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30 People Share How They Used To Believe In Something That Turned Out To Be An Embarrassing Misunderstanding
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
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"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 5 years ago
And that mummys had girl babies and the daddys had boy babies. Childhood is a strange time.
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.
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.
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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Pseudo Puppy 5 years ago (edited)
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 5 years ago
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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Pseudo Puppy 5 years ago (edited)
the joys of English NOT being a phonetic language, and taking the majority of its words from other languages (that are also not phonetic), then bastardising them even further by mispronouncing them..... makes it near impossible to correctly pronounce every word. And then there's the plethora of accents within the english language. :o
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What do you think ?
Pickles 5 years ago
When I was 5-6yrs old, I thought that the laugh tracks heard in sitcoms was the laughter of all the other people also watching the show around the world. I went so far as to talk into the tv speaker, introducing myself in hopes of communicating!! Eek!!!
RaroaRaroa 5 years ago (edited)
I remember thinking that the people shot in cowboys programmes on TV (Zorro I think) were people who wanted to die. I knew they were actors, but thought they really died. I was very young.
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Meghann Davies 5 years ago
I was 16 when I realised (quietly) that Neil Armstrong said "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" and not "one small step for a man, one giant leap for magpies" which to me made sense because it would in fact be a giant leap for a magpie...
Daria Z 5 years ago
Suppositories in Russian are called "candles" and I believed they were thin medical candles that you have to stick up your bum and then LIGHT them. Ohh, learning the truth was so embarrassing, especially since I was well into my 20s 😳
Binxyminxem 5 years ago
Lol right as I was reading this one of my dogs farted, he couldn't have timed it better! 🤣🤣🤣
Load More Replies... Pickles 5 years ago
When I was 5-6yrs old, I thought that the laugh tracks heard in sitcoms was the laughter of all the other people also watching the show around the world. I went so far as to talk into the tv speaker, introducing myself in hopes of communicating!! Eek!!!
RaroaRaroa 5 years ago (edited)
I remember thinking that the people shot in cowboys programmes on TV (Zorro I think) were people who wanted to die. I knew they were actors, but thought they really died. I was very young.
Load More Replies... Meghann Davies 5 years ago
I was 16 when I realised (quietly) that Neil Armstrong said "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" and not "one small step for a man, one giant leap for magpies" which to me made sense because it would in fact be a giant leap for a magpie...
Daria Z 5 years ago
Suppositories in Russian are called "candles" and I believed they were thin medical candles that you have to stick up your bum and then LIGHT them. Ohh, learning the truth was so embarrassing, especially since I was well into my 20s 😳
Binxyminxem 5 years ago
Lol right as I was reading this one of my dogs farted, he couldn't have timed it better! 🤣🤣🤣
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