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 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
“Boost Your Knowledge”: 50 “Facts” That Are Actually Not True, Shared By This Twitter Account
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.
This post may include affiliate links.
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.
RELATED:
#3
Debbie Barnes 3 years ago
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...
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."
#5
Chad 3 years ago (edited)
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.
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."
#8
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.
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.
#10
Bored Person 3 years ago
If you eat enough carrots your skin can actually turn slightly orange though
#12
Alan Green 3 years ago
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.
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.
"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.
#14
"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.
#16
Sasha 3 years ago
Potentially only because no one is dumb enough to go piranha diving? Look up piranha feedings on YouTube and see if you would risk it. Honestly people tend not to stick around after theyve lost a finger. Im sure if you tied someone up and lowered them in the water, with a big school and a bit of time, you would get the desired results.
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.'"
#19
Max Robitzsch 3 years ago
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.
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."
#24
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.”
#26
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.
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.”
#34
BlackestDawn 3 years ago
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.
Niall Mac Iomera 3 years ago
Exactly. It doesn't matter how long a fishing line is. You won't see it from the top of a skyscraper
Load More Replies...
Thomas E S Thomas 3 years ago
Actually, many millions of man made objects can be seen from space. The Great Wall is only ten meters wide at its widest, and made of the same materials as the surrounding geography, so it's pretty well camouflaged, but interstate highways that are 100 meters wide and made of white concrete are easily visible from the Space Station with simple binoculars. Cities are grey blobs of straight lines. Go on Google maps and pull out to 500 km and you'll see basically what the Astronauts see.
Kristin Ingersoll 3 years ago
I immediately thought of the great pyramids. Of course they can be seen! But BP doesn't fact check anything, so I take their "facts" for what they're worth. LOL
Load More Replies...
Just_a_lazy_witch 3 years ago
There was very similar post on BP before, where I wrote this, but here we go again :D The myth is, that The Great Wall of China is visible from the Moon. Which really is not possible, because from that afar are even the continents hard to recognize. BUT the line, where Space "starts" is defined as 100km (62 miles) above the Earth. Which is actually pretty close. From that distance is easy to see many man made objects - highways, big buildings, even some bigger ships.
Ronda News Channel 3 years ago
This myth is what I know since I was a child (fom the Moon not from space)
Load More Replies...
Heliocracy 3 years ago
Guys, I think the unspoken implication is "with the naked eye." However "space" does need to be better defined for this context.
Daniel Yamada 3 years ago
Not correct. The Great Wall of China actually is visible from space because it reflects light. The wall is part of the landscape that astronauts see when they look at China. However, the wall is not "distinguishable" from space. Also, "manmade" is one word, not two.
Bouche Clay 3 years ago
How high are we considering to be space? I saw a photo of, back in my childhood.
Chad 3 years ago
100 km above the earth or technically above sea level which is call the The Karman Line which is where earth's atmosphere ends
Load More Replies...
Salty Wild Hair 3 years ago
Weird. Satellite photos taken of old plantations showed us where slave cabins were located. Why did anyone need to know that? Because people lived there once, and some of their descendants wanted to know where.
bill marsano 3 years ago
NASA expert told me the Wall is detectable from space when the declination of the sun is such that the Wall casts a wide shadow.
Nicholas Blanchard 3 years ago
Actually you can, but it's difficult. Easier to see skyscrapers and Bridges
Ruth Nelson 3 years ago
unless you include the outer atmosphere as "space" then it is visible. see Google earth.
Tony James 3 years ago
"From space" is a really loose definition. If you truly believe that no man-made object can be seen from space, then stay away from Google Earth because that sh*t will blow. your. mind.
michael Chock 3 years ago
Pretty sure objects created by climate change can be seen from space. Like shrunken ice caps, enlarged deserts and a shrinking Amazon.
Russell Rieckenberg 3 years ago
I haven't been pedantic in a while, so I need to get this off my chest. A spacecraft can be seen from space.
Richard Smith 3 years ago
"No man object can be seen from space?" What about the space ships and satellites? ;)
Izzy Curer 3 years ago
I thought there were garbage dumps that were visible from space, no? What exactly are we referring to as 'space' here? Technically you can see a housecat from space using a satellite
David Paterson 3 years ago
The easiest way to see millions of manmade objects from space is to view Earth from space at night. Google Earth is not a reliable way to judge whether an object can be seen from space, the images on Google Earth are heavily filtered to reject blue light from the atmosphere, reflections from the Sun, and clouds. Both NASA and ESA have photographs of the Great Wall of China from space, but with the naked eye, no.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
depending on how you define "space" and at what distance. I think this is BS. I am pretty sure we can see cities from space. If spy satellites can see *people* from space, you definitely can see the GWC.
#35
#39
Sasha 3 years ago
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.
#40
BlackestDawn 3 years ago
And technically makes you colder since the dilated blood vessels loose heat faster.
#43
Jerry Mathers 3 years ago
Flossing is at least as important as brushing. Do it each time you brush. And rinse well after flossing.
#45
BlackestDawn 3 years ago
You do know that sneezing and coughing are not purely down to illness, right?
#50
CrunChewy McSandybutt 3 years ago
This has been proven untrue many times over. Weight gain is mostly a calories in/calories out equation (much more complicated but that's the basis).
#55
ADHORTATOR 3 years ago
it depends... we have 4k cctv cameras at work and I can not only see their faces, but also what kind of candybar they are eating :-)
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Fat Harry 3 years ago
This list is rubbish. I can't believe anyone believes in most of these "myths".
Monday 3 years ago
So many of these "truths" are just downright wrong too. So that shows BP staff have plenty of time to go through anything and get rid of nasty words like "die" or "D**k" but can't be bothered to quality check anything.
