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Common sense might need a bit of a rebrand. Because, as it turns out, it isn’t all that common after all.
One Redditor proved this by asking others to share the funniest “how did they not know that?” moments they’ve come across. And judging by the replies, even the best of us can be stumped by the most obvious things.
From realizing that vacuum bags don’t last forever to finding out Liechtenstein is an actual country, here are some of the most entertaining stories people shared.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I grew up in Alaska but I went to fifth grade in Las Vegas. My first day they had me introduce myself to the class and to tell them some interesting things about Alaska. I mentioned it was the largest state and everyone started arguing with me. I looked at the map of the US on the wall and instantly understood why they were confused. Alaska was shrunk down in a little box in the corner. I laughed and said, "Did you think it was an island, too?" Crickets. Pretty sure they thought it was an island. I showed them there were 5 longitudinal lines across AK and only 3 across Texas. Also showed them on the map where it said it was attached to Canada.
Our education system sucks.
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#2
That women can’t hold their period blood. I’ve seen so many people who were so surprised when they learned that you can’t hold the blood that comes out.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 2 months ago
Too bad most of the U.S. Congress believes stuff like this.
#4
You need to clean out the lint trap in a dryer. I frequently come across people in their 30s that can’t figure out why their clothes take so long to dry...
#5
It makes sense that he doesn't know this, cuz I'm his first serious relationship, he has only brothers/has never lived with a woman before me and just... wouldn't know this. But my boyfriend was doing our laundry recently and he noted "some of your bras are soft, and some of them have this hard outer rim." I said yes, that's called an underwire. And he just repeated it sounding like a baby learning a new word "...underwire." It was extremely cute.
LinkTheHylian 2 months ago
If he didn't get a pat on the head he won't have felt like he accomplished anything.
#6
My husband was away working for about 2months... I usually don't stay at ours if he's away, but I happen to this time. I know I'm a big splasher when I wash my face... (I don't use a towel and don't towel dry my face), the counter is usually drenched, as is a third of my shirt after I wash my face. After 3-4days, I notice water stains on the mirror aren't leaving and I was so confused as I'd never seen them before. I left them there a bit longer to see if they'd "disappear" but they didn't...
Turns out my SO had been wiping these water stains I leave for the last 6-7years... and I'd grown up with a housekeeper who would wipe/clean this stuff, so I was completely oblivious. I assumed mirrors were kinda self-cleaning by being coated with something that would make water drip off and not "stain"?
Anyways, I messaged my SO and thanked him for doing this all this time and not complaining, and apologised for making a mess and having not noticed this. He found it hilarious I thought mirrors were self cleaning.
Lee Gilliland 2 months ago
Reminds me of the English Duke who got very upset when his toothbrush wasn't foaming properly. Turns out his valet wasn't with him and he had never put the toothpaste on and he wasn't aware toothbrushs didn't self-charge.
#7
Unfortunately, I was the dumb one here. From the US, visiting a friend in France. She'd told me that stores close on Sunday. I thought I understood--yeah, so the department stores and stuff are closed, but of course necessities like groceries and pharmacies are open.
I needed to get something at the pharmacy, and asked if we could stop by one. She reminded me it was Sunday, and the pharmacy was closed. Cue bluescreen in my brain. But, they're pharmacies. Surely not /everything/ is closed. "No hun," she says, "it's Sunday. Stores are closed on Sunday." You could practically hear my brain doing a dial tone as I tried to process this very simple idea.
Eliza 2 months ago (edited)
My husband and I honeymoonee in France and didn't realize how serious they were about closing on Sundays. We ended up fasting for about 30 hours because we didn't know you couldn't buy groceries or go to restaurants and didn't plan ahead to stock up on food. We thought we'd picnic but nope, all 5 food stores in the town were closed. Fine, go out for lunch. Nope, restaurants all closed. Gas station will have snacks. Nope, closed too. We spent the evening talking about how hungry we were like we were on Survivor.
#8
My aunt once argued with me that H2O was was not two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, but a word on its own—maybe spelled Aitchtwooh? I was never clear on that. “It’s just another word for water it doesn’t stand for anything.” I was 13. I still get mad remembering it.
LinkTheHylian 2 months ago
It's Dihydrogen Monoxide and is dangerous when consumed in large quantities. Let us never forget Jennifer Strange and the bizarre "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest that sadly cost her her life.
