As Voltaire, an 18th-century writer, historian, and philosopher, said in one of his most popular quotes: “Common sense is not so common.” Although the meaning behind the saying seems fairly simple, each person’s common knowledge is uniquely their own, making it less shared than we might imagine.
This was perfectly illustrated in a popular Reddit thread, where user Relation-Major731 asked fellow netizens to share some obvious things that they had only just realized. From finding out that pickles are pickled cucumbers to learning that coffee causes anxiety, these pieces of information were discovered by people a bit later in life.
And there’s nothing wrong with that, as we should never stop learning. So, let’s all put on our thinking hats and dive into some common but not-so-common facts in this judgment-free zone!
That my casual coffee drinking habit (3-4 coffees/day) is causing the anxiety I’ve been experiencing for some time. Now I drink one coffee around lunch time, only if I feel I need it and I feel better.
canred , Nolan Issac Report
Took me til my freshman year of college before I realized pickles were pickled cucumbers and not their own, unique vegetable. I thought the way you pickled other things was you put them in pickle juice.
willvasco , little plant Report
Vampires don’t have a reflection because mirrors used to be made using silver and it was the silver that wouldn’t reflect the vampires image
Personal-Tea7226 , Suhyeon Choi Report
The phrase “pitch black” is referring to the substance “pitch”, which is very black in color. I had always considered “pitch” in that context to be akin to “very”, like how some otherwise archaic words survive in idioms.
knucklebed , chmyphotography Report
That placing an onion slice or lettuce leaf on the bottom hamburger bun keeps your freshly-grilled burger from soaking the bun.
epicenter69 , Kristi Johnson Report
I grew up around Doctor Who but never actually watched it for the longest time. My grandma (and apparently my great aunt way before I was born) loved Doctor Who, so it was just always around and I never gave any thought to the name of the show.
And then finally: “Oh my god it’s called Doctor Who because nobody knows his real name and they just call him The Doctor.” F*****g shoot me dead or something I was so embarrassed.
gudematcha , cottonbro studio Report
In Greek alphabet we have the letters Ο (Omicron) and Ω(Omega).
It took me 37 years to realize that they actually mean O-small and O-big.
ThanosDi , ROMAN ODINTSOV Report
I saw a video where a man said he didn’t know banks don’t keep your money. He’s been giving the bank rare coins thinking they put it in HIS account. (I think he thought it was like a safe deposit box)
thegirlthatmeowsalot , Roman Wimmers Report
We went to London in primary school and went to the Houses of Parliament. I’ve only just realised they say “ayes” and “nos” when referring to how people vote. Not “eyes” and “nose” I thought it was a covert way to vote by turning your head a certain way or something. I only figured it out when I was watching a video with captions….
Mannymac2000 , Arnaud Jaegers Report
Corn kernels are the seeds.
Wanted to grow corn for fall last year, bought a pack of corn seeds only to realize the kernels from the cob were the seeds… felt pretty dumb just realizing this at 33 years old.
Jtx0741 , Christophe Maertens Report
I’m face blind, and I just found out how bad it is. Apparently my UPS driver who I see every day at work is the guy who grew up down the street from me, and I thought they were two different people because the UPS guy wears a hat.
TheThalmorEmbassy , Christopher Burns Report
My father herded caribou in Alaska from heli’s as a young man.
For 24 years I thought the fibre “velvet” literally came from cartilaginous antlers, as it’s referred to as velvet in the industry for its soft feel.
I’ve shared this lie with hundreds of people.
sub_lunacy , Tim Schmidbauer Report
That “evergreen” trees/plants are forever green, as in they don’t lose their leaves in the winter. Never broke down the word “ever-green”
TearSafe8494 , David Vig Report
Hot water can leave your hair heat damaged. I always denied having heat damaged hair because I don’t use heated styling tools. I never occurred to me that washing my hair, in my one degree below steam shower, was causing heat damage 🥴
viciousvixen26 , Chandler Cruttenden Report
“Pearl clutching” references woman putting their hand to their chest (in supposed shock) while *wearing* the pearls. the pearls aren’t just in their pockets or something.
KatBoySlim , Olha Ivanova Report
Figured out in college that there isn’t “cup cake mix” in the baking aisle. It’s just regular cake mix.
I spent forever looking up and down the shelves for “cup cake mix” only to be informed by a nice grandmotherly woman that it is just cake mix put in little cups.
Ok_Dog8129 , Sincerely Media Report
Growing up, my grandmother always used to tell me “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite,” and it always sounded like a quaint, old-timey saying to me. It wasn’t until a recent infestation scare in my apartment complex that I learned bedbugs are real critters, and not just a part of a nursery rhyme meant to tuck kids in at night. Talk about an epiphany that itches in retrospect.
PearlyPetalx , LeeAnn Cline Report
A few years ago, I realized that Paris Hilton was famous because her family owned Hilton hotels. I never put two and two together before that and I felt like an idiot.
Previous-Eggplant-35 , Vojtech Bruzek Report
Half & half is literally half heavy cream mixed with half whole milk. Felt like a real dummy when I learned that one last week.
guavajo44 , engin akyurt Report
We were having breakfast at IHOP. Just got thinking, and i said, out loud, “i wonder what happened to the International House of Pancakes? They used to be all over them place. “
I am not smrt. 😳
NecessarySir , Jaqueline Pelzer Report
As Voltaire, an 18th-century writer, historian, and philosopher, said in one of his most popular quotes: “Common sense is not so common.” Although the meaning behind the saying seems fairly simple, each person’s common knowledge is uniquely their own, making it less shared than we might imagine.
