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45 Times Adults Didn’t Know Very Basic Things And Someone Had To Give Them A Reality Check
We all have at least a few gaps in our knowledge—that’s no secret. That being said, it genuinely feels like there are some core bits of education and fundamental life skills that every grownup should be well-versed in.
Members of the AskReddit subreddit took to a couple of mind-boggling online threads to share the things they’ve personally witnessed other adults not know, from how elementary biology works to how (not) to treat others. Scroll down to read the seemingly common sense things they’ve had to explain to grownups. But be warned, you might want to cringe and facepalm.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Vaccines work
The Human is the cause for extreme climate change
Making better Gun Control Laws will reduce Gun Violence.
RELATED:
#2
That Freedom of Speech doesn't mean you can say whatever you want, without consequences of any kind. It just means the government can't arrest you for speaking out about the government.
Reader’s Digest suggests that some of the fundamental life skills that everyone should aim to have include things like:
- Balancing a budget, paying your bill, and doing your own taxes;
- Having boundaries and saying ‘no’ to people;
- Cooking a meal and doing other basic tasks in the kitchen;
- Accepting criticism gracefully;
- Sewing on a button;
- Understanding the consequences of your actions;
- Changing a tire;
- Having a genuine face-to-face conversation where you listen more than you speak;
- Doing laundry;
- Navigating public transport.
#4
That OCD doesn’t mean you like to keep things clean, it means Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In simple terms it means you have a thing you have to do and if not done it’s like you cannot progress past that point wether it be beeping the microwave a certain amount of times, taking no more or no less than two steps per sidewalk tile or squinting your eyes when you blink. It’s a compulsion thing not a cleanliness thing.
Kira Okah 6 months ago
Compulsions are not always required repetitive actions. The key thing is that you're trying to prevent something bad happening, and that can include washing repeatedly or poking buttons, but also avoiding certain areas or walking nowhere near a certain plant or touching no one's hands. Also you've missed the obsessive part, which is a set of obsessive intrusive thoughts, commonly involving bad things happening due to your actions. It's usually classified as an anxiety disorder, and often comes packaged with it. It's very much not nice, mine involves the ingestion of poison either on the hands or in food, so it makes me avoid certain plants and have some crazy disordered eating.
#5
That I can be a man and be a nurse.
#6
You can get pregnant if you have s*x standing up. Had to explain this to a woman in her late thirties that had a teenage daughter.
Knowledge gaps are fairly common. And the irony is that you’re rarely aware of them until someone challenges your (lack of) knowledge. You can be strongly biased or woefully uneducated in a particular subject without even realizing it. For instance, because you misinterpreted something you (half) read in passing in a handful of headlines on social media one time without cross-checking claims and doing your due diligence regarding source reliability. Or you may have never had the time or opportunities to learn skills that seemingly everyone else your age knows how to do well.
However, if you have a growth-oriented mindset, you won’t see the mistakes you make as personal failures. Rather, they’re opportunities to improve and learn new things. By messing up you—hopefully—become more self-aware, open-minded, and willing to put in the work to research topics that are both new and the ones that you previously thought you were well-versed in. In short, you want to have the mindset of a real scientist, checking how your assumptions and hypotheses line up with objective reality. And that takes a lot of humility.
#7
How a period works and what it’s for.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 6 months ago
Surprisingly common among men. I was once heard one former classmate ask his partner to "hold her period in". We were all in our masters degree. They are no longer together, BTW.
#8
I worked in retail for too long.
One guys debit card declined, I told him so. He looked at me like I was an alien, and then loudly exclaimed, ‘how can a DEBIT CARD be declined?’ So had to explain that one to him.
Another person was traveling from a state that didn’t have sales tax, and expected me to remove the sales tax from their purchase because ??? apparently in their mind if you live somewhere without sales tax, you can travel the country and not have to adhere to those states rules I guess.
Another person tried to use a tax exempt card from another state (on Black Friday, mind you) and was mad that I couldn’t honor another states tax exempt card.
Honestly like it’s okay to not know stuff. But don’t be a f*****g a*****e when someone tries to explain to you what the hell is going on, lmao.
