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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

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

I thought so too. How is it pronounced? The same like the name Jeff?

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

That reminds me about an Italian ex I had called Giovanna, or Gio for short. Speaking Italian myself, I know Gio is pronounced like Jo, but ALL her friends would call her Jee-oh. I tried to subtly convince them by calling her 'Jo' in front of them but they never got the message.

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Tobias the Tiger
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to think that too.. the name "Sean" also confused me for a while. Whenever I see the name "Sean", I have to remind myself that it's pronounced "Shawn" and not "seen".

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

Yeah that’s a stupid spelling too , if your name is Shawn and it’s spelled “Sean” I will call you “ seen “

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

When I was younger I used to think "Sean" was pronounced "Seen".

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

That's the problem when you have a language whose words can be pronounced randomly, instead of one sound and only one sound for each letter. Crazy people!

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

It isn't random though - it seems that way because there are many origins for English.

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

I've only had that happen to me a couple of times, but they did it on purpose, y'know, trying to be funny. One relief teacher in high school mispronounced my name as "Joffrey" instead of the right way, and for the following two years all the popular a**hole boys would chant "HEY, JOFFY!!!" whenever I walked by.

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

It´s not pronounced GEE OFF? I can get my head around Joff but not much else.

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

Nope, it's pronounced "Jeff," same as the more common version (source: I know two Geoffs).

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

Well, I still internally stop myself before calling my colleague A A Ron...

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

Oh no, I should not have taken a sip while reading this one :D

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

Better than one of my colleagues. I've worked with her for almost 4 years and to this day she thinks my name is Jenny. I've corrected her for 2 years before giving up. So now for her, I answer to Jenny.

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

I know someone with that spelling that pronounces it that way. Very annoying.

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

As far as I am concerned, it is. LOL It's not my fault that everyone else isn't hookt on p-honiks.

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

I know a guy named Geoff who pronounces it that way. It drives me nuts.

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SciFi Vortex
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3 years ago

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Your "friend" is semi-illiterate and a shame to the education system of whatever 3rd world country you live in.

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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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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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