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!
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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.
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.
Yes but the basic principles are still there so it's still a good thing to turn to for encouragement or a boost.
Load More Replies...People are free to choose their religious beliefs and not be mocked for it. You dont know if it is true of false, same with the Quran, or dozens of other religious works. That is what religion is. You pick what you want to beleive and follow it. Dont mock it because you choose a different form of belief.
The Bible is not a book to explain the making of the universe and nature. It's the message it tries to convey behind the stories that counts. Besides, there are innumerable eminent scientists who are religious.
Load More Replies...How do you come to a fun list of things like diamond and pyramids and goldfish and think, "Hey, this is the perfect place to mock people's faith!" Not cool.
Who's mocking? It's just stating a fact. You beleiving in God does not make the bible true. If you know how that thing came to be, you would understand the statement.
Load More Replies...i feel like some things in the bible are myths. Like the whole gay thing. I mean, it basically contradicts itself. God is supposed to love everybody and steer them to the right path in their life. If I'm bisexual and I'm getting my s**t together, why cant God love me, ya know? Im doing what I need to be doing to have a good life, and I'm also loving who I want to love
Sorry about your downvote. Here, have an upvote.
Load More Replies...Everyone has the right to believe or not believe in something. It's not our job to monitor people who don't believe the same as them. If you're offended by someone's personal opinion, then walk away.
Turdle, there is a story with a talking donkey in the bible. Do you honestly believe that actually happened? There are witches, wizards, zombies, angels, demons, unicorns, fairies, giants, souls, ghosts, etc. in the bible; do you believe those things are real? If you are a grown adult and you believe these things, it's worthy of ridicule. Every time the bible makes a scientific claim, it fails. It says the earth is flat. It says the heavenly bodies rotate around earth (only the moon does). It says bats are birds. It says that if you want striped cows and goats, put them in front of striped things while they are mating and they will produce striped offspring. That's the silliest thing I have ever heard. Is that how genetics works? The bible tells you to bake with feces that you watched a man poop out. Are you aware of that?
Load More Replies...For those complaining that this mocks people's faith, I have to give the American viewpoint. In my country, Christians will repeatedly try to force their religion onto others, often through legislation. See the recent Texas law regarding abortion, for one. It has no scientific basis, and is purely religious in nature.
God made humans but didn't like how they turned out and was angry. So, he sent himself to earth to be killed by us so that he would be able to forgive us...makes sense?
It does. And he was not mad z he was heartbroken. Get your facts straight
Load More Replies...Really? If you don't like it, don't read it. Millions of people find it life-changing in a good way. I will, however, agree with those who find many Christians don't represent their God very well. I include myself in that.
Clicked ‘see more replies’, just for the offended, wasn’t disappointed. Offence is taken, not given. If you have faith, good for you, if you don’t that’s cool too. All I ask is that whatever your beliefs you separate them from politics, from the education system and pay tax on any funding your particular church or religion benefits from. No one has the definitive answer, too many conflicting viewpoints so in light of that ALL religions should be removed from having influence over any government that works for ALL. Your views (whilst very important to you) should not be imposed on others. Cool? Cool.
The buy-bull, Built-In Bigotry, Literary Enslavement
Load More Replies...One thing which strikes me most (besides that translations of any religious text to this day is less than 10% accurate) is believe of religious people that they need "explanation" to those texts, that's why they need to go to classes and churches and stuff. Explanations depend on who give them and what his personal opinion is on those, things I heard from my religious part of family are more than ridiculous. It's just pure sad and worrying. It's just a tool to control masses, nothing more.
A BOOK IS NOT A CULT! Had the OP elaborated I might have taken them seriously but as it is they just leapt in with their emotions so all the atheists could leap on the bandwagon. Now that is cult like.
When humans didn't understand the world around them, they made up stories of explanation. Eventually, these stories became anthologies. We now know there is no scientific basis for these stories, so it's time to grow up and put the fairy tales down. If people stopped relying on eternal salvation, our planet wouldn't be so f*cked up.
The first part was written by some good old Hebrew guys to back up their claims that they were the masters of the universe.
Please don't hate on people's religions. Humans should be respected and treated well, regardless of their beliefs. God is not just some ruler sitting in the clouds, judging people for their sins. He is a just, loving God. He is like a parent who makes rules for the good of his children, but still loves his children if they stuff up.
Do you have proof that he even exists? So loving that he was pleased when David brought him hundreds of bloody foreskins?
Load More Replies...im not religious whatsoever but this was a pretty shitty thing to say. yeah, there is some stories in the bible that aren't true, but you're still mocking people's faith.
sorry my brother was on my phone ignore this
Load More Replies...Ignorance like this post often masquerades as enlightenment and blasphemy as something humorous. This entire site becomes less entertaining by the day.
Then leave, scotty with a little s. Nobody wants you here. Nobody cares. Get off your high horse, you self-righteous a-s-s. The bible is f-u-cking evil. It endorses slavery and condones rape.