#9
What consent is.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 6 months ago
Sadly, yes. The videos ‘consent is like a cup of tea’ are a great way of explaining this to young adults and idiot adults.
According to Business Insider, some of the core skills that every functioning adult should have include:
- Accepting feedback gracefully;
- Learning to apologize sincerely;
- Managing your time well;
- Saying ‘no’ respectfully;
- Getting better at empathizing with other people;
- Learning to make friends;
- Communicating through your body language;
- Speaking a second language;
- Sticking to a budget;
- Getting comfortable with public speaking.
#10
I once had to explain to a pregnant woman why she shouldn't smoke...next to a bunch of propane tanks.
#11
No..a tampon is not like a d***o 🫠.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 6 months ago
Yup, there is absolutely no pleasure using one. If you’ve ever tried to remove one that isn’t saturated and is a bit dry, it can be really painful. Menstrual cups for the win, although if they haven’t fully opened when you put them in (you fold it into a c shape or a multitude of other folds to position it), it’s a very weird sensation feeling it pop open!
#12
Not me but my husband. Had to tell his best friend why jumping around in the woods with some deer antlers he had found on his head was a Bad idea. They were hunting.
What are some absolutely must-know pieces of information and life skills that you think any grownup should have in their toolbox? What are some frustratingly common sense things that you’ve had to explain to other adults who should have known better?
What do you do to fill in any knowledge gaps that you’ve become aware of? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
#13
That $2 bills are real, legal US tender.
Got chewed out at a coffee job, for accepting "fake money", because a customer paid with 2, $2 bills. My boss was in their 40s. Took 10 minutes and a google search to prove I wasn't lying.
Glen Ellyn 6 months ago
My brother uses $2 bills to tip his servers. They remember him on his next visit. Yes, he is a generous tipper and uses cash so his server will actually get that money.
#14
When I was 13 I had a 2 hour long conversation with a 19 year old guy about why r*ping someone is wrong. He just couldn't wrap his around why the victims can't just "relax and enjoy it". Never again.
#15
Not me but my father had to do it. Parents were visiting my older brother, his friend was there, he finds out my father is an Engineer. Knows Air Conditioning well etc.
He tells my father, the central air in my house doesn't work. No matter how much I increase the power, it still doesn't cool. during winter I keep it at 70, but once summer came I increased it to 80 it still doesn't work.
My father looks at him... confused... then something clicks.
Slowly, my father replies, "The. Number. You. Are. Changing. Is. NOT. The. Power. It. Is. Temperature. If. You. Want. It. Cooler. You. Will. Have. To. Set. A. Lower. Number.
This was a guy in his late thirties and was an MBA.
#16
Yelling louder doesn’t make you right it just makes you the loudest monkey with a brain.
Scott Rackley 6 months ago
"I believe you are under the mistaken assumption that the volume of your voice is proportional to the validity of your argument. Common mistake."
#17
One day at work, the electricity went out. One of the higher-ups made her way from her dark office to my dark office to ask me to look up something on the computer for her. I said I could look it up when the electricity came back on. She didn't understand why I couldn't do it right that second. "Because the computer runs on electricity."
Not only was that higher-up an adult, but she was highly educated with a Ph.D and everything.
#18
I had to explain that bats were a real animal and not a mythical made up creature after telling an ex-girlfriend that I saw one flying above us and she thought I was insane.
#19
That my best friend was gonna die if I didn’t take him to the nurse for his epiPen. She didn’t believe in allergies and was a teacher lmao.
#21
That Germany is in Europe.
Then when I was retelling the story later that day, another person was amazed by this tidbit.
#22
My father-in-law asked me if I was born with the genetics to begin life only speaking Spanish when I told him that English wasn’t my 1st language lol
That was a fun conversation to have. Even my mother in law was dumbfounded by his question.
#23
Extra alcohol in your drink will cost you extra money. Extra food on the side? Extra money. Why do people not understand you have to pay for things lmao.
#24
That Hawaii IS a state and that Puerto Rico ISN'T a state, but still a part of the US and it's people are citizens.
