What commonly known thing did you learn at an embarrassingly older age?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until my 50's I thought that the posted speed limit meant the slowest speed you should drive.

I live in NJ. It seems like most people here think that as well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people don't like their parents. This was a new one for me.

Me too! Thanks to DCUM I found out how many dysfunctional families are there. My family is not perfect, but we love each other to death. I am in my 40s and adore my parents. I can't imaging having it another way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never realized Hispanic people were not considered “white”.

Had you ever taken a standardized test and had to choose a race? White & Hispanic are always separate options

The US census categories are a bizarre mix of skin color, language, ethnicity, nation of origin and ethnicity ... they are not equivalent categories at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many people don't like their parents. This was a new one for me.

Me too! Thanks to DCUM I found out how many dysfunctional families are there. My family is not perfect, but we love each other to death. I am in my 40s and adore my parents. I can't imaging having it another way.

DCUM has made me really appreciate my own family. This place is full of miserable trainwrecks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love these! Especially "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it" and Note Bene.

I did not realize I was supposed to keep those stupid cardboard and/or plastic things in my husband's dress shirts. I'll have to look up what exactly you mean. Do you re-place the cardboard each time you wash the shirt?

I washed some and the cardboard ended up wet, of course. Most Google or look for look for answers down the thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That realtor is not pronounced "real-uh-tor"

How do you pronounce it?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I was 32 when my sister pointed out that it is "Sherbet" not "Sherbert".

My mind is blown.

It is? I’m 56.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was 32 when my sister pointed out that it is "Sherbet" not "Sherbert".

My mind is blown.

It is? I’m 56.

Check out the Merriam Webster dictionary - both spellings are correct.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:That all Asians are not universally referred to as “orientals”. Thanks rural Ohio.

"Oriental" used to be the same as "Asian." These stupid things change. I had Vietnamese friends who used the term "Oriental" to mean "Asian" so I guess it's okay for some but not others?

My grandma says “China-man”

I had a neighbor who used "Thainanese" to refer to any type of East Asian. Like a hybrid of the words Thai, Chinese, and Japanese.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Despite both being Christian, white people and black people don't go to the same churches

Nor do they use the same funeral services. Found this out when my white father died and used a black funeral home. His family from rural VA was surprised, to say the least.

Yes, to all of the above, and we sing our gospel songs differently. We yell obnoxiously and dance everywhere, our white Christian believers like Christian rock. But my eyes are opened to the entire world of Christian music now, thanks to the internet and not being limited to Southern Baptist churches where everyone gets the holy ghost and starts sweating at 12:30PM.

- A black Christian

Not all black Christians are Protestants. You were this many days old when you found that out.

Wait what? Did I miss the Protestant part?

They can be Catholic. A Protestant is a non Catholic Christian.

Pp here, my dad was black catholic, mom was black southern baptist

There are also thousands of Ethiopian Christians in this area. They are both non-Catholic and non-Protestant. It’s an ancient Orthodox form of Christianity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That you are supposed to give a hostess gift when you go to someone's house. I grew up middle class, and the only people we ever entertained were lower middle class family.

I learned this in college. Extremely embarrassing.

I'm fifty and just learned this right now. None of my middle class / lower middle class family and friends did this

Isn’t this just done when one is hosting a party?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That Jews are not considered white. I was born in the hood and actually never knew anyone Jewish or at least no one that said “I’m Jewish” until I was about 38 years old. I wasn’t educated on the anything about Jewish culture or even the Holocaust. I never understood why Jews would say they were discriminated against, because to me they looked white. I was really ignorant to all things Jewish until my then 7 year old DD starting learning about it the Holocaust in school. I felt pretty stupid. But it was never anything I was taught about.

Oh my gosh. Would you share your age and where you grew up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That the underground railroad was not a train filled with slaves running in a tunnel.

Read Colman’s book. You will enjoy it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That you are supposed to give a hostess gift when you go to someone's house. I grew up middle class, and the only people we ever entertained were lower middle class family.

I learned this in college. Extremely embarrassing.

I'm fifty and just learned this right now. None of my middle class / lower middle class family and friends did this

I don't think this is a class thing. Maybe a regional thing? Where I am from all the working class and middle class families do hostess gifts. Usually something simple or homemade (a plant, jam, pickles, something crafty if you are good at that, something religious if it is a church person) but you never show up empty-handed to someone's house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That Jews are not considered white. I was born in the hood and actually never knew anyone Jewish or at least no one that said “I’m Jewish” until I was about 38 years old. I wasn’t educated on the anything about Jewish culture or even the Holocaust. I never understood why Jews would say they were discriminated against, because to me they looked white. I was really ignorant to all things Jewish until my then 7 year old DD starting learning about it the Holocaust in school. I felt pretty stupid. But it was never anything I was taught about.

I'm the reverse. I was shocked to learn what a tiny percent of the US population Jews were. I grew up in West Los Angeles in a heavily Jewish area.