Things you should know but aren't always brave enough to admit that you don't

Ever been in the midst of a conversation when a common topic comes up that you should know about but don't? In my case, I blame the fact that I went to 5 different schools for middle school (that's 5th through 7th, right? Hmm, another thing I don't know). Hey, I got an incomplete education, what can I say?

I had lunch with Sakun today (former MBA intern extraordinaire, now on her HR rotation) when we were talking about the Hoover Dam and the difference between the "Seven Wonders of the World" and an "engineering marvel".  Who said Microsoft employees have geeky conversations?

The "Wonders of the World" topic is one that comes up with well-traveled retirees and Jeopardy! winners, yet I remained uncomfortable until I could determine what the Seven Wonders are. Having been to the Great Wall and Stonehenge, I was pretty sure that at least one of them qualified, but neither do. In fact, all but one of the 7 have been destroyed.

I think it was the "Tourist Travel Wonders" I had in my head (in which case I have been to 2, but I do think Stonehenge should be on there...and I'm considering coming up with my own list). For my next trick I will attempt to fill in all the state names on a US map.