Nobody has all the answers. Not even Wikipedia. So, generally speaking, we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves if our lack of understanding of the universe takes center stage. In fact, acknowledging the limits of your mind instead of giving into your insecurity to always appear smart is a sign of intelligence.

To show you that we all have our moments, Bored Panda is taking a look at a discussion on Reddit, started by user Big_Piccolo_8369 where people have been revealing what things they found out embarrassingly late in life. From preserving veggies to making decisions when you're horny, continue scrolling and check out some of the most popular entries!

#1

Percentages are reversible. So 8% of 25 is the same thing as 25% of 8 and sometimes the reverse is easier to calculate.

Image credits: CheekyOnion64

#2

You can’t get lazy with birth control just because you turn 40.


Signed, Middle Aged Mom of a newborn

Image credits: KayaXiali

#3

Never make an important decision if you are hungry or horny.

Both have a massive impact on your decision making abilities.

Image credits: Ill-Appointment6494

#4

Always get it in writing.

Image credits: GKnives

#5

Taking medication for mental illness actually helps

#6

Don't ignore bullies. That's terrible advice.

The only way they will leave you alone is through the sight of their own blood.

Image credits: DillyDoobie

#7

Basic living skills

My parents were hoarders and neglected me growing up, we lived in filth and wore dirty clothes, rarely bathed etc. So I never learned what goes into keeping a house clean, or good hygiene practices, or the basic skills needed for normal life.

I know "in theory" how to do those things now, but the underlying core organizational, management, etc skills still aren't there. It's kinda hard to explain but it just feels like there will always be a gap for me.

Image credits: thesomethingfox

#8

Just because they're older than you, doesn't make them more mature. Would've saved me from an entire marriage

Image credits: Ok_Chocolate3253

#9

Just because I hold an opinion on something doesn't mean that I need to share it. I spent WAY too much of my early adulthood inserting my viewpoint into discussions that I wasn't really a part of.

Image credits: xjuggernaughtx

#10

"Netflix and chill" does not mean watching something on Netflix and chilling.

Image credits: Angelothegr8tst

#11

The people you work with aren't your friends. Always keep your guard up. Any and all of them can throw you under the bus at any time.

Image credits: rrickitickitavi

#12

Being well-educated in one area doesn't mean that a person can't be a total idiot in other areas.

#13

That kitten's baby teeth also fall out. Found out when playing with my cat he was young.
Rollercoaster of emotions between it happening and me googling while holding a little ~~canine~~ fang in my hand.

Image credits: dexemplu

#14

If you press Windows Key + V you can see a list of all the things you've copied

Image credits: btween3n20chars

#15

Your oral health is just as important as your general health.

#16

Saving money early in life is a really good idea.

Image credits: Bomphilogia

#17

No one really cares about you. I don't mean that in a bad way. But everyone is so busy thinking about themselves, you are always an after thought.

The most embarrassing thing in your life, probably doesn't matter than much to someone else.

#18

“This little piggy went to market”.......the pig was not shopping.

#19

That most people can actually see pictures in their mind. Growing up, I always thought 'counting sheep to fall asleep' meant using my head to think the words "1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep" etc, and so I was understandably puzzled as to why sheep, and not any other word?

Then, when I was 34 years old, so not exactly young, I actually figured out that I have aphantasia.

Turns out, nearly everyone can actually 'see' animals, or their family member's faces, or characters from a movie, in their head - whereas I've always built quite detailed descriptions, in words, because that's all I have in my head.

Image credits: NegativeFunk

#20

Flushable wipes are not to be flushed ever.

Image credits: Mysterious_Valuable1

#21

Tell the police nothing.
Tell the paramedic everything.

Image credits: Accurate_Leg_2447

#22

A pony is not a baby horse.


Edit: the number of people who are responding to this saying that they didn't know this makes me feel so much better for having learned it last year from reddit. At 36 years old. Glad I'm not the only one it took a while for! Cheers.

Image credits: clumsyumbrella

#23

That you can actually say no to your parents.

