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Just because something’s repeated on the internet or in the classroom over and over again doesn’t automatically make it true. New research helps to constantly update our understanding of the world, but far from everyone gets the memo. And while some science lovers stay up-to-date with the newest and freshest discoveries, others cling on to old ‘facts’ that might no longer be true.

The internet’s full of ridiculous ‘facts’ and bro-science that sound logical but are anything but the moment you start digging just a bit deeper. And the ‘Myth Vs Fact’ Twitter account helps debunk popular internet myths by contrasting them with the truth.

Scroll down for some myth vs. fact comparisons and let us know in the comments which of these took you by surprise. Were there any myths that you took for facts? Are there any myths that weren’t mentioned that you think all Pandas should know about? Tell us all about it in the comments.

Bored Panda had a chat about scientific myths and facts with Steven Wooding, a member of the Institute of Physics in the UK, a member of the Omni Calculator team, and the creator of the Weird Units Converter. He told us that in areas where our knowledge is lacking, we can't immediately tell if something is a lie or not. "Most people then default to thinking the myth is true because they believe it is too much effort to check it out," he said.

Steven, from the Omni Calculator team, explained to Bored Panda that in modern times, we have a much easier time accessing and double-checking information. For instance, in the past, you'd need to go to the library. Meanwhile, "we now have Google and Wikipedia and can quickly debunk most things." However, that doesn't automatically mean that someone will spend their time making sure a fact is actually correct.

"A lot of people still don't take that step. It should get better over time. Facts will win in the end," Steven said.

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Debbie Barnes
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depression causes so many health issues, sadly resulting in many deaths. I just wished we addressed mental health as much as we address other illnesses...

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Steven agrees that keeping up with every new scientific finding is probably a full-time job these days. He suggests not stressing out too much about it.

"Focus on subjects and areas that interest you and seek out news about them," he told Bored Panda. "It is essential to appreciate that human knowledge is just today's best answer, but the answer may change tomorrow. Hopefully, the fundamentals don't change much, but relatively new sciences can and do change rapidly."

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Olivia Lisbon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He effectively bought the patent and improved it, but it still would’ve been pretty useless without Tesla.

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Chad
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course We use all of our brain, we use multiple parts of our brain at any given moment. (Each section uses approx. %10 at a time). Give or take. Different areas of the brain have different functions, so depending on what you're doing at the moment will determine which parts of it you will use. Edit: I could be mistaken but I was watching a documentary on these sort of tests so it could have changed since then. I'm constantly researching things I'm curious about, even the stupid things lol. Sometimes it's not always correct.

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Erik Ivan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The person who came up with the idea that dogs are color blind had little to none experience with dogs.

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According to Steven, from the Omni Calculator project, the myths that tend to get repeated the most are usually the ones that offer simple answers, whereas more complicated ones are actually closer to the truth.

"For example, the 'world population is growing exponentially.' No, it's not. The growth rate is now half of what it was in 1965, and in some developed countries, the population is falling, " he said, noting that Europe, North America, China, Japan, and Australia all have birth rates below the required replacement rate. "So the basic 'fact' of the myth is wrong, and the reality is a lot more complicated."

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Dan
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait is that a picture of snowball from Rick and Morty on the back of his sweater

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The ‘Myth Vs Fact’ Twitter page has nearly 90k followers which is an impressive feat, considering that the account was created very recently, in June 2022. The project is a good primer to get your curiosity revved up and to get you doing your own research about the topics that interest you.

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It’s impossible to portray every single scientific nuance on any question in a tiny Twitter post, so take some of the myth vs. fact pairings with a tiny grain of salt: there’s always a slightly broader context to be aware of. For instance, the Great Wall of China really can’t be from space, unless you use magnification… and even then, the conditions have to be pretty much perfect.

Meanwhile, carrots can improve your eyesight only under certain conditions. However, carrots don’t actually have the near-mystical qualities that you might have heard about in popular culture. So, when asked whether carrots actually improve your eyesight, you’d be better off saying yes and no, leaning more towards the latter. But nuance doesn’t always make for good social media content because brevity is key there.

