At age 18, I was surprised to learn that I did not speak French.
This self-discovery was made in the literal first moments of my college education- my first class on my first day. “Bonjour!” the professor greeted my class. “Bonjour!” I replied cheerfully, opening my notebook and waiting for the English to start. “French frenchez french french frenchez blahzez blah blahz nous!” she continued, handing out syllabi.
L’uh-oh.
Recently, I spent a day helping paint my sister’s new house. My soon-to-be-brother-in-law’s handiest friend, a soft-spoken middle-aged man, had been helping with their renovations for weeks. At the end of the day we all went out to dinner, and he and I made the usual chit-chat you make with people you don’t know very well. I asked what he did for a living, because that’s what one does. I’m not sure what I expected the answer to be. English professor? Retired architect? Artisanal carpenter, maybe?
“Have you ever heard of King Midas?” he responded. “I excavate his father’s tomb in Turkey.”
Oh, ok. Never has “How about you?” been such a loaded question.
Indiana Jones helps my sister do home repairs in his free time. Who knew? And who knows what else would surprise us if we looked at things a little harder? Places, people, and products sometimes have backstories you’d never expect. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites.
A List of Surprises 