Image credits: EmperorZurg14

#24

"Every action made in anger ends in sorrow."

An attorney, when I was 24

#25

On Wednesday I learned that pancakes are so called because they are a cake made in a pan. smh

I’m 61yo

Image credits: Ysabo13

#26

That common sense is not that common

#27

Don't make permanent decisions based on temporary feelings.

Image credits: Yoschnitzel

#28

My gf found out at age 15 that you can breathe out of your nose. She has a lot of alergies and has never been able to

Image credits: LeDalahast

#29

Apparently you’re not supposed to rinse off your toothpaste.

Edit: Just Google it. Apparently it’s better to leave the toothpaste residue in your mouth so the fluoride can work on your teeth.

Image credits: Alberwyne

#30

Do all the crazy stuff when you are Young. By the time you can afford it, you no longer have the stamina to.

#31

That gargling saltwater works way better than cough drops for colds and sore throats.

#32

Life can literally change forever in the next second, hour or day and that when people say to enjoy every moment of life as if it’s your last, it’s actually good advice to maintain a positive attitude and feel like you have no regrets.

I’m speaking from personal experience - my SO has been diagnosed with a major issue and the good days are limited, so we are living our best life, just enjoying the simple things.

#33

That after high school it's incredibly hard to find real friends.

Image credits: depressedMegatron

#34

I didn't know my urethra was separate from my vagina until I was like 18. Sex Ed failed me.

#35

Don’t let the in-laws move in.

#36

That you need to regularly check and top up the fluids in your car. I bought my first car at 16, a cheap old beater, and knew nothing about cars other than gas makes it go. Found out the hard way that it had other required fluids that I had neither checked nor filled. Broke down on the highway and f****d up my engine.

#37

I thought islands were floating landmasses for way longer than I am proud to admit.

Image credits: dead_PROcrastinator

#38

Hard work isn’t always the answer.

When I worked a minimum wage job, I would work hard and not take breaks, so a great job, and always finish early. I just then got told to pick up the slack for the employees who spent their time goofing off. Never got a promotion, raise, or even a “Hey, good job”

Image credits: Disco-Onion

#39

The direction of the arrow next to your car fuel indicator lets you know what side your filling point is.

Image credits: Aussie_CokeisBest

#40

you can preserve fresh vegetables by getting plasting containers and putting paper towels on the bottom and the top. it absorbs the water. its the water from condensation that makes them go bad so fast. then just change the paper towels every few days and wipe out the container. Makes them last WAY longer.

i wonder how i am not dead that i did not know this. Especially as a single guy. My fresh veggies can last 3 weeks. I dont have to get little bits and keep going back to the store.

Image credits: gerd50501

#41

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.

#42

Headaches, sluggishness, and crankiness are all signs of being hungry. I took medication that made me lose my appetite, and I am not very good at recognizing different types of hunger cues.

Feeling especially sad, anxious, or guilty late at night means I gotta go to bed. Didn't figure this out at all. I saw the phrase "Never trust how you feel about your life after 9pm" early this year, just before I turned 25.

#43

That you can get pregnant the very first time you have sex.

Image credits: hhairy

#44

My name is Aaron. Turns out when you go to the bank, and the post office and the store, you are running Errands. Not Aarons.

Image credits: MrJuniperBreath

#45

Exercise actually does make you feel better overall and increase your energy and in fact you may not realize how much you feel like s**t until you get moving and can make the comparison.



People have been saying that my whole life. I simply did not believe them. Unfortunately they were right

#46

You can just buy towels and pillows. I thought they were handed down over the generations. I also thought pillows were naturally a dull brown and went looking for brown pillows.... until I realized mine were brown with bodyoil stains from 40-60 years of use.

#47

When it comes to trying to save someone from addiction: love is not enough.

#48

That red orange and green peppers aren't different types of peppers, they're just at different stages of ripeness?

#49

If you're a parent of a child who has had psych evaluations done by their school district you need to read each and every single thing that's documented in those papers. Then ask yourself if your child may not have the correct diagnosis after all.

