You Won't Believe These 30+ Ridiculously Simple Things That Somehow Needed Explaining to Grown Adults: 'I wish I was lying'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Sep 1, 2024 9:00 AM EDT

Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, how have you made it this far in life with such little intelligence? For your sake, we hope you haven't. But sometimes you are around a person with so few brain cells, you can't help but mentally facepalm at some of the things that come out of their mouth. 

With that being said, get ready to be amazed (and a little horrified) by these 30+ ridiculously simple things that somehow needed explaining to grown adults. It's like the universe has a twisted sense of humor, testing our collective intelligence with these questions that make us question our own existence. From basic life skills to seemingly obvious concepts, these explanations will leave you scratching your head and wondering how anyone could possibly need to be told such things…let alone adults. Trust us, you won't believe what some people actually need explained to them. Prepare to be both amused and baffled by the sheer absurdity of human nature.

On the flip side, if you need to restore your faith in humanity a bit after reading this piece, check out this next: 25+ Life Hacks That Are So Simple More People Should Know About Them.

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit ⚫• 1 day ago . BlueCaracal What couldn't you believe you had to explain to another adult?
    via u/BlueCaracal
  • 02
    . rosiewayffu • 1d ago Why a room below sea level on a cruise ship would not have a balcony 24K Reply
    via u/rosiewayffu
  • 03
    Velvet Whisperer12 • 1d ago That no matter how much you might want to put a camo pattern on your walls, you (not the paint) have to determine what that pattern looks like and you will also have to purchase multiple cans of paint tinted differently because "camo" doesn't come out of a can that way. 17K Reply
    via u/VelvetWhisperer12
  • 04
    . Aquashinez • 1d ago Volunteered in a charity shop. Lady came to the counter with a top and asked if I could look in the back for one of the same colour but a larger size. Tried to explain we don't do that because we're a charity shop. She insisted that other shops, like H&M, have done that for her. Wouldn't take no for an answer.
    via u/Aquashinez
  • 05
    Eventually I just went in the back for a few minutes, made a cup of tea for a co-worker, and came out saying we don't have any. She got mad at that too. 15K Reply ...
    via u/Aquashinez
  • 06
    LeraViiiiii 1d ago • In regards to the North and South poles, neither is "the one that is always hot." 14K Reply
    via u/LeraViiiiii
  • 07
    Tobias---Funke • 1d ago North is not whichever way you're facing! 13K Reply
    via u/Tobias---Funke
  • 08
    Munchkin-M • 1d ago My husband had to explain to a co- worker that she couldn't take a train from the U.S. to Europe. She insisted she had to because she didn't like flying. 13K Reply
    via u/Munchkin-M
  • 09
    i_hate_stairs • 1d ago That you have to have a printer to print things at home. Tech support, and I wish I was lying. 13K Reply
    via u/i_hate_stairs
  • 10
    . Ariask. 1d ago Edited 1d ago. That New Zealand, the country we were both born, raised and living in, is not in Europe. Edit to answer most of your questions: her reasoning is that when she fills out forms and has to tick a box for her ethnicity, she ticks "New Zealand European". She thought that option was there because we are European and therefore in Europe. I had to explain
    via u/Ariask
  • 11
    to her that just means SHE is of European decent. That her ancestors lived in Europe. I also had to explain that not every New Zealander ticks that box. That there are other ethnicities here too. 13K Reply
    via u/Ariask
  • 12
    ItBeginsAndEndsInYou • 1d ago When I worked at a doctors clinic, I had a lady on the phone wanting to book an appointment to have her flu shot. She specifically asked it to be a telephone appointment. I could not believe that I had to explain to her that we cannot inject her through the phone. 13K Reply ...
    via u/ItBeginsAndEndsInYou
  • 13
