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The fingers on my two hands wouldn’t be enough to count how many times I’ve heard that Einstein was bad at school math. Or that bulls go into full-on rage mode when they see red.

Turns out, many of those are just urban myths disguised as common knowledge. So what other nonsense do we, my fellow human beings, all blatantly believe in? This thread on r/AskReddit may give us some answers as people share some of the most annoying myths we all are guilty of trusting in.

Have any annoying myth on your mind to add to this list? Hit us in the comment below!

#1

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That certain animal 'parts' have healing/magical properties. Like tiger whiskers protect the wearer or rhino horn cures impotence and hangovers.

storm_in_a_teapot , Dave Stokes Report

#2

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That vaccines cause autism, are made by the government to control you etc etc.

Bona-fide1 , Gustavo Fring Report

#3

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That gold fish can life in small fish bowls. Worst possible thing to do to them. They die so quickly because they are messy fish and ultimate swimming in toxic water. The need twice the water a regular fish needs to dilute the ammonia their food and waste create. Goldfish can grow up to 12-14 inches and live 10-15 years in a proper habitat! Just because your parents’ parent did this or you see them at the fair doesn’t mean it’s right. Same goes for most animals kept in small cages/tanks. If you aren’t going to do it right, then you should not own that pet. Do your research. End rant ha

icpainsme , lina smith Report

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Tiny Dog
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I won a goldfish at the fair when I was 4 years old. We kept him in a proper aquarium with a bubbler and regularly changed the water. When I was in college, my mom called me to tell me he had died. He was 18 years old.

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Cassie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also that betta live in small pools of water. Their natural habitat is massive canal systems. They can survive in small pools in the dry season, but they do not thrive for long periods of time in small pools. Stop selling them in tiny cups and stop selling tiny habitats for them. They need an absolute minimum of 5 gallons to thrive.

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Raven DeathShade
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once worked as a dog sitter for my next door neighbors. They had a cleaning lady come in every other week, and I would talk to her while she worked. I was telling her about my betta, Sir Peacock, bc he was the best fish. She told me about her bettas, who she kept on the windowsill in the containers they came in until she'd accidentally knock them into hot dish water. I was stunned and horrified. Sir Peacock lived to be four years old and died of old age, after which my 12 inch pleco Leopard died of heartbreak. Or organ failure. I don't know which. (Sir Peacock lived in a 10 gallon tank, and we moved him and Leopard to a 25 gallon after Leopard got too cramped)

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Ozacoter
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thanks. We need stronger laws for pet supplies and stores. I k ow that in germany they are making illegal certain cage sizes for small rodents but on their amazon and ebay you con still buy horrible cages. Here in belgium the stores mostly have inhumane cages. I was lucky that my closer one sells good sized hamster cages but they still sell the old ones as well so i imagine that most people buy the cheap small ones

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hobbitly
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They can live for 30-50 years. Mine is from 1997 and still alive! (Probably older than some of you guys here)

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Lola
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It would be torture for me to keep any kind of fish in a fish tank. I wouldn’t be able to look at them.

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iBlank
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i used to work at a pet shop, and unfortunately many of the common fish sold grow bigger than people expect. They die from stress. The other crappy thing is big box pet stores (PetSmart) do not treat infected fish, because it costs them more for the medicine than to just throw them out

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Bobert Robertson
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen people catch giant goldfish when fishing in ponds after someone released them there.... in the right habitat they get huge

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Sherrill Uliasz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I couldn't agree more! I wish people would pay more attention to this, or make it more known.

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Thunder
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If someone had a goldfish, they were always in a small bowl and died after a year so I thought their lifespan was a year as a kid

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Eucritta
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The idea that goldfish are 'beginner fish' is one of my pet peeves. They aren't. They need plenty of space, excellent filtration, and good maintenance habits. In return, they're one of the fishes who will come to interact with you.

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Charl Marx
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Goldfish as prizes at fairs need to be banned! Drives me mad

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Bad Mole
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Used to have a 100 gallon tank; kids got goldfish at a fair and one lived for 5 or 6 years and got to be 10". Had the tank almost to himself.

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is technically forbidden in some countries... But rarely if ever enforced.

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Lori Ballard
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The same goes for betas! I keep mine in a 3 gallon tank with a filter and aerator. He loves it!