I went 32 years without knowing I was Autistic. I just found out last year. Who I'd be today if I had only known... I'm traumatized as hell from this.

The documents from my schools psych evals had loads of evidence to support this, but no one ever said a word to me! No one!

Take matters into your own hands and never EVER rely on the system.

#50

Not sure if common knowledge but win+left or right snaps window to half the screen. Handy when you are referring to 2 different documents or websites at the same time.

I learned that last month.

#51

Flammable and inflammable mean the same, found that out the hard way

Image credits: jombica

#52

Simply asking "how are you" once in awhile is all it takes to not fall apart from old friends.

#53

That when people ask to borrow money especially if it's a friend or family just expect to never see it again.

#54

Effort doesn’t equal result

#55

I didn’t know there were “Top/Bottom” tags on the insides of most bed sheets until I was 25 when my bf pointed it out to me. Before that, I had just picked a side I thought was shorter and hoped for the best, but I was usually wrong, lol.

#56

That your relationship with your parents, and the relationship between your parents will, if not examined be the subconscious blueprint for your relationships too.
Man, I wish I had examined my childhood better - I spent the better part of my 20s wondering why my relationships never worked out, and then started noticing the resemblance to the worst aspects of my childhood. A hard, but valuable lesson to start to recognise those shitty childhood experiences reverberate so much stronger than you can imagine

#57

Bit late to this but a university lecturer once said "Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent."

Make sure you're learning the right way to do things as much as you can, because otherwise those bad habits will take longer to change.

#58

Lungs aren’t bags that fill up, they’re like a spongy meat.

#59

buy cheap - buy twice

#60

My wife just found out that the ocean tides are caused by the moons gravitational pull…she was under the impression that tides where caused by wind. She is 37 years old.

#61

Buy a plunger BEFORE you need one.

#62

Pickles are cucumbers. I found this out at age 25.

#63

There’s no rules to doing chores. You can make it more fun if you want to. For no reason I forgot that I could watch a tv show while I fold laundry and I didn’t have to just sit there and do it.

#64

Time goes by fast.

#65

Going too long without sleep can impair your ability to drive the same way as drinking too much alcohol. 

#66

People can break your trust quickly, even when you thought you knew them well.

#67

You can actually download the entirety of Wikipedia.

#68

Sometimes regardless of how good a person you are, how hard you try, and how sincere you feel. There are people who will mistreat and take advantage of you. And more importantly them doing that usually isn’t your fault. It’s more often a product of who they are and wasn’t as personal or important of a choice for them as it will feel for you.

#69

For the love of all things holy, trust your gut feeling!!!
Don’t be suspicious, but your gut feeling is the best advisor you’ll ever have!!!

#70

It's not Duck Tape....it's Duct Tape :)

#71

That hens can produce/lay eggs without the help of roosters

#72

People come and go. From a random stranger you moshed with at a concert to a female friend you've known for many years (10+ years) that said she loved you as a friend multiple times then just suddenly ghosts you and may have changed because she is completely devoted to her significant other. But I guess you have to learn sooner or later. Not much I can do honestly.

#73

When tying your shoes, the direction of the loop before you knot matters. Most of my life my laces were constantly getting loose throughout the day until well into adulthood.

#74

lefty loosey, rightie tightie. That made my life so much easier

#75

If you’re not wearing a tie, you don’t button the top button of a dress shirt. Let’s just say I looked like an idiot at my first internship lmao

#76

If you’ve been chopping chillies, wash your hands WELL before you touch anyone's genitals!

#77

That people are saying “quote unquote” when quoting someone and not saying “quote on quote”.

I was thinking while driving about a month ago and it suddenly hit me. It took 30 years…

#78

Never lie to
1) your lawyer
2) your accountant
3) your psychologist

Edit: full disclosure to your doctors

#79

If you are really committed to making a relationship work, you have to stop worrying about who's right. Winning arguments just isn't important. Stop. Walk away, breathe. Ask yourself if who loaded the dishwasher more times last week is really worth arguing with someone you love over. I bet its not but you may not think that way if you just lash out at any critical comment.

