Common Knowledge: Difference between revisions

* The entire genre has a few:

** What was the first anime? ''[[Astro Boy (anime)|Astro Boy]]'', of course! All fans of the genre know ''that!'' Except, it wasn't. While the 1963 anime was groundbreaking in many ways and set the standard for the genre for decades to come, it is no more the first anime than ''[[Gundam]]'' was the first anime to have [[Humungous Mecha]]. What ''was'' the first? Well, depends a lot how you define "anime". If one defines it as "Japanese animation", there was a three-second short called ''Kazato Sashin'' that features a boy drawing Kanji and bowing. This was believed to have come from ''way'' back in 1907, predating ''Astro Boy'' by over five decades.

** In the other movie, it ''is'' stated by one of the Buff Clan protagonists such. This can be dismissed as hyperbolic enthusiasm, however.

*** Not in [[Super Robot Wars]]; Ideon snuffs out all life save for Keisar Ephes.

* According to most people, Shana of ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'' and Louise of ''[[The Familiar of Zero]]'' are equals personality wise. Except they're not, at all. Shana starts rather rough but becomes nicer, less [[Tsundere]] and more [[Defrosting Ice Queen]] (this is technically the original definition of a tsundere, but that's neither here nor there). At points she's more of a Type 2 [[Tsundere]], but in general she veers towards nice. In the other hand, Louise is a Type 1 tsundere through and through, and a rather harsh one at that (But she has her sweet moments too, mind). Yet despite the obvious disparity, people will treat them as the same. In all fairness, this is more [[J.C.Staff]]'s fault, who after the success of ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'' decided to play Louise's physical similarities by giving her [[Rie Kugimiya|Shana's voice]], despite being completely different kind of tsunderes, as said. It's even better when [[Hayate the Combat Butler|Nagi]] and [[Toradora!|Taiga]] are thrown on the mix: While Taiga is indeed a lot like Shana (Only not an [[Action Girl]] because her show isn't about fighting), Nagi is a regular Type 2 [[Tsundere]] as well as a [[Gamer Chick]] and a [[Otaku Surrogate]]; once again, little to do with Shana and nothing to do with Louise. Yet still all four are treated as the exact same character, and all because they're all long-haired, flat-chested, have [[Zettai Ryouiki]] and share a voice actress!

* In regards to the ''[[Digimon]]'' series many people will refer to fanfics that are supposed to be a sequel to ''02'' (or sometimes even ''[[Digimon Tamers|Tamers]]'') as "Digimon (Adventure) 03". While technically correct, it's not right for the reason people think it is: "02" in "''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]''" refers to the ''year'' in which the story takes place (2002; ''[[Digimon Adventure|Adventure]]'' took place in 1999, three years before); thus "03" would actually be a story in 2003.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'' it is common knowledge that the Mist village, during its "Bloody Mist" days at least, had a policy of exterminating bloodline users, and that Madara was the [[Man Behind the Man]] in this village and orchestrated these genocides because he deemed them inferior to the Uchiha bloodline. Neither of these things are true- bloodline users were persecuted, yes, but by ordinary people in the Water country and elsewhere, not by the Hidden Mist village (which is only ''part of'' the Land of Water as its ninja village); and the idea that Madara has a problem with non-Uchiha users is based on a popular fan theory, due to his [[Motive Rant]] to Sasuke where he blames the Senju clan for persecuting and betraying the Uchiha clan, even though it was largely his fault, and tells Sasuke about how superior the Uchiha were. Fans put two and two together and assumed he was an Uchiha supremacist, even though much of his rant was mixed in with [[Blatant Lies]] and was transparently designed to mess with Sasuke's mind. Haku's mother was killed by her father, and Kimmimaro's clan was killed by the Mist only when they attacked it, which they only did because they were a clan of [[Stupid Evil]] [[Blood Knight]]s. Madara has never shown a flicker of hatred for bloodlines in general and the Mist, being a Hidden Ninja Village, most probably had a policy of ''collecting'' them- the current Mizukage is actually a user herself (twice over). This one is quite egrarious as even a lot of Real True Fans actually believe this. The fact that {{spoiler|Tobi is not really Madara at all and only allowed people to ''think'' he was for a time}} does not help this.

