Things I’ve just learnt

[hopeful777]

I just found out you can’t put a chopping board in the dishwasher unless you want it to break 😕

as my family are now laughing at me, it made me wonder what other things have people learnt in adulthood that maybe others assume should be intrinsically known?

@Nosetickle

I’ve only recently learnt that maggots turn into flies much as caterpillars turn into butterflies. I never knew this! There needs to be a book called the very hungry maggot to spread the word, unless it’s just me that didn’t know this!

That's not a pop-up book to put in the Nursery Reading Corner, though.

Little bit of extra info, the red chrysalis they form is known as a caster if you use them as fishing bait. There are maggot farms where the maggots (different types of carrion feeding species) and casters are farmed on dead things for the fishing industry.

Maggots for medical use on ulcers and other necrotising flesh aren't farmed in quite the same way as they need to be free of disease.

That you should break up an OXO cube still in the foil (doesn't work with the bustard chicken ones for me though)

www.smoothradio.com/news/quirky/how-to-unwrap-oxo-cubes-hack/

@LyndaSnellsSniff in David Copperfield, his Aunt Betsey Trotwwod goes berserk whenever donkeys come near her house, and it is written throughout as Donkies.

Snakes don’t have eyelids, or ears. I found that out last year 😂

I learned last week that ladybirds aren’t pee’ing on you. They’re bleeding from their feet because they’re so terrified. That scarred me in a way that the This Little Piggy fact just has!

@StorminaBcup it grows on the migration route of the mistle thrush that drops its 'presents' in flight. I had a lecturer who was obsessed with mistletoe

Cashews grow in a shell that’s attached to a “cashew apple” which is attached to the branch of the tree.
cashew apples

I learnt this week that you can have a ladybird allergy as myDd has narrowed it down to them being the only thing that could be giving her a rash. I took the piss then looked it up and had to take back all my comments

@meow1989

I learnt in recent weeks that if you put a mug with a metallic handle in the microwave to reheat your coffee, then pick it up by said handle, you will burn through several layers of skin on your fingers in places you will recurrently catch/rub on things whilst undertaking every day tasks. I swear I heard a sizzle when I did it

I did this a couple of weeks ago. It did sizzle.

Russia and the USA are practically neighbours...despite being on opposite sides of the map.

I swear I knew the earth wasn't flat. But it hadn't occurred to me that a map joins up at the back.

Aged 15, I found out it was not a good idea to pick up a heat mat from a tripod in science without letting it cool down. The room was filled with the smell of burning flesh and I was left with a criss-cross imprint of the mat on my index fingers and thumbs...

@meow1989

I learnt in recent weeks that if you put a mug with a metallic handle in the microwave to reheat your coffee, then pick it up by said handle, you will burn through several layers of skin on your fingers in places you will recurrently catch/rub on things whilst undertaking every day tasks. I swear I heard a sizzle when I did it

be careful with earthenware too like those little shallow dishes that you bake cheese in. It will heat up in a microwave like metal and weld itself to your hand when you pick it up.

@Titterofwit

Cashews grow in a shell that’s attached to a “cashew apple” which is attached to the branch of the tree. cashew apples

cashew apples are also edible but aren't harvested because the fruit is very delicate and doesn't travel well, also cashews are worth more

A physicist friend once told me that superglue does not tolerate heat well. Which explains why supergluing handles back onto mugs is such a temporary solution, given that I can't possibly educate DH into leaving superglued mugs out of the dishwasher.

I was 35 when I found out that capers are not tiny fish. 35. Same here!!...At 35 too!

Also, 0 x any other number is 0.

And any other number x 0 is also 0.

I’m not generally known to be thick, honestly.

I haven't just learned this but did you know that Guterman thread reels open up at one end to store needles?

Not me, but so funny I had to share it.

A friend of mine’s son joined the navy to be a submariner. She actually asked him how fascinating it must be to see all the different fishes and underwater life swimming by. She seriously thought that submarine life was a bit like Captain Nemo with huge porthole windows and was quite dismayed that the crew couldn’t actually see anything at all.

Ladybirds freeze in extremely cold temperatures then when they thaw they are still alive.. it is for this reason that I hate them. It’s just too bizarre

[quote Livebythecoast]**@SleepingStandingUp* - well clearly not cos Jellykat* thought the same![/quote]
😂 OK I missed that one. But you're still weird 😂😂😂😂😂

Why one earth would you think that capers are fish?

I thought capers were fish too… avoided them for so many years thinking I’d hate them. Maybe because they sound like kippers? 🧐

How fucking tall hippos are. About 5' 2" at the shoulders - my jaw was on the floor for a good hour after learning that.

DH was in fits. He hasn't quite recovered yet.

They don't - the friction burns and bruises can be spectacular.

Talking of cashew nuts...

If you have a cashew nut allergy, you will also be allergic to pistachios - and vice versa - but not necessarily another kind of nuts.