Time for me to admit something: Up until I was sixteen-years-old, I thought that there was a company called FRAGGLE that made moving boxes (pronounced FRAG-ELLE), and that everyone got their cardboard boxes from the FRAGGLE company warehouse. Turns out, all moving boxes say FRAGILE on the side, not FRAGGLE.
As embarrassing as that is, I am by no means alone in learning life-changing knowledge a little later than most people. Some folks do things based on completely incorrect information their entire lives before they’re taught properly. My Fraggle thing may be weird, but trust me—it isn’t the craziest thing you’ll hear today.
Softy
A young woman didn’t understand why a lady at the laundry mat kept yelling at her every time she did her laundry, and eventually just assumed that she was putting the detergent in the machine wrong.
“Turns out I’ve been washing my clothes with only fabric softener for nearly a decade,” she admitted, “They always smelled good so I never really thought about it.”
The Muffin Man
“When I was a kid, I was told that the paper that came on cupcakes/muffins was edible,” one man explained, “I would spend a decade eating them like this (paper and all), until a friend pointed it out.”
BANDit
“I taught myself how to play clarinet,” one girl wrote, “Six months later someone told me that I’d been playing with the mouthpiece upside down.”
Short And Stout
This teen admitted that when he was little, he used to fill the kettle by the spout.
“I thought the center part was mainly for decoration, but not functional. I don’t know why I never questioned this.”
Pants On The Ground
“I used to pull my pants down all the way at the urinal,” one user wrote, ” ALL the way down.”
It’s Lit
“Found out I was lighting incense wrong,” a woman explained, “Boyfriend and I got a bunch to add to our collection of nice smells and we would light them and they would just start a little inferno. Convinced we were buying cheap, garbage incense we stopped using them. Roommate informs us you are supposed to blow them out once they catch. Oops.”
Itchy And Scratchy
“I always thought eggplant tasted ‘itchy'”, one woman attempted to explain, “Like itchy was a flavor, like sour or salty. Fed some to my baby and his face turned red wherever the eggplant touched, and I realized we’re both just allergic to eggplant. And itchy isn’t a flavor.”
The Name Game
“My dad has been spelling his name wrong his whole life, he’s 51,” read one comment, “His name is Jeffrey, and he’s been spelling it like that since he learned how to spell his name. A few months ago my mom pulled out his birth certificate, and we all learned it’s actually spelled Jeffery.”
Green Eggs And Jam
“I’m colorblind and my entire life I thought peanut butter was green until I turned 19,” a man shared, “And when I found out it was brown my mind was blown.”
TampOFF
“My mom refused to show me how to use a tampon because she thought I should stick to pads because they were ‘safer'” this woman explained, “So basically I was shoving that sucker up there with the entire applicator for like 2 years, wondering why tampons didn’t seem to work that well for me.”
Massachusetts
“My mom has been pronouncing Massachusetts ‘Massa Two Sh*ts’ for years,” one Redditer shared, “No one corrected her because they thought she just had strong feelings about Massachusetts.”
Now I Know My A B Lees
“My name is Ryan, and It took me until I was in 1st grade to realize my name wasn’t in the alphabet,” one entry read, “My mom had told me my name was in the alphabet, and I felt so lucky. She obviously meant the letters to spell my name were in the alphabet. But nope. It took that long to realize the alphabet didn’t go “W, X, Ryan Z…”
Watch And Learn
One woman admitted to winding a watch that was battery powered for an entire year. “The whole time I owned it. Real smart.”
My Little Pony
One man’s partner helped him come to a startling revelation about the animal kingdom.
“My girlfriend recently explained that a pony is, in fact, NOT a baby horse.”
Ghostly Anatomy
“I always thought it was ‘The ghost is clear’ not ‘the coast is clear’,” a comment read, “To be fair, ghosts are clear.”
The Porcelain Throne
“Grew up thinking that the toilet seat was supposed to be up when you poop and down when you pee,” one man admitted, “Have no idea where I got this from but it made for a very interesting conversation with my friends later in life.”
Glass Half Full
“My family always had a cup next to the bathroom sink in case you needed to rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth or maybe get a quick drink of water in the middle of the night,” one man explains, “My grandma had the same cup at her house. I used it for years whenever I was thirsty. One day she saw me doing this and said, ‘Don’t use that cup. That’s where grandma puts her teeth.'”