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Rice and beans 🤠
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ive got a hamster and I spent 70 pound on a massive cage for him, no expense soared :))

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R De Backer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you for saying this. Hope it will help make more people think twice about taking on the responsibility for a living being. Only do it if you are willing to ‘strp up to the proverbial plate’. Too many animals and children are suffering because those who should be their care givers are not caring for them properly. There’s more to raising children or pets than just feeding them. Doing it right requires dedication and effort.

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Lynn Morello
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A Flushed Goldfish was caught in a USA lake, the fish weighed 22 kg and was 39cm long.

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Lynne Harbison
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate to see anything in a cage or glass aquarium, or in a zoo. All animals should be free.

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Judy Harrison
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a goldfish named James Dean who lived over 13 years. He grew huge, because they grow to fit their environment. I loved that fish.

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Barbara Baldwin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beta splendens fall into this category, too. Siamese fighting fish don't belong in tiny jars and they aren't vegetarian, so stop thinking they will survive on the roots of plants dangling in the jar..

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Kelly Hartle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It all started from a misconception--Chinese royalty would keep koi in ponds, but temporarily place them in glass containers so they could show them off to visitors. They never actually raised them in the containers.

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Diana
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's why our goldfish live happily in a 10.000 liter pond in the garden. Much nicer to look at and more healthy for the fishies!

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LesAnimaux
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to have a goldfish who lived to be 12. I was convinced my parents kept switching him up when he died but he had very distinct marks. Can't believe II actually had an elderly fish!

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Lucy Snatchko
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i got two at the fair when i was little. they lived 7 years, until 2019. rest in peace chop chop and hubba hubba.

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Franziska
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They can actually grow much older than that, all the way up to 40 years

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tail_bite
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yeah ive got a gold fish in a huge pond and hes been going strong for four years!

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Michael Sanders
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We know maybe they can’t live, but I for one am not sure if they can or cannot life in a fishbowl 🤷‍♂️

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Mazer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friends gold fish was named Lazarus because it jumped out of its very small bowl and actually had stuck to the floor it was so dry. She revived it, rescued it, asked its owners if she could take it home they said yes and it lived for a good 15 years in her care!

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David F
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a teeny tiny goldfish the size of a tic tac grow to the size of a football in a 7 foot long 3 foot tall tank

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Karen Ogden
Community Member
2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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Shayda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I won a gold fish at my school fair when I was 10, my 3 year old little brother killed it by putting a battery in the bowl. Had it three days.

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Claire Elizabeth
Community Member
2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Okay I totally took this one seriously, but I laughed at " goldfish can life"

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#4

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Not sure if this fits here exactly, but the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit being a frivolous case filed by a money hungry customer. That poor lady was a real victim who suffered legitimate injuries who only wanted her medical costs covered.

Jed1M1ndTr1ck , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Stephanie Did It
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She suffered third degree burns to her upper thighs and lower lap! McD's even acknowledged that the coffee was dangerously hot.

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#5

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Poor people are poor because they don't know how to manage their money

phoooooenix , Chronomarchie Report

#6

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That the customer is always right.

Pantominist , Lisa Report

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Stephanie Did It
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"...In matters of TASTE." Yes ma'am that orange plaid looks wonderful on you! Let's wrap it up.

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#7

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In You can "detox" your body from toxins and parasites by drinking certain teas or taking some weird medication.

Repeated diarrhea and frequent urination doesn't indicate toxins leaving your body, your liver and kidneys do the job. If your liver is not functioning or you have a kidney disorder, obviously you need help but it won't be teas that someone on Instagram is boasting about.

bitterherpes , Andy Melton Report

#8

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Many people still believe hymens are like plastic food seals that cover up the hole and get popped when you have sex for the first time, and if a girl doesn't bleed she's not a virgin.

Vixrotre , Cassidy Dickens Report

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Thorfin Wolfsbane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The whole idea of “virginity” is made up BS to manipulate and control people. Particularly women.

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#9

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Fish only have a 5 second memory. My fish are fed automatically on a timer and they know dinner time better than my goddamn cat.

Osr0 , C Watts Report

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cybermerlin2000
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We used to have a fish called Grimnos who chose what he was fed with. Crumb, Flake or pellets. We would line them up in front of his tank and he would swim to the one he wanted and stare at it until we picked it up, and he would swim to the top and wait. We tried giving him one he didn't choose once, and he refused to eat!

