Does eating an apple a day really keep the doctor away? What about lightning striking in the same place more than twice if it is made out of certain material? These questions arise when someone throws you one of the good old sayings to make a certain point or just to show some general domestic wisdom. But do they actually make sense?
Reddit users on their popular group r/AskReddit with over 32.7m members decided to actually debunk all of the sayings that we have been hearing so often. One of the community members, u/OptionsTrader14, dropped the question ‘What popular sayings are actually bulls***?’ Bored Panda selected the best answers so you can vote for your favorites.
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"What does not kill you makes you stronger."
Statistically that which almost kills you leaves you weaker, with PTSD, and medical bills.
On a brighter note, whatever kills you,makes you dead.
'Money can't buy happiness'.
The saying itself is true enough - it's about greed and it is meant to mean that however much wealth you have you can't buy your way to happiness. Being a millionaire, or a billionaire won't necessarily make you happy.
However, people badly misuse it almost as a refrain for those who are destitute - as if they don't deserve any more and it won't make them happy. It's that which is utter bulls***.
Because, being able to afford healthcare, to feed your family, a roof over your head and to not everyday have a gnawing, desperate anxiety and unending stress about whether you can afford to live each week will make someone a f***-ton happier than the alternative. And that's nothing to do with greed.
Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.
Wounds heal, but words can crush a spirit. They hurt far worse.
“It takes two to fight.” Not if someone is intent on bullying/harassing someone else. The policy where both people are punished is grossly unfair.
Sleep like a baby. A more accurate description for it would be pissed the bed twice and woke up screaming
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
As long as you are alive, you are capable of learning.
This saying is so wrong.... just imagine a doctor stop learning and stick to what they knew 30 years ago
This is sadly very accurate when it comes to doctors.
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My mum is a classic example of how this isn't true. At 70, she learned to use the Internet, shop online, use online banking and now at 73 is learning Spanish and wants to start on Korean (cos she loves Kdramas lol)
People like your mom give me hope, to be honest. It reminds me to move on and live for the moment, because you're never too old to enjoy doing whatever you want to do. Oh, and btw, 10 years ago, when I was still attending the Korean language course, we had a senior lady as a colleague. Your mom may be next. ^_-
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Have you ever tried to teach an average 70 years old to use the basic functions of a smart phone? I know people with several technical and teaching degrees, life long learners with decades of experience in different fields, curious of new scientific and technological advancements, still fixing their electric wires, old appliances and cars and YET barely able use their phone or remote. After a while most of our brains just stop absorbing new information in a way that translates to efficient actions.
This is true too, but it seems to me that we're all different. I've seen elderly people who, as you say, can't adapt, as well as elderly people who are eager to challenge the new and keep themselves updated. And this is all good and normal.
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Old animals with white or gray in their faces absolutely turn my heart to mush. I had a cat who lived to be 19 years old and all she ever wanted was for me to sit down so that she could lie on my lap and purr!
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I always thought when someone said this it was because older people are more reluctant to want to try to learn new ways of doing things. Like my grandmother who doesn't agree with putting a baby on their back to sleep & says "well my children turned out just fine on their tummies didn't they?!" (Face palm)
I decided to go childless, so I didn’t know about this. What’s the reasoning behind the reversal?
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i taught an friend's really old dog how to shake hands. it died the next week... :(
I am utterly certain that I will learn something new every day until I die. If I'm not learning, I might as well be dead.
Not true at all. I provided end of life care for my rescue group, so all my dogs were old, and they learned just fine.
It's a pet peeve of mine when people using this as an excuse to remain inefficient and basically doing a bad job. Over the years, I've seen too many people got made redundant because they refused to skill up even when the costs were covered.
you can but the older you get the less you are willing to change your opinions.
ALWAYS capable of learning. I hate that this phrase has been used to enable (in my experience) bigotry and psychological abuse.
Key problem is "can't" if someone is willing, you absolutely can. Some people choose to be stuck in their own ways - and in those cases it's true....regardless of age.
It's all about habits, not to learning something at presumably advanced ages.
Babies were suffocating its known as SIDS-Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
i can give a literal example on how its wrong. my dog is 8 and we still teach her things bc of how skiddish and crazy she is. shes even picking up on where we keep her treats even tho we redid our kitchen and have a new spot for them she learned and sits near the new cabinet. she finally mastered "give me paw" wen she was 7. we got her wen she was 1 or 2 this saying has never been more wrong whether its dog or human or any creature
the saying is not abot learning new data, but about stopping long learned habits
You haven't tried to teach an 89 year old aunt how to bake a pie have you?
