Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Obvious things that suddenly registered to you.

1000 replies

Soubriquet · 28/01/2023 18:43

I like watching things like NCIS.

Over the years, I’ve heard the phrase watch your six and just let it fly over my head expecting not to understand it.

Literally the other day, it suddenly occurred to me…it means watch your back!!

Of course it does!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
OrderOfTheKookaburra · 30/01/2023 05:47

@DeFacto - and here's the American one!

Obvious things that suddenly registered to you.
YetAnotherC1n1c · 30/01/2023 05:57

OrderOfTheKookaburra · 30/01/2023 05:37

@YetAnotherC1n1c
The "cold" in cold war has nothing to do with the USA / USSR border being in a very cold area of the globe.

😂😂😂😂

Cold War because it's on a"cold area".... fucking hell.... Not quite sure how you got that from my post.

I was referring more to missile bases etc and how close IN PROXIMITY it all is.

Your post was ambigious.
Anyway the border along the Bering Strait is just a side show.
If you look at the glode in real proportions, like on Google Earth, you can see that the main face off was and still is accross the North Pole.
And you also need to look at the globe to see which routes are really the shortest. Flat maps always give distorted picture no matter what you put in the center of the map.

poppettypop · 30/01/2023 06:39

When writing 1st 2nd 3rd 4th I thought everyone knew this tbh. Maybe in yonder days there was an apostrophe due to the missing letters?

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 30/01/2023 06:51

I think (although I'd have to look it up to be certain) the alliteration in DC/Marvel was to make it easier to remember characters for the writer.

There were so many characters that if their names are alliterative, as long as you could remember half of it, it would hopefully jog your memory for the other half because you knew it started with the same sound/letter.

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 30/01/2023 06:55

Ok, I've checked. Some early ones were just alliterative presumably because it sounded good, but it was Stan Lee who did it on purpose as an aide-mémoire and created hundreds of them.

WandaWonder · 30/01/2023 07:24

OrderOfTheKookaburra · 30/01/2023 02:02

That world maps are different depending on which country you're in. In Australia our world map has Australia centred and UK shunted off to the LHS and USA to the RHS. The British world map has UK in the centre and Australia shunted off to the RHS. (And if it's the oval shaped map Australia looks angled and stretched). The American has the Americas centred.

On the Australian map it's hard to see just how close the UK and USA are to each other as they are on the opposite sides of the maps, and I had never realised just how close eastern Russia was to Alaska, suddenly made a whole lot of the Cold War make so much more sense!!

I thought the different maps were for the international date line/time zone reasons?

WandaWonder · 30/01/2023 07:24

TheCatsBlanket · 29/01/2023 23:25

I still can’t get my head around the Arrivals & Departures sign when getting to the airport. I always head to arrivals because I’m arriving at the airport in order to depart.

Same

Strawberrycream1 · 30/01/2023 07:35

Passports omg!!!

Molkomad · 30/01/2023 07:39

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Strawberrycream1 · 30/01/2023 07:41

coffeepleeease · 29/01/2023 21:29

Mind blown 🤯

Show quote history

Omg I’m 48 and never realised this

Molkomad · 30/01/2023 07:41

WeWereInParis · 28/01/2023 20:53

Oh yes I always thought this too!

I also thought the quote "Houston, we have a problem" was them talking to a man with the name Houston, and telling him that there was a problem.

Show quote history

I thought exactly the same! I said to my DH (not that long ago) that the person called Houston has been working there a long time 😅 He then explained there is no person called Houston......

PurpleWisteria1 · 30/01/2023 08:08

Strawberrycream1 · 30/01/2023 07:41

Omg I’m 48 and never realised this

Show quote history

I’m so confused- what did you think they were when you have been reading them all this time out of interest?

Jifmicroliquid · 30/01/2023 08:15

The people who didn’t realise that cobwebs were old spider webs… can I ask what you thought they were??

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 30/01/2023 08:15

I thought "heads up" came from submarines, who'd put their periscope up to have a look at what was coming.

" Quarantine" - comes from Italian "quarto giorni", or meaning "40 days". Medieval ships had to wait in port for 40 days to limit the spread of disease.

diddl · 30/01/2023 08:15

What DO Smarties have the answer to?

Everything because they are smart(ies)!

Shade17 · 30/01/2023 08:21

Morestrangethings · 29/01/2023 01:52

The ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ Is my favourite one yet. 😄😂

Show quote history

It’s a really common misquote as well.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 30/01/2023 08:26

50but17inside · 29/01/2023 18:06

‘Played on aggregate’. I always assumed this meant it was raining so they had to play on a hard surface like a playground.

I always thought it meant that the teams were so well matched that they had to play on a stoney surface to make the game more challenging.

SoupDragon · 30/01/2023 08:38

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 30/01/2023 08:15

I thought "heads up" came from submarines, who'd put their periscope up to have a look at what was coming.

" Quarantine" - comes from Italian "quarto giorni", or meaning "40 days". Medieval ships had to wait in port for 40 days to limit the spread of disease.

Quarantine comes from the Latin quadraginta meaning "forty"

which is probably where the Italian comes from too

jays · 30/01/2023 08:38

Mirabai · 28/01/2023 22:13

I’m just waiting for the people who thought capers were small fish.

👋 and here I am! 😂 and no, I don’t know why I thought that!

Strawberrycream1 · 30/01/2023 08:39

PurpleWisteria1 · 30/01/2023 08:08

I’m so confused- what did you think they were when you have been reading them all this time out of interest?

Show quote history

I thought I hit reply to the post about 1st 2nd 3rd etc

jays · 30/01/2023 08:40

Jifmicroliquid · 30/01/2023 08:15

The people who didn’t realise that cobwebs were old spider webs… can I ask what you thought they were??

😂 that made me burst out laughing.

GrantShappsAteMyBrain · 30/01/2023 08:54

Jifmicroliquid · 30/01/2023 08:15

The people who didn’t realise that cobwebs were old spider webs… can I ask what you thought they were??

I thought it's dust. 😏

butterpuffed · 30/01/2023 08:58

Jifmicroliquid · 30/01/2023 08:15

The people who didn’t realise that cobwebs were old spider webs… can I ask what you thought they were??

I thought all spider webs were called cobwebs , just dusty as the spiders hadn't been doing the housework !

skingraft · 30/01/2023 09:00

Came to say pass ports as well but looks like it’s already been mentioned which makes me feel better!

also breakfast is break fast, breaking the fast!

Dizzywizz · 30/01/2023 09:13

Jifmicroliquid · 30/01/2023 08:15

The people who didn’t realise that cobwebs were old spider webs… can I ask what you thought they were??

I think it was that people didn’t realise that cobwebs were specifically OLD spider webs, they thought (me included!) cobwebs was the word for webs of any ages.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In
This thread is not accepting new messages.