top 200 commentsshow 500

[–][deleted] 59 points60 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Not me, but I've informed two people in the past year (both who have been driving for 2-3 years) that the little black thing on their rear view mirror is for when you're driving at night and you want to avoid being blinded by the headlights of the car behind you.

[–]PracticalMedicine 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Time to SHINE! -side-view mirrors

[–]vortex320 123 points124 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I'm not an exception to the rule that "everyone dies".

[–]timzors 120 points121 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Well, you don't really know that, yet.

[–]morphotomy 25 points26 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The only thing more frightening than death is the lack thereof. http://www.xamuel.com/quantum-immortality/

Imagine watching your children age and die, as you become the world's oldest person. The pattern then repeats for their children ad infinitum, as life becomes more painful and cumbersome for you.

[–]xelested 52 points53 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]PSNDonutDude 4 points5 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Honestly, i swear. People need to relax and realize everyone dies. Yeah it sucks, a lot, but i could handle this. This would be better than dying for myself at least.

[–]Darkfire359 58 points59 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Valar Morghulis

[–]fireaura08 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Valar Dohaeris

[–]FuriousBanana 10 points11 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

On the bright side, you will be an exception to that rule for the rest of your life.

[–]mcastaneda20 156 points157 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That reason soft drinks are called soft drinks is because they contain no alcohol. I never got why the called stuff with alcohol a "hard" drink until I randomly went to Vons once.

[–]Brynhild 26 points27 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Wow, how did I not notice that..thanks!

[–]Skyhawk1 135 points136 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That I've been tying my sneakers wrong my whole life.

Apparently, depending on which hand you make the first loop with, it is important whether you form the second loop in front of, or in back of the first loop.

One ends up with a self-tightening 'reef' knot and the other ends up in a 'granny knot' that will loosen over time.

Here it is, explained more thoroughly- http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0%2C7120%2Cs6-240-319--13001-0%2C00.html

[–]guynumberthree 68 points69 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Relatedly, I only recently learned how to untie my shoes properly. For some reason, it never occurred to me to pull on the loose ends.

I always loosened everything about the knot, and then pulled the loops. My life was dramatically improved by learning a more efficient way.

[–]huuhuu 58 points59 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Oh man I feel so bad/good for you right now.

[–]Kavyle 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Oh, my god. Today I learned there's an easier way...

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]ahhwell 34 points35 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Protip: if you're lefthanded, the "strong" form of the tying it will be the one that feels natural, so it will generally be righthanded people who have this problem. So yay, being lefthanded payed off for once!

[–]24rubikscube 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I can't just abandon the bunny ears after all this time...

[–]andrewsmith1986 20 points21 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]FuriousBanana 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I've been tying my shoes wrong my entire life. (left, right, front)

[–]Reminemaril[S] 23 points24 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Upvote for making me check to see if my shoes were tied properly. You sir are creating a safer world, one shoelace at a time.

I salute you.

[–]TooManyVitamins 135 points136 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I can put my bin out the night before instead of getting up at 5am to push it to the street. I thought there were neighbourhood rules against that but apparently not!

[–]victoriaj 48 points49 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

In some places there are.

It's a council rule where my mother lives and you can be fined for it. She actually wrote to them about it explaining that as someone who was disabled and lived alone she sometimes needed someone to put the bin out for her the night before, and they put in writing she wouldn't be fined. The rule remains though. It does seem very unfair for people who are old or disabled.

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]dreadredheadzedsdead 101 points102 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I had no idea what an uncircumcised penis looked like till last week, leading me to the discovery that I am in fact circumcised. I'm twenty by the way.

[–]Son_of_Plug 45 points46 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You sir, defy description and I am trying really hard to think of something within my vocabulary that can describe this phenomenon, however it seems reasonable that a man who doesn't spend his time looking at penises doesn't know his own has been modified prior to his knowledge of acknowledgement of the said appendage.

[–]infamous-spaceman 61 points62 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I'm sure the Germans have a one word summerization of what you just said.

[–]eightballart 56 points57 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Neinenschniztelviewen?

[–]LecithinEmulsifier 18 points19 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I did the exact same thing. I thought circumcision was the actual... removal... of the... tip. Oh god, that was hard to type. Anyways, yeah. I learned at about 19 that my penis had, at one point, actually had more to it than it does now, and that I was horribly horribly mistaken. It was one of the biggest releifs of my life.