SilverWHERE
“Since the dawn of time, I would pick up the silverware and utensils out of their tray in the dishwasher and put them away in their drawers then go back and pick up more out of the dishwasher,” explains one man, “Then one day I saw my wife lift the tray out of the dishwasher and I legit stood there with my mouth open.”
Sliced Not Shaved
“Apparently the red ring around the bologna is not supposed to be eaten,” one woman writes, “Who knew?”
Shoeless Joe
“No one really ever told me you don’t need to buy shoes with the ‘two-fingers’ space in front of the toes after your feet stop growing,” this person writes, “I had been buying an entire size too big until about age 23.”
Mirror Mirror On The Wall
“I lived in a house for 6 years with a bathroom with no ‘shelf’ or cupboard to put toiletries into. I was very disappointed and ended up using a window sill that was WAY too small to fit everything,” this man explains, “Anyway, one day we had a friend over and he asked why we don’t have anything in our bathroom cupboard. I was confused so he showed me. It turns out that the mirror I had been using for 6 years has a hidden compartment behind it.”
Bowl Fighting
“My mom use to refer to me as a ‘bull in a china shop’, but I always heard it as ‘bowl in a china shop'” this guy admits, “Thought it was a compliment. At about 22 I hear someone else use the phrase and realized she meant ‘bull’ not ‘bowl’.”
Dust Bunny
“Last month was the first time I discovered lint rollers were peel-able,” one comment reads, “Literally sat there for a minute to take that in.”
Too Tall To Ride
“Realized the multi colored tape measures glued to the door frames of gas stations etc. are for identifying robbers, not for measuring yourself as you walk out,” a man writes, “I mean, they can be, but that’s not why they are there. Unless you’re the robber.”
Nutcracker
“Learned earlier last year ‘bust a nut’ isn’t an expression for when something hits your nuts or you land in a way that crushes them,” this man admits.
Nativity Productivity
“I was 30 when I found out that an ‘event calendar’ as I called it, is not a thing and it’s an ‘advent calendar’,” one comment reads, “I was 32 when I found out advent is not short for adventure.”
Say Cheese!
“I didn’t realize I had to brush the BACK of my teeth as well as the front until I was 15, ” this college senior shares, “Had 9 filings and a root canal.”
Take A Break
“I didn’t find out that I was supposed to punch out for lunch until my third job,” one man admits, “And even then it was because a coworker mentioned it in passing that they were clocking out for lunch.”
Tooty Fruity
“I ate mangoes with the skin on for a while before I learned you’re supposed to peel them,” one comment reads.
Double Double
“I didn’t know you could take off the caps of those refrigerated coffee creamers,” this woman admits, “I had been stabbing through the foil with a knife for years until my uncle saw me and asked what I was doing.”
Bag Bag
“From as young as I knew the word backpack until about maybe the fifth grade, I called them ‘pack packs'” one woman writes.
High Score
“My name is Kasen,” one Redditer explains, “And when ever someone said ‘case in point’ I was like Oh cool I got a point what does it mean.”
Thanks Mr. Narwhal
“A nine-year-old taught me, when I was 30, that a narwhal is a real animal that exists” one woman writes.
Like A Virgin
“My bff found out at 19 that ‘prima donna’ is not ‘pre-Madonna’ (the singer)” a friend shares.
Can You Do The Can Can
“Apparently I’ve been using a can opener wrong for 10 years,” one woman admits, “Who knew you weren’t supposed to cut through the side?”
Ply Away
“Throwing away used toilet paper in the trash can rather than flushing it,” one guy writes, ” In my household, I grew up being told the toilet would clog if I flushed them and thought only public restroom toilets were strong enough to flush.”
Very Friendly
“I thought the phrase, ‘Friends with benefits’ meant a person who’s not really your friend but call that person a friend due to you gaining something from them if you stick around with them” this teen admits.
Deer In The Headlights
“I drove for 3 years without ever putting my headlights on,” a young woman admitted, “When I was learning to drive, my dad told me not to worry about lights, so I just thought people didn’t use them.”
Charcoal Tooth Paste
“Every time my dad burnt a grilled cheese, he told me to eat it because it ‘cleaned your teeth’,” a man explained, “So for my whole life, I thought grilled cheese sandwiches cleaned your teeth.”
Color Me Intrigued
“I owned a light blue colored microwave for about three years that a family member gave me for a housewarming gift,” this man explained, “Thought it was cool, never saw a blue microwave before. One night, a buddy asked why I never took the blue plastic wrap off my microwave, then proceeded to peel it off for me. It was a silver microwave the whole time.”
h/t: Ask Reddit
