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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.
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#1
The president of the US is the “Leader of the Free World”. No one in the “Free World” calls him that.
Jane Doe-Doe 8 hours ago
Liar.. r a p I s t … r a c I s t… wannabe dictator… cruel… war loving… non compassionate… nasty… orange blob
RELATED:
#2
Vaccines cause autism!
Sleepy-Kodiak-Bear:
It's wild how if you trace back the origins of the movement, it was created by a British charlatan who wanted to sell a vaccine competitor and was exposed for blatantly lying in his studies.
Yet for some reason these types just believe him, based on vibes, I guess.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 8 hours ago
There is however a link between stupidity and anti vax beliefs.
#3
That freedom of speech means you can say whatever you want anytime, anywhere. Whenever someone says that they know their rights, it's a red flag that they don't. People should read.
wellenDowd 6 hours ago
It does mean that you can say whatever you want anytime, anywhere. Just not without consequence.
#4
I think the most dangerous wrong “fact” is that you need to wait for someone to be missing for 48 hours before you can submit a missing person’s report. That is **not** true, and *especially* for minors! You can submit a report when your punctual friend is 5 minutes late for brunch. And the *second* you suspect a child is in trouble, you file a report! .
Hippopotamuses 4 hours ago (edited)
This 24 or 48 hour thing seems to be specific to the US. In most other jurisdictions urgency of initiating searches are based on all known facts; circumstances, past behaviour, vulnerability, age, state of mind, etc.
#5
Different parts of your tongue detect different tastes.
#6
Republicans are for the people.
#7
MSG is unhealthy. It actually is less unhealthy than salt, and the prejudice comes from racism against Chinese restaurants.
Remi (He/Him) 7 hours ago
Also it's naturally occurring in many things and behind the umami flavor. You can do lower salt dishes if you add something with msg to them like tomatoes
#8
“Bottom of the totem pole” is a term that is often used to describe something of low value, importance, or seniority. That isn’t actually how the icons on totem poles are arranged. Generally, the MOST important images are placed on the bottom, as foundational icons.
#9
That there is an alpha in a wolf pack. The original author of the study for this debunked it himself years later after doing more research.
#10
The USA is the greatest country on earth. At what?
#11
"Immigrants are bad for the economy".
Forrest Hobbs 8 hours ago
Well, without immigrants, all of humanity would still be in Africa...
#12
“We only use 10% of our brains.” Apparently that’s not true at all …where did that myth even come from?
oppernaR:
It's like saying you're only using 10% of your car if you're not stepping on every pedal, opening and closing all the windows and doors and using every light, windshield wiper and indicator at once.
Huddo's sister 6 hours ago
"One of the earliest popular references to this myth is in Dale Carnegie's 1936 book How To Win Friends And Influence People. He wanted to support his claim that if you worked your brain just a little harder, you could improve your life enormously. Without any neurological proof whatsoever, he boldly claimed most people only use 15% of their brains. His book sold very well indeed, which helped promote the myth. Dale Carnegie probably based his information on a misinterpretation of the experiments conducted by the neuropsychologist, Karl Lashley, in the 1920s. Lashley was trying to discover just where in the brain this strange thing called 'memory' was stored...Lashley found that memory is not stored in one single place, but exists throughout the entire cortex, and probably a few other places as well...Karl Lashley's fairly straightforward results were somehow radically misinterpreted...Different versions of this myth are revived every decade or so."
#13
“Survival of the fittest” has something to do with strength. Wrong, it’s survival of the most adaptive.
#14
Daddy long legs is the most poisonous spider but it's fangs just can't penetrate human skin which is why it seems harmless. First of all, it would be venomous, not poisonous. Second of all, they're not spiders, they're harvestmen. Thirdly, that's just incorrect.
UnclePanda 8 hours ago
Harvestmen are arachnids but not spiders, they're Opiliones, a much older member of the family. They tend to be a single unsegmented body shaped like a baked potato.