[–]esw116 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You are not alone. My parents for whatever reason never told me that I was circumcised. I found out probably the same way you did, watched some porn, saw a dude with an uncircumcised penis for the first time, wondered why it looked different than mine, did some googling and then OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK

[–]chanelleol 335 points336 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It just dawned on me the other day that tutorials are called such because they tutor you on how to do something. Needless to say I felt like a complete idiot once I realized this.

[–]IanicRR 51 points52 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That is similar to my discovery that brunch was breakfast and lunch combined to years ago. I am not proud it took 20 year old me to figure that one out.

[–]BattleHall 69 points70 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

How about this one: Breakfast is called breakfast because you are breaking your overnight fast (fast = a period where your forgo food and drink).

[–]danburbul 9 points10 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Thankfully the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (Game of Thrones) books really beat you over the head with this.

[–]agreeswithfishpal 37 points38 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Water towers are for water pressure, not to store water in for an emergency.

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]foxh8er 91 points92 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

WHAT?!

I should really stop singing that at family occasions where we make Milkshakes...

[–]steve_youngblood 40 points41 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

SHARKTITS

[–]thejpitch 101 points102 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Shark Bait OOOHAHA

[–]Apostolate 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Permit, permits you to do things. Etc.

[–]kimbo412251 28 points29 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

No it's about blow jobs. The original lyrics were "my blow jobs bring all the boys to the yard" but she had to change them for obvious reasons.

[–]Spamalot159 224 points225 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Working really sucks. I can't believe people have to do this everyday for their whole lives.

[–]Stembio 110 points111 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

One of my friends just got his first full time job (at 23), and he is constantly sending me texts like "this is terrible, how do people do this every day for the rest of their lives?" And "This? This is what you've been doing this whole time? I've been an ass, you're a saint"

[–][deleted] 51 points52 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I'm 21 and work 90 hours a week. Your friend has no idea...

[–]thelakesouth 42 points43 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

18 hours every day? Or do you never have a day off and work 16 a day? What kind of job requires that? I wouldn't think that kind of work schedule would be healthy at all.

[–][deleted] 47 points48 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

No days off. Wake up at 7:40am every morning, commute across town to get to work at 9am. Work until at least 9pm, usually get out between 10 and 11. Commute back to home, drink whiskey, and go to sleep.

I'm a campaign staffer.

[–]Fatvod 94 points95 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Get a different fucking job. Thats horrid.

[–]BzRy 74 points75 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]Circle_A 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That was going to be my guess. Don't worry, you're either learn to love it or never do it again once it's over.

[–]Calypsee 9 points10 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You should give some work to the guy in this thread!

[–]purebishop 121 points122 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Here's another piece of common knowledge for you. There is a difference between "every day" and "everyday". They are not interchangeable.

Everyday (one word) is an adjective meaning "encountered or used typically or routinely; a synonym is ordinary.

Every day (two words) literally has the same meaning as "each day."

A simple way to test which is appropriate is to substitute "each day" in place of "every day / everyday." If "each day" works, we want to use every day (two words); if "each day" does not work, we want everyday. For example, "We have low prices every day" = "We have low prices each day"; therefore, every day is correct – and everyday is incorrect. On the other hand, since we may not correctly rephrase "This is an everyday event" as "This is an each day event," the one-word adjective everyday is correct.

Yes, some people have to work every day. Working is an everyday occurrence for some people.

[–]Apostolate 15 points16 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Money, money, money.

[–]GlitterConjurer 58 points59 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Mon-aay

[–][deleted] 28 points29 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The bizarre thing is there are people who love to work, and amazingly their jobs are not always Batman.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Batman doesn't usually look that happy when on the job.

[–]theRainChicken 9 points10 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Honestly, anytime someone tells me that they love their job I just assume they're lying.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

If they do something creative or interesting for a living, I'll believe them.

But I do have a hard time believing anyone likes to sit in an office and do accounting all day.

Then again I also don't understand the appeal of Sudoku.

[–]haloshade 115 points116 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Fortnight= Fourteen Nights

[–][deleted] 37 points38 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is the only one on the thread that got me. I knew it was 2 weeks, but never saw the word origin like that.

