15 Facts You Didn't Realize You Didn't Know

Updated August 16, 2021

It's always surprising to find out how much you think you know that you actually don't. There's so much assumed knowledge out there that just gets passed along without checking the accuracy first. It happens every day. You overhear somebody trying to show off at a party, hear it repeated later, and maybe a TV show throws the same "factoid" out there, and presto, misinformation spreads, now shining like real information—only it's fool's gold.

So don't feel bad if you didn't know some of these things. Common knowledge is commonly misinformed, so lots of people have been hoodwinked. The fact is, everybody should know these things, but few people do.

1. Antibiotics won't help you during cold and flu season.

imgur | TisOnlyAFleshWound

Antibiotics kill bacteria; the cold/flu keeping you down is caused by a virus.

2. Your blood doesn't run blue in your veins.

flickr | FierceLatina

It's actually red; it just looks blue because of how your skin absorbs and reflects light.

3. Should've = "should have", not "should of".

imgur | DragonsCanBeBeaten

Never use "should of", "would of", or "could of".

4. Fishbowls aren't great places for fish to live.

imgur | DJJAYDUKES

Fishbowls hinder filtration and oxygenation of the water—not the cleanest, healthiest environment for fish.

5. A bite from a daddy long-legs won't kill you.

imgur | janedrew

Although its fangs resemble those of a brown recluse spider—the venom of which can deliver some nasty results. The daddy long-legs' bite might cause a slight burning sensation, but little else.

6. Need a microphone? Plug your earbuds into your laptop.

ebay | syntinex

The buds act as microphones—just don't expect great quality.

7. If you're having a heart attack, chew aspirin before you swallow it.

imgur | percussionistfostergrant

Aspirin thins your blood, and chewing it gets it into your bloodstream faster than swallowing it whole.

8. "Frankenstein" refers to the scientist, not the monster.

imgur | Cloud2055

9. The forbidden fruit Adam & Eve tasted in the Garden of Eden wasn't an apple.

imgur | Rypley

Scholars disagree on whether it was actually a fig, pomegranate, or a grape, because the Hebrew uses the word "peri", which means "fruit". The confusion stems for similarities between the Latin words for "apple" and "evil".

10. Drowning victims don't always wave, splash, or yell for help.

reddit | lcslattery

They're often physiologically incapable of doing any of those things.

11. Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white person, Claudette Colvin did the same.

NPR | NPR

Although Claudette challenged the law in court first, she was 15 years old at the time. The NAACP felt Rosa Parks would be a better icon than a teenager, especially after Claudette got pregnant.