Ask people any of these questions: whether mice really love cheese, sugar makes kids hyperactive, or if Ancient Greek architecture was made of pure white marble, and there is a big chance they will nod their heads in agreement.
But many of these common beliefs that live years and years rooted in our conventional wisdom have little to do with facts. So today we looked at this illuminating Reddit thread where people named all the annoying myths many of us still cling to, and it may help us to recalibrate our truth and fiction radar if it’s out of sync.
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That carnivorous pets can live healthily on a vegan diet.
Stop it. It's animal abuse.
Thank you! Scientifically speaking, look at the teeth. Carnivorous pets are specially designed to eat meat.
Also intestine. Theirs are short and are therefore not designed for a solely plant based nutrition.
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I'm a vegan. To the core of every cell, convinced and, although I never start those debates, if I get pulled into them, don't expect mercy. BUT ... but my cat is a carnivore. Not an omnivore (although I have to hide certain types of envelopes because some glue in them seems to attract her), not anything else, but a carnivore. A predator on the very top of the sneakiness scale. She eats birds. She eats fish. I don't. She needs to. I don't. What the actual fück is so hard to get about that? Also - I did not bring her into existence, and am not in favour of breeding cats, but as they are already there, they shall live a life worth living, and cats and I just match. Unless we'd have to share our meals, everything is fine.
I'm a vegan and I still make sure my dogs and cat get the appropriate nutrients, which definitely includes meat.
Cats are what's called "obligate carnivores". Anyone feeding their cat a vegan diet needs to have the cat taken away. Dogs are less strict. I still find it weird: when I became vegan for a few years, one of the main arguments I read online was that humans don't have carnivore teeth. BUT CATS DO - yet some vegans only accept the argument in one direction. Silly and abusive.
Humans do have canine teeth though - the sharp pointy ones that are overemphasized in vampire movies. These are sharp and pointy to cut through the fibres of meat, with the flatter teeth designed to chew veggies. Humans are omnivores.
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#saveBella!! (Bella is that vegan teachers dog who she FORCES to eat vegetables, if anyone didn't know) :(
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The only time kitties eat vegetables, namely grass, is when they need some fibers for digestion
My dog eats grass as a purge- to induce vomiting when he's eaten something that doesn't sit well in his stomach. I don't know much about cats, so am now wondering if it is for fibre or for the same reason? Also, I had a dog that always seemed to find 'Sticky W***y' (Sticky weed) to eat. It turned out later that he had Addison's Disease (he was rescued at 4 yrs- we adopted - and it hadn't previously been picked up) . Apparently, a dog eating sticky weed a lot, can indicate that their body is not getting enough vitamins - and can indicate AD.
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It's like that Futurama episode. "We taught a lion to eat tofu!" That character's name is Free Waterfall Jr. BTW and he only appears in one episode.
Lion: *coughs* - I love that show and I often quote that very line from Free Waterfall Jr. XD
Load More Replies... I'm a vegan veganista from veganville and I wouldn't dream of feeding my cat vegan food. It's madness.
Same! Different species have different dietary requirements.
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If you're one of those vegans that tries to impose your diet on your cat or dog, you're an a**hole.
So many people really believe this. How many lions, cheetahs or tigers do you see in documentaries stopping along the hunt to munch on vegetation? When they give them meat at the zoo, does it include a side salad? Some cat owners don't make the connection. Dogs prefer meat but are omnivorous and can live off of a vegetarian diet, with the right supplements.
Having to add supplements means that they can't live off a vegetarian diet.
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Sure this is not a real myth. Only a total idiot would believe that, and I know the internet likes to make fun of militant vegans (and I met a few in my life) they approach their principles pragmatically. The disconnect with reality needed to actually think a carniovorous pet would thrive on a vegan diet is very, very rare outside of internet memes and social media.
honestly I like to think that too, but I know someone who is vegan and acts pretty much like the vegan memes. Her dog is on a vegetarian diet, but she's sane enough that her cats are on normal diets
Load More Replies... Agreed. This is just nonsensical! There is such a thing as evolution. Predators have sharp canines, ( cats, canid family), the primary function of which is to tear flesh. Omnivores such as bears, have sharp canines and molars…. Omnivores, such as bears, and humans have a combination of both. I have seen enough footage of ill animals, ( Fennec fox, dogs and cats), to know that those who subject their animals to such abuse are utterly delusional.
