It’s no secret that it’s been getting increasingly hard to separate facts from fiction. With so much chaos, fake news, conspiracies and whatnot surfing around the media, it’s easy to lose your own standpoint.
But believing nonsense, aka myths, is part of (often flawed) human nature. In fact, people believed all kinds of crazy things a long time before the pandemic hit, and ridiculous beliefs, like that when you get a covid vaccine, you get injected with a microchip, started spreading much like the virus itself.
So when someone asked “what myth is still widely circulated as truth?” on r/AskReddit, the 33.2k responses came flowing in. We selected some of the most eye-opening ones that debunk so-called common knowledge that turns out to be anything but knowledge!
This post may include affiliate links.
A lot of people still believe a woman sued McDonald’s because her coffee was hot. In reality, the woman had 3rd-degree burns throughout her pelvic area and only asked that her medical bills be paid.
She only wanted that McDonalds paid her medical bills. McDonalds refused and that why she took them to court and got the $2.9 million awarded.
She actually only got $640,000 as it was reduced on appeal.
Load More Replies...
Watch the documentary, "Hot Coffee". It tells the story. The compensatory (?) went from $200K down to $160K. Punitive amount went from $2.7 or 2.9 mil down to about $480K. The numbers may be off, that's what I found. But the documentary was good and explains it.
Damn, some ordered coffees can be so hot. Some take like half an hour to cool to be drinkable. My water kettle at home cant even get that hot.
Her doctor said it was the worst burn case he’d ever seen. The coffee was at 190° F/ 88° C, just below boiling. And the whole “people can sue for anything” thing is a myth. Most of the time, the news picks up a story that some people want to sue for something ridiculous, but leave out that either no lawyer would take the case or the judge threw it out.
This happened to me some time ago! Got a hot tea and spilled some on my leg and got severe 2nd degree burns. It hurt like hell but at least the place agreed to pay the medical bills
That's great that they did that for you! Even 2nd degree burns can be excruciating and require skin grafts. I forget what I was cooking but boiling water splashed onto my stomach and I still have a scar years later. Having clothes on makes it worse because it takes longer to get water and aloe to cool it off. The times I burned my hand/arm I could at least get it under cool water and pump the aloe gel I have on the sink with the other!
Load More Replies...
A month after this hit the media I ordered a coffee from a McDonald’s in Wichita Falls, Tx. 50 miles up the road in Lawton, OK it was still too hot to drink. I still order McDonald’s coffee with a glass of water so I can throw some ice cubes in the coffee to cool it down some.
Ye gods, so many comments from people absolutely determined to not look up any details of the case and blame Liebeck. I'll just say this: Coffee that causes third-degree burns to your skin is too hot to drink. There's a huge range of temperature between "destroys human flesh" and "lukewarm." And the high punitive damages were initially awarded by the jury because of the abhorrent behavior of the lawyers representing Mickey D's. The cartoonist who draws "Too Much Coffee Man," Shannon Wheeler, has a breakdown of the incident, the courtroom mess, AND the media shenanigans that followed, posted online in comic strip form. (It gets political, so be prepared to cry if the truth hurts.) Just Google "shannon wheeler coffee lawsuit" without quotes.
I got tired of this story being the "look at this greedy old moron..." feature so I went and looked up the facts. It was horrifying. I don't know what this lady ended up with as compensation, but it wasn't enough.
watch 'adam ruin's justice' from adam's ruins everything. it's about the entire system but it has really cool thing about that and how the media was payed to redescribe the story.
So McDonalds coffee is supposed to be served lukewarm? Because I think if the temperature is below 98.6 it will feel tepid to us.
McDonald's ruins old ladies names and life because she wanted them to pay for horrendous third and second degree burns on her vagina and groin. She had to have skin grafts, and McDonald's went after her on the news nationwide. McDonald's and every American corporation is the epitome of evil, and the reason for your unhappiness in life. They unfairly game our system by bribing our dickless politicians. Time for a change. Both parties must be banned.
Poor woman not only had to be hospitalized the 3rd degree burns had to have skin graphs and that didn't go well either because the burns were that bad. At the same time she was having to hear the entire nation laughing about her.