#9
I had to explain to a 30 year old man who has lived with women for years and dated plenty that tampon sizes have nothing to do with how small a person is.
He genuinely thought tampons came in different sizes due to women having different sizes vaginas depending on how tall and big they were. So many wrong assumptions it still confounds me. I had to explain both that vaginas dont work like that, and that tampon sizes are due to how much they can absorb. His mind was blown.
Lee Gilliland 2 months ago
It may astonish you, but I didn't know this until I was 40 and I'm FEMALE.
#10
There was a trend thing going around the internet some time ago about asking men where a period pad goes/what it sticks to.
My husband, who I’d been living with for five years and who grew up with two sisters, said we must stick it right to our vulvas. This is also what my dad and both my siblings’ partners said SMH. It just never occurred to them that it sticks to our underwear!
#11
Having lunch outside with a group of colleagues, all professionals with minimum of a masters, and several were shocked to hear that there are different kinds of clouds and that they have names, ie cirrus, nimbus, etc. I was gobsmacked, as I learned all that in maybe 6th grade.
Tonja Jackson 2 months ago
I'm only going to assume that the poster is in the USA because I also learned this in elementary school (back in the dark ages of the early 1970s). Our educational system is just getting worse and worse.
#12
I was watching a sunset at the beach with a friend when she asked me why the ocean doesn't extinguish the sun when the sun goes under the water. She was young, but an adult. Had a short conversation about the sun, the earth, and the rotation of the earth.
#13
My mom thought Liechtenstein was a fictional country in A Knight’s Tale.
#14
My friend and I went grocery shopping, she bought like 5 milks, she saw my questioning face and she said they drank a lot of milk so I shrugged it off. A week or so later she tells me all of the milk has spoiled. Took a while to figure out what went wrong, and when we finally did, I couldn't believe it. She didn't know there was fresh milk that needs to be refrigerated, and shelf-stable that does not. She of course bought the fresh milk, not knowing any better, and put it in the pantry. Apparently her mom only ever bought shelf-stable milk and she had no idea that any other kind even existed. We were in our early twenties and she had a pretty sheltered life so it wasn't THAT surprising, but I teased her about it for years.
Multa Nocte 2 months ago
I have now lived in France for 4 years and I noticed the other day on BP that there was a photo of milk in a dairy case in an American store and I was surprised at my own reaction of "Why would they put it in the cold section?" How quickly some of us forget.
#15
Reverse situation here. My husband is Swedish and we met on holidays in a third country. The first time he visited me in Australia he was cooking dinner for us and was rattling through the utensils draw for ages before he asked me “where is your potato stick?”
I was laughing hysterically, what the hell is a potato stick?!”
Turns out it’s just a skewer but it’s a common utensil over there- as soon as he got home he sent me a potato stick and it’s still a huge joke in our house now.
#16
I grew up near the beach, my bf grew up near freshwater lakes. Very early on I took him to my hometown. We went in the ocean. He said, it’s salty! He knew intellectually that the ocean is salty but hadn’t really experienced it much and the extreme saltiness surprised him.
#17
My friend and I (both 30 at the time) were decorating for a party. I was blowing up balloons. She asked me why they weren't floating up to the ceiling. I was like what do you mean? She genuinely thought all balloons should behave like helium balloons. I had to explain the difference to her.
Lee Gilliland 2 months ago
Last time I bought balloons for a party we had so many they wouldn't fit into the car unless we put the roof down. In October.
#18
For years, my husband told me I must have some sort of dental problem because I had excessively bad breath. I went to the dentist regularly and nothing was wrong, and nobody else in my life seemed to notice. But I stressed out about it, kept mints on hand, was very careful with dental hygiene, etc.
Then one day he remarked on how it was really only bad in the morning. I drilled down into that for a bit, and found out that he'd never heard of morning breath. He had no idea that bad breath in the morning was normal, or that he had it too.
So now I've got a lifelong complex about my breath because my first husband never paid attention to a mouthwash commercial.
#19
I had one of those. I grew up in a medium-sized city (~35,000 people) that was also a major travel/shipping hub. I spent 18 years thinking that *all gas stations* were open 24hrs. I went to college in a small town and was like....WTH? How is everything closed? What if you run out of gas after 8pm? Where do you buy cigarettes at 2am?
