What obvious adult discoveries made you feel a bit of a plonker?

[Airconfan]

What’s something you learnt as an adult that made you think that’s completely obvious and yet I have never considered that….i feel like a bit of a plonker?

Mine was when taking tablets, the more you drink with it the better it will dissolve. I think alot of tablets are testing with the assumption people will drink 250ml alongside it.

That it’s ‘swings and roundabouts’
not ‘swings in roundabouts’ which in fairness sounds loads of fun
that it’s ’segue’ not segway
and that the carpet won’t set fire if you stop moving the hoover
im 55 🤦‍♀️

It’s in both

That the teams on University Challenge are not actually on top of the each other

I thought Germany was landlocked until I was in my 30s.

Huh?

I thought those were 2 different words! Not sure what I thought ep-i-tome meant though...

What? The north eastern bit of Egypt touches Asia but it definitely is not in Europe!

You might want to check that

My sister had a 2CV and was involved in an accident. The other party tried to claim she was speeding. The police pointed out that she had been pulling away from having been stopped at a red light - at an uphill junction in a 2CV. It was not possible that she was speeding.

I always wanted a 2CV

It’s really not 🙄

Efficient!

At 74, I've just learnt why the irritating M25 has periodic speed limits that bring you down from 70 to 40 and then back up again...it happens when you're approaching a slip road off that has a slow traffic queue exiting, so that all the idiots who leave it to the last minute don't crash into the queue at 70mph. Once you're past the exit, the speed limit goes back up to 70. I thought it was all down to some random knob guy in a control room who was bored. Oh, and about 10 years ago I learnt that the little arrow by the petrol pump on your dashboard shows you which side to fill up. Duh.

It’s not that outrageous an assumption to make. The urethra ends in the vestibule close to the opening of the vagina. In many animals (horses for example) it does end further in the vagina so yes, they are ‘weeing out of their vagina’.

This made me laugh out loud 😁

I still struggle to believe that Billericay isn't in Ireland, or that Pontefract isn't in Wales.

I was around 37 years of age when I discovered that narwhals were not mythical creatures 🤣🤣

What do you mean Billericay isn't in Ireland?!!!
Off to Google this! 😲

I struggle to believe that Nicaragua isn't in Africa!

Never knew this either to be fair!

I think Pontefract should be in Wales too.

I'm still not sure about those!

I only found out when the man appeared on the news after stopping a terrorist with a narwhal horn.

It probably was at one point and someone just moved it.

Otherwise there wouldn't be so many of us who once thought it was a town in Wales! 😁

This one comes up on MN from time to time and I never understand it because, to me as an Irish person, this doesn’t sound in the least bit Irish 🤔
Irish place names don’t tend to start with Bill and don’t tend to end in cay. Either would be unusual.