Hypothetically when I'm at work doing deliveries I carry dog treats with me and when people say that their animals are vegan I say that these one treats I have are animal free and they're made out of just plants they're just baking flavored but in reality they are straight bacon treats!! And those animals try to go home with me!
THIS DRIVES ME NUTS. i watch ppls pets (thankfully no veg ones!), most thankfully even feed them really well. its not like anyone is asking you hunt and kill an animal, or even cook one, and there are some really (expensive!!) great options as far as responsibly sourced and free range goes (orijen dry is what I fed my cat, and other decent can food)
I once watched a show where some vegan woman claimed her dog was also a vegan, by choice. As in, she claimed when given a choice, her dog would always choose the vegan option. "He can smell which is vegan and chooses wisely!" So the show she was on tested it. They put out the vegan food, and some regular dog food with meat products in it, and the dog made a beeline for the regular food. She dashed after it it and was like, "No no sweetie! We eat this food! That's bad food!" Doggo didn't seem to agree. I did agree with her initial statement though - he smelled which one was vegan, and chose wisely.
Yeah thats just mean. Its a personal choice, and cats and dogs want to eat meat, and cats literally have to they need taurine to survive. Im vegan but im not going around trying to make meat eating animals vegan tnats just silly 😳
I know intelligent vegans and I used to know some moronic die hard militant vegans. The intelligent ones are the ones who know they decided for themselves and don't judge any other living thing for their diet. One of them makes an awesome steak! The morons have had banning orders on them for animal abuse and death threats from neighbours. If you want to be vegan good for you, only you. Be intelligent. Pass me the bacon and grab yourself a tofu burger. Beers in the fridge
We've all seen those stories where vegan zealots have starved their cat(s) by trying to force an unnatural diet onto them. They insist they loved their cat. Maybe they did but their took their vegan philosophy way too far.
While I agree, I wonder what the animals who were raised for one purpose — to be eaten — would think.
When an animal dies-- including a human-- we are eaten. Microorganisms, bugs, rodents, birds... plenty people to share the largesse. That's why funeral workers process our bodies with formaldehyde -- so we still look and smell nice for the funeral. Every living thing will be eaten when it dies. It's part of the circle of life.
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Dogs can thrive just fine on a vegan diet. Get as mad as you want, it's still true. Your feelings don't trump biology. Cats, however, need to eat meat.
Did you actually bother to read even parts of the study. It is based on self reporting from vegan animal owners, and I couldn't find anywhere where it said that the authors had actually seen the cats. So get off your high horse, and stop yelling.
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That’s not true, there are lots of herbivore animals apart from sloths and koalas
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Vaccines cause autism.
Ok vaccines do NOT cause autism, yes it may have side affects mentally or physically but autism is something you are born with! And I know that some of our beloved bored panda community has autism and can back me up on this. (edit: im sorry to everyone that got ofended by this statement! im not a medical professional!)
That having hobbies as an adult is only worth it if it brings in money. No, I love my meaningless and expensive hobbies, even if they don't bring in any income.
Bored Panda reached out to Lauren McMenemy, a professional writer, journalist, and marketer with a desire to tell stories, shine a light on society and advocate for better mental health and self-care, who was happy to share some insights into how folklore-based myths and beliefs form and why people believe them.
Lauren, who is a writing mentor and coach who runs workshops and training to help people get their words down right, said that first, it’s worth defining the terms “myths” and “beliefs”.
“Many people, when you say ‘myth’ or ‘mythology’, will immediately think of the old gods or collections of tales based in folklore - such as the Greek tales of Medusa, or Nordic tales of Thor and Odin,” she said.
That cats are cold or unfriendly. They’re not going to run up to every person like a puppy, but most are very affectionate with their humans.
