Things you didn't know weren't normal

[Applescruffle]

What are things you thought every one or every family did until you became an adult or entered a new relationship?

I'll start. I thought that everyone ate the leftover yorkshires after a roast dinner as desert eg: fill them with cream and fruit or custard or something, basically use them like you would a pancake... no?

I thought everyone peeled mushrooms, I didn't know that not only do people not peel mushrooms, lots don't even know they have peel!! 😱

I'll probably think of more.

Nb: I'm not meaning to trigger anyone's childhood or relationship trauma, I just mean lighthearted things x

@AllPlayedOut

I am not Scottish but recognise the description and have heard of them.

Fairy bread is best cut into lots of dinky wee triangles. It is known.

Our stovies is chunks of beef steak and potatoes and possibly onion. All the others are doing abominable things. I'm pretty sure clans divided by stovies recipe.

I am not Scottish but recognise the description and have heard of them.

I've heard of them too but never the details. I've never been offered them either so I couldn't define them.

Thanks amusedbush. That's helpful.

In Australia and (apparently) in New Zealand, your registration fee automatically provides 3rd party insurance. So, yeah not illegal there.

Registration fee = road tax.

On very hot days my mother would remove her top and sit around in her skirt and bra.
She wouldn't bother covering up if we had visitors and we thought nothing of until I was about fourteen.That was when one of my friends caught sight of her,squealed and walked through our living room with her hands over her eyes.

Re the savoury pancakes thing.

On pancake day we always have savoury pancakes with either corned beef hash, mince in gravy or chicken casserole. Then the twat of the pancakes are dessert with chocolate spread, sprinkles, lemon juice, sugar, golden syrup etc etc .

It's only very recently that I found out savoury pancakes aren't "normal"!

There’s no need for towels or bodies to be ‘sterile’.

I've just noticed that the link didn't post in my second message to you either - I'm guessing the site doesn't let people link to it! 🙈

That certain chocolate bars were only for adults, and the reason they were included in selection boxes given to children was so the parents would have something too. This was not really a family convention, more of an outright lie from my mother as she stole my stuff, but it was so ingrained in me that aged about 15 I was out with a friend buying sweets and was astonished to see her buying a Lion Bar. I started to ask her if she should be having it and it was only as I heard myself saying the words that I realised how ridiculous it sounded and was mortified.

@SpeedyMackechnie i can join the ranks of people attesting that the Little Chef lolly thing is perfectly true. We were regular visitors to LC and I remember the poem (quoted upthread) displayed on the back of the menu and by the till behind the basket of lollies. I have no idea how stringently they applied the policy as my sister and I always diligently finished our plates

I got worried about this too 😕
After researching online, apparently it's a rare form of tinnitus and you should get checked by your GP.
It could be caused by inner ear issues, high blood pressure or other issues.
Lots of people have it and no cause is found. I wouldn't worry just go to your GP for a check up.

It can also be caused by low iron.

There’s no need for towels or bodies to be ‘sterile’.

I agree. Being sterile would kill off the helpful bacteria too but the point is that there's still dirt and bacteria after a shower so the towel is still getting dirty and damp and it's still being bathed in skin cells so they're a great breeding ground for bacteria.

I was born in Yorkshire and both my parents were, all our family ate Yorkshire puddings as a starter with gravy before Sunday lunch. We only made enough for that, but my father spoke of batter pudding with jam or syrup which was essentially Yorkshire pudding.

The waving goodbye was and is definitely a thing in my family, it was very poignant leaving my grandma’s house after her funeral with a crowd of cousins, aunts and uncles waving goodbye. I still wave my adult children off until I can’t see them.

I've heard of that. Don't they call it "fairy bread"?

amusedbush. That wasn't sarcasm I promise! I'm grateful for the other link thank you.

I thought buying stuff that wasn't blue and white striped tesco value stuff was for rich people.

Literally every item in our cupboards was tesco value. We should have painted the kitchen with blue and white stripes.

I have a vivid memory of standing in my best friend's kitchen when we were about 15 and watching her peel mushrooms - and realising that other people's families did things weird ways :)

I inherited my mother's extreme short-sightedness - can't see anything beyond the tip of my nose clearly. Apparently that makes you more likely to see "floaters", little bits of dirt on your eyeball that look like worms under a microscope. I asked my mum what those things were floating around on my eyes and she said "floaters, just ignore them" and that's what I did. I thought everyone had them. Then as an adult I was once chatting to someone who described how she had developed this eye problem she was being treated for; it was really problematic for her and she was having a course of therapy to learn how not to be bothered by these dark spots in her vision. She made it sound like something rare. At first I thought she meant she had a detached retina, which is really serious and unpleasant, but as she went on it became clear what she meant and I really had to work hard not to just blurt out "FLOATERS?" with a laugh. So glad that I grew up thinking they were just a slightly curious phenomenon you could easily ignore!

I thought it was normal for parents to ignore an elder sibling continually bullying and then abusing their younger sibling until they were 18. Apparently it's not.

I have a lot of pans (roasting pans, baking sheets etc.) in my oven. No room for them elsewhere. And, yes, it's a pain when I want to use the oven.

Your dad sounds lovely @SlippySarah - but I got the impression from @Nowthenhere that not only was her dad also like this, but that this was the norm where she was growing up?

I am so impressed by rides that only take special grandparent coins and special parent-only selection box choices 🤣 Superlative parenting skillz!

Haven’t read the full thread yet so you may have other answers but this is how we do it - we have a towel rail with 3 ‘rungs’ on it. 3 of us have our towels on there and we know which rung we each use. 4th family member has a towel hanging on the back of the door. Growing up we had the same arrangement in my family

It's a question of preference - in my family we like our food hot, so cook/disher up always tells people to start eating when they're served.