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Olivia Lisbon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wasn’t that propaganda from WWII to hide their having radar from the Germans?

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Monday
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well that's not surprising considering Walt didn't have much talent for drawing.

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Alan Green
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i saw a long video all about this and it is actually partially true. Rechargeable batteries deteriorate more when they are at full charge or when they're very low on charge. They're "happiest" at around 50% charge. Most batteries are capable of holding much more charge than they do but they limit them to lengthen it's life in the long run (explains why you sometimes see other batteries the exact same physical size that somehow hold more charge. It does so at the expense of longevity) So, if you leave your phone on charge over night it will stay at 100% all night wearing it out slightly quicker than unplugging it letting the charge run down a bit. They said either way won't make a HUGE difference due to the charging limits manufacturers apply but keeping your battery around 50% all the time would increase it's life a little bit but it's not really practical to do so.

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Bored Panda has spoken about media literacy, the reliability of information, as well as fact-checking quite a few times now. A while back, we got in touch with Lee McIntyre from the Center of Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. Lee noted that repetition plays a key part in what we accept as the truth.

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"Repetition is important in making us believe things, whether they are true or not. There is a cognitive bias called the 'illusory truth effect' which is when we are repeatedly exposed to false information over and over and, over time, it begins to seem more plausible," he said that the idea has been on people’s radars since antiquity.

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julie son
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, yes you can. Somebody demonstrated it, with a real grenade, without the explosive, though. And logically, if something is so well wedged in that it would pull my teeth out, there is no way I could pull it with my finger.

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"Social psychologists have known since the 1960s that repetition works, for truth or falsity. In fact, this idea goes back to Plato who said that it didn't hurt to repeat a true thing. And of course, for falsehood, this was one of the main propaganda tactics in Nazi Germany, where Hitler's propaganda minister understood the 'repetition effect.’" People begin to believe falsehoods if they’re repeated over and over (and over) again.

Even well-educated individuals can sometimes fall prey to these biases and fallacies. "I understand cognitive bias, yet last election season I kept seeing signs for the same candidate running for local office around my town. I thought, 'Wow, I guess everyone is voting for her.' It turns out I was just walking my dog in the neighborhood where she lived, and her friends and neighbors had up lots of signs! So I fooled myself,” Lee shared an example from his own life with Bored Panda.

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Fat Harry
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hang on... who thought the internet was connected by satellites? I've never heard of this "myth".

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Chad
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sugar content is the same but due to the process, brown sugar retains more vitamins and minerals from the sugarcane

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The expert mentioned that it would be absolutely exhausting to fact-check every single piece of news that we hear. That’s why we have to learn to pick the right news sources. “In fact, insisting on this degree of skepticism is something that demagogues use to get us to be cynical, because when we doubt that it is possible to know the truth—even when it is staring us in the face—we are riper to their manipulation. So I'd say the best thing with news is to do a little investigation into finding a reliable source," he said.

"Look for an organization that does investigative journalism (and doesn't just repeat information from other sources), double sources its quotations, discloses conflicts of interest, etc. Once we've found that we can relax a bit and trust the reporting behind the stories. Do we still need to be on guard? Yes. Even The New York Times can make mistakes. Or individual reporters can have biases. But that doesn't mean 'all sources are equal.'"

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Max Robitzsch
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The reality is likely that people who microwave all or most of their food tend to eat more processed (less healthy) food in the first place. Correlation more than causation.

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Miocha
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh. I thought it was my work colleague who is the most venomous in the world

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Lee shared some questions that everyone should be asking themselves when on social media and reading the news: “Is the story copyrighted? Is it dated? Is there a byline? Are other stories by the author solid? Is it published in a source that has been reliable in the past? Does it seem plausible—if not then you can do some research. Will we get fooled sometimes in doing this? Yes. But we're going to get fooled sometimes anyway”

He continued: “It's analogous to how scientists form their beliefs. They are skeptics, but they also—at some point when the evidence is sufficient—give their assent. Scientists deal with warrant, not 'proof.' They are what philosophers call 'fallibilists.' You give your belief to things that are well-sourced with evidence, while always holding out the possibility that if further evidence comes to light that contradicts your belief, you should give it up because you might be wrong."