[–]Stingerc 179 points180 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Mentioned this before, but up until maybe 2 years ago (I'm 35) I used to dry swallow pills and use the water to soothe the scratchy feeling in my throat left from swallowing them. My GF saws doing this and said "no dummy, you use the water to swallow the pills, that way they don't scratch". Never felt stupider in my life. And I have a grad degree...and my Dad is a freaking doctor (he laughed like hell when I told him).

[–]xKazula 342 points343 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Just the other day, my best friend told me that until about a year ago, she thought that the earth was flat. She thought the earth was like the ground, and everything she knew about was just up in the sky (sun, moon, planets, etc) and that above that was heaven.

I always knew she didn't pay much attention in school, but this just takes it to a whole new level.

[–]Massless 70 points71 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is always unsettling to me. The other day I was outside looking through my telescope with my folks and my mom asks, "What's the difference between a star and a planet."

[–]soothfast 37 points38 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

We were at our local pub and my husband decided to pop out quickly as the International Space Station was due to be passing overhead and he wanted to see it go by. The landlady says "how many years does the light take to reach us from it". She shoots, she misses.

[–]babysalesman 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

In the landlady's defence, that is an answerable question. The ISS travels about 230 miles above the Earth which is equal to about 3.91x10-11 light years. To make it more understandable, light takes approximately 1.2 thousandths of a second to reach earth.

So her question had an answer but it's clear that she didn't know what a light-year was or didn't understand how relatively close the ISS is.

[–]soothfast 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Thank you for the science! :-) yeh, she was wondering how far away it was compared "to the stars". To be honest, it was all rather sweet as she was taking an interest and keen to understand rather than just dismissing it as boring which some people do when they don't want to admit they don't understand something.

[–]TwoTacoTuesdays 117 points118 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Jesus, what the fuck.

[–]Apostolate 34 points35 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I had a friend that thought unicorns existed fully into high school, but this fucking makes her look like a rocket scientist.

[–]mars_de_milo 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I was discussing the lunar landing with a coworker when he said, "Here's what I don't understand, how can we land on something that has no gravity"

Proceed to explain how gravity works.

[–]rorshoc 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Oh but she's right, the earth is being carried by four elephants at the back of a giant turtle!

[–]prydek 28 points29 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I learned that etc stands for etcetera, I used to spell it ect.

[–]skullturf 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Upvote for stopping spelling it "ect". That's one of my pet peeves.

[–]happypolychaetes 130 points131 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I realized that the green tubes in Mario are pipes. Because Mario and Luigi are plumbers.

I always thought of them as flower pots, since that's the idea I got into my head as a kid playing Mario, and it stuck around for almost 20 years.

Needless to say, my mind was blown, and I ran around telling all my friends about my newfound knowledge. No one was impressed. :(

[–]VenerableTyrant 58 points59 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Makes sense... those man eating flower things come up out of them. Dont be sad.

[–]dacemage 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Piranha plants

[–]primordial_soup 104 points105 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I recently noticed that the Windows logo is a window.

[–]BeatriceGoldenWitch 47 points48 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I always thought it was a flag...

[–]FuriousBanana 60 points61 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It used to look like a flag.

[–][deleted] 98 points99 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

that is the craziest link ever. I like your style.

[–]andrewsmith1986 204 points205 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The "Laffy" part of Laffy-Taffy is the joke on the wrapper.

[–]catch22milo 314 points315 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Additionally the "Taffy" part is because it's taffy inside the wrapper.

[–]ReallyRandomRabbit 134 points135 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Whoa

[–]T_Stebbins 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Woah, holy shit that makes so much sense now.

[–]ctrlaltninja 61 points62 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

While grocery shopping with my roommate, said she wanted to bake a cake, once we got the cake mix picked out we both agreed that cupcakes would be better... so I set the box down and began looking for "cupcake batter" before I realized that I am an idiot.

[–]c3h3e3l3s 127 points128 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Kind of embarrassing but I didn't realize that the logo in 'Disney' was actually a D. I thought it was a design and they just wrote 'isney' after it.

[–]johnnytightlips2 127 points128 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I always thought it was a G; it took me far too long to click that Gisney was, in fact, Disney.

