ADVERTISEMENT

From little things to life-changing facts, we learn things every day. So no wonder our series of Today I Learned posts is one of the favorites among our readers. Scroll through mind-expanding facts here, here and here, and make your day well spent.

But this time we’re talking about things that people learned way too late. Think of the fact that birds don't live in nests. “I learned that at the age of 72,” wrote one Redditor in response to someone asking “What fact did you learn at an embarrassingly late age?” And this is just the beginning.

Scroll down to see some more of the funny, yet all too real responses in the thread and make sure to add your ‘embarrassingly late-learned facts’ in the comment section below!

#1

I was 23 on a trip with my girlfriend in San Francisco. We were both getting ready for the day in the bathroom and I needed my hair gel, so I asked if she could hand me my toilet treat bag. She seemed confused, I again asked, "Can you please hand me my bag of toilet treats!?" She ran out of the bathroom laughing.
I thought toiletries was toilet treats.

nebraskateacher Report

#2

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers That birds don't live in nests. Just for rearing their young. I learned that at the age of 72. And I have a PhD in biophysics. Not zoology. Never too late to learn.

alanmagid , Fabrizio Frigeni Report

#3

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers For most of my life I assumed Neil Armstrong was a black man, because I'd never seen Neil outside the space suit, but I had seen Louis Armstrong. It never occurred to me that there would be anything unusual about a black astronaut in the 60s.

mrbooze , piqsels Report

Add photo comments
POST
julija-mich avatar
B-b-bird
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love how children initially never know about racism and do not understand the concept of being excluded because of colour. I wish everyone would grow up without learning how to judge each other and exclude.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#4

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers Until the age of 14, I thought Princess Diana was a famous marine biologist. They always called her "The Princess of WALES" so.....

AIRjaram , John Mathew Smith Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#5

I learned that I grew up in a white-trashy family around 10 through television. One night, I was watching tv and Jeff Foxworthy came on. I was a very content only child who to the best of my knowledge got everything they ever wanted and had no idea about things could/needed to be otherwise. Well, ole Jeff was well into his skit and I was avidly listening. "If you watch TV on a TV that sits on top of a broken TV, you might be a redneck." Wait, what? I'm watching tv sitting on top of a broken TV. "If you have a broken down car sitting in your front yard that hasn't been moved in years, you might be a Redneck." We have 5 of those, wth this isn't normal? "If you have appliances in your yard... If you've got shacks in your yard... If you live in a trailer next to a house... If... Etc... You might be a redneck." I looked around and painfully realized that I was living all of those things. So, that was the day I found out I was a redneck.

anonymous Report

#6

That the little piggy who went to market wasn't going shopping for groceries. Last year it hit me. I'm 28.

MeOfAllTrades Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#7

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers My dad would tell me bulls**t things to mess with me as a kid. Usually he would remember eventually to correct it. Sometimes, however, he forgot.

I went through the first 17 years of my life thinking an artichoke was a nocturnal rodent. Went to Italian restaurant and was horrified to see artichoke hearts on the menu. My girlfriend still gives me s**t for it three years later.

xDeezyz , Andie Report

Add photo comments
POST
abbey_laine avatar
Abbey Impson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in our house it was "wild rutabagas"...mom and dad used to go out at night and catch them.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I was watching Titanic with some friends. When it comes to the part where - spoiler alert - the ship starts sinking and the old couple are in bed together, my friend, let's call her Amy, goes "why don't they just go to sleep?".

There's a pause as everyone looks baffled before Amy explains that you don't breathe while you're asleep so you can't drown.

Amy was 21 and in university.

anonymous Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#9

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers It's called "metal" because it's harder than rock.

HiDeAnkTum , Marko Milivojevic Report

#10

I thought morning sickness was just that, feeling sick before noon. One Christmas I announced to my entire extended family that I had morning sickness. I was probably 9 or 10. I'm also a guy.

GoodDecision Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#11

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I re-named a goldfish "rainbow" when I was 7 because it kept changing color every few months. I told friends about this fish for years like it was some mystical kaleidoscope fish. It hit me in the face a couple months ago that the fish wasn't changing color...my parents were just replacing it when it died without telling me.

christinaorr , pxhere Report

Add photo comments
POST
hekko avatar
Helena Houzarová
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Goldfish have a lifespan of 10-15 years. Means their fish kept dying every few months, probably because it wasn't taken care of correctly.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I always thought that you had to legally be 16 to have coffee. Soon after my 16th birthday I went to the nearest coffee store and ordered one. I was sweating and hoping they wouldn't ask for id, because I didn't have any.

anonymous , Sung Wang Report

#13

When I was a young boy I had a black football coach (I'm white).

