Your “how did I not realise that” moments.

[Meruem]

I am getting too involved in the corona virus threads so wanted to start something lighthearted!

Went to visit DSis recently. She bought a wine box. I have bought the odd one in the past and once the little tap stopped producing wine just threw it out. I did not realise that there is nearly a whole bottle of wine left in the bag at that point! I felt really stupid but now view it as “free” wine given I would have thrown it away!

What silly things didn’t you realise until someone pointed it out to you?

Growing up my gran always told us not to eat before getting into water or you’ll get cramp and drown. I’ve always waited an hour before getting into the bath and it’s only when I said it aloud a couple of years ago I realised

@Absolutepowercorrupts I didn’t know this until I read your comment.

I've only discovered recently that gin is just flavoured vodka. Not sure why this has surprised me so much.

Another colour one: just how many things called "red" are actually more like orange. Red hair, red squirrels, robin redbreasts, rusty red. I suppose some of these date to before the "orange" fruit was known in the English-speaking world.

@GreenTulips that’s the one! Duh moment when explaining a Duh moment. 🙈

When this little piggy went to market, he didn't pop off there with a shopping basket. He went there as pork chops, tenderloin and all other parts of pig meat.

Wait, what ...? (Almost 38 here).

I am also interested to know how else you get to the button holes if you don't pull the elastic.

I knew vermilion. But only because my children are obsessed with Ninjago and the red snakes are the Vermilion Army.

The car one is only on certain cars its a flappy paddle so semi-automatic

not all cars have them

Friends didn’t know the flip under the rear view mirror is to stop glaring lights particularly on motor ways

That percentages are the same in reverse. So 10% of 5 is the same as 5% of 10 etc. It was on Twitter the other week and I wondered why I never knew that. Surely that’s something they’d teach you in school!

Not something I've discovered but something I've wondered is why does corned beef in a tin have a little key thing to open it? Why isn't it like other tinned foods needing a can opener or a ring pull?

They might have a ring pull nowadays, but before they were a thing, the reason there was a key is because tin openers can’t go round corners. That doesn’t explain why it was in a rectangular tin though!

When this little piggy went to market, he didn't pop off there with a shopping basket. He went there as pork chops, tenderloin and all other parts of pig meat.

WHAT!!!!

Jesus Christ! My whole childhood has been a LIE!!!!!!!

Back up, back up:

I've only discovered recently that gin is just flavoured vodka. Not sure why this has surprised me so much.

Say what?!

In fact. I refuse to accept that about the piggies. I've just read it out to DH and he laughed and said 'well he's not going shopping'. So why is one eating roast beef then?

SingleSidedShoulderShrug, the red ball in the dishwasher tablet is very poisonous. The rest of it, not so much.

Club sandwich has blown my mind, I'll be honest. Do they always have cheese, it can be a variable..... 🤔 I always thought it was a club of ingredients. We used to call emptying wine boxes bagpiping when teenagers 😂. I have only recently realised sloths are real 🤪 😵

This will seriously out me to anyone who knows me as the whole sodding village knows this one (hint......dont run the village pub and tell an anecdote :o)

Together In Electric Dreams came out when I was about 10. Loved the song but never saw the artists name written down, only ever heard it said on the radio. So until I was about 35 (am now mid 40's) I thought it was by Phil Oakey and Geogie O'Moroder :o:o:o

Gin is not flavoured vodka, Vodka is a neutral spirit that can be flavoured. Gin has to have juniper in its composition to be legally called gin. The reason that gin has made a resurgence lately is because of HMRC.
Gin used to be cheap and freely available (mothers ruin) so a decision was made to put a tax on the production of gin. Gin had to be produced in huge quantities. Factory level mass production.
This decision was questioned and a court case followed. The extra tax decision was overturned and gin can now be made in smaller quantities.
But gin still must have juniper in its composition to be legally called gin

Love these

I was in my twenties when I realised 'pine furniture' was made from pine trees! I knew it was wood of course but just never associated my crappy pine chest of drawers with the pine trees in our woods!

Also never knew the sauce pots in McDonald's open up to almost flat and can then hold more or allow burgers tone 'dunked'.

That when ready meals say on the cooking instructions, ‘put on a microwaveable plate’, the plate that comes with the microwave IS the microwaveable plate and that you don’t have to put the meal on another one!!

Hell's teeth!

That is so obvious that never occurred to me.

I was politely told by my DB that raccoons don't live in the UK.
It was a dead badger. It never crossed my mind that raccoons didn't live here!

@ItchyScratch not just you - we said sumberine too, and Alan Partridge says it in one episode! (The one where he watches all the Bonds on a bank holiday)

Oh, I’ve just remembered.
I only discovered LAST YEAR how “tortoise” is correctly pronounced. I’m from the north west originally- and apparently we do NOT say it right. Cue much good tempered ridiculing in my office. And then tears of laughter when they asked me how I thought porpoise was pronounced. Shocked, shocked I tell ya!

Until well into adult life I thought all owls went ‘t’wit twoo’. Mind completely blown when I realised that it’s male calling to female

It's only the tawny owl, too. The call this is actually made by both a male and female owl calling to each other - the female makes a 'ke-wick' sound and the male answers with something more like 'hoo-hoo-oo'. Together they sound like "too-wit" "too-woo".

The call is also the reason for them making it - to wit, to woo

(I'll get me coat . . . . )

I've always been more disturbed by the little piggy who ate roast beef.

Club sandwich... well I never ! Never too old to learn it seems

I've often substituted beef for carrots or Quorn when telling the story to my dd.