Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
32submissions
Finished
32 Facts And Theories Spread By Corporations That Have Been Proven To Be Fake Yet People Still Believe To Be True
Article created by: Viktorija Ošikaitė
Every day, companies bombard us with information. From new product launches and appealing adverts to very big statements and generous promises backed up by questionable research at best, they still manage to earn our trust up to a point we don’t question them.
But this illuminating thread from Ask Reddit challenges the things we take for granted and debunks the myths created by big corporations. "What do most people believe that is actually a myth created by corporate companies?" someone asked and the eye-opening responses started pouring in.
From big pharma to the sugar industry, it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that we may be believing in stuff that benefits no one except the ones who are earning big money.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
That the public is responsible for all the plastic pollution.
Anybody remember that ad campaign with the crying Indian guy? Before then soda companies were selling their soda in nice easily wash-n-reuse glass bottles. When they made the switch to plastic because it was cheaper, and the garbage started to collect, they decided to shift the blame onto YOU the consumer.
RELATED:
#3
That it's in YOUR best interest to keep your rate of pay a secret, when in fact it's exactly the opposite. If it's taboo to talk about how two employees doing exactly the same job can be paid wildly different wages.
#4
That diamonds are actually rare making them expensive and that an engagement ring should be 3 months salary. Screw you Debeers.
#5
That you should devote 5 days a week to the company you work for and only 2 days a week for yourself. You should be spending the majority of your life with family and friends, doing what you enjoy. Not slaving away for someone else.
#8
Apparently big Sugar companies pushed the agenda that Fat is the cause for all your health and weight problems.
#9
The alpha and beta wolves thing showing a hierarchy of people. No, they were actually just wolf parents parenting their pups. The researcher even went back in a book and explained he was wrong. So next time you're called "alpha" or "beta" it doesn't actually exist.
#10
That expiration dates on food products are this black and white rule as to whether something is good or bad. The FDA doesn’t require expiration dates and are completely up to the discretion of the manufacturer.
It’s a tactic to get you to buy/consume more.
#14
Natural, healthy human teeth are more yellow than white. This is because teeth appeared whiter on Black and White film, and stars began to dye/bleach them whiter to match how they appeared on film.
In 1918, it was discovered that a heated lamp in conjunction with hydrogen peroxide would lighten teeth. A dentist in the late 1960’s discovered that after prescribing an overnight soak in carbamide peroxide, the teeth were significantly whiter.
#16
When someone dies their family has no legal reason to pay their debts. It is a myth that the banking industry isn't about to correct.
#18
People forget that college is a business. To make money.
It has its place, of course, but the intense pressure for EVERYone to attend is completely insane to me, especially considering the need for tradespeople.
#19
Gluten free is better than with gluten for everyone. Physiologically it only helps coeliacs or those with mild sensitivity to gluten. According to the research so far doesn't make a difference in anybody else. And yet the gluten free market went up like crazy
#20
Here in Sweden there is an extremely persistent myth that you *should* eat 6-8 slices of bread every day.
That was a commercial campaign by a bread manufacturer. Some way they managed to get the Public Health Institute to pass that myth on. It was like 50 years ago, and that myth still lives!
I'm so sick and tired of that myth.
I also think the "6-8 slices of bread a day" campaign has been one of the most successful examples in world history of myths created by corporate companies.
#21
We actually don’t need a lot of toothpaste on the brush, but companies advertise using a whole bunch in commercials to make you run out faster.
#22
Telling people your salary will make people think less of you. In reality sharing your salary especially with coworkers with the same/similar positions will allow you to negotiate for a higher wage or even form a union with ease
#23
Eating carrots does not improve one's vision. The British government put this out as an explanation as to why their (supposedly carrot-eating) RAF pilots were able to shoot down enemy Luftwaffe fighters before being detected by the enemy. The truth has nothing to do with carrots. The British had invented a primitive form of radar and didn't want the Nazis knowing about it.
#24
You lose your warranty if you break the tamper seal (ie. “Warranty void of seal is broken” stickers).
“... warranty conditions that forbid consumers from opening or repairing their devices are illegal under a provision of the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act”
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gv5ddm/warranty-void-if-removed-stickers-are-illegal
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2018/04/ftc-staff-warns-companies-it-illegal-condition-warranty-coverage
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/700.10
#26
‘Drink 3 litres of water per day’ is a complete myth with no scientific backing, created by water bottle companies. Yes, it’s important to drink water, but once you get past a certain point all you’re doing is spending money for something that goes in, does nothing, and then gets excreted.
#27
That if you work hard, keep your head down and do the right thing - corporations will reward you as being a valued member of the company. about 15 years after you've joined the grad programme you realise that is the ultimate way to get exploited by a company and not how (m)any bosses got their positions :-) Smart people should work for themselves or creative industries ...
#28
There’s this weird idea among some women that pads are inferior to tampons, or that only young girls or virgins use pads. This was actually perpetuated by tampon companies in the 60s or 70s I believe, when the link between Toxic Shock Syndrome and tampons was made. Pad companies latched onto this and started marketing their product as cleaner, so tampon companies countered by marketing their product as for mature, professional women. This was particularly effective at the height of Second Wave feminism when women were struggling to be taken more seriously in the workplace. So effective that this perception still exists today even though there’s no logical basis and no one even really knows WHY they think this way. You can sort of still see it in commercials today, where pad commercials are usually just someone pouring blue liquid on a pad while in tampon commercials there’s usually a woman dancing around or playing a sport or something equally not fun to do while you’re on your period.
#29
"When you care enough to send the very best," you'd better make it a Hallmark card.
Hallmark wants you to believe that sending their expensive greeting cards somehow proves your feelings for someone else.
#30
Change your oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months. Was created by car repair shops to gain more business. Motor oil companies say you can go 5000-7500 miles or 6 months. Owners manuals even say it. As a mechanic here is my 2 cents. Change that oil and filter twice a year, first week of spring and first week of fall. Do a motor flush once every 2 years. Splurge on tires when it’s time to replace and try to get ethanol free gas if you can, if you can’t, use a fuel additive once a month. Don’t forget about your spark plugs, they are the most underrated component on your engine.
#32
Christmas and Easter as we know it were mostly designed in the 1950s.
Related on Bored Panda
