to hate myself for my huge gaps in knowledge I have?

[emkana]

Always wanted to be the kind of mother who could explain everything.

But come across so many situations where I know I should know something, have a verrrrrrry vague idea, but can't really give a proper explanation!

Eg today we came across Daedalus, knew I had heard the name, knew it's somebody from Greek mythology, but other than that...

whereas my mother was always a walking encyclopedia who could tell you all the details (obv didn't stick in my brain though)

'tis delicious though

glad it's not just me then!

Whenever my boys ask something historical I want to say ask Grandad because my dad seems to know everything that happened in history. Even obscure stuff.

Which is probably why I don't know any history at all, he made it all sound so boring and not worth finding out about.

Maybe I'll learn with my boys, we are the google generation!

I missed an entire year in primary school - there are entire swathes of stuff I don't know. My geography is hilariously bad.

Once while playing 'Risk' at university I said that one of the players had moved into South Weden.

Yes, I didn't realise there was a place called Sweden

Ha!...funnily enough I have always not liked white choc..felt grainy/sore in my throat ...now i know!! ...I prefer to rub cocoa butter on my skin thanks...

Laurie I also (weird...?) missed a lot of primary school (I went to so many of them) that I have massive gaps, mostly Geography too, but some basic Maths. No idea about a lot of stuff that people talk about.

That's the second time today Loops

we may actually be the same person as my Maths is truly terrible.

My underwear has the initials LFC, is that you?

oooh...could be a Jerry Springer moment ..Identical Twins separated at birth

at underwear

I also went to 4 primary schools (and 3 secondaries)

26 here, 2 secondaries and 1 sixth form.

Trumps!

You definitely win that one

I know the feeling. I have a masters degree yet my general knowledge, especially historical, is shocking.

I tend to accumulate bollocks in my brain esspecially about things I like or find interesting...the brain likes what it likes

My DD1 told me the story of daedalus and icarus she was only 6!

I'm always saying 'i don't know, let's look it up' and I have a reasonably good general knowledge. You just can't know everything, and sometimes its good to learn things along with your DCs.

YABU - I bet there are a million things you do know about other subjects. I know jack all about literature - but I know science, machines, animals and I'm a basically decent person.

When you're dead and buried your children won't be writing on your tombstone "taught us all about ancient Mayan mythology".

Beware trilling, let's look it up children, every time they ask you some baffling question.

My DC say they came to dread asking me anything in case I didn't know it and had to heave out the Atlas/DK encyclopedia/dictionary/etc.

If I didn't know it there and then, they scarpered before I looked it up and gave them a lecture!

dh has the same reaction to the Pears Cyclopedia, for some reason. He noticed it was one of the books my family often refers to when there is a dispute but the layout and system is too complicated for him, poor little love! (So much for a grammar school education...)

YABU - much better that you look things up and learn together. I have fond memories of dad helping me rifle through encyclopaedia britannica volumes :)

Oh I loved the Pears Cyclopaedia! Was less keen on the Encyclopaedia Britannica, especially as ours was from the 1950s or thereabouts.

I think ours were older than that - but I just loved it when I needed to look something up and dad would help me find the right volume and plonk it down on the table with a thud. Ah, good times :)

It's really hard to know lots these days, so don't feel a thicky, OP. There's so much information out there.

I know tons of shit because I have the kind of brain that retains unnecessary bollocky stuff, but a lot of the recent stuff I have to say I just don't know.

A few years ago, an article in the Guardian reckoned that the last time there was someone who could know everything it was John Milton. Even then the journalist felt the need to say that Milton was a famous writer, like the average Guardian reader wouldn't know.

I didn't mean the last bit to sound snobbish, but WAS on the editorial page.

You are not alone OP i always thought i was reasonably intelligent until my son reached an age to ask lots of questions then I realised my knowledge lacked any real depth when i tried to explain things. It has been positive though as it has made me research (google) things so i have ended up learning more. Its usually on the way to school this morning he asked me how the war started I was able to explain about the second world war but was a bit vague about the first. He also wanted to know what the first ever war was. We discussed ancient Greeks, Romans, Anglo Saxons but it left me feeling really stupid again. What would you have said ?

Well I'm pretty sure fighting was invented long before writing, so the short answer to that is, nobody knows!

I realised the other day I know next to nothing about the Romans/Roman Empire. Yeah I know they wore togas and lay around eating and vomiting and had underfloor heating , and kept slaves...but I don't know when the Roman Empire started or ended - and it was a long time, centuries I suppose . I know Caesar invaded Britain a couple of times in 55ish BC. But what happened before and after that is a mystery to me.

Someone on here was talking about how there's so many famous sites in Rome, and I couldn't think of any.

Add to that very little clue about history between 1066 and Henry VIII (15--?)

I can name about 3 countries in S America - there are lots more

No idea where any country that ends with -stan is (except Pakistan but I've been there so had to know really :))

I don't know the names of or how to recognise any kinds of car, other than ones I have owned. How do people know that?