Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Things Everybody Knows That They Just Now Learned

People Explain Which Things Everybody Knows That They Just Now Learned
File:Dying candle.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

You were "today years old" when you learned....what?

You learn something new every day, even if you don't think you do--but when you're aware that you learned something that you really should have known, boy, you are really aware.

At the same time, you're like...how did nobody ever tell me this? Was I supposed to divine this from thin air on my own?


u/Lawvamat asked:

What did you just recently learn that "everybody knows"?

Here were some of those answers.

Hoodwinked

I went to Venice with my school and a group of girls told me that they eat their tampons after they are done with them. It was for some stupid reason like to regain their iron or something. I believed it and even the teachers played alone. I went back home to the UK and for about 6 months after the trip I still believed this lie. It wasn't until I asked my mum whether she ate her tampon.

She was HORRIFIED. Then she burst out laughing. I can't believe my whole class tricked me for so long.

BruverJack

 A Nest Is Not At Home

Birds don't live in their nests.

My wife is never going to let me forget that this was a mind-blowing revelation for me.

Basstracer

Earth To Stars

The North Star isn't unique because of its brightness, it's unique because it doesn't move, always stays north, while the others rotate around it.

mjt9119

For extra trippage: the north star changes over time. The ancients had a different one from us. The point in the sky that north points to moves over time, making a complete circle every 26,000 years.

ETA: the relevant Wikipedia article.

pterrorgrine

To Extend Where No Pencil Extended Before

I don't think everybody knows but I just discovered pencil extenders are a thing. I was just complaining on social media that I had a bunch of unusable pencils worn down to 2 inches, and just as I pressed send, I thought "there's probably something for that." I'm 41 and I've drawn all my life, never knew they existed.

portsherry

Just Dandy

Dandelions (the yellow flowered weed) and Dandelions (the fluffy white weed) are the same plant.

I'm 29 and my dumb @$$ didn't connect that they have the same name.

ali_whi

Not A Bent Arrow

Oh man, for the longest time I thought the phrase "straight and narrow" was "straightened arrow" e.g. a person goes through a rough patch but now is on the 'straightened arrow' because you know, a straightened arrow flies straight and true while a warped one is all wild an erratic. Oof.

Don't get me started on my misunderstanding for an alternative word for crossing.

Bashful_Tuba

Bones In Your Face

That babies are born with a full set of baby and adult teeth already in their heads. Their teeth don't form when it's time for them to get them, they just push down out of their gums because they were always there.

RayDeaver

It Was Really A Farm

When I was a kid, we had a huge dog that attacked a girl (because she was throwing rocks at him), so we had to get rid of him. My parents told me that they took him to a farm, where he would be happy and free, thinking he was dead.

Six months later, a farmer showed up at our house asking to give the dog back because he ate the cab of the farmer's truck.

AdeptLength

Be S-Pacific

Not me but a friend of mine graduated high school and that same summer we discovered he didn't know which ocean was the Atlantic or Pacific

MangoBrando

How Is Candle Work?

I learned this a few months ago and shared it on Reddit, which was apparently the first time many people learned this.

The wax in a candle actually fuels the flame. The heat from the flame melts the wax around it. The wick then draws the liquid wax up towards the flame. As the wax gets closer to the guy and therefore is warmed up even more, it goes from liquid to gas, and then the vapors burn to sustain the flame. Everyone seemed to think that the wax was just there to keep the wick vertical, but no, the wax actually feeds the flame.

MasteringTheFlames

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Ted Cruz
C-SPAN3

Ted Cruz's Epic Freudian Slip About 'Pedophiles' During Senate Speech Resurfaces—And Oof

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was widely mocked for an October video that resurfaced and showed him offering some bipartisan advice during a Senate hearing, only for his advice to go completely off the rails after an awkward "verbal slip" that made him look as if he was defending "pedophiles."

That's really not the best look considering what we know from the latest release of documents related to the Epstein files, which contain information about some of President Donald Trump's former friend and associate Jeffrey Epstein's most high-profile clients and enablers. The late disgraced financier was a convicted pedophile and sex trafficker.

Keep Reading Show less
Close-up of a man slipping an engagement ring on a woman's finger.
Photo by Andre Jackson on Unsplash

Guys Who Asked For A Parent's Permission To Marry And Got Rejected Share Their Stories

There is a time honred traditon of guys asking the parents of the woman they love for her hand in marriage.

The tradition has dissipated over generations.

Keep Reading Show less
A man standing in front of a classroom full of students
boy in black hoodie sitting on chair
Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash

People Break Down The Most Unhinged Thing A Teacher Ever Did In The Classroom

A good teacher will leave a lasting impression in our lives.

Though, it would be an accurate statement to say that bad teachers also have the ability to leave lasting impressions.

Keep Reading Show less
Catherine O’Hara appears at a public event (left) alongside a still of the actor as Cookie Fleck holding her Norwich Terrier, Winky, in Best in Show (right).
Unique Nicole/WireImage; Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Westminster Dog Show Honors Catherine O'Hara With Tribute During Norwich Terrier Judging—And We're Sobbing

Catherine O’Hara has been remembered and eulogized for her unforgettable work across film and television—from Home Alone to The Nightmare Before Christmas to Schitt’s Creek. This week, she was honored somewhere unexpectedly perfect: the Westminster Dog Show.

Days after the legendary comedic actress died at age 71, the Westminster Kennel Club paused its 2026 competition to celebrate her iconic role in Best in Show, the beloved Christopher Guest comedy that immortalized the eccentric, campiest of camp world of competitive dog shows.

Keep Reading Show less
Kid Rock's Lyrics About Liking Underage Girls Resurface After He's Set To Headline Alternative Halftime Show
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock's Lyrics About Liking Underage Girls Resurface After He's Set To Headline Alternative Halftime Show

You've probably heard that conservatives are having a meltdown because—gasp!—PUERTO RICAN star Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. Won't someone think of the children?!

Well, the sociopaths at Turning Point USA apparently have, though not in the way conservatives are usually caterwauling about.

Keep Reading Show less