People were like...you don't. You have to wait til morning.
I'm still shocked by it TBH!
SchadenFreudian Psychology 2 months ago
Small towns and rural areas are weird. Better hope your car never breaks down in a place like that.
#20
My dad has a PhD and genius level IQ. He once took his car to the mechanic because the windshield wiper fluid wasn't working. The mechanic checked and told him it was because the windshield wiper fluid was out and needed to be replaced.
#21
Not me, but on this past season of worst cooks in America, the chef, Carla, had to explain how to use a can opener. You could see her die a bit inside before she did.
#22
Not practical at all but I’m pretty goth and like spooky stuff/folklore… my boyfriend is just a normal sports guy lol
When I was first meeting his cousin I asked what he told her about me… and he says “I told her you were a 1000 year old vampire and to bring onions to ward you off”
… nah, babe that’s garlic 😂 gotta get that man up on his folklore lol.
#23
A friend recently drove a kid home after practice, and she didnt know her address. 9th grader, she'd lived there for a few years, and knew how to get home on the bus, but didn't know what her friggin address was!?
Panda On My Balcony 2 months ago
I drove my daughter's friend home and she didn't know her own address. We spent 25 minutes driving around the area until I insisted she call her mom and get the address. She was almost 18 and had lived there for three years.
#24
Working for a finance company and a customer asked me "why am I being charged interest on my loan?"
I remember 90% of our lunch time chatter was how much people need to learn financial literacy in school lol.
Colleen Glim 2 months ago
We’re. Teaching them calculus and they can’t count change. This has been a pet peeve of mine for years
#25
One of my male friends was around 30 and didn't know how to crack an egg. He went through at least 6 eggs and didn't stop to look it up online.
Ellinor she/they/elle 2 months ago (edited)
That's just plain incompetence from the parents or whoever was in charge of educating him.
#26
I had a friend in college who was very smart but sometimes had hilariously stereotypical blonde moments. One time we were talking and the subject of how many weeks are in a year came up and when I said 52 she was amazed I just knew that off the top of my head. I was like, “yeah? Everyone knows that?” And she refused to believe me. She went around the whole dorm and asked everybody if they knew how many weeks there where in the year and was astounded that every single person knew.
#27
I was cooking with a friend (making pasta), we were in college, when she asked, How do you know when the water's boiling? She has three (3) kids now.
LinkTheHylian 2 months ago
By listening. Most people will hear "AAAAAAAAAHHH! I'M BOILING TO DEATH!"
#28
When the horrific airplane disaster in India happened a few months ago, my best friend and I were talking about it. She kept saying "the Airbus", eventually I corrected her and said that it was a Boeing plane. She looks at me like I'm stupid and says "yeah I know, it's a Boeing Airbus".
I had to explain that Boeing and Airbus are companies that make planes.
She thought an Airbus was just another name for a plane, because it's basically a bus in the sky.
I got a good laugh out of that
What's worse is her daughter's father, works for Boeing.
#29
I once made out with a girl, nothing else. The next day she called me, crying asking if she could be pregnant. We were both 22.
#30
When we moved into a new house, my husband thought we weren’t getting mail because the red flag on the mailbox was never flipped up.
Apparently he’s gone his whole life living somewhere where the mailbox was either just a slot on the front door or a communal/grouped mailbox (idk what they’re called) without any flags.
Anyway, had to tell him that’s not what the flag is for and we’re supposed to flip the red flag up to let usps know that we have outgoing mail. .
Remi (He/Him) 2 months ago
I've never heard of something like this. If you want to mail something, take it to the mail box or post office.
#31
Mid-twenty year old friend didn't know you have to change the bag in a vacuum every once in a while.
#32
"You mean a wooly mammoth isn't a dinosaur?" Said by a friend, who has an MD, is complete seriousness. I couldn't talk for a second.
angelmomoffour62 2 months ago
But he has a MD for humans not wooly mammoths or dinosaurs. Give the guy a break.
#33
I was at a gym, and one of the treadmills wasn't working, so I told the person there that the middle treadmill wasn't working. She looked at me and said "What's a treadmill?" I could not believe it.
#34
When my first niece was born my wasband and I first visited when she was home from the hospital and sleeping in her mother's arms.
He looked at his brother and asked in all seriousness, "how old will she be when her eyes open?"