I have also told people who are from Puerto rico that they are US citizens and that is why they don't need green cards to come to the mainland to visit, work, move, etc.
#26
That the Moon does not make its own light. It's actually the sun reflecting off of it.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 6 months ago (edited)
And that it is not a hologram. And people actually landed on it.
#27
I was doing a spelling bee when i was 14, i won and the mom of the 2nd place winner came up to me and told me i cheated, because i spelt the word xylitol wrong?! she said it was spelled like zylitol, i explained to her about how letters sound different, she still was super rude to me afterwards.
#28
That rabbits do not hatch from eggs for Easter like you see on commercials. I have rabbits that I bring places with me, a co- worker asked how big the eggs were? I had to explain that to an adult. My son has a big plastic egg, so as a joke I put a baby rabbit in it and showed him.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 6 months ago
Upvote for the cute bunny! Rabbits ovulate when they mate (can’t be arsed to look up the correct terminology), so can get pregnant within days of giving birth. Hence breeding like rabbits….
#30
That 'simmer' does not mean leaving the gas on with no flame.... I went to the coffee shop and came back, instantly smelled that my apartment was about to blow up...
#31
Personal hygiene and the importance of doing laundry on a regular basis, it was always an awkward conversation.
#33
When you round numbers you have to round up if the last number is 5 or greater. They would round say $1.99 to $1.
TheElementalGod️️ (He/him) 6 months ago
I mean, that's why companies do have these 99 cent prices. So people are tricked into thinking this and so they buy more.
Crystalwitch60 6 months ago
Which I actually did ! Well math wise I got kicked out for being to thick pfft so I left school n was working at 15 now 60 lol n not having shed loads of paper saying I’m clever has never done me any harm ! Oh and I have far more logic n common sense than anyone with loads of paper saying they are clever lol different kind of smarts ! Much more useful ones at that
Load More Replies... Fat Harry (Oi / You) 6 months ago
Not always. I write payroll software, and HMRC (The UK's IRS) round DOWN at five or less in certain circumstances.
Talis 6 months ago
Probably "round half to even"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounding#Round_half_to_even
Load More Replies...
Krd 6 months ago
Not necessarily true. In some situations they always round down or up. At my work (processing rent payments), we can't legally charge more for rent, but we also don't want to charge rent rates that are uneven and have cents in it (eg. Rent= $1500.55), so we always round down when prorating rents. And gas stations always round up. But in general, unless otherwise stated, this is correct and you round up when it ends in a "5".
Doug Moyer 6 months ago
Then it isn't actually rounding - just truncating.
Load More Replies... #34
Where babies come from. I was 22, he was 30...
Tucker Cahooter 6 months ago
Does the stork still bring them? Or do they use drones these days?
#35
Not quite a grown adult, but I once had to explain what "gay" means to a 17 year old in an online game. There was a pride month event and he said he was "scared of gay people", turns out I blew his mind with the concept of two men being in a relationship.
#36
My parents think it's racist that they aren't allowed to say the N word because they are white. Oh boy what a fun convo that was.
#38
That Pepsi and Coke are two competing companies, and there isn’t some mega corporate conglomerate that controls all soda.
#39
Why a hot glue gun didn’t work when it was not plugged in.
#40
That the noise fly’s make comes from their wings, not their mouths.
#43
That the earth does not infact orbit the moon...
Petra Peitsch 6 months ago
Hey, at least they accepting, that Earth is orbiting, and not held motionless by 4 turtles.
#44
The little flag on the mailbox in front of your house is to let the mail carrier know there’s outgoing mail. No need to drive to the post office to mail a letter.
HeavyMetalHeart 6 months ago
I didn’t know you could send outgoing mail from your house in the US. That’s handy. Here you have to go to the nearest postbox.
#45
I work for an early intervention program where therapists work with little ones in homes and daycares doing speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc. I had a parent get upset over the phone when I told her her child's provider cannot come to the home if the child has hand, foot, and mouth disease because it's contagious and since they visit several homes a day all day and also work with medically fragile kids, they can't spread illness around. She wasn't having it. We've had providers get URI's and gastro bugs and spread them around the office because parents don't let them know they or the kids are sick because they don't want to cancel appointments.
