“Lefty Loosy, Righty Tighty”: 30 Highly Useful Facts That Are Not Yet Universal Knowledge
In the 21st century, the real issue isn’t “How do you find information?” but “How do you sift through the oceans of data out there?” As a result, it can be hard to actually know what is “common knowledge” and what is some obscure factoid you have randomly memorized.
Someone asked “What’s something you thought was common knowledge but found out most people didn’t know” and netizens shared their best examples. From intricate traffic rules to observations about human behavior, hopefully, you will learn something new. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorite examples, and comment your ideas below.
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If you flick the bar sticking out of your steering wheel up, it causes the lights on the right side of your vehicle to flash. And if you flick it down, the left side flashes, so people know you are going to make a turn or change lanes. It even works in pickup trucks!
Queer people existed in the "olden times". And they exist in countries where it's banned. And they exist in ultra-conservative families.
Those fundamentalists who decry homosexuality as immoral fail to realize...first, that God made all...second, that Old Testament scripture recognized it. Called it immoral, but recognized it. "Nothing new under the sun"
Social media is NOT for you, it's for advertisers. You're the product.
Except Tumblr. It has already cost a large company billions of dollars and is somehow still running.
The thing about Tumblr is that companies keep withdrawing ads on there, thinking that they are not getting traffic from there because it doesn't show up on their metrics. But all outgoing links on Tumblr run through a hidden referrer link (href.li), so all traffic is anonymous and doesn't show on tracking metrics. It's brilliant.
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Of course we're the product. Audi and I are the two most famous and adorable cats on all of Bored Panda! We are always the product. You're welcome, soft can-openers.
In general, if they're offering a "free" service, you are the product.
How brainwashed do you need to be to think that it's okay for a corporation to know everything from your sexuality, your purchases, your geographical position, your political opinions etc?
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You let people out before entering
This is not really knowledge, more politeness and common sense: to get in, you need room made by people leaving.
Being nice and patient will give you a bigger chance of getting a refund or a new of whatever is broken, than being angry and blaming the random worker
Nice and patient =/= make excuses and be avoidant though. You still need to be firm and show you won't just go away if they make it difficult. It means you don't raise your voice, don't make accusations, no name calling and simply stating the facts without assumptions of malice. Never say sorry for your complaint. But be friendly when addressing it. I want to bring to your attention that this food is cold and I ask you to get me hot food please. Is perfectly friendly and fine. Say thank you when they make it right.
You have to empty the lint trap on your dryer after each load.
If you are driving and it is raining - turn your lights on.
That you should wash your hands every time you use the toilet. Yes, even if you “got nothing on them”.
HR is there to protect the employer, NOT you.
Grenadine is made from pomegranate, not cherry.
Gambling at a casino will most likely result in losing money.
The older I get, the more I'm realizing basic history is not known at all.
That's true. A lot of people have a very, very shaky grasp of even basic history. Kind of like people who can't even find their own continent on a world map.
RSVP means Please Respond. Not respond if you're coming, or respond if you're not coming. Respond whether you're coming or not.
Vehicles entering a freeway/merging with traffic do not have the right-of-way and YIELD signs are not merely suggestions.
Ammonia + Bleach = Poison Gas. Don't combine the two, and pay attention to the active ingredients on cleaning products. Glass cleaner is often ammonia-based while "bathroom cleaners" usually contain bleach, for example.
95% of getting what you want, is in HOW YOU ASK.
Don't be a d**k/karen, and you will likely get whatever you need.
"someone should have told you, at a very young age, that you attract more flies with honey than vinegar."
Cows have to give birth first before they can produce milk
Just like any other mammal
The calves are taken away immediately after birth and put in separate "igloos", so no mommy time and no contact with other calves. However, some dairy farmers are very successful with a different approach: They leave the calves a couple of months (up to 10 months) with their moms, in the herd. The milk "lost" is no issue (the substitute the calves are fed is not cheap), the farmers have less work and the animals are healthier and well socialized.
Lefty loosy, righty tighty
I've heard that in one language (I think it was Spanish/Portugese but I'm totally not sure) they have a version of this that goes "The Right oppresses, the Left liberates" and I think it's cool as hell 😁
Mayonnaise does not have any dairy in it. Just because eggs are sold in the 'dairy' section of the grocery store does not mean eggs are dairy products. They will not trigger your lactose intolerance because they have no lactose in them.
If the traffic lights are out at an intersection, treat it as a 4 way stop.
If interrogated by the police for a crime ask for a lawyer and say nothing. You can be incredibly guilty but without your testimony you have a chance to get off. You have rights.
Some eggs aren't fertilized and will never become a baby/chicken/penquin. It baffles me how many folks Ive had to explain that to this month alone.
All factory farmed eggs are unfertilized. Those hens never even see a rooster from afar.
I'm always surprised by the number of people who think that ponies are *baby* horses rather than *small* horses.
This one is not so straight forward. There is no universal standard definition of 'pony'. In some places it is based on current height, and others it's a horse below the average height for it's breed. In some places it's based on the shape of the horse (shorter legs, stockier appearance, wider heads, etc). A few countries use a variation of the word to literally mean 'small/baby horse'. A few places even use the word to describe a female horse with a great temperament. So in summary, All ponies are horses, but not all horses are ponies, and all "baby" ponies are ponies, but not all "baby" horses are ponies, but all "baby" horses might be ponies, depending on where they grow up.
A lot of media online. It's easy to see something being really popular online and forget that it's only popular amongst people of a certain demographic or audience.