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#10

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That violence in the world is getting worse and worse. Actually, in relation to the world's population we live in the most non-violent era in history. The problem is that, while 500 years ago you might have not even heard all the news from within your city, we can now hear all the horrible news from all over the world (and we're also more people). But still, human interaction and conflict in general is much less violent than it used to be.

mediocre_medstudent1 , Lindsey Turner Report

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Pervinca
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This. The news love to spread negative news because they think to made more audience that way. But looking around in less main stream media is obvious that we, as humans, are going in the right way. Still a lot of work to do but we should be glad to be born in these times.

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#11

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That historically, corsets were extremely dangerous. That is false. “Tightlacing”, which is basically just what’s seen in the movies, where they make the corset as tight as they can, was not very common, and only used in the extremely upper class. Most people wore corsets completely safely, lacing down very little, if at all. Women climbed mountains, biked, did sports, and everything, in corsets.

icee5728 , Stephanie Lawton Report

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Stephanie Did It
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes I think a comfortable corset would feel much nicer than a contemporary bra!

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#12

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That if you touch a baby bird, its mother will abandon it because of the smell. Birds actually have a very bad sense of smell.

grmidnight , Susanne Nilsson Report

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SentimentAndBadJokes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, this ones good for children though. It stops them reaching out trying to 'play' with the bird, ultimately damaging them. Helps children show respect of animals. For adults though....

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#13

That woman can hold their period like we can hold our pee. I am still pissed at that teacher...

Alysa-kins Report

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Leigh C.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's just a bigoted comment and your teacher should have been fired for that.

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#14

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In A lot of commonly believed stuff about the female reproductive system/anatomy, like vaginas getting loose if a woman has a lot of sex, or that having a lot of sex somehow drastically changes the look of a woman's labia.

iswearimalady Report

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N G
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like a lot of things this is a combination of lack of knowledge (deliberate or not) and the desire to keep women in their place.

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#15

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In People with OCD just repeatedly wash their hands and like things clean and organized. This is how it presents in some people. There is so much more to this mental illness that people aren’t aware of that lead to people not getting diagnosed or help.

Oss251817 , Catt Liu Report

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Monday
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't have full blown OCD but do have some compulsive behaviors. For example if I see my nails and enough has grown for me to bite (I'm a yucky nail biter) it will "scream" at me until I bite it off. Then I can continue my day as per normal. For my aunt, skew or crooked things "scream" at her until she fixes them, so she doesn't go to restaurants with purposely crooked art anymore. Human brains are weird.

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#16

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Flushable wipes are flushable

RadRhys2 , Wikimedia Commons Report

#17

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In You swallow 8 spiders a year in your sleep. The thing was created to see how easily fake news spread.

JustAnAverageBrit , Jim, the Photographer Report

#18

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Astrology: that your horoscope tells something about your personality

Metamorphosed_ , MiraCosic Report

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Metaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"hihi sorry for crashing your car, but I'm an asparagus and it's in my blood" 🙄🙄🙄

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#19

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In The five second rule.

Appropriate-Wrap-664 , The Creative Exchange Report

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JennyLaRue
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We all know it's not 5 seconds till it's too dirty to eat, it's really just 5 seconds before other people judge you for eating off the floor.

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#20

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In You have to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person's report.

popthetab , Skybluesrich Report

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Indra Servo
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's the opposite. If someone been missing over 48h then most of clues or evidences already dried out

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#21

I have a black cat with white spots on her belly and people have made comments about never having a black cat because they are bad luck or evil. Dude, it’s a cat. Also, hear often comments regarding not breaking mirrors or sweeping over someone’s feet. Its 2021 we really still believe this?!

raj_100 Report

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Caroline Nagel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Black cats are rarely adopted from shelters because of this stupid superstition.

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#22

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That dairy cows just "make" milk.

Cows aren't any different than the rest of the mammals. They make milk when they have a baby. Humans just take the baby away after it's born.

the_V0lum3 , Matt Report

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Neil Bidle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is fairly obvious, but their young still get looked after, and *spoiler alert* the cows end up as burgers and leather after they've finished their usefulness as dairy cows.

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#23

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That carrots improve eyesight. It was actually British propaganda from World war II, I think to explain how they kept on shooting down German planes at night, in order to conceal their invention of a new type of radar I believe. More funny than annoying, I just want to say it.

SirGideonthe3rd , Open Grid Scheduler Report

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Troux
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Cat's Eyes" Cunningham was the man behind the myth. His plane was equipped with airborne radar and they told the kids he was just eating his carrots and could see at night.

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#24

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In The Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure visible from space. First of all, it's not, and second, other ones are.

Plug_5 , Wikimedia.Commons Report

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#25

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Organic means no pesticides used. As I understand it, it means that no synthetic pesticides were used.