[–]morphotomy 87 points88 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Gisnep.

[–]c3h3e3l3s 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yes, I actually thought it resembled a G as well, but continued to reason that it was just a design cause G didn't make any sense.

[–]andrewsmith1986 12 points13 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I thought that until like 23.

[–]goodonesaretaken 25 points26 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Similarly, the weird face thing on the goodwill signs is a "G".

The FedEx logo has an arrow in it.

Just oblivious, I guess.

[–]thevdude 44 points45 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Reddit has a hidden "H" between the upvote and downvote arrows.

You're welcome.

[–]goodonesaretaken 24 points25 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Son of a... it sure does. Now what does the 'H' stand for, exactly?!? I DEMAND ANSWERS!

[–]unhidingtoseek 20 points21 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

"H"ave an upvote

[–]natnupf712 10 points11 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Many logos have things like that, hence them being their logos.

A couple more examples off the top of my head:

Amazon has an arrow pointing from the a to the z, meaning they have everything from a to z.

The Big Ten conference in the NCAA has a hidden 11 in the letters because there were 11 teams in the conference, despite the name, at the time of design.

The Pittsburgh Zoo logo initially looks like just a tree with some birds flying out of it, but in the white space there is a gorilla and lion, as well as some fish at the bottom.

Baskin Robbins has a 31 in the BR logo for having 31 flavors.

There is a biker in the Tour de France logo.

[–]cosmicrocker 12 points13 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I grew up with Gisnep.

[–]BransonKP 49 points50 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]caltrask55 41 points42 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

God I feel old. NBC has been known as the peacock network since the late 50's.

[–]Wadovski 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Oh my God.

[–]Trapped_in_Reddit 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I think that's because we grew up seeing the Disney logo long before we could read. We learned to see it as just a shape. It becomes ingrained in our mind as the "Disney symbol" and you never see it as a letter 'D'

[–]unremarkableusername 16 points17 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I never realized until last year the logo for that Nintendo videogame, Gamecube, was actually a cube.

[–]IceNFire 38 points39 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It's a G with a C inside of it, all shaped like a cube...

[–]iglidante 16 points17 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I saw the cube and not the G, at first.

[–]icelizard 20 points21 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Gamecube is a system, not a video game :P

[–]morphotomy 10 points11 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Well I think sega genesis is the best game ever.

[–]quickpit 13 points14 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That's funny, until a few years ago I thought the 'Y' at the end of 'Disney' was actually a 'P'. I don't know why, I just thought it was one of those weirdly spelled words. Disnep. I don't even know man.

[–]tuktu 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I thought the whole thing was Gisnep but it took me a while to question why it was pronounced "Disney."

[–]Last_Epiphany 87 points88 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Lighter roast coffee has more caffeine than darker roasts.

I've been drinking the bitterer dark roast coffee for the extra caffeine boost for years...

[–][deleted] 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Also a cup of drip will generally have more caffeine than a shot of espresso.

I work in a restaurant where we don't have drip coffee just an espresso machine. When people ask for drip coffee I'll offer them an americano instead, frequently they'll turn it down citing the fact that they don't want that much caffeine.

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]Last_Epiphany 8 points9 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I didn't know about the cheaper vs. more expensive coffee. Went to check my current coffee: "100% Arabica".

Well fuck.

[–]greenRiverThriller 57 points58 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That felons cant vote.

[–]stevely 49 points50 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I knew this because of Futurama:

"I can't vote."

"Because you're a robot?"

"Nope. Convicted felon."

[–]Hickspy 51 points52 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I recently found out that Gogurt was JUST yogurt.

Pissed.

[–]I_AMA_Lumberjack_AMA 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Community reference. Have an upvote.

[–]stareatthesun442 63 points64 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Breakfast means you're "breaking your fast".

[–]RogueNine 29 points30 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

And Disease means you are "dis (or ill) at ease."

[–]stareatthesun442 16 points17 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

So cool! Language is neato.

[–]malfunktionv2 42 points43 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

George RR Martin taught me this.