I'm in my late 20s and I teach English occassionally. Sometimes it's fun to inflict psychical damage to my teen students by asking questions like "Who's Mr. Beast?" (or any other famous Youtuber / internet celebrity they mention) 😁
Roman Numerals.
Not sure why I thought it was common knowledge.
If you want to drink beer all night long, drink a glass of water between each beer. You will be the last one standing.
It's also useful to avoid hangover (which is merely dehydration). Well, the best is to drink alcohol lightly, of course.
The arrow next to your gas pump symbol on your dashboard indicates what side of the car your tank is on. ⛽️🚗
Police are allowed to lie to you, manipulate you and twist your words during interrogations. Most people assume there's some kind of rule in place but once you waive your right to an attorney and agree to talk they can basically do whatever they want short of a threat. Innocent or not, always, always lawyer up immediately.
That you could just remove all the zeros from a multiplication question, multiply all the non zero numbers, then just add the zeros back afterwards.
E.g. 234000 × 6000 could be done as just 234 × 6 first, which is 1404, and then since there are 6 zeros in total from the original two numbers, just add 6 zeros to the back of 1404. Then you have 1404000000.
Very easy.
In the US, even numbered highways go east and west whereas odd numbered highways go north and south.
Yep, and the "prefixes" in freeway numbers are also a kind of code. An even number indicates a loop that is linked to the main route at two points: e.g. the 405 in Los Angeles makes a semi-circle around the 5. An odd number is a spur that is linked at only one point. Also, exit numbers (usually) increase from south to north, and west to east.
Capybaras are the worlds largest rodent. I guess not everyone grew up with The Wild Thornberries
They are the best animals! I could just watch them for hours. So friendly and peaceful.
Many people can't picture faces in their heads, even of their loved ones. We don't fully remember faces but recognize them.
I can tell you a few things about my mother's face, but I don't have a picture of it in my head.
I am very fascinated by people who can do it though.
I've always been terrified of being witness to a crime for this reason. I wouldn't be able to describe someone to a sketch artist. I wouldn't be able to describe my own husband or even my mother to a sketch artist in any useful detail.
If you go under a tunnel in the states, if there is a red line along the wall it means your under ground and if it’s blue you’re under water.
If your birthday is on a Monday, then the next year it will be on a Tuesday, then on a Wednesday and so on with the exception of leap years where it skips a day.
Pressing the “TEST” button on a smoke detector will silence it.
I still see people fanning towels at them sometimes.
Not always, if there is actually smoke it will just trigger again. I've had some I've literally had to rip the battery out of to get them to quit.
That the Alphabet Song is just "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in disguise.
Some people confuse the concepts of "checking your oil level" with "changing your oil periodically". Both activities need to be done regularly.
As in "why would I need to change the oil? The light hasn't come on yet!"
Knocking on a door before going inside
I think you mean, 'Knocking on a door and NOT going in until invited to do so'.
This may just be a local thing but here goes. The reflectors in the roadway at night are white when you’re going the right way, and red when you’re not. Specifically it’s the reflectors that divide traffic lanes (white dashed lines).
On a dual-carriageway. On single-carriageways in the UK the catseyes in the centre of the road are white for both directions - there may also be white lines at the edge of the road with or without refectors on them - or there may be posts with red reflectors on your side and white on the opposite side (red = tail lights; white = headlights). Dual-carriageways and motorways use red for the edge of the road, amber for the central reservation and green for an exit.
In the US, a lot of hospital systems have financial aid based on income. I've gotten 60-100% of my bill wiped *after* insurance. Even while making a living wage, they still took off 60%.
How to read a map. General directions. NEWS. Sometimes there's no wifi and apparently, no common sense.
I'm still surprised, a lot of people if you ask them don't know which way north is. Even from their own home.
Highly Useful Fact: When driving on the freeway in a snow storm allow all pickup trucks to fly past you at 80 mph. You'll find them in a ditch about a mile up the road.
Anyone up for a ddos attack on bored panda next time the repeat the worlds worst 40 facts for morons?
Something I noticed one day -- odd-numbered street addresses will be on the north side of the street and even-numbered on the south side; odd on the west and even on the east. This isn't actually carved in stone, but it seems to be pretty universal (at least in California.) Also, the noises that the walk lights make -- the cuckoo bird sound is for going north-south, and the chirpy one is for going east-west.
Another highly useful fact: Godzilla Minus One's theatrical run in the US (and other regions too but I forghetti which ones) has been extended from Dec 7 to Dec 13 in certain theaters (I think Regal and AMC and a few others but once again I forghetti) so if u've given up on seeing it, try checking to see if its playing past the 7th in any theaters near u!! Even if ur not a G fan I would strongy suggest watching it! its very good!!
Highly Useful Fact: When driving on the freeway in a snow storm allow all pickup trucks to fly past you at 80 mph. You'll find them in a ditch about a mile up the road.
Anyone up for a ddos attack on bored panda next time the repeat the worlds worst 40 facts for morons?
Something I noticed one day -- odd-numbered street addresses will be on the north side of the street and even-numbered on the south side; odd on the west and even on the east. This isn't actually carved in stone, but it seems to be pretty universal (at least in California.) Also, the noises that the walk lights make -- the cuckoo bird sound is for going north-south, and the chirpy one is for going east-west.
Another highly useful fact: Godzilla Minus One's theatrical run in the US (and other regions too but I forghetti which ones) has been extended from Dec 7 to Dec 13 in certain theaters (I think Regal and AMC and a few others but once again I forghetti) so if u've given up on seeing it, try checking to see if its playing past the 7th in any theaters near u!! Even if ur not a G fan I would strongy suggest watching it! its very good!!