I asked him, "hey coach, do black people get hotter in the sun than white people"

And he responded "well I dono I've never been white"

And then it hit me. "Ohhhhhh"

Jpaynesae1991 Report

#14

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I used to think that when listening to a CD the singer had to physically sing it from wherever they were in the world in order for you to listen

So when it was night time I wouldn't listen to my Avril Lavigne CD because I didn't want her to lose sleep for me

craniumblood , cottonbro Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#15

When I first started to grow boobs I thought I had breast cancer, but I was too embarrassed to ask anyone so I just accepted my death.

donotlikebananas Report

Add photo comments
POST
lindavanderpal_1 avatar
Linda van der Pal
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's sad! (And I don't mean that the author was a sad person, but that it's sad nobody taught het beter before then!)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers That green, red, and yellow bell peppers are all the same pepper at different stages of life.

cosmic_riviera , pixnio Report

#17

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers Thought reindeer were mythical creatures, like unicorns, that helped Santa at Christmas. Didn't realise until I was 18. My mum took me to see real reindeer that Christmas, my mind was blown

trolltollwhatyousay , Norman Tsui Report

Add photo comments
POST
wendillon avatar
Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of people had this realization with Narwhals....which is fair because if horses with horns don't exist why would whales with horns be real?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

My parents had me convinced that when the ice cream truck played music, it was out of ice cream. I didn't know differently until I was almost 18.

petcgirl Report

#19

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers Pickles come from cucumbers

germinik , AKuptsova Report

#20

Somehow the conversation of superhero names came up with my girlfriend (29) the other day, and she mentioned Wolverine being named after wolves. I kinda looked at her and said "Wolverine was named after wolverines." She stared back blankly. One google images search later and I had taught a biology major about a new animal.

pfthrowaway14 Report

Add photo comments
POST
jihana avatar
Jihana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also did not know that there is an animal called wolverine. But then again, English is not my first language. In German that thing is called Vielfraß which literally means "eats a lot"

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#21

I didn't learn the difference between miner and minor until I was like, 12. My dad was a miner and I used to freak out about him smoking or drinking because I thought it was prohibited to miners.

steinenhoot Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Smoking is. Smoking in a mine is very dangerous. Drinking could be dangerous too.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers A week ago I finally made the connection that the hood is short for the neighborhood. I'm 23.

gritodedolores1946 , Ken Lund Report

Add photo comments
POST
patriciaross avatar
tuzdayschild
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My brain works like this sometimes. I don't always make the connections right away that others do.

ishma-in008 avatar
S.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I.... I thought it was called the hood because they wore...... Hoodies?

hayleyrodgers avatar
Justacrow
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oooo, I was a sheltered little white girl from the suburbs and I knew this from an early age lol

marcoconti avatar
Marco Conti
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I knew that growing up in Italy. The rest of the English language was various degrees of a mystery, but that I knew.

dontlook avatar
Don't Look
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I make that connection every now and then. I just sort of forget it and then… connect it.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers Just talked to a coworker the other day who didn't know his name was Jason until 3rd grade. His initials were JT and his family called him by that and so he thought that was his name.

During roll call in class the teacher was asking for a "Jason" and he just sat there thinking "some sucker is late for class". Then the name JT was never called and confusion ensued.

Yivoe , Max Fischer Report

Add photo comments
POST
wendillon avatar
Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one always boggles my mind. If you're going to call your kid JT, why not just make that their official name? Why name your kid James if you're gonna call them Jim....why name them William if you're gonna stick to Bill? It's just something that never quite clicked for me.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers One time in 7th grade science, my class was having a discussion about volcanoes and then out of nowhere, a kid in the back yelled in the most surprised voice ever "wait! Volcanoes are real!?"

Thebenwheeler66 , Russell Neches Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I rode up the side of a volcano on a camel when I was kid. And a guy set fire to a bush by poking it in the ground. Volcanoes are cool. :D

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

I thought lingerie was a fancy word for laundry for way longer than i care to admit. Explains why my mates gave me a weird look when I told them I had to fold my lingerie

Jews_Are_meh Report

#26

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I was convinced cheese grew on bushes till 12-13 years old. My brother is really proud of this.

digdat0 , NastyaSensei Report

Add photo comments
POST
s_p_barnett avatar
Steve Barnett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the UK we had the following: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti-tree_hoax

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I thought it was "war war I" and "war war II" instead of "world war". everyone always just said it like "war war" because Texas.

natlay , Photos of the Past Report

#28

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I thought cats were a breed of dog until I was about 15.

captainnermy , Tran Mau Tri Tam Report

#29

i thought that when people lose a body part their organism could regenerate the missing part until i was 13+-. if i saw someone with a half of an arm missing i thought "good s**t, his arm is almost complete"

BetterCallMyJungler Report

Add photo comments
POST
katy_malinowski avatar
Katy McMouse
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dear old dad, God rest his mischievous, conniving soul, once told me that actors who are portraying an amputee actually had to have the limb/appendage amputated for the film. This was back in the eighties before CGI was a thing. I believed him. For YEARS.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

It's "For all intents and purposes"

Not "For all intensive purposes"

Learned at age 30.

anonymous Report

See Also on Bored Panda
#31

There actually ARE carrots in carrot cake. I assumed it was a joke because it's orange and we were all in on it.

llama-rama Report

#32

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I just learned a few months ago that lightning does not happen when two clouds touch each other. That was a very sad, and very disappointing day.

anonymous , Alexandre Bringer Report

#33

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I only learned this year that ponies aren't just baby horses.