** Iwa is claimed to hate Minato and will kill anytime even related to him despite the fact that he's dead. It's usually the reason why Naruto's parentage is hidden. The Fourth Hokage has never even been mentioned by any Iwa Shinobi. What Iwa had was a "flee on sight" order regarding Minato during the last Shinobi War (when Iwa and Konoha were on opposing sides), because [[Person of Mass Destruction|Minato was too powerful for any of them to stand a chance against]], with the possible exception of [[Old Master|the Tsuchikage]]. This doesn't indicate any grudge against him, just a tactical judgement that it's never wise to fight the [[One-Man Army]] on his own terms.

* [[The Flash|Barry Allen]] snapped Professor Zoom's neck during his wedding to Fiona Webb, his second wife, not Iris West who had already been dead for quite some time in the comics and real life by the time of the story. Since Barry and Iris are a classic comic [[OTP]] most people are totally unaware of the fact that Barry had other women in his life.

* While everyone thinks of Clark Kent changing into his [[Superman]] clothes in a [[Phone Booth]], the truth is that [http://www.supermanhomepage.com/other/other.php?topic=phonebooth he's hardly ever done so in the actual comics]. He does, however, do so in the [[Superman Theatrical Cartoons]], which, incidentally, was also where Superman first truly "flew".

 

== [[Film]] ==

** Also, despite what some claim, it is ''not'' a historical fiction. It mostly concerns events that, at the time, were recent and could have been witnessed by its first readers.

* “The Road Less Traveled” by [[Robert Frost]] is quite possibly the most misunderstood poem in literary history. [[Discussed Trope| Most believe]] it is about not adhering to conformity and taking the choice ''you'' want to take, even if it is unpopular, because that will “make all the difference”. In truth, the narrator’s description of the two roads indicates he ''first'' thought the one he took "was grassy and wanted wear" but then he realized there was really little difference between them. He is now wondering if he made the right choice, wondering what might have occurred had he taken the other path (which he had wanted to explore later, but never got a chance to), and whether his life might have been better if he had. If anything, the narrator is saying that life had many opportunities, but there just isn’t time to experience them all.

 

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==

* Common Knowledge from ''[[Star Trek]]'':

** The only thing everyone knows about Vulcans from ''[[Star Trek]]'' (apart from the pointy ears) is that they have no emotions. They in fact have very ''strong'' emotions -- often described as more powerful than those of humans, to the point that, when combined with their strength, it led to ''anarchy that nearly destroyed them.'' This is why their culture now encourages all Vulcans to suppress emotion and act on logic. Their stoic nature is cultural, not genetic.

** Every Trekkie knows that ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' was the first spin-off, right? Ahem, wrong, on both counts. A lot of the more dedicated Trekkies remember the animated series, though technically this might have been intended as a continuation of the original series. Regardless, the fact that it tends to be forgotten is something of a shame, as compared to other cartoons at the time, it was a pretty good one. It was not only the first series in the franchise to win an Emmy, but some diehard fans claim that animation removed a lot of limits that held live action back and resulted in stories and plots ''even better'' than the series that preceded it. (''Some'' diehard fans, by the way, [[This Troper]] is ''not'' getting involved in the argument, but it exists.)

** Who was the first female Captain on ''Star Trek''? [[Star Trek: Voyager| Captain Janeway]], of course. Well... only if you count protagonists. Not counting female Captains who made cameos, the first female Federation captain to play an important role was the unnamed Captain of the U.S.S. ''Saratoga'' (''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'') and there was also Captain Rachel Garret from the ''Next Generation'' episode "Yesterday's Enterprise". In fact, if villains count, [[Evil Is Sexy|the Romulan Commander]] from "The Enterprise Incident" might be considered the first.

** Not every episode involved the castaways trying to escape the island, only about a third of them. Many episodes dealt with them trying to avoid being killed by tropical storms or some other threat, while a surprisingly large number were about things like having a costume party or a beauty pageant.