#15
Don't go swimming for 30 minutes after you eat.
DrunkenMcSlurpee:
It's a nice way of saying "Give Mommy a minute to clean up after just feeding you"
Huddo's sister 6 hours ago
It used to be in the Red Cross First Aid books, but was removed in the 90s iirc
#17
"you can't use soap to wash an iron skillet pan"
Apparently that was when lye was in soap. Modern day soap is fine.
(Still don't soak your pan and always season it after washing).
#18
That being in the cold (esp with wet hair) will make you sick… when its actually just that more people are indoors sharing germs in close proximity during winter.
PirellisMiracleElixer 8 hours ago
Cold air is also dry. Your mucus membranes dry out and aren’t able to trap and filter viruses, bacteria, and yeasts as well.
#19
Cracking knuckles causes arthritis.
Zig Zag Wanderer 6 hours ago
Common belief. Someone actually tested it, cracking only one hand all their life. Proved it false.
#20
That fat is bad for you.
Remi (He/Him) 7 hours ago
Bad fat (saturated fat) isn't great, but unsaturated fats are essential for you to function
#21
You need to drink 8 glasses of water every day. There is no support for that. Your body doesn't care if the water comes from a liquid or food, and a soda, liquor, coffee, or ice cream all have the same water. The amount each person needs varies with h the person and with day-to-day activities.
#22
Breakfast being the most important meal of the day.
Michael Largey 7 hours ago
It is to the profits of breakfast food companies, the source of the claim.
#23
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.
#24
“Looks like Frankenstein”
What they actually mean is Frankenstein’s monster.
This isn’t a “fact” but something that is regularly said incorrectly.
Michael Largey 7 hours ago
Frankenstein made a creature. But Frankenstein was the real monster.
#25
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.
#26
You can’t see the Great Wall of China from space.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 8 hours ago
I can't see the Great Wall of China from where I am in the UK either.
#27
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.
Zig Zag Wanderer 6 hours ago (edited)
It is definitely longer, however. Recently, people's life expectancy was rising at one year every year. Living forever, if that hadn't stopped eventually. Modern medicine is fantastic at fixing even small problems.
#28
Cops don't have to tell you that they are cops, especially when undercover. They only have to tell you when they arrest you.
Huddo's sister 5 hours ago
I think this just one from America. I have never heard this said in Australia, and would have laughed at anyone who did because it makes no sense. Undercover cops wouldn't stay undercover if they had to tell everyone they were cops.
#29
“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
Forrest Hobbs 8 hours ago (edited)
Hold on, this one's true. When the USA applies tariffs to my country, the other country (the USA) does in fact pay the tariffs. 😁 If a nation applies import tariffs, it's always the importer who pays. The nation in question cannot compel anyone outside its jurisdiction to pay anything, no matter what lunacy Opposite_Bag_7434 believes.
#30
Israel is defending itself. Wrong they have been ethnically cleansing Palestinians off their ancestral lands for 100 years.
#31
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
Zig Zag Wanderer 6 hours ago
It's normally the ends not being tapered after shaving that leads to this idea
#32
'Don't drink the Kool aid ". It was Flavor Aid.
#33
That people are left-brain or right-brain dominant. It's not an actual thing.
#34
"If you don't wear a sweater you'll catch a cold"... That's not how that works lol.
#35
That everyone has a different "learning style".
Children may have a way they prefer to learn, and that's great and they should be allowed to explore that. But studies show they don't actually perform any better in tests when being taught according to their reported learning style.
#36
Going outside in the cold/rain will give you a nasty cold.
Brian Droste 4 hours ago
It won't give you a cold but it will lower your resistance to the viruses that causes the cold. So it is best to stay warm and dry.
#37
Thunder only happens when it rains.
#38
Bears hibernate. They do not enter into true hibernation but a deep sleep. They do wake up in the winter to feed and poo.
#39
"it's a doggie dog world" when in fact the phrase is "it's a dog eat dog world".
#41
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.
