk to help me find the "cowboy beans". We were looking everywhere and I was getting frustrated because I know that every store carries these beans. After a while I pick up a pork and beans can with a picture and say "see, it looks just like this!" He says "you mean pork and beans?" Then I realize that my mom called them that so that I would eat them. The look of disappointment from that grocery store clerk haunts me to this day.

whyunoletmepost , Artem Savchenko Report

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#8

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group When I was ten years old, I considered orgasm to be a nice word for a fart. I told my mother that my stomach hurt from having so many orgasms.

Asruhk , Scott Wilcoxson Report

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Paulo Freitas
Paulo Freitas
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, i once got a few slaps from my mom from something similar, kid at school had made up a song ( we where 10 or 11 tops ) and it went like " A, E, I, O, U, VAIS LEVAR NO CU " it was a dumb rime, but ( a part from the voals) it means " you're gonna get it in the a*s " an me with all my Innocence thought it meant " you're gonna get spanked in the a*s " in sum, i sung it Next to my Mother, and got a few slaps, and later, much much later, i understood it meant " you're gonna get sodomized "

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#9

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group When you're an adult...you shouldn't buy shoes that are "a little loose, incase you get taller".

willor777 , woodleywonderworks Report

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Boii
Boii
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can always get heavier, something none of us was thinking about back when our parents got us new shoes.

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#10

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group That you don't have to stand *in* the shower while the water warms up.

MagicPieBush , Christa Grover Report

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ᶜʰᵃᵒᵗⁱᶜ ˡᵉᵍᵃˡ
ᶜʰᵃᵒᵗⁱᶜ ˡᵉᵍᵃˡ
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm feeling personally attacked by this list. I just stood at the other end so I didn't get splashed

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#11

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I though Mick Jagger’s name was McJagger, and people just never said his first name for some reason.

AcuteHazard , Bert Verhoeff Report

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#12

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Jackalopes are mythical creatures. I was... 18 I think? To be fair, I've seen a platypus, rhino, and a giraffe. Those are some bs animals.

AtlasAngel02 , Mark Freeman Report

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Donkey boi
Donkey boi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How can you say they are mythical, then provide clear photographic evidence of their existence?

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#13

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group That pineapples grow on the ground, and not in a tree

MR-LIBERIA , Dave Lonsdale Report

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#14

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group You don't have to rip the plastic top off of your new deodorant with your teeth or pliers or anything. You can just turn the base until it comes up enough to just take it off.

SanibelMan , cottonbro studio Report

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ᶜʰᵃᵒᵗⁱᶜ ˡᵉᵍᵃˡ
ᶜʰᵃᵒᵗⁱᶜ ˡᵉᵍᵃˡ
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I will become a statute for the next several seconds while I contemplate my stupidness

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#15

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Houston is not the name of the guy astronauts talk to

vienna_versailles , Lauren Report

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Fantastic Mr Fox
Fantastic Mr Fox
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention "Roger". Roger that. Roger and over. Who's this guy?

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#16

I suspected it was the same with lots of people but I found out it wasn't gorilla warfare but guerrilla warfare maybe in my twenties.

The disappoints of growing up... they just keep coming.

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#17

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I was probably 21 or 22 when I learned that whole milk is only 3% fat. I always thought it was 100, and when I saw reduced as being 2% I thought "why wouldn't they do 50% or somewhere in the middle?"

willk95 , Mike Mozart Report

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Fantastic Mr Fox
Fantastic Mr Fox
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't know if I'm being the Boring Panda here or not, but I wanted to know: "The reason it's called "whole milk" has less to do with its fat content, than the fact that it's comparatively unadulterated. As the Dairy Council of California puts it, whole milk is "the way it comes from the cow before processing." -- Washington Post

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#18

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Learned this yesterday, actually… apparently you need to RSVP to events even if you will not be attending.

corteser , Kelly Sue DeConnick Report

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Red Ruffensor
Red Ruffensor
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My Ukrainian mom said it stood for Remember Send Vedding Present.

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#19

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group My sister was in her 50's when she found out the meaning of: "you have an addictive personality". She thought after all these years of therapy that it meant that people were addicted to her personality. We laugh hysterically when we talk about this (in a very sad way).

casper02127 , Ben Mack Report

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Boii
Boii
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That would be very sweet if it wasn't so dark. Hope she is doing well <3

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#20

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Just this week I found out about the little button on the back of the socket driver that pushes the socket off. I have owned the same socket set for about 30 years, and I have a dedicated screwdriver that I keep with my sockets and use to pry them off when I’m done using them.

I will be 55 years old soon.

