‘When did you realise something obvious to everyone else but you?’ – 21 blindingly obvious facts that people hilariously didn’t see

We can all be a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, misunderstanding things that are complicated or obtuse. But have you ever discovered you have fundamentally failed to grasp something that has always been crystal clear to others?

Over on the AskUK subreddit, user ljdug1 asked: ‘When did you realise something obvious to everyone else but you?’ and followed it up with a wonderful example of their own …

;I was in my forties when I realised that University Challenge was filmed using a split screen and wasn’t in fact one team sat on top of the other. I used to think how cool it would be to be the team on top.’

Luckily, plenty of other people were happy to jump in with reassurances that they had also been similarly dim.

1.

‘That the ordinals after 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc all relate to the word spelled in full (first, second, third…). Had simply never occurred to me!’
–eriometer

2.

‘Used to always open the tomato purée foil with a knife until my wife showed me that the lid/cap is designed for opening it.’
–makjora

3.

‘The double meaning of the charity group Band Aid. It was not just a band giving aid but also implies a Bandaid to help heal something.’
–accio_ballbag

4.

‘It took me quite a while as a kid reading lots of my Grandma’s stuff bored on holidays (she had piles of Readers’ Digest) that Karl was not one of the Marx brothers.’
–One_Loquat_3737

5.

‘I was 25 when I found out that ketamine and the keto diet are not the same thing.’
–ans-myonul

6.

‘When I was about 10 I went to see the HMS victory. Loved it cracking day out. The guy leading the tour was in a modern navy uniform and had his arm in a cast. He spoke about everything in the battle of Trafalgar in the first person.

‘At the very end he asked the group if we had any questions. My dumb ass asked if he hurt his arm fighting with Nelson. I cringe about it now. Utterly oblivious to talking like that as a story telling device that late in life.’
–DaiYawn

7.

‘I was in my 20s before I realised most people don’t have a fake persona they need to put on when they leave the house. I was confused how everyone was able to go out after school/work and socialise with others for hours and hours and not be exhausted at the end of the day.

‘Turns out I’m just autistic.’
–indianajoes

8.

‘Turn keys towards the frame/away from the centre of the door to lock and away from the frame/towards the centre of the door to unlock. So obvious when you think about it but I just thought it was random which way each door worked up until my early 30’s.’
–MissingScore777

9.

‘We were watching a TV show (Shine On Harvey Moon if you’re of my vintage) where a pet snake got loose. The sister (in a dress) shrieked and climbed onto a chair saying, ‘I’m wearing French knickers!’. I didn’t get the joke so mum explained that French knickers didn’t have elastic.

‘I spent years wondering how they stayed up without elastic! It was well into adulthood that I realised the waist was still elasticated, it was just the legs that were ‘open access’.’
–Inner_Farmer_4554

10.

‘I think I was in my teens when I realised the car brand that people were talking about – ‘Mer-say-deez’ – and the words I had seen written down that I read as Merkadess Benz were one and the same.’
–JoinMyPestoCult