Stuff you've learnt the hard way

[badgercat]

Never ask a woman about her pregnancy unless she brings it up first.
I been present a couple of times in a group of casual conversation when other people (thank God not me) have asked a woman who appeared pregnant when she was 'due'... and one time the woman was just overweight, and another time the woman has just lost a 6 month stillborn fetus a week before and the husband had to answer for her since she just couldn't speak. That was really bad. A good lesson in discretion.

One of my favorite rules--maybe I read it in a post here, I really don't remember now, so I can't give due credit--is don't assume a woman is pregnant unless you can see a baby crowning.

ETA: I suppose I should add something on topic, as in, something I've learned the hard way!

You can, in fact, get into your top-choice graduate school, with financial aid to boot, after getting dates mixed up and turning your application in ten days past the deadline. I wouldn't recommend this strategy, however.