Things you assumed and were astonished to find out you were completely wrong

[Cattery]

For example: The Elgin Marbles. Heard these mentioned from time to time over the years. Always pictured marbles; kids’ marbles. Then I heard they were something to do with Greece and I’ve always thought Elgin was there. Got it all completely wrong

I thought until very recently that water polo was played on horseback.

A true sign of a child who'd learned from reading alone rather than an environment where the word was spoken aloud.

Someone who conducted UK university entrance interviews said on the radio years ago that that was one thing that immediately boosted a candidate's score, as it showed they had read independently rather than being coached and spoon-fed.

Which is encouraging.

Can we just clear up the pony/horse thing? They are the same species but ponies have been bred somewhere along the line to be smaller (usually ponies are under 14h) so really the only difference is the height. Often ponies are sturdier (think Fell ponies) . It’s not a hard and fast rule though and some Icelandic horses are under 14 hands and still classed as a horse.

Are you me? I thought the same thing for years…! 🤣

@Cattery
I had in my mind (until maybe 5 years ago) the Elgin marbles were round marbles but huge (maybe football or bowling ball size)

A lot of things that are misunderstood or thought of wrongly will have been believed for a long time, for some of us, possibly before the internet.
So if I first heard a news report on the radio, about the Elgin marbles in eg the 1990s I would have formed an idea in my mind there and then. If I didnt see or hear about them again, my view would be set. Now we have the luxury of Google ...but if you've always believed something, why would you think to check?

Yes I read it back and got it, sorry!

Omg @annekipankitoo I also thought this.

I also had a big argument with my husband as I thought he was the pilot on the aeroplane where Richie Valens & the big Boppa were killed in the crash, despite how unlikely a blind pilot would have been 😂😂😂😂

I had assumed that buttons on cuffs and cuff links were purely ornamental, not functional. Until one morning DH and I were getting dressed and he was struggling with his cuff links and I thought it would have been easier to do it before he put his shirt on. He looked at me like I was an idiot and explained that he wouldn't be able to get his hand through if he did that. In my defence I have small hands and have never had a cuffed shirt that I couldn't put on with the buttons done up.

Do you think that might be why the blokes in the Roman Catholic Church that are quite high up in the organisational structure based on the particular colour they wear might be called Cardinals?

Friends bought a holiday home in Biarritz and I said to my partner, why would anyone want to buy a holiday home in a war zone?! We quickly realised I was confusing Biarritz with Beirut 😂

Well, yes, but that Mner corrected their own (entirely understandable, and funny and imaginative) childhood misinterpretation, they weren’t sitting about in middle age, congratulating themselves on still having a complete lack of basic general knowledge.

Mispronouncing a word you’ve never heard said out loud is an entirely different thing, and, as others have said, generally a sign of an autodidact who got their vocab from reading.

Yes, I embarassed myself at work once (pre-internet so couldn't check).

That's the kind of thinking that got a pp into the Andrew/Freddie Flintoff confusion 😃 Sometimes they are the same person!

No, the RC cardinals are called so because their name means a hinge, referring to their vital function in the Church. They wore a particular shade of red - probably a very expensive dye.

The birds are named after the churchmen.

Well, yes, but that Mner corrected their own (entirely understandable, and funny and imaginative) childhood misinterpretation, they weren’t sitting about in middle age, congratulating themselves on still having a complete lack of basic general knowledge.

Who is congratulating themselves? I only see women recounting their mistakes with humour?

I used to think the guy from Right Said Fred presented Crystal Maze

No, other way round. You've spurred me on to have a look. https://www.etymonline.com/word/cardinal

early 12c., "one of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the sacred college," from Medieval Latin cardinalis, originally as a noun "one of the presbyters of the chief (cardinal) churches of Rome," short for cardinalis ecclesiae Romanae or episcopus cardinalis, from Latin cardinalis (adj.) "principal, chief, essential" (see cardinal (adj.)).
The North American songbird (Cardinalis virginianus) is attested from 1670s, so named for its fine red color, resembling the cardinals in their red robes.

Exactly. It’s a first thought. It’s stayed with you. It doesn’t make you ignorant x

Don’t forget the wee donkey.

I need to stop reading this thread. Practically all the knowledge I have gleaned during my life is incorrect. Starting to question if I know my own name...

This did make me laugh 😂

Thank you for the Ashes rabbit hole. I paired it with the Jules Rimet rabbit hole.

That "this little piggy went to market" does not mean that they went shopping...!

I don’t believe we are “congratulating” ourselves, rather putting forward ideas from our imaginations that have stuck with us through life. I’m well aware now of what constitutes the Elgin Marbles but whenever I hear them mentioned I think of kids’ marbles. The idea is entrenched. I know it’s incorrect but that must be how my mind works

mix up sure but think they are the same person?