The scientific community is constantly trying to expose its own mistakes — after all, what is a statement worth if it's never been the subject of scrutiny? However, no matter how hard it tries, some people just don't listen.
Recently, Redditor Jimbo_Jigs asked other platform users to share some myths and misconceptions that many still believe to be true, and they got what they asked for. Not just the classic "vaccines cause autism." Continue scrolling and check out the replies.
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That vaccines cause autism.
Personal carbon footprint or any green initiative which focuses on individual action. BP invented the entire concept during a marketing push to hide the fact that like ~72 companies produce 90% of pollution.
The earth being flat. We have literally done studies, taken pictures, boiled all of that down to the level that a kindergartener can understand it, and some idiots still don't get it.
The proof that earth is a globe is that if it were flat, cats would have pushed everything over the edge already.
To answer the question, vaccines being anything but safe and effective is a hoax that some people believe.
Vaccines are *by far* the medical intervention best-supported by evidence. Tens of billions of vaccines given to billions of people over the course of multiple centuries have proven them to be safe and effective. If you trust *any* part of medicine, you should trust vaccines.
I would hazard a guess that vaccines have saved more lives than every other medical intervention combined.
Vaccines are nothing but literally TRAINING for an individual's own immune system! Being anti-vaxx is like saying you don't believe in Training!
And they'll harp on and on about vaccine reactions too saying "but people have died from vaccines"...yes they have, but people have died from eating peanuts and shellfish too, yet most of us agree those things are perfectly safe.
Load More Replies...I hope I don’t get downvoted for this, but I am allergic to vaccines. Every one I get, I swell up, get super sick, I almost died once. So they CAN be unsafe, it’s just very unlikely unless you are me who is allergic to everything. EDIT: thank you guys for understanding and not bringing me down! Bp is such a good place 😊
That's also one reason the rest of us should get vaccinated, so people like you who simply can't could be safe. Have my upvote
Load More Replies...The hypocritical thing about the anti-vaxx movement is that the parents refusing to vaccinate their kids are THEMSELVES vaccinated, because their parents weren’t all f****d up in their heads. Then there’s the fact—-not belief, but cold hard FACT—-that Andrew Wakefield faked results, used a way too tiny group to observe, threw out results that didn’t prove his theory—-which wasn’t so much a theory but an agenda because he had some kind of beef with pharmaceutical companies—-and basically lied in his report on his unscientific research. It was such bad science and bad medicine, and started such a dangerous movement, which has reintroduced old illnesses that were nearly eradicated, that his medical license was permanently revoked, and he can NEVER practice medicine, or anything related to medicine, ever again. Yet people still believe in his b******t. WTF is being put in the water these days that’s turning otherwise rational people into such conspiracy theory nut jobs? Believe me, there is much more comfort in scientific fact than there ever could be in mystical belief. If you understand something, you no longer have an irrational fear of it. If it’s something that it’s wise to fear, at least understanding it can help you better prepare for it. This isn’t rocket science, people.
His beef with pharmaceutical companies was he had patented a vaccine (MMR I think), but in order to create a market for his vaccine, he had to discredit the one currently in heavy use.
Load More Replies...Simple question: Are you going to trust 400+ years of established science or a tenth-rate actor? (Jenny McCarthy)
Several years back i listened to a radio call in show about vaccines. One older woman in her 90s called in. Said we've lost the experience she had as a kid and before many current vaccines were around. Said it was not uncommon for classmates to not return as they had died from what is now preventable.
Exactly. People need to learn some history. Polio was horrible. But measles can be really bad as well, but now a lot of people don't take that seriously.
Load More Replies...Being anti-vax means you're afraid to admit that you just don't know how some things work.
People seem not to realise that before vaccines were available, many many people died from diphtheria, smallpox, polio, measles scarlet fever, etc. In the Victorian era, parents expected to lose some of their children before they reached adulthood.
And polio, which was essentially eliminated in the US, is now present, and increasing. The analysis of genes from sewage, developed/perfected during the latest pandemic, allows public health folks to see what's going on in the general population without having to test individuals.
Load More Replies...There are a list of side effects for every vaccine on the CDC web site. They are generally safer than getting the diseases, and most people will only have minor (or none) side effects but they are not 100% safe for every person.
Vaccines are good. Some people react to the other ingredients in the mix though.
Sometimes, probably most of the time, it's a reaction to the preservative(s), e.g., thimerosal - most vaccines can be obtained in single-dose vials, preservative free for those who are allergic.
