CuriositiesOCT 4, 2021

30 Myths That Widely Circulate As Truth, According To This Viral Thread

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It’s no secret that it’s been getting increasingly hard to separate facts from fiction. With so much chaos, fake news, conspiracies and whatnot surfing around the media, it’s easy to lose your own standpoint.

But believing nonsense, aka myths, is part of (often flawed) human nature. In fact, people believed all kinds of crazy things a long time before the pandemic hit, and ridiculous beliefs, like that when you get a covid vaccine, you get injected with a microchip, started spreading much like the virus itself.

So when someone asked “what myth is still widely circulated as truth?” on r/AskReddit, the 33.2k responses came flowing in. We selected some of the most eye-opening ones that debunk so-called common knowledge that turns out to be anything but knowledge!

#1

30 Myths That Widely Circulate As Truth, According To This Viral Thread

A lot of people still believe a woman sued McDonald’s because her coffee was hot. In reality, the woman had 3rd-degree burns throughout her pelvic area and only asked that her medical bills be paid.

staugh3

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289points

#2

If you work hard at school and get good grades you'll get a good job and enjoy a stable life.

Ben716, vazovsky

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285points

#3

That diamonds are rare and therefore should be expensive, that is just a myth perpetrated by the de beers diamond cartel.

Herrjulias, Edgar Soto

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266points

Many myths widely circulate as truth in our society, as this post has shown us all. And while some of them go about their ways for years and years after someone finally disproves them, other myths turn into full-blown fake news and conspiracies that can do a lot of harm.

Take anti-vaxxers, who vehemently avoid vaccines on the premise that they are dangerous and unhealthy. With the rise of the internet, they’ve organized into massive affirming echo chambers on forums like the Vaccine Resistance Movement. Researchers say that many conspiracies, just like covid denialism and anti-vaccination, are nothing new and they are all the result of fear and distrust. Think of 9/11 conspiracies surfing on the internet forums that were basically fueled by the lack of faith in the government.

#4

That you have to wait for 24h before you can report a missing person. If someone is missing, go get help!

radiusmcfly, Erik Mclean

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263points

#5

Bulls hate red. They are actually colour blind and are reacting to the movement of the cloth and the a**hole behind it.

pumperthruster, Giovanni Calia

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260points

#6

The mystery of how the pyramids were built. They know how they were built. Ramps, pulleys, ropes, and labor.

MedicalWelder, Leonardo Ramos

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226points

So in order to find out how exactly conspiracy theories work and why some people are more prone to believing them than others, we spoke with Annika Rabo, a professor emeritus of the Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University.

“Conspiracy theories can be understood as a response to the question: why are bad things happening to me (or my family, my ‘group,’ my country.) In conspiracy theories there is no room for chance but BAD THINGS happened because of the evil plotting of hidden actors out to harm,” the professor explained.

#7

If an HIV-positive person has sex with another HIV-positive person, they don’t have to worry about protection. They do, because there are 140 different strains of the HIV/AIDS virus, and getting infected with another strain, especially a potentially deadlier one, could be dangerous. Also, pregnancy is still a very big risk for HIV-positive women. If you are considering a sexual relationship, get tested, and talk to your doctor about birth control.

PaulfussKrile, NIAID

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220points

#8

people believe in the whole alpha and beta wolves thing

It’s not true. The “leaders” of the pack are the parents.

-in natural wolf packs, the alpha male or female are merely the breeding animals, the parents of the pack, and dominance contests with other wolves are rare if they exist at all.

rawsugar87, Eric Kilby

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218points

#9

The Food Pyramid

WCGWjoiningReddit, bigbrand .

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211points

Prof. Rabo said that there may be a few reasons why people are prone to conspiracies. “Some researchers claim that people who are less able to handle uncertainties are more prone to embrace conspiracy theories. Other researchers claim that people embracing conspiracy theories are evenly distributed in the population.” Having said that, she added that “populations in stable democracies in North and West Europe have until now been less prone to embrace conspiracy theories of a political nature.”

#10

The Bible.

211points

#11

That washing chicken gets it rid of bacteria. No. Cooking chicken gets rid of bacteria, given that you do it well. Washing chicken, on the other hand, can contaminate your whole kitchen with salmonella.

Peterthemonster, JK Sloan

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202points

#12

That goldfish have a 6 second memory. I mean it's still not great, I think like a couple of months. But still... Get your fish a bigger damn tank

SilverRabbit1, Ahmed Hasan

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175points

When it comes to the conspiracy theories we notice now in the pandemic period, Prof. Rabo said that they are not really different from earlier ones. “They involve hidden agents who are either evil outsiders or insiders. The suspicion against vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies is not new. What is new is the fact that news and conspiracy theories are spread VERY quickly across vast distances today,” she explained.

“The basic elements—the theme—of conspiracy theories are fairly constant, but the elements differ and if they do not resonate with local conditions, they will disappear or evolve into new elements,” the professor concluded.

#13

That you can tell if someone is a "virgin" by looking at their hymen to see if it is "intact."

TravelBookly, orzalaga

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172points

#14

That whole "you eat seven spiders a year" myth. It was created by some lady in the late 90s or early 2000s to prove that ridiculous things can be found on the internet, spread like wildfire, and believed by many.

JasaProxy, Vidar Nordli-Mathisen

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169points

#15

That cold is caused by lower temperatures. The cold is a virus that transmits between people.

Edit: a lot of people are saying that cold temperatures weaken the immune system and thus indirectly make you more susceptible, and while it’s true, the direct cause for common colds is caused by human contact.

reddit, Annie Spratt

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169points