    WeAreAllBetty • 1d ago I had to explain to my mom that my daughter was growing in my uterus and not my stomach so the hot sauce on my burrito wasn't going to cause her skin burns. I also explained if she were growing in my stomach, my stomach would certainly cause way worse burns than hot sauce. It
    via u/WeAreAllBetty
  • 14
    was then that I understood why the school nurse had to explain to me in 5th grade why I kept bleeding through my pants every month at school, and not my mom. 13K Reply ...
    via u/WeAreAllBetty
  • 15
    GravityLands2018 • 1d ago Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and Italy is not a town in France. Same guy. My sister dated him for far too long. 9.9K Reply ...
    via u/GravityLands2018
  • 16
    Katastrophiser • 1d ago I worked tech support for an internet provider a few years back. A woman calls in, complaining her wifi isn't working. Go through the normal troubleshooting questions, what's your device, how are you connected, and finally "what can you see on your screen?"
    via u/Katastrophiser
  • 17
    Crazy woman (CW): it's black Me: how do you mean? Are you getting errors? CW: the whole screen is black. Me: have you turned the laptop on? CW: I can't. Me: .... Why not? CW: I've lost the charging cable
    via u/Katastrophiser
  • 18
    Me: ok...uh, do you have another device I can help you connect with? Maybe a tablet or your phone? CW: no, you need to get the laptop reconnected. Me: ...can you go and buy another charging cable? CW: no, you need to send me one. Me: we don't supply them...also we didn't supply you with your laptop, we just provide internet
    via u/Katastrophiser
  • 19
    CW: yes, and now you're not providing me internet, so you need to fix it 40 mins this went on, as my team around me stared in incoherent disbelief that this woman couldn't understand why her internet provider couldn't connect wifi to a computer with now power.
    via u/Katastrophiser
  • 20
    I remember hanging up the phone and putting myself on break. My manager looked at me and told me to take a walk, while barely hiding her unrestrained giggles. 9.5K Reply
    via u/Katastrophiser
  • 21
    Mission_Literature44 • 1d ago Africa is a continent and not a country 9.3K Reply
    via u/Mission_Literature44
  • 22
    Reasonable-Cat5767 • 1d ago That each country does not, in fact, have its own sun. 8.9K Reply
    via u/Reasonable-Cat5767
  • 23
    LoveDistinct • 1d ago It was at work. I had to explain that if they didn't do their job me or the next shift had to. ✰ 5.7K Reply
    via u/LoveDistinct
  • 24
    Dr_Octahedron • 1d ago When you save a file on Windows, the save window actually lets you save the file into a particular folder. You don't have to go into your recent items to find it and then move it to where you want it to be saved. This person had been working an office job at a computer for more than 5 years at that point 4.8K Reply
    via u/Dr_Octahedron
  • 25
    AliHea59 1d ago • That driving north meant the whole trip was uphill. I laughed at her until I realised she meant it, ended up laughing at myself cos there's no way I was going to explain it to her. ✩ 4.6K 4.6K Reply
    via u/AliHea59
  • 26
    • • Anything-Happy 1d ago Edited 1d ago. That her power was shut off because she didn't pay her electric bill for three straight months, and the letters on neon yellow paper from the power company were sent to warn her of this happening. She thought she was legally entitled to free electricity because "it's al requirement for human survival."
    via u/Anything-Happy
  • 27
    Edit to add: She wasn't in need. She worked a very well-paying job, and she enjoyed shopping for expensive things. This was not one of those situations where she needed assistance or mercy. She needed a foot lodged firmly in the backside, and the power company put on its boots. 4.1K ☐ Reply
    via u/Anything-Happy
  • 28
    Throwaway03461 • 1d ago That raw meat juices, especially that of chicken, should in no way come in contact with other foods. I learned this in 8th grade home ec, so I was 13 years old. I had to explain to a 40-year old that no, you can't put grilled chicken back on an unwashed cutting board that still has raw chicken juices. 4K Reply
    via u/Throwaway03461
  • 29
