Ask Lemmy

That if you weren't part of "our" religion (my family's religion, Catholic), you were basically living your life wrong and were an awful person. When I went to college I met people who believed different things, including in nothing, and I realized they were not, in fact, terrible, almost subhuman, people. I quickly changed for the better and that's one of the best things to ever happen to me. It's amazing how accepting you can be when you just accept people for who they are

I was certain that a gander was a group of geese. Why? Because apparently everybody who has ever used the phrase "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" around me was using it wrong. I just learned this week that a gander is a male goose. So based on misuse, I thought that the phrase meant that what's beneficial for one is beneficial for the greater group, but what it really means is that what's acceptable in the case for one should be equally acceptable for others in the same situation.

I'm nearly 36 and I would say that I'm smarter than most people, but this was a gaping hole in my knowledge that was pretty damn humbling to learn of and correct.

The longest was probably the vegetarian → vegan pipeline.
My position was that 'employment' of animals was humanely possible, if you genuinely treated them like you'd want to be treated.

It was until I read how cows need to basically be kept continuously pregnant, that I realized there was just no way.
I believe, you could have a bite of cheese every year or so, if we don't do forceful impregnation, but at that point, why even bother?

I thought libertarians were cool. Then I learned about the “fiscally conservative “ parts.

I thought Brussels sprouts were baby cabbages until I was 28 and I finally saw them still attached to the stalk.

Shame about sex stuff, because of growing up in a Christian household. Took me until my 20s before I was comfortable with… everything.

Now I have over a grand in Bad Dragon stuff and another grand in other fun things and I’m basically asexual so I rarely use anything. BUT WHEN I DO… we get WEIRD about it.

The word quay. I'm still mad about that haha

Opening bananas.

Watch a nature documentary showing me a monkey knew better.

I thought I was straight for about 17 years, thinking that also being attracted to men was just something everyone experienced.

Until well into adulthood, I assumed that Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn were mother and daughter. A few years ago, I overheard some TV documentary saying that Katherine Hepburn never had any children. They’re not related in any way. I was shocked.

Used to think that cis people normally think that they are girls or dislike their genitals, and that it was a phase I would grow out of. I didn't, it just got worse and it was from browsing r/egg_irl and r/traa that made me realize that I was wrong and in-denial.

For years I thought Mickey Rooney (1920-2014) and Mickey Rourke (1952-present) were the same guy. I'd see Mickey Rooney in a movie and be like "Wow, he's looking pretty good for his age," thinking he was a man 32 years his senior and/or dead.

I finally twigged when I eventually saw Iron Man 2 (2009) and was like "How is he doing this?!" and actually looked him up.

The pronunciation for the name "Byrne". I was pronouncing it like "by-ernie" as if I were excitedly saying "bye, Ernie! 😃"

Then I found out it's pronounced like "burn"! 😂

I thought I was smart. I'm not. I'm clever and good at figuring things out, but there is a difference.

I thought lizards lived everywhere, and didn't know until I was 18 that Oregon was on the west coast of the US, I thought California ended where Washington started and that Oregon was inland (we did not have geography in school).

When I finally went to college as an adult I took a world geography class as an elective because I felt so incredibly ignorant. Now, even years later I can help my kids with geography, quite a bit of it actually stuck.

The monte carlo paradox - my brain really refused to grok it for a long time.

That Tom Brady was a product of a winning system and would be average at best if he played with another organization. What made me realize I was wrong? Fuckin ring number 7 and our (the Bills) absolute owning of New England ever since he left.

"jojoba oil" is apparently pronounced different than i thought 😭