Sometimes, there are facts so simple and obvious that when we finally learn them, we feel instantly dumb for not realizing them sooner. While other times, there are facts that might not be as obvious to figure out, but make you want to yell out, "How did I not already know this?!" when you learn them. For example, many people don't realize that "ubiqu" in "ubiquitous" comes from the Latin word "ubique," which means everywhere.
Recently, redditor JMiracle2019 wanted to round up a few of those facts when they asked: "What's a little-known but obvious fact that will immediately make all of us feel stupid?"
The thread got over 3K responses. Below are the top and most repeated responses:
1. "Everyone who laughs at the fact that when silent film got sound, they were nicknamed talkies has not spent enough time thinking about the word 'movies.'"
2. "Tax brackets. If you go up a bracket, you are only taxed on what you made in that bracket. Say you made $60,001, and the next bracket starts at $60,000. You only get taxed the higher percentage on the $1. Too many people don’t understand this."
3. "South America sits almost entirely east of the US."
4. "The Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal is further west than the Pacific entrance."
5. "'Helicopter' is not based on a combo of the words 'heli' and 'copter.' It comes from the combination of the Greek words 'helico' (from 'helix,' meaning 'spiral') and 'pter' (from 'pteron,' meaning 'wing')."
6. "There is a difference between a graveyard and a cemetery. A cemetery is often bigger, while a graveyard is usually smaller and often on or next to church grounds."
7. "A coffin has that six-sided shape ⚰️, while a casket is a rectangle."
8. "Percentages are reversible. For example: 38% of 50 is the same as 50% of 38."
9. "The moon appears upside-down in the Southern Hemisphere relative to how it appears in the Northern Hemisphere."
10. "Stainless doesn't mean it won't stain. It means it will stain less or be harder to stain. This also applies to any product that makes a seemingly too good claim, rust proof, fire resistant, etc."
11. "The sides of the box on aluminum foil, parchment paper, wax paper, and cling plastic wrap are meant to be pushed in so that they hold the roller in place. That’s why they have the little half-circle cutout on each side. (Unless it’s a super cheap brand)."
12. "Clocks turn ‘clockwise’ because that is the way the shadow on a sundial turned in the Northern Hemisphere."
13. "Cows don't automatically make milk. They have to have a calf first."
14. "A fortnight = two weeks = fourteen nights."
15. "The term venomous is applied to organisms that bite (or sting) to inject their toxins, whereas the term poisonous applies to organisms that unload toxins when you eat them."
16. "Biweekly can mean twice a week or every other week, so when someone says biweekly and you have to confirm what they mean, and they act like they’re smarter than you because they’re convinced there’s only one definition, they’re idiots."
17. "The majority of Canadians live south of the 49th parallel; the line that forms most of the border between Canada and the US."
18. "Tea lights weren’t originally meant for decor purposes, like Christmas decor. They were meant to sit inside TEA warmers to keep the tea warm for hours. Ya know…cuz it’s a fucking tea light. 🤦🏻♀️"
19. "The Amazon 'smile' is an arrow from A to Z, because you can buy anything from A to Z on the site."
20. "The fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia."
You can read the original thread on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.