An Adult Should Really Know This - Silly Things You've Had to Tell People

[Harriet Jones]

Today in the Houston Chronicle, someone stated that working with bonsai was an "anecdote" for stress (paraphrased because I don't have the newspaper page in front of me - page one in the Star section (entertainment, gardening, comics, etc.).

I could see either "antidote" or "anodyne" as it could be a treatment or "partial cure" - but it is not a "story"...

My guess is that someone ran Spell Check without knowing that that word did not mean what they thought it meant....

I read an online article a couple of days ago where they used antidote instead of anecdote ...  I assumed it was a spell-check or autocorrect error.

[squeakers]

I once had someone ask me, in all seriousness, if rabbits crawl up trees. 

Well, do they? 

Yes, they do.  They can't climb up straight smooth barked trees, though.  They have been sighted up to 20 feet up in the air.  They use low hanging branches and their sharp claws to get up that high.  Apparently they do this a lot during droughts in order to get to food.

[jaxsue]

I once had someone ask me, in all seriousness, if rabbits crawl up trees. 

Well, do they? 

Yes, they do.  They can't climb up straight smooth barked trees, though.  They have been sighted up to 20 feet up in the air.  They use low hanging branches and their sharp claws to get up that high.  Apparently they do this a lot during droughts in order to get to food.

Wow. I didn't know that! 

[dawnfire]

I once had someone ask me, in all seriousness, if rabbits crawl up trees. 

Well, do they? 

Yes, they do.  They can't climb up straight smooth barked trees, though.  They have been sighted up to 20 feet up in the air.  They use low hanging branches and their sharp claws to get up that high.  Apparently they do this a lot during droughts in order to get to food.

Wow. I didn't know that! 

neither did I and I've kept rabbits. I do know that rabbits can swim though

[Elfmama]

I once had someone ask me, in all seriousness, if rabbits crawl up trees. 

Well, do they? 

Yes, they do.  They can't climb up straight smooth barked trees, though.  They have been sighted up to 20 feet up in the air.  They use low hanging branches and their sharp claws to get up that high.  Apparently they do this a lot during droughts in order to get to food.

Wow. I didn't know that! 

neither did I and I've kept rabbits. I do know that rabbits can swim though

Of course they can swim!  Doesn't anybody else remember when the Rabbit of Doom* tried to swim out to the rowboat containing US President Jimmy Carter?  He had to fight it off with a paddle!

*No doubt it was related to the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. 

[ladyknight1]

It has big, nasty teeth.

[Shalamar]

I had my own moment the other day.  My daughter asked if Mexico (not New Mexico) was part of the United States.  I confidently said "Yup", whereupon my husband and other daughter looked at me like I had two heads.  Not my proudest moment!

(Even being Canadian is no excuse for that!)

[Elfmama]

That's OK, Shalamar.  It balances out the people (mostly Americans, so they have NO excuse!) who think that New Mexico isn't part of the US. 

[GlitterIsMyDrug]

That's OK, Shalamar.  It balances out the people (mostly Americans, so they have NO excuse!) who think that New Mexico isn't part of the US.

Someone was once explaining to me that New Mexico was like Puerto Rico. Not a state, but a territory of the US. She was very patient in explaining this to me since I was naive enough to believe it was actually a state. Apparently anything with "New" before it was territory. Betcha didn't know that New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire people.

Also Alaska is over by Hawaii because it's like that on maps. You know the pull down maps in classrooms where there isn't enough room to stick it at the top of Canada where it goes so they stick it down in the corner. Yes Alaska is island paradise...with a lot of snow.

[jaxsue]

It has big, nasty teeth.

I see what you did there. 

[gramma dishes]

...   Also Alaska is over by Hawaii because it's like that on maps. You know the pull down maps in classrooms where there isn't enough room to stick it at the top of Canada where it goes so they stick it down in the corner. Yes Alaska is island paradise...with a lot of snow.

You know, you're not alone in that.  My youngest daughter thought pretty much the same thing.  I think she knew that Alaska was north rather than by Hawaii, but she thought it was an island not connected to anything.  And she thought that for the same reason.  It was shown on maps as being separated from any land mass whatsoever.

I think schools should make much more use of globes.  With them you can see the relative sizes of things more easily and what's connected to what!! 

Edited to add:  She was in COLLEGE when she finally figured it out!!   

[ladyknight1]

We weren't told this, but from looking at the world maps in my elementary and junior high schools, it appeared North America was the largest continent and that the United States was bigger than all other nations.

I later learned of US ethnocentric maps and now know how we relate to other nations. I wish the relativity of the US to the world had been taught in school.

[Shalamar]

That reminds me of the lesson taught to the children in Anna and the King - one of the princess is outraged and says "Siam is NOT that small!".

[TootsNYC]

My BIL was in college when DH & I got married. We were all living in NYC at the time (they'd grown up here) but the wedding was in my hometown in the Midwest.

My BIL asked if he needed to bring his passport. DH told him yes.

This was also the kid who wanted someone to take him to the airport immediately after the wedding so he could come home right away.
   I had to lay out for him the idea that he was asking someone in the bride's or the groom's families to leave the party, drive two hours there, and two hours back.

[Slartibartfast]

We weren't told this, but from looking at the world maps in my elementary and junior high schools, it appeared North America was the largest continent and that the United States was bigger than all other nations.

I later learned of US ethnocentric maps and now know how we relate to other nations. I wish the relativity of the US to the world had been taught in school.

Excellent scene from West Wing about this.  I kinda hope this catches on.