More than 4,000 of our Facebook friends responded when we posted a query last week asking people to "tell us about something you were embarrassed to learn as an adult that you should have learned much earlier. Examples: Realizing that New York City is not just Manhattan or that 'character witnesses' are not witnesses who are 'characters.' "
Excerpts from the amazing and educational full list of "absenteeisms":
I am turning 27 in two months and I just recently learned that hens don't need to be inseminated to lay eggs! — Arturo Varela
That pickles are cucumbers still blows my mind. — Rebecca Bonne
That the correct phrase is "for all intents and purposes," not "for all intensive purposes." Seriously embarrassing. — Caroline Roszak Thompson
Grew up in MI, had never been to San Fran, but had heard about "the crookedest street" — had images of thugs, drugs, and muggers, til I arrived and saw how crooked it literally was. Laughing at myself, what an idiot! — Rick Browne
That the English word "albeit" is pronounced like "all-be-it," not "all-bite." I seriously used the incorrect pronunciation until I was around 25. I read too much and didn't talk enough I guess. Yes, I have a degree and somehow no professor corrected me. — Rebecca Merritt
That Bambi is a boy. — Eric Johnson
Until a few years ago, I thought the phrase "making ends meet" ended with the word "meat" instead of "meet" and it had something to do with not having enough money to eat. I'm 40. DOH! — Jennifer Luckett
I recently learned that it is Iwo Jima and not Imo Jima. I'm 54 and still figuring things out. — Jean Schuh
I just learned that New York City is not just Manhattan. Hmm. — Scott Eagan
Realizing that a "driving range" was for golfers and not cars! — Nena Bertrand Menard
I'd gotten to my senior year of college without having seen how the city of Tucson was spelled. I referenced the city in some oral presentation that year of school and pronounced it "Tuk-sun." On his notes to me the prof wrote "Toooo-son." Still feel like a dolt about it, 25 years later. — Cynthia Nims
I pronounced paradigm as para dijem! — Mike Hall
I thought crocodile tears meant big tears, not fake tears. I misused it several times describing truly sad circumstances — Carmen Victor
I'm so glad you're giving me a forum to admit this; Thank You! When I was 30 years old (!!!!) married and a mother of three I went back to work in radio. We were planning a Cinco De Mayo party, and I asked the salesperson handling the account when the party was being scheduled for! — Wendy Vaughan Wheeler
Well, I just now found out Roy Orbison wasn't blind. — Erin McDaniel
Until very recently I thought progressive dinner parties were dinner parties in which people talked about progressive ideas like universal health care and urban farming. — Tiffany Stephens
That Art Deco is not a person — John Williams
I spent the first 35 years or so of my life thinking that "wheel barrow" was said as "wheel barrel." — Amy Houghton Ascheim
I thought a "sewage plant" was a type of tree or shrub that smelled really terrible. — Whit Ney
I was born and raised in California. In my mid 20s I moved to CT and got married. At work we were discussing football, which I don't follow, when I said that I supported the Redskins because they were a West Coast team. You know, WASHINGTON?!! How was I to know they're from DC? — Betty Wilcox
I thought it a strange coincidence that the "no" on the "no vacancy" neon signs was so often "broken" on so many unrelated motels, when really they were just trying to tell us that they had space available. — Jill Hamilton-Brice
I was a first-year college student in the late '60s, hearing a lot of discussion about "youth in Asia" and not understanding why the topic was so controversial ... until I read an article about "euthanasia." Duh! — Maylene Reisbig
I tried to convince my husband that a chest of drawers was called "chester drawers." He obviously looked at me like I was crazy. — Barbara Clabo Stoner
I am 53. About 6 years ago I learned from my daughter that the gas gauge on your car's dash also has a little arrow showing which side of the car you fill your gas tank. -- Gregg White
About a month ago I learned that dandelions grow into those little puff ball flowers that children blow like candles to make wishes. It's the seed pod. They're the same plant. I always thought they were two different types of flower. I'm 27 years old. — Justin S Hubbard
I know there are several definitions of the word "thong," one of them being a leather lace. My son, an older teen at the time, broke the lace from one of his workboots which was black. We were at the mall and went into a sporting goods store and I told the sales person (a young woman) I was looking for a black thong. My son nearly melted through the floor. — Penni Luber Weninger
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxNDQ2NDAxMDEyNzU2NzM2ODA3ZGI1ZA001))