
I can definitely tell you that I did not receive much sex ed growing up. It definitely happened–it was folded into our biology classes, actually–but it focused more on how the reproductive cycle works and didn't cover the things that are often lacking in sex ed.
For instance, comprehensive sexual education should include lessons on human development. Reproduction, puberty, sexual orientation, and gender identity would all fit under this.
Personal skills should be emphasized too: Communications, negotiation, and decision-making are all–or should be–integral to sexual education.
People have plenty of opinions on the matter, as I'm sure you can imagine.
We heard their thoughts after Redditor clou_dor asked the online community:
"What should be covered in sex ed class but never is?"
"So I went through middle school..."
"This is gonna sound dumb but here it is. In sex ed, they would tell us how much we bleed during our period but never the pressure of the blood. So I went through middle school thinking that if my period started, blood would be GUSHING OUT, like if i got stabbed."
"I was paranoid as a preteen thinking at any time my period could start and i would end up drenched in blood from the waist down. No one ever told me the blood pressure was not in fact that of a stab wound but more of a nose bleed or a dripping faucet."
idek_lmao
To which this person replied:
"Also the different colors it can be. The first time I got my period I thought I somehow got skid marks in the front of my panties. I wasn't worried about it being a period, I thought I pooped myself and it all sprayed forward."
DirtyMarTeeny
"I had no idea..."
"Miscarriages. I had no idea that a miscarriage was like five days of the worst cramps and unending blood. This is a thing that happens to like 1/3 of women and most of us have no idea until we have one and then no one talks about it."
No-country-2008
To which this person replied:
"I think everyone should know just how common miscarriages are! It's quite likely that multiple women you know have had at least one."
robophile_ta
"The number of people..."
"How STD/STIs actually affect you and what treatments there are available."
"The number of people who don't realize being asymptomatic is the most common symptom is shocking. Also the amount of men who think they still shove a little umbrella up their urethra and scrape it out to cure gonorrhea is sad. You take a pill for it. The invasive penis scraping was a very old and very not used anymore treatment."
"Also they could do more to destigmatize getting tested regularly if you have multiple partners or getting tested at the beginning of each relationship if you're a monogamous person. STD/STIs don't devalue you and I find sex ed really doesn't do anything other than make people feel dirty and ashamed about contracting something."
"Chances are the person who gave it to you was asymptomatic and didn't know they had it and are also victims of a fear and shame based sexual health education."
123throwawaybanana
To which this person replied:
"I got tested before a new relationship and thwy wouldn't let me gove blood becauee I must have had a reason to think I was sick."
Nellasofdoriath
"I straight thought..."
"How vaginal discharge changes based on your fertile days - I straight thought I was getting sick as a teen."
Spazztastic85
To which this person replied:
"And that ovulation cramps are a thing. And I hate them. I’ve had them since I was a teen and I always thought something was wrong. I would ask my friends and no one else normally got them so that info didn’t help."
BroadBaker5101
"We didn't learn..."
"We didn't learn about childbirth. At all. Nothing about dilation, contractions, labor etc."
Spicyhashbrowns
To which this person replied:
"I believe that it's intentional that they don't talk about childbirth because it is terrifying, and most women won't be enthusiastic about going through it. So they promote the cute picture of babies growing and how wonderful everything would be."
Vivid379
"A vast majority..."
"Pornography needs to be put in context. A vast majority of sexual intercourse isn't anything like that."
seefifth
To which this person replied:
"This comment needs to be higher. Learning about sex only through porn is like learning to cook having only watched 'reality' shows where they make a 4 course dinner in an hour while your school system is saying you're too young to use the stove."
Puzzleheadedbat
"The whole..."
"The whole of the actual clitoral structure."
tinygriggle
To which this person replied:
"We didn't even have the clitoris mentioned. Or anything in the vagina or vulva. We got a diagram of a uterus and that was it."
ShiraCheshire
"Aside from the pain..."
"Not just how to prevent getting an STD, but how to handle it emotionally and have honest dialogue with future partners if you do end up getting one. I personally was almost two years into a committed relationship when my partner gave me herpes."
"Aside from the pain and psychological effect it had on me, I was even more hurt to find out years later that he knew he had it from a previous relationship but didn’t tell me or try to protect me in any way. Totally preventable and unnecessary."
uoyroftonsisihT
To which this person replied:
"I came to say this. And also that you shouldn't be ashamed of having an STD. It's so common that it's terrible how talking about it is still a taboo for some people."
Brujula9
"Sex ed is often very focused..."
"Pregnancy. Sex ed is often very focused on avoiding getting pregnant and avoiding getting STIs. How much being pregnant sucks is rarely discussed."
737900ER
To which this person replied:
"I also think that sex ed should teach some realities of raising a child. Especially with newborns, roughly the first few months to first year is difficult because they tend to cry for just about every reason you can think of. But on top of that children throw tantrums, misbehave, and ask lots of questions. Sometimes annoyingly so."
Ahstia
"Telling people..."
"Telling people about cleanup. Apparently some girls thought their vaginas would just absorb everything and it wouldnt all come out."
VacuumLawyer
To which this person replied:
"Although I knew all the mechanics of sex and what-not, I can safely say that we are absolutely not prepared in any way for the aftermath. Nobody talks about these things."
orangestar17
See how much pain, stress, and embarrassment could be avoided if society was just a little more honest about the human body? Sex ed is nothing to be ashamed about – it's crucial to living a healthy life.
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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When we first meet someone–whether through mutual friends, at school, or in a new work setting–we generally feel people out to determine if they're worth getting to know.
While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"

Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
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Children tend to believe just about anything they hear.
That there are monsters under your bed, watching too much TV will make your head explode, and silly faces will be permanent if you make them too often.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to silly things that children will believe.
Some call it naivitée, other's youthful innocence.
But it's hard not to look back with embarrassment on certain things we believed as a child, that today might simply seem dumb.
Redditor Disastrous_Toe_6548 was curious to learn the multitude of silly things people believed when they were children, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?"
Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
Silly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
So that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
The miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
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