Among the things that I used to know were area codes. The phone rang; I see the unidentified caller and the number, starting with 513. And I tell my daughter, “It’s from Ohio.” And it was.
What’s no longer true, thanks to changes in telephony, is the area code limitations. It used to be that area codes in the United States and Canada, the middle digit had to be 0 or 1. And the last digit was never 0 except for the toll-free 800 calls.
So I can tell you that 205 is an area code in Alabama. Back in the second season of American Idol, Ruben Studdard had a 205 shirt. But I had no idea that the state now has 251, 256, 334, and 938.
If the fourth digit of a seven-digit number were 9, there was a good chance it was a payphone. Youngsters, you should go to a museum and see one of these contraptions.
Countries
I was pretty good with countries and capitals. But that’s pretty much limited to their configurations prior to about 1975. So if the country split in two, such as Czechoslovakia, I might know that Czechia’s capital is Prague and Slovakia’s is Bratislava.
But the former Yugoslavia or those Asian countries in the former Soviet Union, not so much. I can suss out the countries through convoluted mnemonics, but the capitals don’t stick to the mind.
(I did get this recent JEOPARDY clue watching the Tournament of Champions that none of the contestants answered. Category: 1921. “Alexander I became ruler of the kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which would soon be renamed this.”)
Moons
As I’ve noted, my father painted the solar system on the ceiling of my bedroom when I was a kid. I believe there were 12 moons for Jupiter, 9 for Saturn, 5 for Uranus, 2 for Neptune, and 1 for Pluto.
But now, we know Jupiter has 79, Saturn 82, Uranus 27, Neptune 12, and Pluto 5. At least Mars still has two, the Earth only 1, and none for Venus or Mercury.
And other stuff
Last I checked, there were 103 elements. Now, there are 118. Nihonium (element 113)? Flerovium (element 114)?If you insist.
While I can learn new stuff – I work on knowing the Cabinet members, e.g. – some changing facts remain beyond my grasp.