You can’t trust everything you hear. But people sometimes talk with such confidence that it’s hard not to believe them. Not that they’re necessarily trying to mislead anyone—although, in certain cases, they might be—but most of us simply don’t have the time to double-check every claim we come across. And that’s exactly why some myths keep circulating for years even after they’re debunked. Recently, Reddit user Quiet-Grief asked everyone on the platform to share false “facts” that many still repeat as if they’re common knowledge. The answers that came in highlight just how slippery the “truth” can be.
#21
Israel is defending itself. Wrong they have been ethnically cleansing Palestinians off their ancestral lands for 100 years.
Report
35points
#22
That the lifespan of humans is much, much longer now than in the distant past.
The *mean* lifespan of humans is now longer than in the past because so many fewer of us die in infancy. But hundreds or even thousands of years ago, if you made it past early childhood, you were NEARLY as likely to live to 70- or 80-something as you are today.
People tend to think that since the "average" in say, Biblical times, was something like 40 (give or take), that most people died around 40 years old. In reality, most people died either before their first birthday, or in their 70s. We largely eliminated the infant mortality rate, thus raising the average, but the "lifespan" of a human is only a little longer than it has been for centuries.
The *mean* lifespan of humans is now longer than in the past because so many fewer of us die in infancy. But hundreds or even thousands of years ago, if you made it past early childhood, you were NEARLY as likely to live to 70- or 80-something as you are today.
People tend to think that since the "average" in say, Biblical times, was something like 40 (give or take), that most people died around 40 years old. In reality, most people died either before their first birthday, or in their 70s. We largely eliminated the infant mortality rate, thus raising the average, but the "lifespan" of a human is only a little longer than it has been for centuries.
Report
30points
#24
Kids getting a "sugar high" after eating sugar. It's not real. It doesn't happen.
alasw0eisme:
It's more complicated than that. If you've been fasting, sugar will first make you more alert because you're finally getting glucose. If you eat a lot, then your blood pressure will drop because of digestion and you'll feel tired.
alasw0eisme:
It's more complicated than that. If you've been fasting, sugar will first make you more alert because you're finally getting glucose. If you eat a lot, then your blood pressure will drop because of digestion and you'll feel tired.
Report
26points
#25
Blood is blue
Blood is never blue, even when deoxygenated; it is always red, just darker when lacking oxygen.
Horseshoe crabs do have blue blood though.
Blood is never blue, even when deoxygenated; it is always red, just darker when lacking oxygen.
Horseshoe crabs do have blue blood though.
25points
#27
Cops don't have to tell you that they are cops, especially when undercover. They only have to tell you when they arrest you.
Report
25points
#28
“Looks like Frankenstein”
What they actually mean is Frankenstein’s monster.
This isn’t a “fact” but something that is regularly said incorrectly.
What they actually mean is Frankenstein’s monster.
This isn’t a “fact” but something that is regularly said incorrectly.
Report
24points
#30
That people are left-brain or right-brain dominant. It's not an actual thing.
Report
19points
#31
Bears hibernate. They do not enter into true hibernation but a deep sleep. They do wake up in the winter to feed and poo.
Report
18points
#32
'Don't drink the Kool aid ". It was Flavor Aid.
18points
#33
"If you don't wear a sweater you'll catch a cold"... That's not how that works lol.
Report
17points
#34
That "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" is the full quote.
Report
17points
#36
“Other countries pay the tariffs”.
Opposite_Bag_7434:
This is a generalization at best. A tariff applies to a country of origin typically, and can apply to certain goods. Who pays can vary, sometimes it is the exporter and sometimes it is the importer. But it is not “the country” that pays in either case
Opposite_Bag_7434:
This is a generalization at best. A tariff applies to a country of origin typically, and can apply to certain goods. Who pays can vary, sometimes it is the exporter and sometimes it is the importer. But it is not “the country” that pays in either case
Report
15points
#37
Less and less now fortunately, but the idea that "according to science, bumblebees can’t fly". Sure, if you treat the wings like rigid airplane wings the surface is too small, but they, you know, MOVE their wings.
Report
15points
#39
Your beard grows back thicker after you shave.
Lemonface:
The tips of each individual hair often do grow back thicker (for a time) after shaving. The density of hair/number of follicles producing hair doesn't change, though
Lemonface:
The tips of each individual hair often do grow back thicker (for a time) after shaving. The density of hair/number of follicles producing hair doesn't change, though
Report
10points
#40
Going outside in the cold/rain will give you a nasty cold.
Report
10points