Like most folks I thought the story was a joke at first, but that coffee wasn't "hot," it was scalding. Every headline about this story should say scalding. Great word, BTW!
I know McD's had been repeatedly warned about their excessively hot coffee, but I still think this woman's an idiot for opening it between her legs in a car. That's just stupid.
There had been many complaints before her accident that the coffee was too hot. She was the unfortunate victim that proved the point
Actually, the myth is that she blamed McDonald's for her own mistake of spilling it. I was there when this all happened. It's utterly shameful that we were all meant to believe this myth. The injury was horrific, and McDonald's treatment of her and the risk they were putting people in on a daily basis was also horrific. Many politicians took this and used it for political capital. It's so shameful. I'm glad so many of us at least know better now.
She did not get "3rd degree burns" - severe burns - yes, but not 3rd degree burns... 3rd degree burns are called "3rd degree burns" because they involve injuries that cause ALL layers of the skin in the affected area to be destroyed by heat - that means burns that go down to the flesh (muscle tissue) - hot coffee simply isn't hot enough to cause burns such as that unless the coffee is brewed at 232°F (Boiling) and coffee makers do not make coffee that hot - the "barista" would not be able to hold the paper cup if it was that hot. Just as a point of reference, when I was 10 years old I accidentally spilled a mug of hot drink that had just come from the kettle (so boiling) over my groin area and my injuries, while painful, were 2nd degree at worst (blisters)... so if you're going to "correct" myths that are circulating as truths, try to do so without adding mythical content of your own.
Yes, she did have 3rd degree burns. This whole thread is people citing the facts from various reports that it WAS this bad. So really..go look. "She suffered third-degree burns (the most serious kind) and required skin grafts on her inner thighs and elsewhere." www.caoc.org › "Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days while undergoing skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment. it was determined that she had suffered third-degree burns on six percent of her skin and lesser burns over sixteen percent. Liebeck suffered permanent disfigurement after the incident ." Kirsty Horsey; Erika Rackley (18 July 2013). Tort Law. Oxford University Press "... expert testimony that 190 °F (88 °C) coffee may produce third-degree burns (where skin grafting is necessary) in about 3 seconds and 180 °F (82 °C) coffee may produce such burns in about 12 to 15 seconds." Wall Street Journal https://youtu.be/Q9DXSCpcz9E Adam Ruins Everything
Load More Replies...
yeah, I also know about this, but when I mention it, people are "She should expected the coffee is hot, its normal, its her fault anyway, and that if she make coffee at home, its hot too." I even showed them a video of me making a coffee at home, and those machines actually don't making boiled hot coffee, It already have 80-85 celsium, because the water loosing its tempature by going through, but their machines is so strong that there is no heat loss before. I actually also bring an thermometer into the coffee shop (they argued, that in every coffee shop its normal to have boiled hot coffee) neither of the freshly brewed coffee in our famous cafeteria have higher tempature than 85. Yes it will still probably burnd her now, but not a 3rd-degree burns.... and she even admitted it was her fault for holding that cup with her legs.
She pored it on herself. If the employee had than she had a case. Personal reasonably should have been in play here.
And had to get skin grafts, wasn't even driving at the time, and McDonald's had previously been warned countless times about their coffee being served too hot, it was something like 190°
People also don't realise how hot the water would've been. I once spilt some black tea from a coffee chain shop on my hand and couldn't believe how bad the scald was, compared to spilling boiling water directly from the kettle onto myself. I found out that the water in these places is held under pressure at temperatures *above* 100ºC. This isn't the same as spilling your coffee on yourself at home.
I have already read this as a slightly older child and had been very happy for the woman that she had received more than she originally wanted as compensation for the 3grad Burning, and that the insurance of the fast foot restaurant / employee insurance had to pay for the treatment, instead of her health insurance. I only read years later that she also had to bear the remaining costs of the court case even though she had won and the treatment, and for that the money would hardly be enough in my country it is so that the loser side has to pay the costs of the court and that someone had to pay medical treatments themselves was for me at really out of my world. USA was somehow something cool where you wanted to go at some point and I just thought that the differences are school, political system, the children are picked up at home by the bus, the cities look different, and it is an immigration country and therefore the culture is very diverse. Other differences I didn't know as a child
Disgusting corporation, glad I haven't eaten that plastic chemical dogshit that they call food for years. Poor woman, she is a lovely person apparently.