ScaryNation , Bill Abbott Report

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zak
zak
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hopefully you at least knew about the button/switch that changes the direction the socket spins, or did you have one socket wrench for tightening things and another one for loosening things? 😆

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#21

I was 19 when I learned that women have to give birth (or at least be pregnant) to have breast milk. I'd always thought that it's available at all times.

I was a very sheltered kid. Don't judge me.

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Boii
Boii
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not too embarrassing, I see why one would think that. Especially without proper Sex Ed.

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#22

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Until I was in school for environmental studies, I thought “mourning dove” was “morning dove.” I usually heard them calling in the mornings, so “morning” made sense to me.

boldolive , Carolyn Savell Report

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#23

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Coca and cocoa are two different plants, not one magical organism lol

ConsiderationWest587 , Tom Coady Report

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Paulo Freitas
Paulo Freitas
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yea mate, cocoa makes you feel warm ínside and happy, Coca makes you f*****g fly and search for ninjas in the backyard....

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#24

That Cheesecake Factory is a restaurant and not an assembly line of workers making cheesecake. I always envisioned you would go in there and watch them and eat a slice, sort of like a brewery.

Edit: I’d like to add that I’ve lived in close proximity to multiple locations my entire life, and my sister used to go all the time with her friends. I thought they all just really liked the cheesecake, and the factory vibe of it all. It’s not until my now fiancé asked me to meet her and her friend there for drinks that I figured it all out, at about age 22-23 lol

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#25

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Birds have sex. I thought that the mother bird laid the egg and the father fertilised it later. I was 18 and asked my mother what the birds were doing…

drittinnlegg , Henry Report

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#26

I was taught it's fine to flush tampons down the toilet, and would even flush pads, and sponges when I'd clean the bathroom. I didn't learn that it was a *huge* no no until sometime in my mid to late 20's. I'm surprised the pipes at the house I grew up in weren't constantly exploding.

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and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think a piece of my soul just died. Don’t flush *anything* other than TP and the product. Even ‘flushable’ wipes wreak havoc on your plumbing… as we discovered upon returning from sabbatical. The house sitter had flushed baby wipes down the toilet… cost about $300 to fix.

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#27

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group the saying is: "Nip it in the bud" and not in fact *nip it in the butt*

too_sharp , Susanne Nilsson Report

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glowworm2
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I knew exactly what the saying was thanks to Barney on the Andy Griffith Show.

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#28

Narwhals are real animals

I thought they were mythical like unicorns.

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TheNightOwl
TheNightOwl
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unicorns are real! I should know! I almost died getting this picture! Dz7kyKvXgAAF31A.jpg Dz7kyKvXgAAF31A.jpg

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#29

That in Billy Joel‘s hit song „We didn’t start the fire“ the line of „homeless vets“ meant homeless veterans and not homeless veterinarians. I was about twenty five before i put those pieces together, and always thought there was a big homeless veterinarian problem I had never heard about

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Boii
Boii
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's fine, the homeless veterinarians appreciated your concerns very much!

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#30

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group Not me but my mom: waiting for the shower to be warm BEFORE stepping in.

She grew up with a bathtub most of her life, and didn't get a shower until she moved out of my grandparents' place in her 20s.

She was apparently talking to a coworker about the winter weather one morning. While lamenting, she goes, "And don't you just HATE getting into a cold shower on these cold days?! It takes SO LONG for the water to get warm!"


Coworker: "Uh... Cheryl.... You know you can just WAIT until the water gets warm, THEN hop in...."

PoopsieDoodles , Karolina Grabowska Report

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#31

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I thought that ‘prima donna' was 'pre-Madonna' and that it meant everything before the singer Madonna and just assumed she was some kind of universal queen.

vienna_versailles , Madonna Report

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#32

35 Lessons People Admit They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, As Shared In This Online Group I was maybe 17 or 18 before learning that it was Timbuktu, not Timbuk 2. I thought there was an original Timbuk out there somewhere

BoiIedFrogs , Emilio Labrador Report

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Sam Juan
Sam Juan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be fair, there's a company called Timbuk2 that manufactures and sells really great messenger bags and knapsacks.

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#33

The "D" in the Disney logo was a stylized capital letter and not a backwards G.

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#34

That I was in fact NOT missing a testicle. Thought there was supposed to be 3 until I was like 14 years old.

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zak
zak
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*speaking into a microphone* "Testes, testes. One, two... three?"

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#35

When people say quote unquote I thought they were saying quote on quote

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Juliette the Fox
Juliette the Fox
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait… i actually thought thought it was quote on quote until this post

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Note: this post originally had 45 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.

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