This was perfectly illustrated in a popular Reddit thread, where user Relation-Major731 asked fellow netizens to share some obvious things that they had only just realized. From finding out that pickles are pickled cucumbers to learning that coffee causes anxiety, these pieces of information were discovered by people a bit later in life.
And there’s nothing wrong with that, as we should never stop learning. So, let’s all put on our thinking hats and dive into some common but not-so-common facts in this judgment-free zone!
That my casual coffee drinking habit (3-4 coffees/day) is causing the anxiety I've been experiencing for some time. Now I drink one coffee around lunch time, only if I feel I need it and I feel better.
canred , Nolan Issac Report
Took me til my freshman year of college before I realized pickles were pickled cucumbers and not their own, unique vegetable. I thought the way you pickled other things was you put them in pickle juice.
willvasco , little plant Report
Vampires don’t have a reflection because mirrors used to be made using silver and it was the silver that wouldn’t reflect the vampires image
Personal-Tea7226 , Suhyeon Choi Report
The phrase "pitch black" is referring to the substance "pitch", which is very black in color. I had always considered "pitch" in that context to be akin to "very", like how some otherwise archaic words survive in idioms.
knucklebed , chmyphotography Report
That placing an onion slice or lettuce leaf on the bottom hamburger bun keeps your freshly-grilled burger from soaking the bun.
epicenter69 , Kristi Johnson Report
I grew up around Doctor Who but never actually watched it for the longest time. My grandma (and apparently my great aunt way before I was born) loved Doctor Who, so it was just always around and I never gave any thought to the name of the show.
And then finally: “Oh my god it’s called Doctor Who because nobody knows his real name and they just call him The Doctor.” F*****g shoot me dead or something I was so embarrassed.
gudematcha , cottonbro studio Report
In Greek alphabet we have the letters Ο (Omicron) and Ω(Omega).
It took me 37 years to realize that they actually mean O-small and O-big.
ThanosDi , ROMAN ODINTSOV Report
I saw a video where a man said he didn’t know banks don’t keep your money. He’s been giving the bank rare coins thinking they put it in HIS account. (I think he thought it was like a safe deposit box)
thegirlthatmeowsalot , Roman Wimmers Report
We went to London in primary school and went to the Houses of Parliament. I’ve only just realised they say “ayes” and “nos” when referring to how people vote. Not “eyes” and “nose” I thought it was a covert way to vote by turning your head a certain way or something. I only figured it out when I was watching a video with captions….
Mannymac2000 , Arnaud Jaegers Report
Corn kernels are the seeds.
Wanted to grow corn for fall last year, bought a pack of corn seeds only to realize the kernels from the cob were the seeds... felt pretty dumb just realizing this at 33 years old.
Jtx0741 , Christophe Maertens Report
I'm face blind, and I just found out how bad it is. Apparently my UPS driver who I see every day at work is the guy who grew up down the street from me, and I thought they were two different people because the UPS guy wears a hat.
TheThalmorEmbassy , Christopher Burns Report
My father herded caribou in Alaska from heli’s as a young man.
For 24 years I thought the fibre “velvet” literally came from cartilaginous antlers, as it’s referred to as velvet in the industry for its soft feel.
I’ve shared this lie with hundreds of people.
sub_lunacy , Tim Schmidbauer Report
That “evergreen” trees/plants are forever green, as in they don’t lose their leaves in the winter. Never broke down the word “ever-green”
TearSafe8494 , David Vig Report
Hot water can leave your hair heat damaged. I always denied having heat damaged hair because I don't use heated styling tools. I never occurred to me that washing my hair, in my one degree below steam shower, was causing heat damage 🥴
viciousvixen26 , Chandler Cruttenden Report
“Pearl clutching” references woman putting their hand to their chest (in supposed shock) while *wearing* the pearls. the pearls aren’t just in their pockets or something.
KatBoySlim , Olha Ivanova Report
Figured out in college that there isn't "cup cake mix" in the baking aisle. It's just regular cake mix.
I spent forever looking up and down the shelves for "cup cake mix" only to be informed by a nice grandmotherly woman that it is just cake mix put in little cups.
Ok_Dog8129 , Sincerely Media Report
Growing up, my grandmother always used to tell me "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," and it always sounded like a quaint, old-timey saying to me. It wasn't until a recent infestation scare in my apartment complex that I learned bedbugs are real critters, and not just a part of a nursery rhyme meant to tuck kids in at night. Talk about an epiphany that itches in retrospect.
PearlyPetalx , LeeAnn Cline Report
A few years ago, I realized that Paris Hilton was famous because her family owned Hilton hotels. I never put two and two together before that and I felt like an idiot.
Previous-Eggplant-35 , Vojtech Bruzek Report
Half & half is literally half heavy cream mixed with half whole milk. Felt like a real dummy when I learned that one last week.
guavajo44 , engin akyurt Report
We were having breakfast at IHOP. Just got thinking, and i said, out loud, "i wonder what happened to the International House of Pancakes? They used to be all over them place. "
I am not smrt. 😳
NecessarySir , Jaqueline Pelzer Report