Load More Replies... Wandaluzt 3 years ago
And you think they'd care why? Copied content from another place, check, got you to read to the end, check, pushed loads of adverts and trackers at you while you read all of the content, check, got you to interact with the content boosting their page rankings, check.
Load More Replies... Just_a_lazy_witch 3 years ago
I do recommend The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. It is full of myth/facts like this with great explanations and interesting (real) facts. And is funny too! :)
Alain Terrieur 3 years ago
Almost half of the images are cropped and miss an important part of the text. I had to use Google Lens to find the original uncropped images. It also would have been nice if these sources were credited.
PoAngielsku 3 years ago
This is Bored Panda. They don't credit their sources. They steal other people's work and pass it off as their own.
Load More Replies...
TheDivineMsM 3 years ago
What are the sources for the facts? Without reference- I don't have any way of believing many of them.
Daaaaaaaaaaa 3 years ago
Most of this list is fooey! However, waking up to Ride of The Valkarie would send me into cardiac arrest.
Joyce Blodgett 2 years ago
Just another example of BP's agenda to push garbage at the public in order to keep their (useless, overpaid) jobs. Apparently nobody bothered to fact check the "truths" before stupidly posting them.
bill marsano 3 years ago
A lot of this stuff is nonsense. As a whole, the post is pretty poor; BP editors should know better.
Kevin Hickey 3 years ago
The best part of this post was all the mansplaining after each one. UGH.
rw55066 3 years ago
Myth: BP always provides excellent information. Fact: What a load of garbage.
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
BP doesn't provide any information. As you can clearly see this was copied from Twitter, they're screenshots of Twitter posts.
Load More Replies... Kristin Ingersoll 3 years ago
This is pathetic. A reminder than anyone can put a BP list together. And there is zero oversight. And zero accountability.
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
Oh Hi again Kristin. Sorry to burst your bubble again and all but you do like to make out you know all about this site. If you'd bothered to read then you'd see this 'article' is credited to a Bored Panda staff member and not some random user of the site. If you also care to look at the posts they're all copied from someone else's Twitter account. Literally screenshots. But of course you're going to tell me you and everyone else already knew that aren't you. Even though plainly you and quite a number of people don't.
Load More Replies... Bouche Clay 3 years ago
Not that it's not going to hurt a lot anyway. I burned my foot while in prison. (Spilled boiling -temp. water on it we used for cooking), and that hurt far worse than my broken arm ever did.
Bianca Saville 3 years ago
The cropping was awful. Really unprofessional. BP please do better.
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
Lol. Really. They only care about you seeing ads. This site is only good for reading on the toilet when you've nothing better to read. If you're that bothered then click the link under the pictures where you get to go to the Twitter posts they copied these from.
Load More Replies...
Fat Harry 3 years ago
This list is rubbish. I can't believe anyone believes in most of these "myths".
Monday 3 years ago
So many of these "truths" are just downright wrong too. So that shows BP staff have plenty of time to go through anything and get rid of nasty words like "die" or "D**k" but can't be bothered to quality check anything.
Load More Replies... Wandaluzt 3 years ago
And you think they'd care why? Copied content from another place, check, got you to read to the end, check, pushed loads of adverts and trackers at you while you read all of the content, check, got you to interact with the content boosting their page rankings, check.
Load More Replies... Just_a_lazy_witch 3 years ago
I do recommend The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. It is full of myth/facts like this with great explanations and interesting (real) facts. And is funny too! :)
Alain Terrieur 3 years ago
Almost half of the images are cropped and miss an important part of the text. I had to use Google Lens to find the original uncropped images. It also would have been nice if these sources were credited.
PoAngielsku 3 years ago
This is Bored Panda. They don't credit their sources. They steal other people's work and pass it off as their own.
Load More Replies... TheDivineMsM 3 years ago
What are the sources for the facts? Without reference- I don't have any way of believing many of them.
Daaaaaaaaaaa 3 years ago
Most of this list is fooey! However, waking up to Ride of The Valkarie would send me into cardiac arrest.
Joyce Blodgett 2 years ago
Just another example of BP's agenda to push garbage at the public in order to keep their (useless, overpaid) jobs. Apparently nobody bothered to fact check the "truths" before stupidly posting them.
bill marsano 3 years ago
A lot of this stuff is nonsense. As a whole, the post is pretty poor; BP editors should know better.
Kevin Hickey 3 years ago
The best part of this post was all the mansplaining after each one. UGH.
rw55066 3 years ago
Myth: BP always provides excellent information. Fact: What a load of garbage.
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
BP doesn't provide any information. As you can clearly see this was copied from Twitter, they're screenshots of Twitter posts.
Load More Replies... Kristin Ingersoll 3 years ago
This is pathetic. A reminder than anyone can put a BP list together. And there is zero oversight. And zero accountability.
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
Oh Hi again Kristin. Sorry to burst your bubble again and all but you do like to make out you know all about this site. If you'd bothered to read then you'd see this 'article' is credited to a Bored Panda staff member and not some random user of the site. If you also care to look at the posts they're all copied from someone else's Twitter account. Literally screenshots. But of course you're going to tell me you and everyone else already knew that aren't you. Even though plainly you and quite a number of people don't.
Load More Replies... Bouche Clay 3 years ago
Not that it's not going to hurt a lot anyway. I burned my foot while in prison. (Spilled boiling -temp. water on it we used for cooking), and that hurt far worse than my broken arm ever did.
Bianca Saville 3 years ago
The cropping was awful. Really unprofessional. BP please do better.
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
Lol. Really. They only care about you seeing ads. This site is only good for reading on the toilet when you've nothing better to read. If you're that bothered then click the link under the pictures where you get to go to the Twitter posts they copied these from.
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