** Also, everyone knows that all potential rescues/escapes failed because of Gilligan's screw-ups, and the castaways should've [[Just Eat Gilligan|just eaten Gilligan]], right? Actually, in the 37 episodes that involve some chance of getting off the island, Gilligan is only legitimately "at fault" for the failure 17 times. Screwing up 17 rescues probably ''would'' make you unpopular, granted, but there were also a large number of episodes where Gilligan ''saves'' the castaways from disaster, or headhunters, or some other deadly peril. There are also several instances where the escape plan was fatally flawed, but the flaw wasn't noticed ''until'' Gilligan had "screwed it up", inadvertently saving their lives.

* Many people still think that [[Warrant]] hated the song "Cherry Pie." This isn't actually true. It is true it was something they wrote quickly, but they don't hate it and have said as much. The songwriter just flipped out during an interview because his life was falling apart at the time during the question about that particular song.

* Fans of [[The Beatles]] often chuckle at the old story that claims Dick Rowe, the A&R representative for Decca Records, failed to sign the band because he felt rock and roll was just a flash-in-the-pan fad that wouldn’t last, causing Decca to miss out on what would have been the greatest deal in their history. Except this never happened. Rowe was not even at the Beatles audition, and it was the band’s own Brian Epstein (the “fifth” member of the band) who rejected Rowe’s offer to print records using Epstein’s funding.

 

== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==

** Of the four horsemen of the first four seals, only Death's role is made explicit. War and Famine are identified by the first carrying a large sword and going off to make war and sow strife, and the second holding a scale while a voice behind him cites hugely inflated grain prices and warns against touching pricier goods. Fair enough. Pestilence is thornier, and indeed, to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches the first horseman is "Conquest," since he identifies himself as a conqueror; other traditions have him as Christ himself or the Antichrist. Since conquest and war are so closely related, however, a minority of theologians came to the conclusion that this is the metaphorical conqueror of "Pestilence," and this idea somehow stuck.

*** Truthfully, however, only Death is officially named in [[Book of Revelation]]. The other names come from the task and purpose they are assigned.

** Everyone ''knows'' that the Mark of Cain was a curse placed upon Cain by God. Except that, if you actually read the story, it isn't. God cursed Cain, then when Cain complained that on top of that anyone he met would kill him, God ''blessed'' him with a mark of protection such that any who harmed him would suffer vengeance sevenfold. This countered Cain's objection and ensured that he would only suffer the intended curse.

** Many people believe Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of homosexuality, but the book of Ezekiel (16:49 if you're interested) confirms that they were destroyed for greed and selfishness.

** Lucifer is Satan. There is heavy evidence that the Lucifer mentioned in the Bible is actually King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was also known as the "Bringer of Light" because he literally brought light to the nighttime streets of his city, but who fell into ignoring his responsibilities later in light. There is no indication that there is an angel named Lucifer in the Bible.

** Noah did not just bring two of every animal aboard the ark. He brought two of every ''unclean'' animal, ''seven'' of every clean animal, and ''seven'' of every bird. After all, birds live in flocks, and if you're going to eat some lamb, you'd probably want to take more than two lambs, right?

** Job's wife did not die. His ''children'' all died, and his slaves, but his wife is actually a minor character in her own right (Job's misfortunes all come in the opening chapters).

** The "Biblically accurate angels" meme has led to the increasingly widespread belief that all angels are actually terrifying [[Eldritch Abomination]]s that don't even remotely resemble a human. While this ''is'' true to a degree, it also ignores the many angels that are described as looking explicitly human. Angels come in many shapes and sizes, so the [[Eldritch Abomination]] and humanoid varieties are ''both'' Biblically accurate.

** Everyone knows that the Norseman's version of heaven is Valhalla, a great feast hall where the honored dead spend all day fighting each other (training for Ragnarok) and all night partying with Odin and the Valkyries. But that's actually only half-true. Asgard actually had ''two'' palaces for the honored dead, the other one being Sessrúmnir, Frigga's hall. Presumably, this was similar to Valhalla, but seeing as very little surviving texts give any detail of it, Valhalla gets all the attention.

** Loki was a full-blooded jotun, not a half-jotun, and he was not blood-related to any of the Asgardians. This notion probably got started by ''[[The Mighty Thor]]'' (but was correctly portrayed in the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]]).

