No matter what anyone tells you, neither common sense nor common knowledge are actually all that common.
Every single one of us has a thing we just never really grasped. We all suck at something. All of us. With 100% certainty. There, I said it. Now everyone can relax.
You're among friends here. Clueless friends who, just like you, have gotten really good at the smile-and-nod when it comes to whatever our thing is.
That thing could be different for all of us. It took me way longer than I'd like to admit to learn how to tie my shoes. Some people just aren't good at something like mopping. None of us can fold a fitted sheet.
Reddit user colormeinwords asked:
What is something that you don't know but are afraid to ask because it's supposed to be 'basic knowledge'?
Like I said... you're safe among friends here. Here are some of the more popular "basic knowledge" thing people don't know or know how to do. With answers, of course, cause I'm not a monster.
No there are no instructions here for folding fitted sheets. I'm also not a wizard.
Communication Conundrum
How often do people talk to each other? Like do you just text people every day and let them know about random things that happened to you, and not just talk whenever life happens to put the two of you in the same physical location?
Really depends on the person. With some people I text once every two weeks, others all day every day about the most mundane stuff.
The Mechanics Of Mopping
How the hell you mop the floors. I try to do it properly but afterwards I always get comments like "did you even try to mop" and so on. And this has been going on for 15-ish years, I've evaded it through never mopping. Ever.
- dunk mop in hot (near boiling), soapy water.
- wring most of the water out of the mop.
- don't mimic a sweeping brush. Go side to side in large, shallow arcs.
- start furthest from your sink/exit and step backwards as you swipe.
- Repeat until done or until the water in the bucket is too cold / dirty.
If that still doesn't work: get some other sucker to mop for you!
Darker Colors
I've always been curious about whether black people feel warmer than people with lighter skin tones when they're in the sun because dark colors absorb more heat.
Do tattoos count? I have mostly black tattoos on my rather fair skinned forearms, and they are substantially warmer than the surrounding non tattooed skin. I know it's not exactly the same but I'd imagine it's fairly similar.
Am black, I can't tell if I "feel" hotter than others but I do know you could fry an egg on my shoulder after some sun exposure where as my Scandinavian partner feels like he was been lightly warmed in the microwave after the same exposure.
- rkspm
A New Doctor
Giphy
How do you get a "doctor"?
My family doctor retired 5 years ago and now I don't know how to get a new one.
Do I just go to a random office and ask to become a patient?
Go on your health insurances website. Most of them have a "find a doctor" link somewhere and you can look for a new primary care physician that is accepting patients. From there call the office and make your first appointment.
- nkdeck07
Never Been Kissed
How to kiss. I've never kissed someone and I REALLY don't wanna screw up my first time.
- Zoh41b
- Place one hand on the small of their back
- place the other on the upper back lower neck
- while your doing this and going in start taking a big inhale from your nose (to help you relax)
- use their nose to line your nose up. You want your noses touching, but to be side by side not squished against each other.
- that will ensure that your lips will connect, which is what a kiss is. lip contact.
- keep your eyes open until you make contact, then close them. Because that way you can be present. And that's what makes a good kiss. Being present with someone you wanna be intimate with.
- A good kiss is different for everybody and a "good kisser" is someone you're compatible with. There is no definitive criteria for what makes a good kisser or bad one. It's all about compatibility and most of that comes from learning over time. It's not something you're supposed to know
- Go get'em tiger!
Cabs And Curved Arrows
What does that button on your car dash/control panel do that is like a picture of the cab with a curved arrow inside the cab?
- Brancher
It shuts the vents so that no air from outside comes in, useful when you're driving somewhere the air is really bad, tunnels and such. The arrow symbolizes the air staying in the car.
Basically, if it's on, you are not bringing in hot outside air through the ac system. You are recirculating the already cool air in the cabin - think of it like max a/c.
Coffee Talk
Giphy
Is there a difference between regular coffee grounds and espresso grounds?
Barista here - the difference is how fine the grounds are. Espresso grounds are very fine. Regular coffee grounds are medium grind. Half-way between course and fine.
The reason why espresso grounds are fine, is because of how espresso is made. Espresso is very fine grounds of coffee very tightly packed into a small filter. You add very hot and very pressurized water over the grounds to extract the coffee very quickly. Your regular house coffee uses medium grind, with not-as-hot or pressurized water, and takes a few minutes to brew. Espresso (usually) takes under a minute to brew. To get the coffee quicker, you need smaller particles of coffee beans, packed tightly together under very hot water and lots of pressure.
No Toilet Paper
In countries that don't use toilet paper, but instead offer you a bucket of water and a ladle ... are you ... supposed to use your hand to wipe, then you wash your hand off??
I don't know if it's "basic knowledge" but it is in those countries (I'm looking at you Asia/India) it must be.
If you're at the lower middle class to poor end of East Asian countries, then it's somewhat basic knowledge. And this is how you do it: position one hand on your bum, the other hand will hold the ladle which you should position behind your back, just a bit above your crack. Start wiping your butt with your hand and slowly pour the water out so that it streams down to the hand your using to wipe. Rinse and repeat until you feel sufficiently cleaned.
The other comment says bidets, but not every household has them so it's good to know how to do this if you're considering visiting East Asian countries.
Global Warming
Whats actually wrong with global warming? This is a genuine question because its never been explained to me. A warmer climate would mean a longer growing season. If it was warmer out, then the homeless would have an easier time making it through the winter.
- Rising sea levels means flooding and melting ice caps, which is a form of habitat destruction for polar bears, penguins, etc. And for people as well as water levels rise and some islands and coastal cities are lost.
- More drought s= more food shortages for growing population.
- If the air is hot and dry it becomes easy for bushfires and forest fires to start and get out of hand.
- A warmer climate means more tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes etc. And thunderstorms too.
- The gases that cause global warming are pretty toxic and harmful to living beings. Carbon monoxide, etc etc can damage the human body on prolonged exposure.
- Greenhouse gases that cause GW dont stop the sun's uv rays from reaching us tho, unlike ozone which is being depleted in our atmosphere. This can lead to skin cancers and sunburns
Hope this helped.
But Which Train?
How to ride a train. I've been on one but never knew how to decide which train to get on. I'm always with someone else that does.
Usually just use Google maps with the public transport option and it tells you what to take. Usually trains have some kind of tracking board at the platform so you know what train is coming (or sometimes on the front of the train.)