Once when I got home from work my cat came walking down the hallway meowing happily. It was so cute
Trickle down economics
Best described as the top dog drinks champagne while the masses below have to drink their p*ss. Trickle-down economics only works if the rich do not control the tap
Moreover, “There is another usage which is more akin to religion: belief in faeries in Celtic nations, for example, has led to many common practices that still happen to this day.”“
Then there is the folklore-based myths and beliefs,” Lauren continued, “which are often based in practices designed to keep humans safe and healthy. Conventional wisdom can come from the latter, I think - don't walk under a ladder, for example, lest something falls on you from above!”
That you need to wait 24 hours to file a missing person’s report
What would the point of this if it was true? In a missing persons case the first 24 hours are the most crucial for investigators and the missing person
Billionaires are smart and we should be “grateful” for the jobs they provide.
The 'just world fallacy'[people get what they deserve].
It's responsible for a lot victim-blaming, which re-traumatizes people who have already been traumatized. It's the worst.
Sometimes bad things happen to people who don't deserve it. It shouldn't be that difficult to grasp.
Conversely, really good things happen to people who really don't deserve it!
When asked why some myths disappear while others remain something people believe throughout generations, Lauren said that it depends on the origin of the myth. “If it's a story based in keeping people safe from harm, that will get more embedded over generations.”
Moreover, “The fairy tales about the dangers of the woods remain because it was dangerous to go into the forest - there lurked robbers, wild animals, entities that would do you harm. Those that disappear are more likely to be ones that have lost their relevance to modern society,” Lauren explained.
The alpha theory for wolves, people still believe it even though the person who made the theory took it back. The ‘alpha’ of wolves is actually just the pack’s parents, and the pack is usually made up of their offspring.
We also wondered if some people are more prone to believing popular myths and things like old wives' tales than others. “Since the emergence of science and the Enlightenment, there has been a cohort of people who will claim logic above all else - if it's not provable beyond a shadow of a doubt, then it's ridiculous to believe in,” Lauren explained and added that these people are never going to believe in popular myths.
That antibiotics are needed for colds.
Too many antibiotics can lead to C-Diff and TRUST ME YOU DO NOT WANT THAT. It happened to me, I get a lot of staph infections that require antibiotics and I ended up with C-Diff. Would not wish on my worst enemy, lost 20 pounds and was having a very hard time keeping any nutrients in - my body was deficient in a lot by the time they figured out what was wrong. Also it's something you have forever that can flare up again - the flora and fauna in your gut are never the same, ugh
Zodiac signs and their effect on our everyday lives
I personally don't really believe in zodiac signs, horoscopes, angel numbers etc. But if it's making you happy, and not making you anxious or creating negative feelings then what's the harm? Let people believe what they want, as long as it's not harmful or dangerous
The Shirley exception.
When looking at an issue, they assume that anyone who REALLY needs it will “Surely get taken care of…”
I.E. “All abortion should legally be banned, but surely one’s where the mother and child die will be taken care of.”
“It doesn’t matter how we treat prisoners because surely the ones there on accident are going to be protected.”
“This job won’t fire you for missing too much work because you’re REALLY sick, surely they realize that?”
“We don’t need to make strict laws about disability access because surely the legitimate cases will be taken care of.”
There is no Shirley making sure everyone is legitimate and those who need it with get some kind of justice in a magical fairy bending the rules just for them.
Having said that, Lauren believes that those cultures which are more rooted in traditional beliefs and practices are more likely to maintain some belief in myth and folklore. “Asian cultures, for example, have a strong thread of old stories running through them. And we see it, too, in the rise of modern witchcraft; so much practice in that realm is from ‘the old ways.’"
That when you meet "the one" you just know. And that there is a "one" for every one of us.
There are a ton of ridiculous myths around pregnancy. The worst one I was told was not to ever raise my arms over my head so the baby didn't get tangled in the umbilical cord.
When it comes to conspiracy theories, especially modern-day ones, Lauren sees them as very different from common beliefs and widespread myths. “Can those modern-day conspiracy theories be harmful? Absolutely yes: look at what happened during the pandemic. Look at the rise of extreme right-wing views and of QAnon. These are very, very different to popular myths and old wives' tales, which developed for mainly instructive reasons,” she concluded.