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

** This is explicitly stated in the two parter "Do the Handicapped go to Hell?" and "Probably". The episodes, although they portray fundamentalism and "fire and brimstone" preaching in a negative light, clearly Sister Ann, who argues that "if people are good, they can get into Heaven" is portrayed as the [[Only Sane Man]] and even [[Jesus]] comes in later and reiterates this message.

* Krang from the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)|1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'']] was not a Utrom. It's true his appearance was ''inspired'' by the Utroms, but he is himself a disembodied brain from another dimension. The Utroms are brain like creatures from another planet. Both Krang ''and'' the Utrom were inspired by a race of aliens in the original comic that were simply called "TGRI aliens".

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* Just about everything people today know about King John of England is common knowledge, he was actually a very skilled diplomat and general and under him England was bigger then it had been under any king since the House of Danes ruled and would not be that big again until the house of Stewart. He was able to get most of Ireland to recognize him as lord, and also took significant land in Wales and Scotland which England continued to hold for centuries. He also did not inherit any French land, his brother King Richard had lost all of it to King Philip II of France by the time John became King. He was able to retake most of them and then lose them again a couple times (they were finally given up by his son Henry III). He also inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine after his mother died meaning that he actually had more French land then when he started. He was also able to re-establish England’s independence form the Holy Roman Empire which it had become a vassal state of under Richard. John also was considered to be to kind and friendly with the Jews which was one of the things his enemies used to rally against him. He also was not tricked or forced to sign the Magna Carta. It was a peace agreement between him and rebellious Lords that he did not want to fight with because he was preparing to invade France. However they then changed the treaty after it was signed to give them more power and authority then was agreed to and so King John had it null and voided by the Pope. The fact that no other king was named John was not a slight against him but an unfortunate coincidence as three crown princes were named John. He did not receive his [[Historical Villain Upgrade]] until about 500 years after he died when somebody decided to make him the antagonist of [[Robin Hood]] (who had previously been fighting his grandson King Edward). About the only thing that people know about him that was true is he increased taxes on the nobles, which were a necessity as he needed a bigger army for the bigger kingdom and also had to pay a lot of people for his brother mistakes like getting captured and held for ransom by the Holy Roman Empire.

* Columbus did not prove the world was round. There is ''no'' record of a mainstream, educated Christian believing the Earth to be flat, and many to the contrary. Some early civilizations believed it to be flat or rectangular, but in every culture informed by Pythagoras, this has been a fringe theory. Seafaring cultures had long known about the curious phenomenon of not seeing another ship's lower hull if they were far away enough. This is because of ''the curvature of the earth'' - and you can see it on land in the right places too.

: The ''Chinese'' held onto the theory much longer, since unlike the Europeans, they didn't travel much by sea, nor have very much contact with those who did; maybe if Columbus had been right about the circumference of the Earth (which, against the science of the time, he conveniently thought was about one Pacific Ocean less - the ''real'' reason he couldn't get funding) and the sparsity of Western land, he'd have told ''them''.

* The general consensus on the 2007 [[Scandalgate|Spygate]] scandal is that the New England Patriots are cheaters. In actuality, the Patriots were found guilty of recording the New York Jets' defensive signals ''from an illegal location'' (i.e., the sidelines). Also, Super Bowl-winning coaches Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Dick Vermeil, and Mike Shanahan admitted to doing the same thing.

* The [[wikipedia:Tueller Drill|Tueller Drill]] is about the average distance at which someone with a '''holstered''' gun can successfully draw and shoot before an assailant with a melee weapon can reach him, and by corollary, the distance at or below which a melee assailant can close to land an attack before said would-be gunman can make his. Somewhere along the line, it somehow (d)evolved into the notion of a melee attacker being able to invert [[Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight]] at a distance below that; given that there is still a high likelihood of being able to complete the draw-and-shoot despite injury and that [[No Range Like Point-Blank Range|a gunshot will still do at least as much damage up close]], this is not the case. It definitely does not say anything about trying to close with an active shooter, but from the way the story has mutated, one could be forgiven for thinking it did.

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[[Category:Did Not Do the Research]]

[[Category:Double Standard]]