First, there are a number of situations when a person is alive but there is no learning going on...vegetative state is probably highest on that list. Second, people learn all the time but there's nothing saying that they will apply that knowledge. I believe "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" goes more to a person stating that they are too old to change their ways.
I have been around dogs for most of my 49 years in this life. Old dogs often love to learn new things.
I think that saying is an insult to stubborn old farts who are set in their ways. Calling them an old dog....
It's like a plague doctor still doing those practices in 2021
"If you can't handle me at my worst then you don't deserve me at my best"
Basically emotionally manipulating people to live with your s*** because you may give them something better someday. Highly recommend considering breaking off these kind of people from your life.
This is true in some ways - if someone leaves you because you're depressed, or poor ,or struggle with anything else that isn't your fault; just to come back when they can get something from you, they suck. If you struggle in a way that affects them, like anger issues that mean you're abusive, they are completely right to leave you, wait until you got therapy and gotten well enough to be around, and then come back if they want to.
"Don't judge a book by its cover"
That cover has one damn job and it's to convey to me what is in the book so I don't have to read all 600 pages to know if it was my cook book or Harry Potter.
A good modification of this would be: Don't judge a book only by it's cover.
'If you are born poor, then it is not your fault. But if you die poor, then it is your fault!!' Please tell that to a hardworking person with 3 jobs and still very POOR!!
Everything happens for a reason.
one of my...... what? what word is the polar opposite of favorite?
“Love is never having to say you’re sorry.” I think from the movie, Love Story. Stupid and ridiculous.
Time heals all wounds. No. Not all. At least not in 1 lifetime.
For some wounds, they never heal, just only dulled.
I forget what band it was, but some of my fav song lyrics: "time heals the wound, but then there's still a scar"
Happy wife happy life. Both people need to be happy in a relationship. Happy spouse happy house.
'The lightning never strikes twice in the same spot'
Yes, it does. Especially if that spot is a high metal structure, it will be struck twice, even more than just two times.
"Rome wasn't built in a day." People often forget the whole quote, or just don't know it as I never hear it: "Rome wasn't built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour"
“Cheaters never win”.
They often do. Doesn’t mean cheating should be encouraged though.
The way I've always heard it is "cheaters never prosper." Still bullshit, but not quite the same. ;-)
"Follow your hEaRt 💕"
..... uh yeah, my heart's kinda suuuuper dumb sometimes
Not bulls*** but wrong. People always seem to say "I could care less" but its supposed to be "I couldn't care less"
"Curiosity killed the cat" its not even the full saying, it ends with "satisfaction brought him back" but people still go with the first line only
"Flattery will get you nowhere!"
The opposite is more true in my experience.
I think this one is more about being manipulated then being kind. If my husband does the dishes without being prompted, he wants something I would normally say no to. If my oldest sister calls me and starts talking about how cool my knitting is, she usually wants me to make her something. The flattery is nice but it shouldn't be used to manipulate me into doing something.
"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" it's literally impossible and that's the point lol
I think this is one of those that started out as actually meaning "it's imposssible" but somehow got inverted. Much like terrific was once something truly terrible and not the "it's great!" We now know it as.
The past year it has been "We're in this together."
It’s more like, “We’re all in the same storm.” Some have yachts, some have canoes, and some are struggling just to tread water.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This quote was originally a promotional slogan.
Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
Well, I do what I love and I'm an unemployed alcoholic. Somehow, I don't think whoever said that first had this in mind...
“Everything will be okay” bruh no, just no. It’s not gonna be okay, nor does everything always turn out okay in the end.
Basically, as has been pointed out, many of the common sayings we use only use part of the actual idiom. My personal cringe inducing one is "Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ."
The second half means the exact opposite of just saying "Great minds think alike.."
This seems to be the case with a lot of our usage.
Actually the full saying says, essentially, great minds and fools do the same thing
There's someone for everyone.
yeah but why would i want anything to do with someone who has such poor judgement to want anything to do with me?
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"
F***, the older I get, the more I wish it were that simple.
Crime doesn't pay.
this is true if only the companion phrase is true - "it's only illegal if you get caught"
I before E except after C
"and when sounding like "A" as in neighbor and weigh, and on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, and YOU'LL ALWAYS BE WRONG NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY!!!!”