Lulubean16 , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Osnax
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly! I used to work with governmental regulation of pesticides, and can confirm that we do have pesticides approved for organic agriculture

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#26

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Not a myth per se, but the number of people who grossly misunderstand how evolution and natural selection works is crazy high.

supremedalek925 , Wikimedia Commons Report

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I I
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

most people can not comprehend billions of years of evolution because we only live for 80ish years , billions of years is mind boggling to think of

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#27

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Ostriches bury their head in the sand when confronted. The fact that Ostrich legs and claws are powerful enough to kill any predator makes a mockery of the myth. In actual fact, they don't make nests but bury their eggs in warm soft soil. They then frequently turn the eggs over in the ground to stop them overheating giving the appearance that they are sticking their heads in the ground from a distance.

Bloverfish , Brian Snelson Report

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Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those buggers can and WILL kick the crap out of you if you give them the chance. They may look derpy but they are dangerous.

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#28

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In MSG - a lot of people still believe it's basically poison. It's no more harmful than regular salt.

ToothbrushGames , Ragesoss Report

#29

That margarine is "one molecule away" from being plastic.

Firstly, "one molecule away" makes no sense. It is a meaningless phrase.

Secondly, being "one atom away" is also meaningless, because a change in atomical structure means the substances are different.

A molecule of H2O has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. H2O is water.

H2O2 has two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide.

But we don't caution against drinking water by saying that it's "one atom away" from being hydrogen peroxide, because that one atom completely changes the makeup of that substance. Water isn't "almost" peroxide or vice versa.

This is an oversimplification, obviously, but suffice it to say that you shouldn't take advice from someone who claims that margarine is "one molecule away" from being plastic. It's a complete misnomer.

I don't even like or eat margarine but this drives me up the freaking wall.

throwaway10231991 Report

#30

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Schizophrenia is the same thing as Multiple Personality Disorder

cipherable , Guilherme Rossi Report

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Metaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or that every schizophrenia is same and we all hear voices, see s**t and wants to murder everyone. Ugh

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#31

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Scholars in the middle ages didn't believe the Earth was flat. The ancient Greeks knew that [stuff] was false. The myth of the flat earth was a post-Romanticism fancy in pop culture, not a serious scholarly movement.

That line from Men In Black has pissed me off ever since I learned the truth.

BlueOysterCultist , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

2021 - now it's once more "trendy" to believe in the flat Eart. Makes you look "rebellious" and "wild". What, you're gonna listen to those evil mainstream media?

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#32

“We care about your privacy” AbsoluteBollocks™️

221bFox Report

#33

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That cutting your hair off makes it grow in thicker.

KingKombo , cottonbro Report

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Stephanie Did It
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It just takes off the thin or split ends so the hair looks fuller and thicker.

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#34

We only use 10% of our brains. If you don't know what 100% is, then how do you determine what 10% is.

mwmstern Report

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Brian Bennett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

After reading most of these beliefs people have I' positive they are using only 10% of thir brain power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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#35

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Cracking your knuckles makes them bigger/gives you arthritis.

This is an ongoing battle between myself and my older coworkers.

Deezus1229 , Colin Davis Report

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Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dr Donald Unger disproved this one by cracking the knuckles on one hand every day while never cracking the knuckles on the other for 50 years. He did not get arthritis.

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#36

Shark fins / shark products are great for health

palomsoms Report

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Kay blue
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shark fins don't add any flavour to the soup either, it's purely to show off wealth.

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#37

That historical armor was basically useless, only increasing the chance of maybe deflecting a blow if you were lucky. You still see it in movies, shows and games where a knife or sword or arrow will go through armor like it's cardboard.

In reality armor was very useful. Very good armor, like a knight's suit of plate, made the wearer virtually invincible. The best plate could stop even early firearms. A knight in full plate and wielding a shield was pretty much the tank of the medieval battlefield. Doubly so if on horseback. Specialized weapons and a concerted effort was needed to defeat one, although typically no one would try to kill a knight since you can't ransom a corpse.

But even simple gambesons, which were made from layers of fabric, could resist a sword cut. High quality gambesons could resist all but the strongest cuts from specialized cutting swords.

Also: that swords were super heavy. A typical one-handed arming sword from the middle ages weighed around 3lbs, 4 max. A two-handed long sword could get up to 5lbs. Rapiers weighed around the same as other swords, which is contrary to popular belief.