Load More Replies...Some people get really hung up on the fact vaccines can make you sick and are therefore just as bad as not taking them! Yeah well given the choice between feeling a bit under the weather for 4 days vs. dying from Smallpox.... Uhhhh I dunno it's a tough one.
This! Thank you! And that’s not saying that there aren’t possible side effects. Any vaccine, medication, drug, etc. that you put in your body has the potential to affect you in an adverse way. Vaccines have done more good than harm!
small pox was eradicated through vaccines so was polio for the most part
I think wording like this is an issue that causes people to be leary. People want transparency anf the truth. Look, I am all for vaccines, but let's not pretend there are never serious complications that can arise. The good in generalvout weighs the bad but pretending there are never any issues makes people wonder what else they are being lied to about.
Vaccines do cause complications but as a general rule they are better than the disease
REALLY??? You need to read "The Real Anthony Fauci"!! Can't live in denial for the rest of your lives....
What are you chittering about, you stupid little person? Fauci didn't invent vaccines, they were pioneered centuries ago by Jenner and Pasteur.
Load More Replies...Vaccines and penicillin are probably neck and neck...would be interesting to fact check this...
Vaccines have been around longer but penicillin has broader applications.
Load More Replies...Well, not all vaccines are equally effective and some CAN have pretty dire consequences. Some are better, today, than they were 20 years ago. Nonetheless, vaccines were and are an incredible break-through in medicine. I still can't believe a vaccine against Malaira was finally developed. Malaria! That is just mind-boggeling! Such an incredible progress!
Maybe anti-vaxxers are just waiting for more data proving vaccines are effective. I guess smallpox vaccine's 224 YEARS of extremely effective usage just isn't enough.
If anyone believes in Their God, they MUST then believe in Science and Vaccines as Their God put Scientists on Earth to keep us Healthy and Safe.
Vaccines provoke an immune response which differs in each person by exposing the person to something that causes disease or is similar to a virus/bacteria that causes disease. Occasionally, there were problems, but they are now very rare and have almost been eliminated by the new genetically generated vaccines. The same effect is put into action when you are exposed to a virus/bacteria and don't die from the disease. You are 'vaccinated' by your previous illness. If your immune system is not functioning optimally, nothing will protect you fully. For this reason, certain people who are immuno-compromised have to be especially careful to avoid exposure to disease.
The risk that anything bad will happen from the standard vaccines babies get is SO MUCH LOWER than the risk of them dying from catching any of the stuff if they aren't vaccinated, no medical thing is 100% risk free.
Basic hygiene has saved more lives than all the advanced medicines.
Agreed. But not the COVID and flu vaccine. It is largely demonstrated worldwide that it doesn't prevent the illness nor the virus spreading. Now 👇 this as usual
You're an idiot. Covid and 'flu aren't even the same disease.
Load More Replies...The Covid-19 vax had been in the pipeline since the SARS outbreak of the 90s. Don't believe everything on you read on Jeff Crapinthehead's Twitter feed.
Load More Replies...Everyone knows that there are adverse vaccine events. It's just that the chance of getting one is infinitesimally small compared to the chance of being injured or killed by one of the diseases we vaccinate against. As all grown adults know, nothing in this world is 100% safe - oxygen is a metabolic poison and you can OD on water, for christ's sake. It's a question of balancing probabilities.
Load More Replies...Nope. The Covid vaccine's been in the pipeline since the SARS outbreak in the 90s - they're the same family of viruses. Don't believe everything you read on Jennifer Shitforbrains's FB page.
Load More Replies...Oh my god, you found a meme! That's certainly more convincing than centuries of evidence-based medicine. You MORON.
Load More Replies... Detox.
B******t, b******t, b******t.
What do you think your liver and kidneys are doing all day? If they weren’t working you would be on a form of detox called dialysis.
edit: To clarify since it might not be obvious, I’m referring to pseudoscience detox teas and pills. Not medically justified detoxification like opioids, alcohol, acetaminophen, etc…
The case of the woman who sued mcdonalds because she spilled hot coffee on herself. The hoax was that it was a frivolous lawsuit, that she was driving while drinking and she spilled the coffee on herself and just didn't like it and sued mcdonalds and won a lot of money. But the reality was that she wasn't driving, the coffee was extremely hot, people had already complained it was too hot, I don't remember how she spilled the coffee, but anyway after spilling just a bit of it on her leg, she got severe burns on her leg and had to go to the hospital and go to the ER. If she had drunk that she could have suffered much more harm. All she wanted was for mcdonalds to pay for her hospital bill, they didn't, and she sued them and won. Then either mcdonalds or it was a corporation that represented a bunch of corporations spread the hoax that some clumsy woman sued and won a lot of money because she spilled her coffee.
