What random nugget of information were you completely unaware of before you discovered mumsnet?

[777holyandsinless]

I’ll start

it being a commonly held idea that itv is uncouth and bbc is the classy alternative

That the answer to everything is he is having an affair and to LTB

That people earning £100k consider themselves struggling to make ends meet.

Even though they are in the top 5% of UK taxpayers.

Rather depressingly, I've learned that the bar for many men is very low. Doing little or no childcare or housework, being unsupportive generally. Thread after thread.
I've also learned that many women hold out for a proposal from the man rather than initiate anything in the relationship. Also depressing.
(Oh, and I get annoyed by "loose" instead of "lose" as well!)

Persimmon soap!! It’s such a life saver, and I learned about it on mumsnet. Never have those random hormonal days where I smell terrible anymore, thank goodness!

I think sometimes people have expectations of a lifestyle; high mortgages, private schools, cleaners, exotic holidays etc, so any reduction feels unpleasant.

Any fool can spend all the money they have, and then moan about having none left.

That adults can't be allowed a laugh emoji because some people are so sensitive and easily hurt and the rest are cruel bullies.

That's true.

I had no idea how complicated people's finances were. So many high earners drowning in huge outgoings and credit and risky investments and so on. Meanwhile, I'm just living within my modest means, have a small amount saved for emergencies and enjoy that I don't owe anybody anything! This makes me financially illiterate according to MN.

I don't know this! Please share.

I was also assessed and diagnosed through MN. Found a thread for ADHD women and was completely shocked, as everything that made me (and my mother) 'useless/lazy/flaky/messy/crazy/childish' was explained. Diagnosis and treatment totally changed my life.

That's great, I'm glad you found help.

That swearing and using disgusting language comes as 'normal' to so many people.

That there are so many sexual antics which I have never heard off (or imagined) and have to google!

I think the Oxo truck is that you pull up the corners of the foil that have been turned down, then put the packet on a worktop and squash it with the flat of a knife. That crumbles the cube inside the packet so you can just tear it open and pour out the contents. It's great when it works. However, if you squash too hard, the packet explodes. And sometimes a cube is rock hard and refuses to crumble.

Not just any old bar of soap. Persimmon soap apparently! Was a very illuminating thread that one.

That English people (who are this site’s main audience) seem to think Santa and Hallowe’en are American imports. They’re not. We always said Santa in Scotland and guising has been happening for centuries.

I got pregnant at 29 but gave birth at 30…where does that leave me!? 😂

Given the two examples MN gave for removing it - one where it was used in a post about the death of a child and another where a poster was suicidal - its hardly like people are "so sensitive and easily hurt".

That kind of usage is downright offensive to anyone remotely decent.

I didn't know that Leaving The Bastard is almost always a reasonable response to a marital tiff.

the majority of men are shits, don’t pull their weight and play away from home
The obsession with class
STAM are frowned upon

That's absolutely horrific, I'm glad they curtailed the use. How vile.

I learned that you can have someone come out to your house to clean your oven.

And it is fantastic.

For some people being a dick about grammar is more important than basic decency.

Will never, ever forget the post where a woman posted that her partner had punched her in the face. They had just that week moved into their new home and she said "I don't have anywhere to go as we've just brought a house, moved in this week, and all of my money is in it".

One poster, a regular one at that, posted in faux confusion asking where they brought their house and was it a caravan. Absolute dickishness for the sake of it.

The laugh emoji was horribly misused, I’m glad it’s gone. At least now if you get a notification that someone has reacted to your post it’s not going to be some sarcastic shitbag pulling you down even further.

Oh my god, that's bad.