[–]Cupboards 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I was playing my piano one day a year or so ago, going through some scales, and just noodling around like usual, when I was my mind was blown by pure idiocy. I'm not sure if anyone here remembers The Simpson's episode where Homer starts a barbershop quartet, and they needed a band name that was catchy, funny, and clever but becomes less of each, for every subsequent mention of the name. The "b-Sharps", now as a music lover I can't believe I didn't get this joke until I was 25 years old... There is no actual "b-sharp" note, it is a C. It's such a musicians joke that not many will get it, but damnit how can I be that slow in the head... 12 years to figure out a stupid joke. This made me a sad panda....

[–]Lurks_And_Votes 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I've played a lot of pieces containing B#. Enharmonics. C and B# are the same note, but both names are acceptable, like F# and G♭.

[–]tryuntilImblue 64 points65 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Not me, but my best friend is a mechanical engineer major. He is BRILLIANT when it comes to numbers and equations and all that fun stuff. Just this week he got 100% on some upper level physics final.when the next best score was a 76%.

Today I explained to him that the eggs we eat are not baby birds. They are unfertilized. He was SHOCKED.

[–]soothfast 43 points44 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Academic intelligence and common sense. Two entirely different qualities!!

[–]Slysliver 61 points62 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It tooks me until about a year ago to realize that a tooth cavity is a hole in your tooth. 2 months ago I figure out it's called "Surf and Turf" when you get steak and lobster is because lobsters are from the surf and cow are from the turf. I am not a clever man.

[–]HemHaw 33 points34 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Water does not conduct electricity. Shit in the water conducts electricity. You can run a computer without issue under a bath of distilled water.

[–]whlabratz 23 points24 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

So long as the water is perfectly distilled, sealed in a perfectly airtight container, and you make the computer out of parts that are completely chemically nonreactive in water, otherwise the results of the reaction get into the water and make it conductive.

Theoretically possible, but its easier to use high grade mineral oil or ethanol

[–]splashdamage 47 points48 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

When I was little I LOVED Shirley Temples, but my grandpa didn't want me drinking a "girly drink" so he convinced me they were really called John Waynes. I didn't learn the truth until I was 18.

[–]panicky_disaster 34 points35 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I was expecting you to say he made you drink Roy Rogers instead.

[–]Jamisloan 41 points42 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I recently found out that Flo Rida is actually spelling FLORIDA.
And that's how he got his name.

[–]nopablano 48 points49 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

In the WWE (then WWF) The Undertaker's creepy manager guy was Paul Bearer.

Didn't realize until WAY WAY WAY later that this was a play on a funeral pallbearer.

Well played, WWE. Well played.

[–]Dicktremain 46 points47 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I just learned about a month ago that the Arnold Palmer existed. I thought I had invented it when I put lemonade in with some sweet tea vodka and it was fantastic. I told one of my friends that if we just mixed lemonade with sweet tea it would probably taste pretty good too. Just think if I was older we would all be drinking Dicktremains.

[–]thursdaddy 60 points61 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Lemonade + Ice Tea = Arnold Palmer

Vodka + Lemonade + Ice Tea = John Daly

[–]morphotomy 63 points64 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Vodka + Tall Glass = Belligerent Me.

[–]patsfan3983 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Somehow, I just thought of Dick Trickle

[–]Apostolate 55 points56 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The Tianmen square guy was not run over by the tank, but was actually ushered out by others.

Sad moment for me.

[–]MrWhuzzy 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Supposedly, no one knows where he ended up going.

[–]Apostolate 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Of course he may have been killed after, but for me growing up in the 80s and hearing stories about it etc. I just over and over imagined his last momements facing down a tank, an anonymous man making a stand, and then being crushed to death.

It held so much meaning, so much sacrifice, an unrivaled and unique scenario. Thousands of people disappear every year, it's sad, many of them have sacrificed everything, but it's just not the same kind of iconic moment.

For me Unyielding Courage was given form, and I found out it was a misunderstanding/lie until this month on reddit :/

[–]AintGettinDatKarma 16 points17 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

If it makes you feel any better, there actually are stories about people being run over by tanks and bull-dozes.

[–]Apostolate 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That in no way makes me feel better.

[–]makubesu 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It shouldn't be a sad moment. Part of the powder is that the tank could not pass him. The bravery of a single man can stop such a symbol of military power.