Lady Eowyn 7 hours ago
Of course they can fly. I've heard it as, according to classical aerodynamics, bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly. But since bumblebees don't usually study aerodynamics, they just go ahead and fly. I'm rather fond of bumblebees.
#42
“That’s the definition of insanity”. Drives me crazy when people finish this quote. No, no it’s not.
#43
You lose 20% of body heat through your head.
Michael Largey 7 hours ago
Checks out. My head really doesn't retain anything. I have witnesses and sworn statements.
#44
Top three:
* The US Civil War was over States Rights
* Water goes down drains clockwise/counterclockwise depending on which side of the Equator you’re on and that’s due to Coriolis Effect
* The Mexican/American War was over US Citizens being mistreated
That last one is currently an important one, because the reality is US Citizens were:
* The illegal immigrants
* Refused to assimilate (never learned Spanish)
* Refused to follow local laws (Slavery was already illegal in Mexico).
#45
That "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" is the full quote.
#46
That your brain isn't fully developed until age 25. Your brain continues developing over the course of your entire life. 25 is the estimate for the prefrontal cortex, but the age range varies and can be extended up to 30+ for people with autism or ADHD. 25 is just another arbitrary number assigned be-all, end-all meaning.
#47
Stores use the money you donate at the register to get a tax break when they donate it to the charity.
Michael Largey 7 hours ago
Doing so would be both easy and sleazy. So I'm betting that some do.
#48
I work in a hospital and people with masters degrees truly believe full moon = increase in hospitalizations.
Phantom Phoenix 1 hour ago (edited)
Is this belief a consequence of receiving a master's degree, or a requirement for obtaining one? /s
#49
It is illegal to drive a car barefoot.
Zig Zag Wanderer 6 hours ago (edited)
I always used to when I wore flip flops. It's safer. Apparently not recommended, however. Anything sharp on the sole or pedal might prevent emergency braking. Source: partner was a driving instructor.
#51
I don't know if its a fact but people will often say "innocent until proven guilty" to deflect situations where someone was accused of a horrific crime. That phrase is meant for the judicial system. In terms of public opinion or your personal opinion, it doesn't have to be that way.
PirellisMiracleElixer 8 hours ago
Umm no. That’s how you reinforce systemic racism and jury bias
What do you think ?
leighjordanna 2 hours ago
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Troy Parr 7 hours ago
Ok, here's another one... When using "landline" phones people dial a number and say (or think); "I can hear it ringing." Well, they can't. The sound you hear is a ringing noise made by the phone system and not the phone you've just dialed. In fact, typically the phone goes, "ring, ring, pause;" and then "ring, ring, pause" again. When you hear the pause, that's when the other phone is actually ringing and you don't hear it. In fact, phones could be un-plugged and you'll still hear the same ringing sound even though the other phone is silent. And, if you answer the phone right away during the very first ring, the caller might not have even heard their ring sound yet...
Huddo's sister 5 hours ago
Do you mean the dial tone? I don't think I've ever met anyone who believes that is also the sound the recipient's phone makes. They might say 'it's ringing' as a colloquialism, meaning there is a dial tone though.
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leighjordanna 2 hours ago
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Troy Parr 7 hours ago
Ok, here's another one... When using "landline" phones people dial a number and say (or think); "I can hear it ringing." Well, they can't. The sound you hear is a ringing noise made by the phone system and not the phone you've just dialed. In fact, typically the phone goes, "ring, ring, pause;" and then "ring, ring, pause" again. When you hear the pause, that's when the other phone is actually ringing and you don't hear it. In fact, phones could be un-plugged and you'll still hear the same ringing sound even though the other phone is silent. And, if you answer the phone right away during the very first ring, the caller might not have even heard their ring sound yet...
Huddo's sister 5 hours ago
Do you mean the dial tone? I don't think I've ever met anyone who believes that is also the sound the recipient's phone makes. They might say 'it's ringing' as a colloquialism, meaning there is a dial tone though.
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