The Big Lie. The United States election for president was not rigged. There was no fraud in the voting process.
1. There is only one election referenced when using the term "Big Lie", and that's discussing 45 and his allegations that he actually won. 2. Notice that 45 only says he was impacted and not anyone else who lost the election that year. 3. There have been more recent local and state elections since then.
"Catching a cold" from cold weather. It's a pathogen. You catch it from people.
Though disease does increase in the winter. It's commonly thought to be due to close quarters indoors and less Vitamin D from the sun, important for the immune system.
Crystals. They are just f*****g rocks. There is no scientific evidence proving that they have healing effect. Any possible effects are due to the placebo effect. People will actually go against medical advice because they think holding a crystal will fix all their problems.
However, for some people believing in something will make them feel better.
Scientology
Edit: Scientologists are programmed to reply to this with "dOn'T yOu MeAn ALL ReLiGiOnS?" and try to do the all lives matter thing when someone says black lives matter to dilute the message.
It's the internet age, cultists. We researched your tactics to put yourself on equal footing with actual religions. You are programmed by NLP, get help.
Homeopathy. It's water.
Hey, it’s not just water! It’s at least 0.0000000000001% something else!
That using a tampon can take away a females virginity. It’s crazy that people still believe that myth even though it’s been busted many years ago.
There is not enough evidence that it can take away an individuals virginity. It shouldn’t even matter if your child is a virgin or not. You should love your child no matter what.
Your child should be able to have the right to use tampons when they’re on their period. Not everyone wants to miss out from a chance of going swimming, and not everyone wants to wear a diaper everyday for 7 days straight.
That cows just produce milk naturally without being impregnated and giving birth first.
they are simply mammals, and produce milk for the sole purpose of feeding their young.
MLMs, Boss babes, "be your own boss" scams.
I'm not sure how many documentaries need to be put on YouTube before people will stop buying into these companies and wasting their money.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. They're all equally as important, Kellogg just convinced everyone of that to sell more cereal.
That MSG is bad for you.
I meet people regularly that think it's a super insta-cancer ingredient that will cause you to die or something based on 80s/90s false scares. Then I tell them "you do know it naturally occurs on tomatoes, yes?"
So I can keep my instant noodles. Was worried I'd have to toss the lot
That GMOs cause cancer. Literally no evidence to prove this. Everything that has gone through evolution or adaptation is GMO.
Now there are issues with monoculture, but that's a whole different discussion.
We'd be screwed if GMOs caused cancer because 99% of the veges we buy today have been genetically modified of the last 10,000 years...
People simply *giving away* drugs or edibles on Halloween. As if.
Now remember kids, if someone gives you drugs on Halloween, you say thank you. Because drugs are expensive.
That dogs can only see in black and white. This is false.
Wolf hierarchy with alpha on top and omega at the bottom.
Qanon
That NASA spent billions developing a pen to work in space and the Russians just used a pencil.
Actually pencils were a major problem on space stations - tiny bits break off and get into every system.
That Kitty Genovese was murdered as people heard her screams and did nothing. To this day people believe in the Bystander Effect.
In fact multiple neighbors called the police. One even went to her to comfort her believing police were on the way and was driven off by the murderer coming back to finish her off.
The New York Times asked the police about it in their reporting, and without checking, believed them that they didn’t get any calls. In fact the police were covering for them badly dropping the ball. If they’d actually responded when the first call came in, Genovese could probably have been saved.
The lazy reporter later became the editor of the New York Times, having eroded a large amount of humanity’s trust in itself.
Isn’t that whole Myers-Briggs personality test recognized as a complete fabrication.
Touching a baby bird will make its parents reject it.
Edited to add: Any baby animal. When in doubt, reach out to your local wildlife rehabilitation network/individual.
Blood in your veins is blue and red in your arteries. Literally every elementary school teacher I had kept this lie going.
Different parts of your tongue don't actually detect different types of taste. Your tongue is the same all over.
Using a cell phone a lot will give you cancer.
The radiation phones give off is harmless. They use radio waves to operate, which many of us here will have been exposed to our entire lives whether or not we use a phone. AM/FM radio causes radio waves to be going through us at all times.
SOURCE: Am currently studying the effects of different kinds of radiation on microorganisms in my microbiology class
Numerous studies on this topic have all come up showing zero evidence of this being a problem, even the ones not sponsored by cell phone companies. Physical models of the effect of this radiation on proteins and other organic chemicals show it's not even possible to have an effect.
A lot of cryptocurrency scams.