[–]Writteninsanity 167 points168 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Until about a year ago, I thought that people were talking about "Youth in Asia" when they argued about "Euthanasia". I was always wondering why people thought it was a bad or good thing.

[–]andrewsmith1986 141 points142 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

For all intensive purposes.

I could care less.

[–]iaccidentlytheworld 69 points70 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I would of corrected your post, but I like it.

[–]Seasickdwarf 30 points31 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

irregardless of what everybody else might say, y'all are great at conversating.

[–]TheFugget 20 points21 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yeah, those satrical jokes always make me laugh alot.

[–]PurpleWafflecopter 11 points12 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You mine as well upvote it.

[–]Apostolate 26 points27 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

"irregardless of the facts"

“play it by year”

"On accident"

[–]SquirtinFerCertain 86 points87 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I just learned recently that pickles are cucumbers. I'm not sure where I thought they came from.. a pickle bush?

[–]victoriaj 67 points68 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I still can't get over finding out that pineapples grow up from the ground and you bend over to pick them. They so clearly grow hanging down from vines, they even have fruit versions of belly buttons the vines should connect to. But no.

I also believed my mother was lying to me when she told me cork grew on trees.

[–]mason55 24 points25 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Google where cashews come from and prepare to be amazed!

[–]joses317 28 points29 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Also, pineapples are not a single fruit, but actually a collection of berries fused together around a thick, fibrous stalk. Source

[–]1637 370 points371 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

TIL that you all seem to be functioning retards

[–]deeptime 30 points31 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Wanted to say this; glad I didn't have to.

[–]PittPensPats 49 points50 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I was informed earlier this year that Rocky Balboa wasn't real. Facepalm.

[–]victoriaj 27 points28 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

And you can probably still name more real boxers than I can.

I didn't realise that Mohammed Ali and Cassius Clay were the same person. Which was strangely mind bending to find out because I could only name (I thought) three boxers, and finding out two of them were the same person somehow made the world a lot smaller.

[–]Onid8870 42 points43 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

For over 16 years my friends and I used to go up to my friend's Dad's cabin (until he passed away and the family sold it) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to ski, ride snow mobiles and generally get drunk and fuck around. On the drive up we would stop at a place called S.A. Loon's to have lunch because it was delicious. After almost 10 years of making this trip on a yearly basis I was outside smoking a cigarette (damn smoking laws) I looked at the sign and I realized,"Sweet baby Jesus! That means saloons!! The sign says Saloon!!!"

[–]BuschLightGladiator 50 points51 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

"Twinkle twinkle little star" and "the ABCs" have the same tune. Found that out like two weeks ago

[–]CanadianPhil 32 points33 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

So does Baa Baa Black Sheep.

[–]giantpubes 29 points30 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My friend thought female pads were tissues. Basically he's an international student, and you know how in those 25 cents feminine product dispensers instead of sayings pad it says napkins. He happened to be sick one day and while using a handicapped washroom wanted to buy some "napkins" in case his nose gets runny.

[–]1637 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

In grade 12 their was a girl in my class who found out at the end of a year that girls dont get pregnant from just sleeping beside a boy.

[–]giantpubes 4 points5 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Haha I used to think you can get pregnant from kissing, so in grade 4 when a boy was talking loudly and one of his spits flew at my face I freaked out.

[–]sommergirl 31 points32 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That the shadow on the moon is the moons own shadow and not the shadow from earth.

[–]lauren_india 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

i only realised the other day that the term "rolling in the benjamins" is due to the presence of benjamin franklin on american money.

[–]sicknightmyer 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My mother thinks that the sun is a planet... I keep telling her that it is a star but she doesn't believe me. I even showed her the encyclopedia, Wikipedia, any credible fact that the sun's a star, but she always think I'm fucking with her. Seriously, I love my mom and all but, she fucked up in the head

[–]m40ofmj 11 points12 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

you should sell her volcano insurance

[–]kitten36 30 points31 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I had the recent revelation that our thumbs are called "opposable" because they can be opposite of our fingers!

[–]Warlizard 63 points64 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Just go to /TIL. You'll see a whole long list of common knowledge items recently discovered.

[–]Apostolate 36 points37 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]iglidante 107 points108 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Cars have reverse lights. They're the clear lights in between the tail/brake lights, and they shine when the driver puts the car in reverse. Somehow I drove for a decade without ever realizing that.

