Am I the only person who didn't know this?

My first iOS device was an iPad, I got it in May 2010. I taught myself how to use it, using a variety of resources, many from this very site. I remember learning the one-flick up, down, left and right gestures. Then I moved on to two-finger swipes up and down and then the three-finger swipes left and right - this is where I made my big mistake. I think it is reasonable to assume a one-finger flick right or left should be done roughly horizontally. Equally, I think most people would expect a one-finger flick up or down to be performed roughly vertically. So, when I came to perform a three-finger swipe right, I did the following - I turned my hand through ninety degrees and placed three fingers vertically on the screen and swiped them to the right. It worked perfectly and I was away for the next three years and more. Imagine my surprise therefore, when talking to a new iOS user who asked me if you do the three-finger swipe horizontally or vertically. "Oh, vertically I replied," with total confidence. "Although, I've not actually tried it vertically," I added. Am I the only person who didn't see what happened next coming a mile off? Of course, it worked the other way to and as I've found, it is far easier to do a three-finger swipe right or left if you don't mess about turning your wrists through ninety degrees! To those I've worked with over the past three years, I can only say this, it's an easy mistake to make, isn't it? So, is this news to anyone else or am I the only one? JT