Majority of the suckers often either continue to hold their investments; that was worth less than dirt, or go on to invest in yet another scam.
Got a call a while ago. Scam: Do you want to invest in cryptocurrency? Me: sure Scam: go to Invest.com Me: how u spell it? Scam: I like in Italy ... (20 minutes later).. Me: no still page not found, I type "invest.comilikeinitalytlikeintomato" Scam: goodbye
That the Great Wall of China is visible from the moon. I swear I even had my history teacher in High School stating that it was true.
That people are “right” or “left” brain thinkers and that it has any bearing on her personality and level of logic or creativity.
The left and the right brain are definitely different. Watch this - https://youtu.be/wfYbgdo8e-8 - it might blow your mind but which one!
If you pull out a grey hair three more grow in its place, my sister still believes this one.
It's true, though not because you've pulled one out, it's because you're going grey! I know, lol.
That carrots improve your eyesight. I think it was used in the Great British blackout because there was a food shortage and carrots was the easiest thing to get. Don't quote me on that tho.
That Kennedy called himself a jelly doughnut in a speech to Berliners and they all laughed at him. Not true, he was fine using "ich bin ein berliner" there.
Essential oils.
Well, they don't treat or cure stuff, but can alleviate some symptoms. Some smell great. I usually put some mint oil on my pillow when i have a cold so I don't wake up every hour to inhale the minty stick or whatever it's called. Oils have benefits, but they don't magically heal, just like a massage doesn't cure my bad bones and muscles, but it sure helps with pain. I feel like people with too much time on their hands and money to buy the oils just have nothing better to do than spew s**t like this instead of listening to medical experts, but who knows what that disorder is called anyway? It's just certain that it cannot be "cured" by the oils.
It’s illegal to keep the light on in the car while driving.
Note: this post originally had 58 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
Stop believing anyone's uterus is your business. You are killing women. That's all.
Cheetos make good presidents. The amount of people that still believe this is astonishing.
A few of these are just personal opinions of the author I think, however Myths and conspiracy theories sell well :D
I was hoping GMOs would be on the list. People think they are dangerous when they are not.
The thing with these post is that they just say a word or two but don't let us know why and/or why not. For ex. Essential Oils. Okay, what about them? The other thing is that nothing is supported with reports/facts, etc. either.
Well for one many are poisonous and any oil can cause pneumonia and death if ingested and accidentally inhaled into the lungs (like people do with beverages) because it disrupts surfactant. They can poison children and small animals when used in a diffuser. Just don't buy them.
Load More Replies...Why is/are god(s) not on this list? Just as much nonsense as anything else on the list.
One thing I have learned... and it's not universal and so it does not apply to everyone. Some people just have weak immune systems. Most of the people who always have sniffles, a cold, stomach flu and get the flu annually... don't wash their hands after using the toilet.
My immune system was just fine until I went through pregnancy and childbirth. After that, I catch everything that's going around. I haven't changed my hand washing policy.
Load More Replies...Humans are not the only intelligent species in the whole entire universe. There are other mutch higher intelligent species roaming around outer space. They just don't want to mingle with us because they look at us like the way we look at pond scum.
Not een the only intelligent species on this planet. :-)
Load More Replies...Stop believing anyone's uterus is your business. You are killing women. That's all.
Cheetos make good presidents. The amount of people that still believe this is astonishing.
A few of these are just personal opinions of the author I think, however Myths and conspiracy theories sell well :D
I was hoping GMOs would be on the list. People think they are dangerous when they are not.
The thing with these post is that they just say a word or two but don't let us know why and/or why not. For ex. Essential Oils. Okay, what about them? The other thing is that nothing is supported with reports/facts, etc. either.
Well for one many are poisonous and any oil can cause pneumonia and death if ingested and accidentally inhaled into the lungs (like people do with beverages) because it disrupts surfactant. They can poison children and small animals when used in a diffuser. Just don't buy them.
Load More Replies...Why is/are god(s) not on this list? Just as much nonsense as anything else on the list.
One thing I have learned... and it's not universal and so it does not apply to everyone. Some people just have weak immune systems. Most of the people who always have sniffles, a cold, stomach flu and get the flu annually... don't wash their hands after using the toilet.
My immune system was just fine until I went through pregnancy and childbirth. After that, I catch everything that's going around. I haven't changed my hand washing policy.
Load More Replies...Humans are not the only intelligent species in the whole entire universe. There are other mutch higher intelligent species roaming around outer space. They just don't want to mingle with us because they look at us like the way we look at pond scum.
Not een the only intelligent species on this planet. :-)
Load More Replies...