[–]Ruddiver 46 points47 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I'm not sure I am clear on this. You mean when a car in front of you is backing up you have never seen the reverse lights? seriously?

[–]andrewsmith1986 50 points51 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Never noticed at night that it got brighter behind you?

[–][deleted] 46 points47 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Thermal Conductivity.

About three years ago, I was holding a metal stick in a fire.

WHAT THE HELL? The stick is hot at MY end.. but MY end is not in the fire?!

[–]mcaustic 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You should have spent more time in the kitchen as a child. Ample opportunity to learn this lesson from experience. ;)

[–]morzans 16 points17 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

What!! Have you never touched a hot pan or anything?! I can't believe it

[–]SnazzzyC 46 points47 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I recently learned that frozen yogurt is not just softer ice cream. Mind blown.

[–]FloppyMcPrplHat 34 points35 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Isn't it just really cold yogurt? Cold enough to be... frozen?

[–]Gyvon 14 points15 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yes, although it is frozen in the same method as ice cream.

[–]0hfuck 27 points28 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Until very recently I honestly believed the Salem witch trials happened in Salem, Oregon. It's still hard for me to grasp that they happened in Massachusetts since I have been under the assumption they took place in Oregon since I was a child.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Hey, at least you knew there was a city named Salem in Oregon. I think that's more than a lot of today's kids can claim.

[–]jarchh 18 points19 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It's not terribly recent (I'm now 22) but I remember actually being shocked when I was 16 and I realised that February had the first R in it, and wasn't spelt nearly as similarly to January as I had thought.

[–]Romora117 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]moscova89 22 points23 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Sand

Sand-als

[–]throwmeaway76 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That doesn't make sense, we also say "Sandálias" in Portuguese. Unless it's a loanword.

E: Yeah, it comes from the Farsi word for sandal. It just means sandal.

[–]concretesock 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I never knew what the title 'The Phantom Menace' really meant. Was making a sandwich and suddenly it dawned on me. It's because the Sith are like some sort of mysterious, looming threat. Almost like a phantom. I felt like a fucking idiot.

[–]DawginYourMomma 24 points25 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That there are a lot of oblivious people on reddit.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

There are a lot of oblivious people on reddit.

[–]chemical_imbalance 47 points48 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

just because you graduate university, there's no guarantee you'll get a job.

[–]Newbie1318 18 points19 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It wasn't until the other day I realize it was "for all intents and purposes" NOT for "all intensive purposes". 26 years before I figured that one out.

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]ShigglyB00 26 points27 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I only just learned that there's no such thing as a kraken.

All my seafaring adventures... meaningless

[–]Wadovski 15 points16 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

There still are giant squids. Maybe with selective breeding we could create a kraken.

[–]Grullok 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

There are also colossal squids, who are bigger than giant squids, around 15 meters or so.

[–]eatinglegos 4 points5 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It's "Every kiss begins with Kay" because kiss starts with a K, and it sounds like Kay in Kay Jewelers.

I didn't know this until last week.

[–]Juicelayer88 182 points183 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The term "Cracker" refers to white people cracking whips...

[–][deleted] 62 points63 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

When I was about three or four years old, too young to learn about slavery, somebody called my dad a cracker. I asked what it meant and my dad said that a cracker was "somebody as boring as a saltine cracker." He must have forgotten to tell me the actual meaning because I found out on my own when I was about twenty years old. His version is actually pretty appropriate, though.

[–]LeVidocq 68 points69 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I was told because we were the color of saltine crackers. Never heard the whip thing at all.

[–]Arthur_Dayne 82 points83 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]eatingsometoast 35 points36 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

oops, someone forgot to check first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_(pejorative)

[–]paerb 25 points26 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

What piece of common knowledge were you totally not-wrong about until recently?

This is a popular misconception. It is actually referring to "cracking" or boasting.

[–]giantpubes 10 points11 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Always thought it was cause they were white like biscuits.

[–]JacksConcience 29 points30 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I recently learned that there is a man named Jimmy Buffet and he makes music. And that he's kind of a big deal.

Also, if you don't know who he is, your girlfriend may make fun of you for the rest of your life for not knowing who he is by the age of 21.