I don't understand. All coffee and tea I know is made with boiled water. The kettle is switched off when it boils. Water boils at 100°C or 212°F. Why is everybody complaining about "hot" coffee?
Coffee isn't served at boiling-water temp. You don't need to boil water to make coffee- in fact there is cold-press coffee, or coffee made in a French press might be boiled, then poured over the coffee grounds, and left to seep. No one would drink actual, literally boiling water. That is 212 F. but it can get to be hotter, depending on what you' re using to heat it. A soft boil isn't as hot as a rolling boil, for example. When I was 17 I had to boil water because our water heater was out. I was carefully carrying the closed pot up stairs when my dog bumped me. I spilled hot previously boiling water down the front of my leg, held there by my jeans. When my mom grabbed the jeans off me, it took all the skin with it. I'll spare you the gory details but it took 6 months to heal and four surgeries. That water wasn't as hot as what this McD lady was given. see my next post..not enough room here
Load More Replies...
Shouldn't have to have had someone pay her medical bills, ridiculous country.
But she still sued McDonalds...because her coffee was hot... hence how she got the 3rd degree burns....
This is so true! Plus it only spilled in her lap because they didn’t have the lid on the cup properly. I remember her getting a lot of hate, because people were like, ‘of course coffee is hot, everyone knows that so she shouldn’t be able to sue’, but it was truly McDonald’s fault for not having the lid on properly. If you read her story, it’s kinda sad what she went through because of that whole situation.
No she took the lid off to add sugar and it poured all over her groin.
Load More Replies...
These were not "3rd degree burns": From Web MD: Third-degree. Sometimes called a “full thickness burn,” this type of injury destroys two full layers of your skin. Instead of turning red, it may appear black, brown, white or yellow. It won’t hurt because this type of burn damages nerve endings.
Yes and that is the type of burns she had. From the actual law suit - As a result of spillage of the defective coffee, Plaintiff sustained burns on her perineum, upper inner thighs, buttocks, genital areas, and lower abdominal wall including the left groin. The burns consisted of both second and third degree burns and were of such severity as to require debridement and skin grafting, causing enormous conscious pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of life’s enjoyment, for which she seeks damages. The foregoing treatment caused Plaintiff to incur medical expenses in the past, at the present, and into the reasonable future as follows: (a) past medical expenses: approximately $10,500.00; (b) future medical expenses: approximately $2,500.00. Total: $12,500.00.
Load More Replies...
While this is accurate, I have to point out that if you place a boiling hot cup of coffee between your legs, then try to drive, you're not too smart. Even a standard temperature coffee will burn you if you spill it. (Edit: I once bought a coffee from Dunkin Donuts and couldn't even take a sip for 45 minutes, so these places DO serve their coffee way too hot.)
She was not the driver, her son was and she was a passenger. Also, the car was not moving, they were in the parking lot, after the coffee spilled she got out to take off her sweatpants which had absorbed the hot coffee.
Load More Replies... I assume this was not her first cup of McDonald's coffee, so would have been well aware of its temperature. Why did she have a cup of coffee between her legs to remove the cap? Was she driving? If so that's illegal where I live and she could be charged by the police; certainly doing something illegal at the time would have severely limited the awarded amount, if not reduced them to zero. Has anyone conducted any research to find out what temperature coffee does not cause burns - unacceptably cool I suspect.
She wasn't driving. The car was parked. The cap also came off because it wasn't on properly. The idea that she pulled the cap off while driving was more lies spread by McDonalds' smear campaign.
Load More Replies...
The car wasn't moving, but good work proving this post right.
Load More Replies... 
She was a passenger. Her grandson was driving. They had pulled over in the parking lot so she could add sugar and cream, they were not moving. She spilled some on her, and the fact McDonald's serves it's coffee MUCH hotter than most meant her burns happened before she could really react. McDonald's had gotten in trouble before because of the temp they served their coffee at. They had something like 700 claims about burns when this happened.
Load More Replies... 