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Olivia Lisbon
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even in a wind tunnel. I did this as a complete beginner, the guy was like “watch me and do what I do.” Okay. Except the second I stepped into the tunnel, both my contacts flew out of my eyes and stuck to the inside of my goggles. So now all I can see is a vague blurry blue and pink thing waving at me. He was probably yelling too, but as stated, you cannot hear anything but your own thoughts of “f**k”.

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Meanwhile, media expert Mike Sington reiterated the fact that it’s vital to check which sources are reliable. He told Bored Panda that the sources that he personally trusts are the Associated Press, Reuters, and The New York Times.

"They employ fact-checkers and editors that ensure the information they post is correct. They’re basically doing the research and homework for you. There are literally too many online sources to list that can’t be trusted and should be avoided. Anyone can basically post anything they want… proceed with caution.”

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Some red flags that indicate a claim might be completely made up, according to Mike, include: "It's outlandish, it's too good to be true, you haven't seen the claim anywhere else, you've never heard the source, the source isn't reputable, you can't find two other sources making the same claim, your gut tells you, 'this can't be true.’”

As social media continues to become even more widely used, it’s had a negative effect on the reliability of information. That’s because misinformation can spread just as quickly as—if not quicker than—the truth.

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Erik Ivan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's more like 7 hours or more. Some people need more then 8 hours sleep each night. Also, health problems may increase the need for sleep quite a lot.

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The media expert told Bored Panda that you should kick things off by doing a simple Google search if you doubt the veracity of a fact. If you’re not able to find any additional evidence to support a claim or if you doubt the reliability of the sources, you ought to remain skeptical.

"Do this and think before reposting or you may be contributing to the problem. Amplification doesn’t make a claim true or accurate.”

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Jennik
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Neither is completely accurate and both are an over-simplification. Chameleons can change their appearance in response to temperature, environment, or mood.

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BlackestDawn
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is long enough to be seen from space but it is not wide enough. Most don't realize that you need to two dimensions that are large enough for something to be seen from a specific distance.

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Fat Harry
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh come on, this is getting silly now. No one thinks a hat causes hair loss!!

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Sonja
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You catch disease when your imunity system is eager to catch any disease. When you are weakend it is more likely you get ill more than when your imunity is boosted. But that's a known fact.

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Sasha
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For all your toxin cleansing needs, please refer to the liver. On a serious note, toxins is a unhelpful ambiguous term. Urine for example removes waste from your body, but also excess water. As you may have heard, too much water can actually kill you, is water considered a toxin then? Many substances in your body are both vital but also often discarded in order to keep the necessary concentrations. Basically the whole concept is weird and bogus, your body constantly produces waste as a nirmal part of life, reabsorbs certain parts, discards others. Anything capable of hanging around in your body and also doing you harm will not be helped by sweating thats for sure, but with stuff like heavy metal poisoning thats the point, your body cant get rid of it so it accumulates. Anything your body doesn't want and CAN yeet, it swiftly will, wether you like it or not.

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BlackestDawn
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And technically makes you colder since the dilated blood vessels loose heat faster.

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Circa
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't really understand this though. Presumably he'd seen plenty of things fall already.

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Fembot
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait at least 30 mins after eating something acid, like fruit or yoghurt. The acids make your teeths’ enamel softer and brushing it straight after will damage it.

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Monday
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just because yeast CAN produce strong beer doesn't mean that somewhere someone isn't adding spirits to bolster their weak beer....who the heck came up with this list cause they suck!

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BlackestDawn
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You do know that sneezing and coughing are not purely down to illness, right?

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Dammian
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well I don't know about everyone else, but I prefer some good quality socks over any head protection in cold weather!...

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Sonja
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That she had a Greek ancestry doesn't mean that she wasn't from Egypt.

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Olivia Lisbon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excellent. I can’t gain weight to save my life, a great excuse to nap after every meal.

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