He was 35.
#35
When I watch the actual criminal investigation shows on the CI channel:
The suspects who betray themselves in the interrogation room when they think they are alone and there is no camera and microphone.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 2 months ago
Never say a single word except, “I want a lawyer,” unless your lawyer is right next to you.
#36
I have an ex who hadn't heard of gooseberries so i had to explain they were real fruit that exist 😆 and then about a month later we had the same conversation about rosehips, and then later again about wild cherries. american guy dating a european had a lot of surprise cultural differences.
#37
Fairly early in dating my now husband, he had to go on a long international trip to visit family. He had seen me shave my legs shortly before he left and when he came back, more than two months later, he asked why my legs were so hairy already because I had shaved recently in his mind. I was only at about 2 weeks of not shaving length.
Tonja Jackson 2 months ago
According to my friends I am SOOOOO lucky because I've never had to shave my legs...it's genetics (I'm Black/First Nations: we don't get hairy legs, I guess?)
#38
Some people don't know that they can actually manage their own retirement fund. They often see it as a bonus they get once they retire, rather than a huge life-changing investment.
#39
My ex didn't know that the eggs we eat aren't fertilized. I'm vegetarian and he thought it was weird that I eat eggs but not chicken. Once I told him eggs are basically chicken periods he never looked at eggs the same way again lol.
Kim Kermes 2 months ago
They're not. They're eggs, ova. Periods are the temporary lining of the uterus in mammals to support an implanted fertilized ovum, which is released when no blastocyst exists. Along with all the delightful sice effects so many of us enjoy.
#40
I had a friend who didn’t know how to grate cheese. And a friend’s girlfriend asked how to cook a hot dog. I don’t know how you become an adult and not know these things.
#41
In 12th grade, a classmate asked what a "verb" is. And after we explained it to him, he asked how he is supposed to identify them in the text.
Tonja Jackson 2 months ago
I still find myself singing the songs from Schoolhouse Rock to remember what a conjunction is, for example.
#42
My coworkers think that birth control is still effective 5 years after you stop taking it/remove it, so I need to take mine out now unless I want to be an “old” mom.
I just turned 20.
#43
Back in ye olde days I had a roommate who didn't know she had to plug the phone line into the computer to get the internet.
LinkTheHylian 2 months ago
To paraphrase a famous Edgar Allen Poe story: "It's the screeching of that hideous dial-tone!"
#44
"Ok...what exactly is a *browser*?"
-An actual ticket I received.
Edit: I work in IT and a browser is a web browser in this context.
#45
My husband didn't know how to make a s'more. He grew up in the country in Indiana and had never made one until his late 20s. He asked how to do it and I thought he was joking until I turned around and saw him. He took the marshmallow out of the bag, assembled the s'more, and crammed it between the two tongs of the roasting fork. He couldn't understand how to not catch the graham crackers on fire.
#46
My bfs a literal genius but has zero skincare experience. I bought him cleanser, serums and a moisturizer and right after he finished putting it on he asked me if he rinses it off now lololol.
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 2 months ago (edited)
Yeah, that is a waste of money. The cleanser dries the skin out and the moisturizer tries to take that effect off. The skin of a healthy person can take care of itself, no need to dump a lot of chemicals on it. Also, all that anti ageing stuff is just a scam, nothing you can buy on the counter is strong enough to penetrate your skin layers deep enough to have any effect apart from shrinking your funds. Use some fat cream after you wash your face with some neutral soap and that is enough. Use sunscreen too Edit. I would really like to know what was worth downvoting in my comment. Did i offend somebody working for the cosmetic industry?🤣
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Ellinor she/they/elle 2 months ago
A lot of these posts just highlight the poor education people got from their parents/caretakers and their school system.
Tonja Jackson 2 months ago
Exactly! And the end poll sucked: simple oversight? Just funny accidents?
Load More Replies...
Joe Publique 2 months ago
It's worth remembering that "common sense" is rarely common, and it’s not always sense.
Ellinor she/they/elle 2 months ago
A lot of these posts just highlight the poor education people got from their parents/caretakers and their school system.
Tonja Jackson 2 months ago
Exactly! And the end poll sucked: simple oversight? Just funny accidents?
Load More Replies... Joe Publique 2 months ago
It's worth remembering that "common sense" is rarely common, and it’s not always sense.
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