Not so much a myth but a misconception… I still hear people laugh at the fact that solar powered flashlights exist, thinking they must be useless because flashlights are only needed in darkness, where solar panels won’t generate anything.
They charge their batteries with sunlight. The batteries supply power on demand. Was that such a difficult concept?
Got one on my desk right now. It also has USB ports to charge my phone and other devices.
You will catch a cold from being cold.
Complicated. TL;DR version: Viruses last longer on cold surfaces than warm. Natural immune processes in our noses don't work as well as normal in low temperatures. . . Forgetting a coat won't give you a cold, but more people get sick more often in winter.
An undercover cop has to tell you they're a cop if you ask them.
It's illegal to lie to the cops. but the cops can lie to you all they want.
Videogames cause violence. There is literally no correlation.
That people in the Middle Ages thought the earth was flat?????
It has been widely accepted since Ancient Greece that the earth is round and I have no idea why people still call it the Dark Ages either
It was called the dark ages because the sun hadn’t been invented yet /j
“Your blood is actually blue but only becomes red when it comes out of you”
Road widening improves traffic flow. It doesn't, if anything it just causes induced demand and within Months the road is congested again.
That carrots give you good eyesight
This started in WWII. They didn't want to give away that Allies had radar so they said the Pilots had good night vision from a diet of carrots. Everyone believed it. The Axis started eating carrots.
That introversion = shyness or social incompetence. Like, it‘s not that hard.
Agreed! I'm super introverted, I'm basically asocial, but one thing I am definitely not is shy! If anything, I'm the queen of oversharing, LOL! And other than having some trouble detecting sarcasm, my social competence can range from adequate to actually really good, depending on the setting.
That msg is bad for you
I was under the impression that it’s basically just really salty so it should be ingested in moderation, just like other things that are full of sodium like table salt and soy sauce. But that it’s really no worse for you than those. Someone feel free to corset me if I’m wrong. Edit: ooh, kinky. I clearly meant correct me. LOL
Ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture being pure white marble.
They are now. That's because art dealers long, *long* ago washed the paint off.
I would imagine that 2k years of elements would have a similar effect.
Eating cheese before bed gives you nightmares.
I eat cheese during the night (3am) I'm fine. Secret night cheese tastes better
Shaking or flipping integral Polaroid photographs while they're developing. This dates back to the 'peel-apart" instant Polaroids that came before the all-in-one "integral" instant films. You used to have to coat the finished print with a polymer coating fluid, and shaking the print would help it dry faster. But it's unnecessary now.
Almost all the weird things people believe about charging batteries is completely wrong, they are based on Old NiCad cells and most of that advice does not apply to lithium ion / LiPO batteries
Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
That homeless people are all just drug addicts or mentally ill, when most homeless people aren't.
*most* homeless people are one or both of those things. About 52% total suffer from one or both. 38% alcohol abuse, 26% drug abuse and about 30% serious mental health issues such as schizophrenia or bipolar (not including things like depression, which is probably hovering around 100%). You cannot fix a problem when you refuse to acknowledge that it exists: this problem exists and there are a variety of ways it could be overcome.
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Daylight saving time was invented by farmers. It was always presented as a way to save energy during World War 1. Changing the time on the clock changes little how farmers operate. In fact farmers don’t really like it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time#History
Farmers work when the work needs to be done, day or night. Farming is a 24/7/365 life. I grew up on a farm & the livestock doesn't care about day or night hours, or the season of the year. I remember my father going out in the middle of the night during a snowstorm to save a newborn calf that the cow had given birth to in a snow drift. And he would get home from his airline job at midnight, have some coffee & sandwiches & then go out on the tractor to work the fields. DST is a crock of poo. And it screws up our circadian rhythm for at least a week afterwards! I hate it.
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In the US, there's an assumption that if you're from the rural South, you're an idiot. I think people hear my southern accent and mentally subtract points. Part of this is because in popular media, people with southern accents are invariably portrayed as racist, misogynistic, fanatical christian, gun-loving, homophobic, ignorant bullies and idiots. And some of them are. But a lot aren't, and I wish the media would stop painting people that way.