But those were for the hospital director. BUT Sheila only asked for about 10.000 dolars (the actual medical bill), the judge increased the sum because McDonald's had received reports that their coffee was served dangerously hot before and didn't take any precautions to prevent injury like this to happen.
Load More Replies... 
If you work hard at school and get good grades you'll get a good job and enjoy a stable life.
That diamonds are rare and therefore should be expensive, that is just a myth perpetrated by the de beers diamond cartel.
Many myths widely circulate as truth in our society, as this post has shown us all. And while some of them go about their ways for years and years after someone finally disproves them, other myths turn into full-blown fake news and conspiracies that can do a lot of harm.
Take anti-vaxxers, who vehemently avoid vaccines on the premise that they are dangerous and unhealthy. With the rise of the internet, they’ve organized into massive affirming echo chambers on forums like the Vaccine Resistance Movement. Researchers say that many conspiracies, just like covid denialism and anti-vaccination, are nothing new and they are all the result of fear and distrust. Think of 9/11 conspiracies surfing on the internet forums that were basically fueled by the lack of faith in the government.
That you have to wait for 24h before you can report a missing person. If someone is missing, go get help!
Bulls hate red. They are actually colour blind and are reacting to the movement of the cloth and the a**hole behind it.
The mystery of how the pyramids were built. They know how they were built. Ramps, pulleys, ropes, and labor.
So in order to find out how exactly conspiracy theories work and why some people are more prone to believing them than others, we spoke with Annika Rabo, a professor emeritus of the Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University.
“Conspiracy theories can be understood as a response to the question: why are bad things happening to me (or my family, my ‘group,’ my country.) In conspiracy theories there is no room for chance but BAD THINGS happened because of the evil plotting of hidden actors out to harm,” the professor explained.
If an HIV-positive person has sex with another HIV-positive person, they don’t have to worry about protection. They do, because there are 140 different strains of the HIV/AIDS virus, and getting infected with another strain, especially a potentially deadlier one, could be dangerous. Also, pregnancy is still a very big risk for HIV-positive women. If you are considering a sexual relationship, get tested, and talk to your doctor about birth control.
people believe in the whole alpha and beta wolves thing
It’s not true. The “leaders” of the pack are the parents.
-in natural wolf packs, the alpha male or female are merely the breeding animals, the parents of the pack, and dominance contests with other wolves are rare if they exist at all.
Yes, the original theory was based on observations in a zoo, where a group of unrelated wolves had been artificially brought together. In the wild, packs are always family groups and don't show the same dynamic. Sadly, the incorrect theory had already spilled over into a lot of dog-training theories which are still used.
The Food Pyramid
A pyramid has three or four sides. I want to know what is on the other sides!
Prof. Rabo said that there may be a few reasons why people are prone to conspiracies. “Some researchers claim that people who are less able to handle uncertainties are more prone to embrace conspiracy theories. Other researchers claim that people embracing conspiracy theories are evenly distributed in the population.” Having said that, she added that “populations in stable democracies in North and West Europe have until now been less prone to embrace conspiracy theories of a political nature.”
The Bible.
I am Christian and I read the bible. But for heavens sake people it's far from a primary source, its been translated many times by people who are far from perfect, and the context of what its about, and it's translation should be taken into account. Words change meaning in less that centuries. It's far from a literal and perfect document.
That washing chicken gets it rid of bacteria. No. Cooking chicken gets rid of bacteria, given that you do it well. Washing chicken, on the other hand, can contaminate your whole kitchen with salmonella.
That goldfish have a 6 second memory. I mean it's still not great, I think like a couple of months. But still... Get your fish a bigger damn tank
When it comes to the conspiracy theories we notice now in the pandemic period, Prof. Rabo said that they are not really different from earlier ones. “They involve hidden agents who are either evil outsiders or insiders. The suspicion against vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies is not new. What is new is the fact that news and conspiracy theories are spread VERY quickly across vast distances today,” she explained.
“The basic elements—the theme—of conspiracy theories are fairly constant, but the elements differ and if they do not resonate with local conditions, they will disappear or evolve into new elements,” the professor concluded.
