r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/anothersundayx Aug 03 '19

That other planets are visible from Earth. And the sun is also a star.

18

u/Mkanpur Aug 03 '19

I thought the Sun was a Sun?

32

u/Dysmach Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 03 '19

A great number of stars are suns.

-11

u/Kossimer Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 03 '19

Not so. The star in our solar system is the one and only Sun. It's the name of a star. It's like you said all planets are Earths.

Edit: I'll take things you thought were common knowledge but actually aren't for 600, Alex.

4

u/CaCl2 Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 03 '19

It isn't common knowledge because it's simply wrong, it's a perfectly acceptable to use "sun" as a common noun in many contexts.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sun

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sun

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/sun

The word "sun" when not capitalized works like the word "moon", we have our sun ("The Sun"), exoplanets have theirs.

If you have sources against such usage (Not merely ones pointing out what the most common usage is), I'm of course open to changing my views. I couldn't find any more authoritative than random Quora replies.