You are right. However, using the expression “the media” doesn’t help if you want to reach over the aisle.
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My I add: *That silica gel packets are poisonous* They're not. Check on any poison control website to see for yourself. They're labelled "Do Not Eat" because the packet itself is a choking hazard or could cause an intestinal blockage, and eating a bunch of silica gel is slightly worse than swallowing the equivalent amount of gravel (since they'll absorb moisture). HOWEVER: if your silica gel is coated in either cobalt chloride (which looks pink / blue), or methyl violet (which looks orange / green), then you've got a problem. Though I think the second two types are rare, and are known as indicator gel since their colour changes depending on how much moisture they've absorbed. I think those packs are generally marked as such and have some way of seeing the colour inside.
Because no one can prove Gods existence or nonexistent.
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Because these kind of “dreams”, which are referred to while awake, tend to hurt others every now and again.
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The beginning includes: “ sugar makes kids hyperactive “ as a myth. As a kid who can have a bag of skittles and be bouncing off the walls, I can assure you it is no myth. One time I ate 37 Pixie Stix (sugar tubes) in one go. I ran SO FAST. Edit: I know this was downvoted, but the downvote isn’t a dislike button. It’s like a report button. Too many dislikes and you’re banned. Please don’t downvote me because I was wrong.
That homeless people are all just drug addicts or mentally ill, when most homeless people aren't.
*most* homeless people are one or both of those things. About 52% total suffer from one or both. 38% alcohol abuse, 26% drug abuse and about 30% serious mental health issues such as schizophrenia or bipolar (not including things like depression, which is probably hovering around 100%). You cannot fix a problem when you refuse to acknowledge that it exists: this problem exists and there are a variety of ways it could be overcome.
Load More Replies... Daylight saving time was invented by farmers. It was always presented as a way to save energy during World War 1. Changing the time on the clock changes little how farmers operate. In fact farmers don’t really like it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time#History
Farmers work when the work needs to be done, day or night. Farming is a 24/7/365 life. I grew up on a farm & the livestock doesn't care about day or night hours, or the season of the year. I remember my father going out in the middle of the night during a snowstorm to save a newborn calf that the cow had given birth to in a snow drift. And he would get home from his airline job at midnight, have some coffee & sandwiches & then go out on the tractor to work the fields. DST is a crock of poo. And it screws up our circadian rhythm for at least a week afterwards! I hate it.
Load More Replies... In the US, there's an assumption that if you're from the rural South, you're an idiot. I think people hear my southern accent and mentally subtract points. Part of this is because in popular media, people with southern accents are invariably portrayed as racist, misogynistic, fanatical christian, gun-loving, homophobic, ignorant bullies and idiots. And some of them are. But a lot aren't, and I wish the media would stop painting people that way.
You are right. However, using the expression “the media” doesn’t help if you want to reach over the aisle.
Load More Replies... My I add: *That silica gel packets are poisonous* They're not. Check on any poison control website to see for yourself. They're labelled "Do Not Eat" because the packet itself is a choking hazard or could cause an intestinal blockage, and eating a bunch of silica gel is slightly worse than swallowing the equivalent amount of gravel (since they'll absorb moisture). HOWEVER: if your silica gel is coated in either cobalt chloride (which looks pink / blue), or methyl violet (which looks orange / green), then you've got a problem. Though I think the second two types are rare, and are known as indicator gel since their colour changes depending on how much moisture they've absorbed. I think those packs are generally marked as such and have some way of seeing the colour inside.
Because no one can prove Gods existence or nonexistent.
Load More Replies... Because these kind of “dreams”, which are referred to while awake, tend to hurt others every now and again.
Load More Replies... The beginning includes: “ sugar makes kids hyperactive “ as a myth. As a kid who can have a bag of skittles and be bouncing off the walls, I can assure you it is no myth. One time I ate 37 Pixie Stix (sugar tubes) in one go. I ran SO FAST. Edit: I know this was downvoted, but the downvote isn’t a dislike button. It’s like a report button. Too many dislikes and you’re banned. Please don’t downvote me because I was wrong.