#46
Sales tax goes to the government. She thought companies just got to keep it.
#47
That Africa was a continent and not a country.
#49
Cleaning the Dryer lint after every other or every use/load.
Regina Holt 6 months ago
And also, cleaning out the duct from the dryer to outside periodically, as lint will build up in there also.
#50
Had to explain to the doctor who rented my house in Canada why he can’t just turn off the heat in the house while he went on vacation for 2 weeks in the middle of winter so he could save a few bucks on the heating bill... Yeah. The pipes froze.
Petra Peitsch 6 months ago
If the doctor was from Spain -for example- that's kind of understandable.
#51
That the moon phases doesn't affect your hair growth, at all.
#52
That marketing emails are automatic and sent to many. no one is actually sending them emails.
#53
You don't need to create a new email address for each device. You only need one.
#54
You have to change your bedsheets at least once a month. This guy moved out and for 4 months did not clean or change his sheets.
#55
Had to explain to my teenage brother that the USA is a country in North America and that Florida isn't.
#57
Oh man been waiting for this , I recently had to explain to a young (adult) coworker that dogs came from wolves.. she literally must have skipped that part of what , 3rd grade science we all learned about how dogs were domesticated over the years into your lovely doodles pugs and frenchies.. she literally thought all dogs existed in the wild somewhere around the world in diff countries. I was so in shock she was so serious and was like no the Chow chow is from china and the chihuahua is Mexican that’s their territory .. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed for so long and so openly at someone at work In my life … I honestly felt bad for laughing but just the thought of like a tiny yorkie or like pug fending for itself in the wild is so laughable like how could she possibly think these dogs we have are wild animals … my dog is a fat lump of some type of poodle mix and I wipe his little feet and butt every time he goes outside or he gets itchy and needs grain free diet aha .. It really really through me for a loop . I had to pull up the ol’e google to show her the truth . She just kept saying I don’t even remember that … Just wild .
#58
How the equator works. My mom really thought that the southern tip of Chile was just as hot as Ecuador.
#59
To cover their mouth when they sneeze or cough.
Regina Holt 6 months ago
And we still have this after Covid. Cough or sneeze into your elbow not your hands, to not keep spreading germs using your hands. I don't want to shake your hand if you have just sneezed into it.
#60
I worked at a family dollar last year and had a young kid start and had to show him what the change was Penny's dimes nickel and quarter. I'm 50 at the time and for the life of me couldn't figure out how someone doesn't know this.
#61
My wife (a nurse) had to explain to a coworker (also a nurse) that you can not get pregnant via a**l. I have no idea how she passed nursing school.
#62
My district manager at CVS (not a pharmacist) received a customer complaint that I had told a patient 15 minutes for a waiter.
They said they could not understand why any prescription could take that long.
What do you think ?
Tim Gibbs 6 months ago
I have had to explain that NZ & Australia are real countries and that we don’t go to work on a kangaroo!!
Deborah B 6 months ago (edited)
That women have three holes "down there." PSA for those lacking in basic s*x education: The urethra and the v****a are separate openings, we do not urinate out of our vaginas, and we can't "hold" our period like holding our pee. Edit: Seriously BP? censoring v****a? It's basic human anatomy, not a naughty word.
char 6 months ago (edited)
My coworker asked if Jews and liberals were the same people. It turned out that he didn't know what either word meant, so we had to explain both terms to him. He was raised conservative and Christian (shocker), and he's actually a super nice and friendly dude, just kind of a dumb*ss.
Krd 6 months ago
At least he was open to learning. The far right can only get/keep power by keeping their "people" ignorant of basic facts. It's been proven you can effectively "erase" someones racism purely by exposing them to the people they hate. There is one black guy who goes around and talks with K*K members, and has successfully converted many people away from the K*K.
Load More Replies...
Jungle Empress 85 6 months ago
I once had a young man ask me if it costs anything to borrow books from the library. Of course, it did make me wonder where he came from that he didn't know how libraries work, but my job isn't to judge. I simply explained library cards and directed him to the desk where he could get one.
