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No matter how smart we think we are, no matter how many degrees we might have, everyone (everyone!) has at least one embarrassing knowledge blindspot. You might be like Ted Mosby from the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother who pronounces ‘chameleon’ with the ‘ch’ like in ‘chocolate’ and the ‘leon’ part like the name Leon.

Or you might be like comedy writer Ariane Sherine who used to think that pigs would snuff out chocolate truffles from the ground like they do normal truffles. When Ariane shared this fun fact on the internet and added that one of her friends thought that Colonel Sanders’ bow on the KFC logo was a stickman body (we can’t unsee it now, by the way), she sparked an amusing thread about the most embarrassing misunderstandings that people have had. Scroll down, upvote your faves, and share your own embarrassing blindspots in the comments below! I’ll get the ball rolling by saying that I keep forgetting that New Zealand is to the Southeast of Australia—in my mind, it’s always to the Southwest! Whoops! Sorry, Kiwis.

"I share a lot of the knowledge blindspots other people have confessed to. For example, when I was young, I also thought the word ‘misled’ was pronounced ‘mizzled!’ And I’m sure I’m also guilty of hundreds of misunderstandings I can’t remember now," Ariane told Bored Panda. "I think that’s why the thread was so popular—everyone can identify with the idea of an embarrassing misunderstanding! Can’t help you with Colonel Sanders though—I fear that image is seared into your brain forever..." Scroll down for the rest of our interview with Ariane.

More info: ArianeSherine.co.uk | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

"I think some people think they’ll lose face if they admit to not knowing things. But no one can know everything! Having gaps in your knowledge is just a natural part of being human. And sometimes, as the thread proves, those gaps can be amusing!"

Ariane also revealed to Bored Panda what she's been up to during the Covid-19 quarantine. "I’ve been working on a really fun book for ages 8-12 set during the coronavirus lockdown. Unfortunately though, my agent has stopped work during lockdown, so if any children’s fiction publishers would like to read the manuscript, please hit me up! I’ve also been proofreading my next book, called How to Live to 100. It’s a funny health science book which tells you how to live a long and healthy life, and is out on October 1," she said.

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Peachikeen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And that mummys had girl babies and the daddys had boy babies. Childhood is a strange time.

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39-year-old Ariane has many talents besides her talent with the quill: she’s also a comedian, campaigner, and a songwriter. But she’s best known for her writing skills. If you’re a fan of British TV, then you’ve probably enjoyed some of her work without even knowing it. She’s written scripts for BBC shows like My Family, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, The Story of Tracy Beaker, and Space Pirates, ITV1’s The New Worst Witch, and jokes for Channel 4’s Countdown.

She’s incredibly energetic and also a regular on TV and radio programs like BBC Breakfast, Sunday Morning Live, The One Show, Victoria Derbyshire, iPM, Woman’s Hour, Sunday, and Night Waves.

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Shea Briggette
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3 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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Ariane’s a seasoned journalist, too. She has written over 90 columns for The Guardian and The Spectator, a few travel pieces for The Sunday Times, book reviews for The Observer, album reviews for NME, and features for The Independent, Independent on Sunday, and Esquire. That’s the sort of experience that any journalist would be glad to add to their CV.

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So if someone as talented and hard-working as Ariane can talk about her embarrassing misunderstandings openly, there’s no reason for us to hide our own knowledge blindspots. Don’t you think so, dear Pandas?

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Bastette Cat
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

E erroneous thought that! There’s even a band called Youth in Asia.

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Pseudo Puppy
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, if your parents weren't into retro music when you were a kid, and didn't listen to the Beatles... logically speaking, this is actually a very reasonable assumption to have as a kid.

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Stimpy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Didn't know it was called "the Hague" in English. Kind of makes sense though...

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Martin Alex
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can someone explain why would you think it's a building? I always knew it was a city, so I can't relate.

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Jon S.
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have only ever come across it in the sense of news reports saying "And alleged war criminal X faced trial today in the Hague" so until reading this post I assumed 'The Hague' was the name of a famous court building in the Netherlands. It's the only town I know of prefixed by 'the' but many buildings are named this way.

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Sasy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did also, the movie The hitmans bodyguard they spend the whole movie saying the have to get to the hague, and they go to the big courthouse just in time...so Ithought that was The Hague.

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Luka Hamer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a Dutch city and we call it Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage in Dutch. Our parlement and government are located there, as well as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

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Gitte Scheipers
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why would someone try to translate city names..., in Belgium we have places like Kontich (buttlike) or reet (ars) if you translate it literally.., Don't do that..., we even have 2 names for city's French and Flemish Like Antwerp is Anvers

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Incel Slayer
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is unusual to translate a city name, (semi joking) perhaps some UN members couldn't pronounce Den Haag? Also I would love to know how a city earned the name "buttlike"

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Viv Hart
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're English-speaking it's the Hague; If you speak Dutch you have 2 choices - Den Haag, or s'Gravenhage.

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SciFi Vortex
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought it was a plague, but I'm just a bit vague. Is it really important to worldwide citizens? Or is it just an affectation by the locals because they have nothing else of interest in their country?

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Just another bot
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean I was curious enough to look it up on the map while learning history in school? But didn't you have to point out stuff on the map in class? It was a requirement.

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SciFi Vortex
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't care what the Hague is. If it's important enough to my plans and ambitions in life, I'm sure I will find out eventually. If not ...

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Cathelijne van Weelden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Uhm well, it's the city where the international Court of Justice is... So I don't know what you are referring to?! 😅

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Whatshername
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please don't take this the wrong way. Things like this honestly always make me wonder if people in the USA (not saying Mr. O'Neill is American) get taught topography of the world in school? Maybe it's just that there's so many Americans and in Europe we hear a lot from you. Maybe that's why things like this get noticed. It is not my inention to be rude, I am honestly wondering. As to me this is unimaginable. We get taught stuff like this when we're about 10-12 years old.

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