26 Random, Useful, And Unexpected Things People Learned From Movies And TV Shows

Shoutout to Michael Scott and The Office for lifesaving advice.

We recently asked members of our BuzzFeed Community to tell us the unexpected things they learned from movies and TV shows. Here's what they said!

1. "Sabrina the Teenage Witch taught me what mitosis is."

ABC

"There was a running joke where they kept getting interrupted while they were trying to study and didn't say it until the end of the season. My friend and I got really cocky when we got to high school and already knew what it meant."

—michellel44a4b8dd2

"It took a whole season for them to spit it out – I've never forgotten to this day.""

—rossypop89

2. I learnt what military time was from Friends.

NBC

"Every time I see a 24hr clock instead of a 12hr one, my brain immediately goes “just subtract 12.”

—lou84

youtube.com

3. "The Office taught me that CPR compressions can be done to the beat of 'Stayin' Alive.'"

NBC

"People have even reported to the actors that they saved someone's life because they knew that fact, and it was very important to the show that they gave the correct information. The woman who plays the first aid teacher wasn't an actor, that was her actual job!"

—l47925083b

youtube.com

4. "On an episode of Full House, Danny's girlfriend at the time is a dry cleaner and she told him that hairspray removes ink stains. It works!"

ABC

"I remember that to this day, and use it when I get ink on my clothes!"

—sra18

5. "I didn't know about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre until I saw Watchmen last year."

HBO

"It suddenly became more widely known in 2020, and I attribute it to the show exposing it as recent racial strife. I had never heard of the event until Watchmen, and then it was recognised by mainstream national news."

—daniellet4e464cff0

"It’s incredibly sad and frustrating to learn about such a monumental part of American history from a TV show, but it opened my eyes that the education I got in school was severely lacking in many areas."

—laurenmhughes27

youtube.com

6. "The Big Bang Theory taught me about Schroedinger's Cat."

CBS

"When I brought it up in a physics class, my professor did a double-take because he wasn't expecting the question."

—danitheawkpenguin

youtube.com

7. "Before I watched Call the Midwife, I had no idea about afterbirth and the placenta..."

BBC

"I genuinely thought you just produced a cute little potato. Ignorance was definitely bliss."

—doremimimi

8. "I know that the tip of your shoelace is called an aglet because of Phineas and Ferb."

Disney Chanenel

"Thank you, Phineas and Ferb!! A-G-L-E-T don't forget it."

—thatboleyngrl

—frenchfriesandramen2007

youtube.com

9. I learned from Grey's Anatomy that when you breathe in through your nose, it opens your nasal passage."

ABC

"When you get a nose swab COVID test, breathe deeply through your nose as it goes in, exhale while they leave it, and breathe deep again when they pull it out."

—0621

10. "Bruce Almighty taught me to spell 'B-E-A-utiful.'"

Buena Vista International

"I’m 30 and still rely on it."

—ohitsonlyliz

youtube.com

11. "Miss Congeniality taught me how to get away from an attacker with 'S.I.N.G: solar plexus, instep, nose, and groin.'"

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I had to use it once and I'm pretty sure it saved my life."

—cma365

youtube.com

12. "My nephew learned to recognise the letters of the alphabet when he was only two years old. My mother babysat him and while watching him she also watched Wheel of Fortune."

ABC

—caircair

13. "Clueless taught me the word 'sporadic.'"

Paramount Pictures

—lirpayam

14.

youtube.com

15. "It has to be Matilda! It taught me how to spell the word 'difficulty.'"

Sony Pictures Releasing

—nadrak

youtube.com

16. Everything I know about basketball technique is from High School Musical."

Disney Channel

"Thanks to 'Get'cha Head in the Game,' I learned about faking left, breaking right, watching out for the pick, and of course shooting the outside 'J'."

–hanifahrahman

youtube.com

17. "I learned from Legally Blonde that you can’t shower right after getting a perm."

20th Century Fox

"Although I will probably never get a perm, it was good to know."

—peynor

"I know sodium thioglycolate can deactivate your curls if you get your hair wet from Legally Blonde."

—idoncare90

youtube.com

18. "As I am not one who perms, Legally Blonde taught me about endorphins."

20th Century Fox

"Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t."

—clanaew91

youtube.com

19. "I learned how to make a cigarette lighter out of a chewing gum wrapper and a battery from Orange is the New Black."

Netflix

—leannesfitbit79

youtube.com

20. "Hamilton legitimately helped me pass my American history final in junior year of high school."

Disney +

"It taught me so much and I love learning about it. It's in a really fun way of learning, and I'm so grateful because it genuinely did open my eyes to some of the things that happened during the American Revolution."

—lola6

—alexfromjupiter

21. "I learned and use Gratitoad from Big Mouth's method to calm down anxieties."

Netflix

"The show deals with so many emotional problems that both teens and adults face." 

—orenlevko

youtube.com

22. "Miley's bone dance in Hannah Montana taught me all about the names of different bones."

Disney Channel

"Whenever I hear 'Nobody's Perfect,' that's the version I think of first."

–hanifahrahman

youtube.com

23. "I didn't learn that our founding fathers owned slaves until I saw Dazed and Confused."

Gramercy Pictures

"It reflects more on our education system – this is definitely why we need Critical Race Theory."

—dellarock

youtube.com

24. I learned about EFT tapping for anxiety from Jane the Virgin.

The CW

—b481d76f3c

25. "Thanks to Mean Girls, I know that 'jambo' means 'hello' in Swahili."

Paramount Pictures

"I teach Sunday School and one of the songs is set in a safari and they say 'jambo' in the chorus. I knew what to say when one of my students asked what it meant."

—jessieweickert

26. "Most of the English I know, I learned from watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer over and over with English subtitles."

The WB / UPN

"After that, I moved onto other shows and movies and did the same."

—giuliettadec

Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Don't forget to tell us the random things TV shows and films taught you in the comments, and be sure to follow the BuzzFeed Community on Facebook and Twitter!