Yes, swinging around a 3-4lb object would tire someone out, but the people doing so were generally more fit than the people reading this thread.

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Alexandru Bucur
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Piggybacking on this, the myth that the sword was the most important weapon on the medieval battlefield. Nope, your primary weapon was a sort of polearm - spear, lance if on horseback, halberd, pike, bardiche, naginata, you name it. The sword was actually the sidearm, the weapon you used after your spear broke or became ineffective (tight in melee, for example) or the one you took with you everywhere, even in context where you were unarmored. Sure, there are examples of fully armored knights fighting with two-handed swords, but that's sort of an edge case, because that usually requires a full plate harness and some specific circumstances to pull off and it's debatable wherever it doesn't straddle the border between sword and pole arm anyway, especially later examples, like the Zweihänder of the German Landsknechte, which was popular in the 16th century - those guys even had smaller swords (usually some type of messer) as sidearms to their swords...

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#38

Bulls get angry when they see the color red. It's not true..

Bulls are actually red-green colorblind. What actually triggers the bull's anger is the movement in front of them.

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Neil Bidle
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did you see mythbusters test the "bull in a china shop"? Calm, sensible, and didn't break a thing

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#39

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In If you lift your hands above your head while pregnant you will strangle the baby. I am sure it was started by smart women who didn’t want to do all the housework while pregnant and tired. I still hear it every now and again.

Letmetellyowhat Report

#40

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In People think bats are blind. They aren’t.

Bloodragedragon , Danny Ayers Report

#41

The highest tax rate means your entire income is taxed at that rate

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N G
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I HATE this one! It's used deliberately to reinforce the idea that the rich shouldnt be taxed somehow - yet it's usually perpetuated by people who are middle class at most (since a lot of the ultra rich either fully understand the tax system, or can employ people who do on their behalf). It's a mindset that leads to "you cant have a 75% tax rate because *when I'm earning more* you'll be taking more off me". Like the whole thing where people who were several tens of thousands of dollars off being affected were protesting because of some hyperthetical future pay rise they were going to someday maybe get.

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#42

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That Napoleon was short. He was average height

AspectOfSociety , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Stephanie Did It
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was about 5'7" in English measurement, 5'2" by French. Also he was affectionately dubbed The Little Colonel by his troops, likely because his bodyguards and some officers were taller. Another source says that when he was victorious in Italy, he was a young, inexperienced and relatively unknown officer so it was a derogatory moniker. Either way, the nickname stuck.

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#43

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In that myth about how nasa invented ballpoint pens for space while the USSR just used pencils... basically completely untrue

NepetaLast , Andrew Magill Report

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Troux
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pencils would be terrible. They create dust when writing, more dust and shavings when sharpened, and then whole pieces of graphite can break off - all of which spells doom for the precision machinery.

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#44

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In That Vikings wore horns on their helmets.

AndyTheThiccer , Wikimedia Commons Report

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#45

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Undercover cops have to tell you they're cops.

Lawgang94 , Elvert Barnes Report

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Leigh C.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I got in trouble for charging an undercover cop coffee when I was working at Tim Hortons. I was told "You'll know them when you see them." No I won't and if I do they are not undercover or crappy at their job.

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#46

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Einstein was bad at school math.

el_juanjo , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Laura Mende (Human)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That one is interesting. Einstein went to school in Switzerland, where grades are opposite of other countries (in Germany i.e. 1 ist best, 6 is worst / Swiss 5 is best, 1 is worst). Einstein had a 4-5 in math, meaning the best to second best grade in swiss. It's just a Transmission error.

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#47

That you can spot-reduce fat. Far too many quacks on the internet talking about “toning” and “melting belly fat” with a hundred sit-ups a day.

stonersouls_ Report

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Caroline Nagel
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

sit-ups are bad for your back. No good physiotherapist would tell people to do sit-ups.

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#48

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Black belts have to register their fists as weapons... I can't believe I was dumb enough to fall for that.

d_tiBBAR , RODNAE Report

#49

50 Annoying Myths People Have To Finally Stop Believing In Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

thebelsnickle1991 , public domain Report

#50

History is filled with this stuff, but I'm gonna go with general misconceptions due to an inability to read history in context.

Often if you read a funny and strange story where you go 'haha those dumb superstitious people in the past' in reality there isn't superstition behind it, there's politics and power. For example, if you hear of someone being excommunicated and declared a witch / heretic for some odd reason the truth is the given reason is just a made up excuse, and the real reason is political intrigue.

Wvreb Report

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