School was supposed to prepare us for life, right? But looking back, there are definitely some things we spent way too much time learning that haven’t exactly helped us in the real world. From random facts to skills we’ve never used again, here are 13 things we were taught in school that turned out to be pretty useless in everyday life.
1. How to Use a Protractor
Remember that little half-circle tool from geometry class? We spent so much time learning how to measure angles with a protractor, but honestly, when’s the last time you needed to find the angle of a triangle in real life? Unless you’re an architect or an engineer, chances are that protractor is long forgotten.
2. Writing in Cursive
Cursive was such a big deal in school, but fast forward to today, and how often do you actually need to write in cursive? We live in a world of typing and texting. If we’re honest, most of us probably haven’t used cursive since we left school.
3. Memorizing the Periodic Table
Sure, knowing that H₂O is water and that Au stands for gold is cool, but we can’t remember the last time knowing this came in handy. Unless you’re a chemist, how often have you needed to know the atomic number of hydrogen? Thank goodness for Google.
4. The Pythagorean Theorem
“A squared plus B squared equals C squared.” While this formula might have been important in geometry class, let’s be real—no one is reaching for the Pythagorean theorem in real life. Unless you’re working with triangles regularly, most of us haven’t had to solve for the hypotenuse since high school.
5. Dissecting Frogs
Who decided it was necessary to teach us how to dissect frogs? Sure, it gave us a basic understanding of anatomy, but honestly, most of us haven’t had to put that “skill” to use—unless you’re a surgeon or a biologist. It was just a smelly, slimy day in the lab that we’d rather forget.
6. Diagramming Sentences
Breaking down sentences into subjects, predicates, and clauses felt like a weird puzzle back in English class. But no one is actually diagramming sentences in real life, unless maybe they’re a teacher now. It might’ve helped us with grammar, but we definitely aren’t drawing sentence trees on our coffee breaks.
7. Memorizing State Capitals
We all had to memorize the capital of every state, but seriously, how many of us have actually used that knowledge? Other than a random trivia game, there’s not much need to remember that the capital of South Dakota is Pierre. If you forget, your phone’s got your back.
8. Long Division by Hand
Long division was a big deal in elementary school, but now calculators (and phones) do all the heavy lifting for us. It’s great to know how it works, but let’s be honest—it’s not like we’re sitting down and having to divide anything by hand these days.
9. Learning the Names of Dinosaurs
At one point, knowing how to say Triceratops and Brachiosaurus made you the cool kid. But unless you’re a paleontologist or really into dinosaurs, those names haven’t exactly come in handy as an adult. They were fun to learn, though.
10. Playing the Recorder
Ah, the recorder—a staple of elementary school music class. We all squeaked our way through “Hot Cross Buns,” but after that, most of us never touched a recorder again. It’s not exactly the kind of instrument you whip out at parties.
11. Reading Roman Numerals
We spent a lot of time learning Roman numerals, but other than reading movie credits or figuring out the year on old buildings, there’s really not much need for them. Most of us stick to regular numbers, thank you very much.
12. The Order of the Planets
We all learned the order of the planets with a little mnemonic (like “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos”), but unless you’re an astronomer, how often do you really need to list the planets in order? It’s one of those things you learned for a test and promptly forgot.
13. Finding the Area of a Trapezoid
Geometry taught us how to find the area of all kinds of shapes—trapezoids included—but we can’t say that this has ever really come in handy in our adult lives. Unless you’re designing buildings or cutting out fabric, figuring out the area of a trapezoid isn’t exactly a daily skill.