That you can tell if someone is a "virgin" by looking at their hymen to see if it is "intact."
That whole "you eat seven spiders a year" myth. It was created by some lady in the late 90s or early 2000s to prove that ridiculous things can be found on the internet, spread like wildfire, and believed by many.
That cold is caused by lower temperatures. The cold is a virus that transmits between people.
Edit: a lot of people are saying that cold temperatures weaken the immune system and thus indirectly make you more susceptible, and while it’s true, the direct cause for common colds is caused by human contact.
That the tongue has different regions for salty, sweet, bitter, and sour.
The Bermuda triangle. Turns out ships and planes disappear at the same rate all over the world's oceans.
Bermuda Triangle is just a highly active part of the ocean when it comes to sea trade
I was adamantly told by some seniors at work not to drink the water that boiled twice because it cooks the oxygen out of it.
That historical armour was useless, or just something you wore so you had a slight chance to turn a death blow into merely a serious injury.
Shows and movies still perpetuate this. Game of Thrones has "acclaimed" sword fights where guys casually shove swords through dudes in plate armour. Impossible. Metal is not cardboard.
Even the most basic iron or bronze chain mail armour will be barely scratched by a slash from the sharpest katana. Well-made plate armour is impervious to all damage short of a blow from a specialized armour-piercing weapon (lance, pole axe etc.). Even the earliest guns couldn't penetrate plate armour.
Armour was incredibly expensive. Common people couldn't afford it so made do without or, if lucky, with fabric armors (that were still very effective protection!). A suite of the custom-made plate would have cost a knight the equivalent of a modern high-end luxury car. Why would people pay that much for something useless?
Armour was very useful. That's why weapons continued to advanced over the centuries and why armour did as well. It was an arms race.
That the seeds are the spiciest part of hot pepper. The seeds are the only part of a pepper that isn't spicy. The white stuff near the seeds though, spice max.
Knuckle cracking doesn't lead to arthritis, it is just an old wives tale people use in place of simply telling you it's annoying them. Crack away!
Actually, as a lifelong knuckle cracker, it doesn't cause arthritis but can cause tendon/ligament damage in the fingers and hands.
That Corsets are a lethal torture item and every Victorian woman did tight-lacing.
The myth about harmful Corsets was started by Victorian men, in order to bring down women-owned businesses. And some feminists (looking at you, Emma Watson) swallowed that lie, hook, and sinker, thinking they are empowering somebody with it.
The truth is, Corsets are way better than bras. If you have back pains, which many women have because of their bras, switch to Corsets. There is a reason, why it was used that long.
You have to wait 30 min to swim after eating
When I was a kid, in Spain, it was said you had to wait 2 hours! :)
The European "Dark Ages"
People seem to love the idea that, between the fall of Rome and, like, DaVinci or something, everyone in Europe was just blowing spit bubbles and looking at the funny pictures in the Bible. Not only was there not a complete absence of classical learning in Europe during the dark ages but throughout the dark ages and medieval period, there actually was a fair amount of progress in fields like architecture, engineering, metallurgy, philosophy, theology, and yes, even science.
But then again, I suppose it all ties back to the notion that people in the past were somehow far stupider than we are.
Note: this post originally had 47 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
That you need to make at least 10k steps a day. While moving around and going for a walk is certainly healthy, that 10k number actually has no scientific backing. It was a clever marketing strategy of a Japanese pedometer manufacturer, Japanese symbol for 10k looks like a walking figure.
And people who believe you can accurately count steps by wearing a fitbit on your WRIST.
Load More Replies...
This place has rapidly become RedditLite. What happened to all the non-recycled non-political fun??
Having an advanced degree in one thing making one an expert in all other fields. No it does not. I have met a few Master/PHD holders who were pretty clueless- except for their narrow speciality.
You'd hope though that everyone who has done some sort of proper scientific research has a grasp of what science is and how it works. Understanding how immensely huge the seemingly tiniest topics can be in the scientific world and hence have a better understanding of what to respect respect or be sceptic about published results.
Load More Replies...