    Pirate-Legitimate • 1d ago I was picking up Italian Liras one time (1999 pre Euros) from a bank in Tennessee. The teller brought me the envelope. When I opened it to count the money, she looked at me with total surprise and asked, "Do other countries. have different money?" A bank teller. ☐ 3.8K Reply
    via u/Pirate-Legitimate
  • 30
    sicksages . 1d ago I had to explain to my two coworkers that it wasn't some magic fairy that was throwing away their coffee cups. They were joking around one day that their (old) coffee cups always disappeared by the next day and I had to tell them it was me and that I had to start doing it because they kept getting left in the way and being knocked over. I was off for a few days and came back and there were cups everywhere. 3.6K Reply
    via u/sicksages
  • 31
    • Miezchen 1d ago Edited 4h ago . Used to work at a daycare. One day a little mouse entered the premises and caused an uproar until we caught and released it in the playground. After the whole ordeal, one of my colleagues (who was the dumbest person I've ever met) said: "let's hope it didn't lay eggs anywhere!"
    via u/Miezchen
  • 32
    I was too stunned to speak and just stared at her, while my room leader/friend said, in the most done- with-this-shit way: "Mice don't lay eggs, <name>." and walked off. EDIT: I love how so many people in these replies are trying to find a different interpretation of what she must have meant, or say that she must have been joking :D but no, unfortunately I have to tell you she was 100% of the opinion that mice lay eggs because she even doubled down about it later. ✰ 3.6K 3.6K Reply
    via u/Miezchen
  • 33
    annotatedkate . 1d ago I had to explain to a restaurant worker that eggs are not dairy. Chickens do not have mammary glands. Someone who is allergic to dairy can eat eggs and chicken. Mayonnaise, containing eggs and oil, is therefore not dairy. She was looking at me like I was the stupid one, the whole time. 3.5K 3.5K Reply
    via u/annotatedkate
  • 34
    oooJuicyOoo • 1d ago That dogs are artificially bred, and that there aren't wild golden retrievers, wild chihuahuas, and wild Maltese just running about that we're catching to make into pets. ✰ 3.5K Reply
    via u/oooJuicyOoo
  • 35
    blueschists 1d ago . that the aztecs and incans are not interchangeable, they were in completely different parts of the americas, and that neither of them built the nazca lines, but especially not the aztecs, who were not in fucking peru this person kept trying to tell me it was "up to interpretation" like no its not!!! its geography 3.5K Reply ...
    via u/blueschists
  • 36
    . ChoirBoyCompared ToMe 1d ago The difference between Chinese and Japanese people. 3.3K Reply
    via u/ChoirBoyComparedToMe
  • 37
    smashisbeast • 1d ago incremental tax brackets. a dude at my work thought he was going to make less money if he got a raise 2.9K Reply
    via u/smashisbeast
  • 38
    Merry Melody-Symphony • 1d ago I talked about this before and will until the end of days because this man deserves to be shamed. A 23 year-old man, who had the right to vote, who had a driving license, who had a job, and could get married and start a family... THOUGHT PEOPLE WERE HANGING THE MOON IN THE SKY.
    via u/MerryMelody-Symphony
  • 39
    Like, the moon, Earth's natural satellite, was being hung on the sky like... a painting on a wall? I'm still reeling over that one. This man had gone to school, had a formal education and was actually going to college. He learned about that in primary school! And the kicker? I was the one to explain it to him, because I was his girlfriend at the time.
    via u/MerryMelody-Symphony
  • 40
    And let me tell you, things unraveled real fast when I started paying attention and saw through the smokescreen. Dude was willfully ignorant, and bone- dead stupid on top of it. He was really, really good at hiding it. I dropped him like the mess he was and dived into more and more books to compensate the loss of brain matter I suffered from going out with him. ✰ 2.5K Reply
    via u/MerryMelody-Symphony
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    Cheezburger Image 10395207424
    via Andrea Piacquadio

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