Live laugh love
My husband says that the people who use this quote are the first ones to stab you in the back and push you in the meat grinder. XD
Really? I suppose they are made out of concentrated carbon just like oil, wood and hair. What do you have to do though to get one to burn?
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Blood is thicker than water. The original phrase is 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb' which literally means the opposite to the way the shorter version is used.
From LM Montgomery's The Blue Castle (her best book!): "But who wants water to be thick?” parried Valancy. “We want water to be thin – sparkling – crystal-clear.”
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The one I absolutely despise: "Whoever wants it most will win," and variations on that. Yeah, whoever wants it most, as long as they have the exact same training, skills, genetics, height, weight, etc... As a middle aged, reasonably in shape woman, no matter how much I want it, I'm not going to win a fight against a professional heavyweight MMA fighter.
So many movies use "If you love something, set it free/let it go" and so characters will leave things behind or abandon people and I'm like, the phrase doesn't make sense without the second half. If you love something set it free. If it comes back to you, then it's yours.
I absolutely abhor "Boys will be boys". It justifies idiotic and/or abusive behavior for men.
then Girls will be Boss ass Bitches (i say this as praise)
Load More Replies... "You know my name, not my story." If someone is mistreating me, I don’t care what their story is. Being abused or facing struggles doesn’t give you the right to abuse others.
"Hurt people hurt people." Sure, but that doesn't mean they're free of consequences when they do. This was the excuse I heard for everyone from my bullies at school to my abusive stepfathers to my rapey cousins. Also if you think you get to hurt me because [insert systemic oppression/your assumptions re: my privileges here], then you better believe I get to hurt you and anyone else I want because [pick your systemic oppressions: a lifetime of abuse, panic and anxiety, physical illness, poverty, etc.].
How about "A stitch in time saves 9". I seriously doubt that anyone has done the research on this one - maybe it only saves 4. Or maybe it saves 15!? Who knows?
It means things like “stop calling New Zealand and Australia dictatorships for dealing with community outbreaks quickly instead of letting it run rampant.”
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"As useful as (breasts/mammaries) on a boar". A popular quote of my family's. Meaning as useful as a non-productive person or thing in any given situation.
"Thinking is as bad as doing." Nope. If I think I want to punch someone in the nose, as far as I know, "Thoughtcrimes" are not a thing (yet) and I haven't harmed anyone. If I actually punch him, I inflict damage on another human, I can be arrested for assault, and held liable for his injuries. Also, if it were true, "Thinking is as good as doing." would be possible and it isn't. Very little would ever be accomplished.
"You can't have your cake and eat it too". Why would I even want the cake then?
It means you can’t eat your cake and then still have it. So it’s perfectly fine if you eat it, as long as you don’t complain about not having cake anymore after that :) I think this saying could be used for people who spend all their money on luxuries for example and then complain about not having enough money for necessities.
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"Life is what you make of it." If that's true, where are my flying cars? And vacations at Lunar colonies? I get that it's all about how you perceive a situation, but that doesn't change the hardships some people have, or the tech we were promised for this century.
Life is what you make of it, and the ingredients you're handed greatly affect the end product.
Load More Replies... Overused metaphor is passed as wisdom then turned to cliche'.
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"Exceptions prove the rule" What does that even mean? I just HATE that saying with a passion.
It can mean that if you have identified that something is an exception to a rule, then some rule must in fact exist.
Load More Replies... Forgive everyone. That is not what the scripture says. It talks about the sinner repenting and being remorseful. It talks about them changing their ways and not doing the wrong again.
No Peter had to forgive his brother who sinned against him over and over 7 × 77 times. In the Our Father prayer you forgive everyone who sinned against you. You didn't have to forgive an unrepentant pharisee as an apostle, but since I'm just whoever and know no unrepentant pharisees, I play safe and forgive everyone. Also the ones who aren't sorry. You can pray that they will repent. I want em to go to heaven and I'm not gonna miss heaven for not forgiving someone.
Load More Replies... Inspirational life quotes in general are for people who wanna sound deep.It is so deep,thoughtful and wise to type "best sayings about______",press ctrl+c and then ctrl+v...baaam,you have changed so many lifes by quoting Twain or Gandhi.People who have sayings like that tattooed on their body are the same kind of people.Maybe they have Alzheimer's and can't remember "live,love,laugh" so they have to ink it on a visible body part so they can look at it when they wait in line when they buy groceries 🤷🏼♂️
my favorite saying is "this too shall pass". this exact moment will always pass.
