Bored Panda
45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
CuriositiesJUL 15, 2022

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True

165
27
The scientific community is constantly trying to expose its own mistakes — after all, what is a statement worth if it's never been the subject of scrutiny? However, no matter how hard it tries, some people just don't listen.
Recently, Redditor Jimbo_Jigs asked other platform users to share some myths and misconceptions that many still believe to be true, and they got what they asked for. Not just the classic "vaccines cause autism." Continue scrolling and check out the replies.

#1

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
That vaccines cause autism.
461points

#2

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
Personal carbon footprint or any green initiative which focuses on individual action. BP invented the entire concept during a marketing push to hide the fact that like ~72 companies produce 90% of pollution.
394points

#3

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
The earth being flat. We have literally done studies, taken pictures, boiled all of that down to the level that a kindergartener can understand it, and some idiots still don't get it.
373points

#4

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
To answer the question, vaccines being anything but safe and effective is a hoax that some people believe.
Vaccines are *by far* the medical intervention best-supported by evidence. Tens of billions of vaccines given to billions of people over the course of multiple centuries have proven them to be safe and effective. If you trust *any* part of medicine, you should trust vaccines.
I would hazard a guess that vaccines have saved more lives than every other medical intervention combined.
317points

#5

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
Detox.
B******t, b******t, b******t.
What do you think your liver and kidneys are doing all day? If they weren’t working you would be on a form of detox called dialysis.
edit: To clarify since it might not be obvious, I’m referring to pseudoscience detox teas and pills. Not medically justified detoxification like opioids, alcohol, acetaminophen, etc…
296points

#6

The case of the woman who sued mcdonalds because she spilled hot coffee on herself. The hoax was that it was a frivolous lawsuit, that she was driving while drinking and she spilled the coffee on herself and just didn't like it and sued mcdonalds and won a lot of money. But the reality was that she wasn't driving, the coffee was extremely hot, people had already complained it was too hot, I don't remember how she spilled the coffee, but anyway after spilling just a bit of it on her leg, she got severe burns on her leg and had to go to the hospital and go to the ER. If she had drunk that she could have suffered much more harm. All she wanted was for mcdonalds to pay for her hospital bill, they didn't, and she sued them and won. Then either mcdonalds or it was a corporation that represented a bunch of corporations spread the hoax that some clumsy woman sued and won a lot of money because she spilled her coffee.
Report
293points

#7

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
The Big Lie. The United States election for president was not rigged. There was no fraud in the voting process.
Report
290points

#8

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
"Catching a cold" from cold weather. It's a pathogen. You catch it from people.
Though disease does increase in the winter. It's commonly thought to be due to close quarters indoors and less Vitamin D from the sun, important for the immune system.
283points

#9

Trickle down economics.
279points

#10

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
Crystals. They are just f*****g rocks. There is no scientific evidence proving that they have healing effect. Any possible effects are due to the placebo effect. People will actually go against medical advice because they think holding a crystal will fix all their problems.
268points

#11

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
Scientology
Edit: Scientologists are programmed to reply to this with "dOn'T yOu MeAn ALL ReLiGiOnS?" and try to do the all lives matter thing when someone says black lives matter to dilute the message.
It's the internet age, cultists. We researched your tactics to put yourself on equal footing with actual religions. You are programmed by NLP, get help.
247points

#12

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
Homeopathy. It's water.
239points

#13

That using a tampon can take away a females virginity. It’s crazy that people still believe that myth even though it’s been busted many years ago.
There is not enough evidence that it can take away an individuals virginity. It shouldn’t even matter if your child is a virgin or not. You should love your child no matter what.
Your child should be able to have the right to use tampons when they’re on their period. Not everyone wants to miss out from a chance of going swimming, and not everyone wants to wear a diaper everyday for 7 days straight.
233points

#14

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
That cows just produce milk naturally without being impregnated and giving birth first.
they are simply mammals, and produce milk for the sole purpose of feeding their young.
218points

#15

MLMs, Boss babes, "be your own boss" scams.
I'm not sure how many documentaries need to be put on YouTube before people will stop buying into these companies and wasting their money.
202points

#16

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. They're all equally as important, Kellogg just convinced everyone of that to sell more cereal.
Report
182points

#17

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
That MSG is bad for you.
I meet people regularly that think it's a super insta-cancer ingredient that will cause you to die or something based on 80s/90s false scares. Then I tell them "you do know it naturally occurs on tomatoes, yes?"
180points

#18

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
Lie detectors.
165points

#19

That GMOs cause cancer. Literally no evidence to prove this. Everything that has gone through evolution or adaptation is GMO.
Now there are issues with monoculture, but that's a whole different discussion.
Report
165points

#20

45 Myths And Misconceptions That Some People Mistakenly Believe Are Actually True
We only use 10% or our brain.
151points
165
27