Up_from_below Report

#34

I don't know if the realization I've had when I was around 6 years old is something that everyone experiences, but I was completely blown away when my great-grandmother told me that she wasn't always old and was, in fact, a kid once, and so was everyone else. That was the day I learned about the process of aging.

cerberus_cat Report

Add photo comments
POST
emmagee avatar
Emma Gee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I got beat with a wooden spoon by my grandma for asking her what type of dinosaur she rode to school everyday cause I assumed she had walked the earth with the dinosaurs since she was so old... I too never thought she was young. Lol and apparently immortal.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers What lesbians are. I thought they were from Romania. I was 17.

TonyPepperonis , Matheus Bertelli Report

Add photo comments
POST
jihana avatar
Jihana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why Romania? Greece, ok, there is the island of Lesbos where the term lesbians actually comes from. But Romania?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#36

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers Ray-Bans are called that because they "Ban" the suns rays from entering your eyes.

anonymous , Shamindi Wehalle Report

#37

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I thought the Amish were like an old timey group of actors who were just really into it until I was about 18, revealed that, and was promptly made fun of because they in fact are a functioning society who actually live that way, not actors.

babisaurusREX , Highsmith, Carol M Report

#38

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers A few weeks ago I learned that hens lay infertile eggs so roosters aren't necessary. I'm 21.

FlatTyres , Alison Burrell Report

#39

When I was 18 I learned that the thing on the bottom of your rear view mirror was used to dim lights from cars behind you at night. I was complaining about a car behind me and my buddy in the Army told me to flip the mirror thing. Mind Blown.

raymondspogo Report

#40

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I thought that all dogs were male and all cats were female for the longest time.

LuminousRain , Alec Favale Report

Add photo comments
POST
jihana avatar
Jihana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read that so many times already, and it really baffles me. Why? How? What is the thought process?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#41

When I was cleaning my last apartment the day before moving out, I ran out of paper towels cleaning counter tops. I thought I couldn't continue without going to the store for more, until over the phone, my mother asked why I didn't just use a towel.

Paper towels and towels can serve the same function.. I am 30.

FinalFacade Report

#42

That girls had nipples. Until I was 13 I thought it was all smooth. That changed when I went to NYC with my parents and saw a lady protesting equal rights with no shirt on. It was quite an experience.

anonymous Report

#43

As a kid I loved Mr. Bean. My mom took a trip to England to visit relatives and came back with an autographed postcard from him, I didn't realize until my twenties that it was in her handwriting. :/

FiveFourThreeNoseOne Report

Add photo comments
POST
bronnie69 avatar
Bron
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love mr Bean too. His skit in the church is without a doubt the funniest thing I’ve ever seen on tv. (Saying that cos my husband and daughter have both done some pretty stupid, funny things).

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#44

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers That you only get milk from cows who have recently given birth. I was told by my father that cows produce milk be eating grass and I continued to believe it until I was in my early twenties

mrchaddy , Kat Jayne Report

Add photo comments
POST
julija-mich avatar
B-b-bird
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

cow has to be milked regularly so that her body would produce a milk all the time, as well to maintain production it is giving birth regularly. Nowadays breeds of cows giving way more milk than her infant is able to consume. That is why it needs to be milked twice a day (thats for old style milking), otherwise cow is in pain/discomfort.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#45

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers When I was a young kid I thought attractive people and celebrities didn't have toes. I thought their feet were perfect like the feet of a Barbie. I wanted to be famous so I could have feet like a Barbie, I thought toes were gross.

lauquinn , dollyhaul Report

#46

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers That a blanket doesn't provide it's own heat. Yes, it genuinely took me a while.

TheForgottenPages , Taylor Friehl Report

#47

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers You know the towel hats the woman wear after taking a shower? It took me much longer than I'm willing to admit to realise that their hair is in the towel.

MrTurtle7091 , Sora Shimazaki Report

Add photo comments
POST
wendillon avatar
Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm very curious why they thought we wear the towel hats if they didn't know about the hair

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#48

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers Chocolate milk doesn't come from chocolate cows. I thought there were chocolate cows until I was a college senior.

monkey_swagger , Donnie Nunley Report

Add photo comments
POST
donotreplytokjk avatar
Otter
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You grew up buying premade grocery store chocolate milk, didn't you, and not mixing powder or syrup into regular milk.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#49

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers I thought I was allergic to cactus because they hurt me when I touched them, didn't find out that cactus have thorns until I was 12

LuminousRain , Maksim Goncharenok Report

#50

People Are Sharing Things They've Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 50 Best Answers That there are literally different seasons in different places in the world. I always thought about it as of a fact that I mislearned but it turned out to be true about a year ago. I'm 23.

ferglicious , Leandro Neumann Ciuffo Report

Add photo comments
POST
james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love that we have the long school holidays, daylight savings and Christmas in summer.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Note: this post originally had 74 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.

See Also on Bored Panda