#80

Most of the arguments over text makes things worse! If it was face to face, most of the arguments would seem like it's nothing

#81

your ABCs and twinkle twinkle little star are sung to the same tune

#82

Most probably, if you hate someone or maybe strongly dislike them you do end up having 1 or 2 traits similar to them.

#83

There are no vineyards at Martha's Vineyard.

#84

The workplace is not a meritocracy. That incompetent moron is going to get promoted before you get promoted, deal with it.

#85

Stripper poles themselves spin. Got drunk ended up having a stripper bet me I couldn't spin on the pole so dumb me climbs up there grabs the pole and flings myself as hard as I could. Well I ended skidding across the stage... Been a long running joke now. Don't drink then bet a stripper when they are bored. It was like 3 in the afternoon and me and my friends were the only ones there.

#86

How much truth there is to the phrase "You'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it".

#87

It's "up and at 'em" not "up and Adam." Said up and Adam until I was 23. I always make jokes to people and say "up and *insert their name*" and have done so since I was single digit and NO ONE stopped me until I said it to my now fiance the first time he stayed over and embarrassed tf out of myself first thing in the morning.

Also, not something that lasted super long obviously, but my fiance and his dad would the chip shortage all the time when it first started happening and I deadass thought they were talking about chips that you eat, not computer chips. In my defense, it started at the beginning of COVID and we had nationwide toilet paper shortage so I thought "oh okay, people are buying more chips to eat since they'll be home!" Embarrassed tf out of myself making a joke in the chip aisle and they were both like "excuse me?"

#88

Watermelons don’t grow on trees

#89

All of the associated costs of being a homeowner versus renter.

#90

Your brain isn't trying to make you happy or your life easier.

It's trying to keep you alive. Everything else is secondary.

#91

I always thought that putting a lid on pots and pans when cooking was some unnecessary gourmet chef s**t. Turns out that it can massively improve your cooking with basically no effort when food gets hot faster, it heats more evenly, and stays warm for longer after turning the stove off. Now I can finally do sunny-side up eggs without one side being burnt and the other side half-raw. This is especially important now with increasing energy prices.

#92

That “court” in an address means it is a cul-de-sac.

#93

The tongue thats part of dispoable paper toilet seat covers in public restrooms should be in the front & folded over the seat, not the back, when putting it on the seat before use.

Its to protect against splashing urine and splashes from large s**t drops. Im in my 40s and learned this a month ago.

#94

Never use water on a gas fire. If I hadn't recently learned this from reddit, something might have happened some day

#95

The plastic top on a new stick of deodorant comes off easily if you just give it another turn or two. My teeth appreciate no longer being used to pull it off.

#96

That "Jim" is a shortened/nickname for "James".

Up until about 20, I just thought they were two entirely separate names.

#97

That *K9* comes from “canine”.

#98

Gorillaz is the guy from Blur

#99

I wish i didn't think sex was so important into my mid-late 20s. I wish someone told me that going out to bars and clubs wasn't all about hooking up. That the nights success isn't gauged on whether you met someone, got a phone number, made out or took someone home. I didn't even have any chick friends on my teens. Non of us in my group and other groups i knew had. Girls and guys were separate. I moved to France from Ireland and was so surprised that you could just be friends and hang out and have a good time. So much pressure growing up and such time wasted

#100

Life doesn’t get easier, you get stronger.

#101

A spendthrift is the opposite of a thrifty person. This still feels uncomfortable to me.

#102

Live Christmas trees require water in their base or they die and turn brown.

#103

That a Dachshund is pronounced 'Dax-hund' not 'dash-hund'. Totally changes the softness of the name!

#104

The ratio of laundry soap to water is lower than you think, and using more soap than you need can make your clothes stink and promotes mold.

#105

Here in the United States of America, I found out that being loyal to an employer, working my hardest, having an excellent attendance, and being the overall best employee I can be means...absolutely nothing, particularly to corporations.