Load More Replies...News About Jesus’ Return This Is Clearly What the Bible Says But Only a Few Know Because Only a Few Really Read It. Matthew 16:27-28, In about 28 or 29 A.D. Jesus, refering to himself as “the Son of Man,” supposedly said, “... the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. I assure you that there are some of you here that will not die (will still be alive) before they have seen the Son of Man come as King." See Luke 21:5-33 and Mark 13:1-32 as well as Revelation 1:1-7 and 1st John 2:18--3:6 too. So, according to Matthew et al, Jesus, though he didn’t know it then, would return sometime between around 60 or 75 A.D. for his ptrdiction to be correct! Since he said it would be soon after the gospel had been preached all over the world (the Roman Empire. See Colossians 1:23) and soon after Jerusalem was destroyed and the terrible tribulation that came with it (it happened in 70 A.D. and for a couple of
some of it is myths some history as eventually recorded, just do not take it literally
To Dave P, agreed that people should be respectful to all, however your post lacks logic. Either Jesus is the Messiah or He's not. Both things cannot be true. I think that it behooves every individual to find out which is which. Study and compare other religions. There is only one thing that's true. Truth is not subjective.
I am a Christian and a believer. Having said that, I believe that it has been manipulated by the Catholic church and Kings to say things that they want it to say. The Bible is the only thing keeping people from rising up against their wealthy oppressors and killing and eating them. So now, you know.
Biblical literalism dates from the 19th Century. Most religions, including Christianity, do/did not assume their Holy Books contained a literal, historical accurate record, but instead contained truths about the nature of humanity, the divine, and ethics within the stories. Kinda like how Discworld books don't relay events that actually happened, but still make pretty profound points.
If you really want to know instead of maintaining happy ignorance read a book called "Why Trust the Bible?" By Gary Gilbert. He explains how we got the Bible and why we can trust its accuracy and faithfulness to the earliest writings. It's very interesting, not hard to read and shows how today's Bible is the same as it's always been, not just a game of through the millennium telephone.
Linny, you should read The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament by Doctor Joshua Bowen. He is a doctor in ancient near-East languages. He cites peer-reviewed evidence throughout his book and his book is a scholarly source that can be used in universities.
Load More Replies...Why is it OK for people to offend/bash Christians/Christianity but when people call people by the incorrect pronoun you're a bigot and an awful person? I honestly do not understand this. If you want to believe you're a lawn chair, let someone else believe in the Bible.
Matthewunwise, there is a story with a talking donkey in the bible. Do you honestly believe that actually happened? There are witches, wizards, zombies, angels, demons, unicorns, fairies, giants, souls, ghosts, etc. in the bible; do you believe those things are real? If you are a grown adult & you believe these things, it's worthy of ridicule. Every time the bible makes a scientific claim, it fails. It says the earth is flat. It says the heavenly bodies rotate around earth (only the moon does). It says bats are birds. It says that if you want striped cows & goats, put them in front of striped things while they are mating & they will produce striped offspring. That's the silliest thing I have ever heard. Is that how genetics works? The bible tells you to bake with feces that you watched a man poop out. Are you aware of that? The bible condones slavery. Do you think slavery is good? The bible says a rapist must marry their rape victim. Is that good? How many victims want to marry theirs?
Load More Replies...So much misinformation and misunderstanding in these comments unfortunately. Makes my heart ache. So many missing out on beauty and peace. The Bible is Gods holy word. It’s a journey of faith to come to understand it’s truths, guided by His Holy Spirit. Unfortunately when men try to interpret it on their own, they fail. If you read it like any old book, written by humans that is what you’ll find. You need Him. Life is confusing and hard, but He is love and a better life.
There is a story with a talking donkey in the bible. Do you honestly believe that actually happened? There are witches, wizards, zombies, angels, demons, unicorns, fairies, giants, souls, ghosts, etc. in the bible; do you believe those things are real? If you are a grown adult and you believe these things, it's worthy of ridicule. Every time the bible makes a scientific claim, it fails. It says the earth is flat. It says the heavenly bodies rotate around earth (only the moon does). It says bats are birds. It says that if you want striped cows and goats, put them in front of striped things while they are mating and they will produce striped offspring. That's the silliest thing I have ever heard. Is that how genetics works? The bible tells you to bake with feces that you watched a man poop out. Are you aware of that?
Load More Replies...The title of this post is supposed to be about myths that are circulated as truth. In other words, things that have been proven untrue. A lot of religious texts (and even non religious sources) have the same history, origin stories and historical documentation that the Bible has, so you should list ALL those other religious texts and non religious sources as well that have the same information. It always fascinates me that God, Jesus get maligned while other historical religious figures get shown so much more respect. May I suggest doing research on proving the Bible wrong and then posting your sources for us to see, before you just simply list the Bible here as another myth without any backup. You explain other myths, explain this one too please.
Agree the Bible is real and glad to see you stand up - but expressing your anger In this way is not biblical and why people on here get the impression of us believers that they do.
Load More Replies...I have to object to that. Archaeology has proven there was no biblical flood, we did not descend from adam and eve, and so on. Pretty much everything before King David is myth, everything from david to solomon is considered legend at best, then reasonably accurate history kicks in about 800BC, when archaeology does a good job of confirming many of the stories.
Load More Replies...Word salad! All CAPS. Lara, next time try to string together a coherent thought.
Load More Replies...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...