I think we all have learn that not everything posted online are the truth. So I will consider all things posted in this thread as such
I have learn That not everything posted online are the truth And that also what I think about these posts
I was thinking of Politicians being honourable and working for the people but does anyone ever believe that
Haha yes they do. This corona virus proves it. Everyones doing what the govt is telling them and noone is actually checking to see if they are wrong. Australia, March 2020: don't wear masks, they are not needed. 7 months later and they're telling us to wear masks cause it's airborne, subtle info that should have been made very clear from the onset, that would have saved possibly 1000 lives
Load More Replies...
Please take away "The Bible" part. I don't believe that the Bible is a myth, and I find it very offensive for you to say so publicly that the Bible is fake. I think people should be allowed to have beliefs without being insulted and hated on. We should all work to respect and love each other.
How about: Guns are bad, and if the Gummint takes 'em all away, then there'll be no more crime. ?
Still waiting for the U.S. to prove they are good though. Crimes rates / murders / deaths involving firearms smash my country’s figures into the dust and weirdly we are pretty much unarmed as a nation. We are proving every year that firearms are best kept locked away and only used for sport. Protection by way of firearms leads to more of your own household being killed. Guns? A great tool. Humans? Also great tools, just a different kind of tool.
Load More Replies...
Hate that people think that: All your body cells are replaced every 7 years. No, then tattoos would all go away. Thomas Crapper did NOT invent the flush toilet.
That skipping meals is bad for me. No it's not, I don't eat when I'm not hungry and that's far healthier than you stuffing your face with mcdonalds just because the clock tells you it's a certain time Karen!
OK, I don't know why you are angry at a "Karen" that clearly isn't here. Can it please be time to put "Karen" to rest now? It already feels reeeally passé.
Load More Replies... That you need to make at least 10k steps a day. While moving around and going for a walk is certainly healthy, that 10k number actually has no scientific backing. It was a clever marketing strategy of a Japanese pedometer manufacturer, Japanese symbol for 10k looks like a walking figure.
And people who believe you can accurately count steps by wearing a fitbit on your WRIST.
Load More Replies... This place has rapidly become RedditLite. What happened to all the non-recycled non-political fun??
Having an advanced degree in one thing making one an expert in all other fields. No it does not. I have met a few Master/PHD holders who were pretty clueless- except for their narrow speciality.
You'd hope though that everyone who has done some sort of proper scientific research has a grasp of what science is and how it works. Understanding how immensely huge the seemingly tiniest topics can be in the scientific world and hence have a better understanding of what to respect respect or be sceptic about published results.
Load More Replies... I think we all have learn that not everything posted online are the truth. So I will consider all things posted in this thread as such
I have learn That not everything posted online are the truth And that also what I think about these posts
I was thinking of Politicians being honourable and working for the people but does anyone ever believe that
Haha yes they do. This corona virus proves it. Everyones doing what the govt is telling them and noone is actually checking to see if they are wrong. Australia, March 2020: don't wear masks, they are not needed. 7 months later and they're telling us to wear masks cause it's airborne, subtle info that should have been made very clear from the onset, that would have saved possibly 1000 lives
Load More Replies... Please take away "The Bible" part. I don't believe that the Bible is a myth, and I find it very offensive for you to say so publicly that the Bible is fake. I think people should be allowed to have beliefs without being insulted and hated on. We should all work to respect and love each other.
How about: Guns are bad, and if the Gummint takes 'em all away, then there'll be no more crime. ?
Still waiting for the U.S. to prove they are good though. Crimes rates / murders / deaths involving firearms smash my country’s figures into the dust and weirdly we are pretty much unarmed as a nation. We are proving every year that firearms are best kept locked away and only used for sport. Protection by way of firearms leads to more of your own household being killed. Guns? A great tool. Humans? Also great tools, just a different kind of tool.
Load More Replies... Hate that people think that: All your body cells are replaced every 7 years. No, then tattoos would all go away. Thomas Crapper did NOT invent the flush toilet.
That skipping meals is bad for me. No it's not, I don't eat when I'm not hungry and that's far healthier than you stuffing your face with mcdonalds just because the clock tells you it's a certain time Karen!
OK, I don't know why you are angry at a "Karen" that clearly isn't here. Can it please be time to put "Karen" to rest now? It already feels reeeally passé.
Load More Replies...