Little Bit 6 months ago
I once had a co-worker who was a couple of years younger than me. She didn't know that cows and hens are female. I explained to her at length about communism, the Soviet Union and East and West Germany (she thought it was just something on tv). She thought that bearded dragons breathe fire.
Chilli 6 months ago
Something I had to explain to my mum; She said that you SHOULD want to have s*x with the person you're married to. I told her to phrase it differently because there are folks who don't want s*x with anyone, and to say something like 'You should only want to have s*x with your partner' instead. She interrupted me about four times, but I think I got the message across.
Batwench 6 months ago
Just because a person is intelligent does mean they have no common sense and/or are nieve.
Little Bit 6 months ago
True. My brother in law was an academic genius. He had degrees in maths and science and yet I once had to demonstrate to him how to work his washing machine. Another time I had to explain to him how to make pancakes.
Load More Replies...
Lene 6 months ago
I once had to explain to my dad what that rubber sheep with the hole in the butt was for. We were at a flea market/fair and one of the stalls sold s3x toys. It was so weird that my dad could not even imagine inside his own head in silence what it was for. 😬😬😬😬😬🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈
Roxy222uk 6 months ago
Let's be honest, they're almost exclusively gag gifts. I can't imagine they're 'used' very often.
Load More Replies...
Power puff scientist 6 months ago
couldn't make it to the end. half of these just sound totally made up by someone who wanted to be on the list.
Tim Gibbs 6 months ago
I have had to explain that NZ & Australia are real countries and that we don’t go to work on a kangaroo!!
Deborah B 6 months ago (edited)
That women have three holes "down there." PSA for those lacking in basic s*x education: The urethra and the v****a are separate openings, we do not urinate out of our vaginas, and we can't "hold" our period like holding our pee. Edit: Seriously BP? censoring v****a? It's basic human anatomy, not a naughty word.
char 6 months ago (edited)
My coworker asked if Jews and liberals were the same people. It turned out that he didn't know what either word meant, so we had to explain both terms to him. He was raised conservative and Christian (shocker), and he's actually a super nice and friendly dude, just kind of a dumb*ss.
Krd 6 months ago
At least he was open to learning. The far right can only get/keep power by keeping their "people" ignorant of basic facts. It's been proven you can effectively "erase" someones racism purely by exposing them to the people they hate. There is one black guy who goes around and talks with K*K members, and has successfully converted many people away from the K*K.
Load More Replies... Jungle Empress 85 6 months ago
I once had a young man ask me if it costs anything to borrow books from the library. Of course, it did make me wonder where he came from that he didn't know how libraries work, but my job isn't to judge. I simply explained library cards and directed him to the desk where he could get one.
Little Bit 6 months ago
I once had a co-worker who was a couple of years younger than me. She didn't know that cows and hens are female. I explained to her at length about communism, the Soviet Union and East and West Germany (she thought it was just something on tv). She thought that bearded dragons breathe fire.
Chilli 6 months ago
Something I had to explain to my mum; She said that you SHOULD want to have s*x with the person you're married to. I told her to phrase it differently because there are folks who don't want s*x with anyone, and to say something like 'You should only want to have s*x with your partner' instead. She interrupted me about four times, but I think I got the message across.
Batwench 6 months ago
Just because a person is intelligent does mean they have no common sense and/or are nieve.
Little Bit 6 months ago
True. My brother in law was an academic genius. He had degrees in maths and science and yet I once had to demonstrate to him how to work his washing machine. Another time I had to explain to him how to make pancakes.
Load More Replies... Lene 6 months ago
I once had to explain to my dad what that rubber sheep with the hole in the butt was for. We were at a flea market/fair and one of the stalls sold s3x toys. It was so weird that my dad could not even imagine inside his own head in silence what it was for. 😬😬😬😬😬🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈
Roxy222uk 6 months ago
Let's be honest, they're almost exclusively gag gifts. I can't imagine they're 'used' very often.
Load More Replies... Power puff scientist 6 months ago
couldn't make it to the end. half of these just sound totally made up by someone who wanted to be on the list.
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