Really? I suppose they are made out of concentrated carbon just like oil, wood and hair. What do you have to do though to get one to burn?
Load More Replies... Blood is thicker than water. The original phrase is 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb' which literally means the opposite to the way the shorter version is used.
From LM Montgomery's The Blue Castle (her best book!): "But who wants water to be thick?” parried Valancy. “We want water to be thin – sparkling – crystal-clear.”
Load More Replies... The one I absolutely despise: "Whoever wants it most will win," and variations on that. Yeah, whoever wants it most, as long as they have the exact same training, skills, genetics, height, weight, etc... As a middle aged, reasonably in shape woman, no matter how much I want it, I'm not going to win a fight against a professional heavyweight MMA fighter.
So many movies use "If you love something, set it free/let it go" and so characters will leave things behind or abandon people and I'm like, the phrase doesn't make sense without the second half. If you love something set it free. If it comes back to you, then it's yours.
I absolutely abhor "Boys will be boys". It justifies idiotic and/or abusive behavior for men.
then Girls will be Boss ass Bitches (i say this as praise)
Load More Replies... "You know my name, not my story." If someone is mistreating me, I don’t care what their story is. Being abused or facing struggles doesn’t give you the right to abuse others.
"Hurt people hurt people." Sure, but that doesn't mean they're free of consequences when they do. This was the excuse I heard for everyone from my bullies at school to my abusive stepfathers to my rapey cousins. Also if you think you get to hurt me because [insert systemic oppression/your assumptions re: my privileges here], then you better believe I get to hurt you and anyone else I want because [pick your systemic oppressions: a lifetime of abuse, panic and anxiety, physical illness, poverty, etc.].
How about "A stitch in time saves 9". I seriously doubt that anyone has done the research on this one - maybe it only saves 4. Or maybe it saves 15!? Who knows?
It means things like “stop calling New Zealand and Australia dictatorships for dealing with community outbreaks quickly instead of letting it run rampant.”
Load More Replies... "As useful as (breasts/mammaries) on a boar". A popular quote of my family's. Meaning as useful as a non-productive person or thing in any given situation.
"Thinking is as bad as doing." Nope. If I think I want to punch someone in the nose, as far as I know, "Thoughtcrimes" are not a thing (yet) and I haven't harmed anyone. If I actually punch him, I inflict damage on another human, I can be arrested for assault, and held liable for his injuries. Also, if it were true, "Thinking is as good as doing." would be possible and it isn't. Very little would ever be accomplished.
"You can't have your cake and eat it too". Why would I even want the cake then?
It means you can’t eat your cake and then still have it. So it’s perfectly fine if you eat it, as long as you don’t complain about not having cake anymore after that :) I think this saying could be used for people who spend all their money on luxuries for example and then complain about not having enough money for necessities.
Load More Replies... "Life is what you make of it." If that's true, where are my flying cars? And vacations at Lunar colonies? I get that it's all about how you perceive a situation, but that doesn't change the hardships some people have, or the tech we were promised for this century.
Life is what you make of it, and the ingredients you're handed greatly affect the end product.
Load More Replies... Overused metaphor is passed as wisdom then turned to cliche'.
Load More Replies... "Exceptions prove the rule" What does that even mean? I just HATE that saying with a passion.
It can mean that if you have identified that something is an exception to a rule, then some rule must in fact exist.
Load More Replies... Forgive everyone. That is not what the scripture says. It talks about the sinner repenting and being remorseful. It talks about them changing their ways and not doing the wrong again.
No Peter had to forgive his brother who sinned against him over and over 7 × 77 times. In the Our Father prayer you forgive everyone who sinned against you. You didn't have to forgive an unrepentant pharisee as an apostle, but since I'm just whoever and know no unrepentant pharisees, I play safe and forgive everyone. Also the ones who aren't sorry. You can pray that they will repent. I want em to go to heaven and I'm not gonna miss heaven for not forgiving someone.
Load More Replies... Inspirational life quotes in general are for people who wanna sound deep.It is so deep,thoughtful and wise to type "best sayings about______",press ctrl+c and then ctrl+v...baaam,you have changed so many lifes by quoting Twain or Gandhi.People who have sayings like that tattooed on their body are the same kind of people.Maybe they have Alzheimer's and can't remember "live,love,laugh" so they have to ink it on a visible body part so they can look at it when they wait in line when they buy groceries 🤷🏼♂️
my favorite saying is "this too shall pass". this exact moment will always pass.
