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People Are Still Falling For These 30 Fictional Things That Were Never Real To Begin With
For hundreds of years, many outstanding figures in human history have devoted the best years of their lives to searching for something they didn't even know what it looked like exactly. We're talking, of course, about the Holy Grail - now we talk about it as something unattainable but beautiful - but in the Middle Ages, knights and sages of Europe really did search for it!
Which is not surprising, they didn't find it then, and they're unlikely to ever find it. Nevertheless, people sincerely believed that the Holy Grail existed. However, if we say that people were full of delusions back then, and today everything is different, then we'll most likely be wrong. After all, even today, there are many made-up things that people keep believing in without any reason.
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#1
Vaccines cause autism. The guy who came out with the research (Andrew Wakefield) was proven to have made it up, was struck off the medical register and the paper was retracted, yet people still believe it.
Inigo Montoya 7 months ago
They should have added that dozens of rigorous scientific studies followed. All showed zero correlation between vaccines and autism.
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#2
That the Moon landings were faked. It's a preposterous notion, and very easy to debunk. Yet, people still believe it.
* NASA documented every single step of what they did, made videos and took photos of the whole thing. There were tens of thousands of people involved in the effort. And, in the modern era, we sent probes to photograph the landing sites to confirm they still exist.
* It was independently verified by almost every other country's space agency.
* The Soviets were one of the first to offer congratulations. If they even got the slightest inkling something was being faked, they would have screamed it from every roof top in Russia.
Our today's selection of facts and opinions is based on this thread in the AskReddit community, where the author, the user u/turmohe, asked the question a couple of days ago: "What is something completely fictional but people think is real?" and eventually collected over 1.8K upvotes and nearly 3K various comments.
From Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter to social structure and belief in incorruptible and honest politicians, from the flat Earth to the harm that vaccinations allegedly cause, we present to your attention a selection of the most interesting and controversial opinions from this thread.
#5
That an undercover cop has to tell you they're a cop if you ask. Of course they're allowed to lie, otherwise going undercover would never work.
#6
A company’s HR is there to protect its employees.
In fact, a significant part of the popular misconceptions that made it onto this list are formed under the influence of popular culture, for example, movies and TV. For example, various myths about the work of the police or intelligence.
The thing is that any work of art in any case greatly simplifies and embellishes the picture - and if, for example, a film is shot in a realistic manner, then many people begin to believe what is shown there.
#7
That Fox News, Newsmaxx and other right wing organizations are being objective. Their coverage is pure fiction. If they reported that the sky was blue I would go outside and verify.
Wild Cream 7 months ago
Everyone whining that “the left has an agenda too” and meanwhile that agenda is - due process for everyone - human rights for everyone - don’t be cruel to LGBTQ people or non-white folks - stop deporting citizens - give the people healthcare - pay everyone an actual living wage - etc etc 😂😂😂
Maim 7 months ago (edited)
I was watching Lioness recently and Morgan Freeman's character said "News stopped becoming news when it began broadcasting 24 hours a day". Instead of reporting 5-8 really important things going on in a single hour broadcast, they need to fill every waking minute with opinions and rumors.
Sue 7 months ago
See above - that is literally true. It was moved to the entertainment division of the broadcasting companies. Gotta fill 24 hours.
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Allen Packard 7 months ago
I agree. Also, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN etc. Are all garbage. All owned by the same mega corporation. They want us to hate each other; it makes us easier to control.
Michael Largey 7 months ago (edited)
But only Fox has testified under oath that it purposely and willing broadcast whatever lies its viewers wants to hear.
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Peeka_Mimi 7 months ago
I had a friend tell me he watches Newsmax because he agrees with it. I told him that you are not supposed to watch news to agree with you. You watch it to become informed.
Day Andie 7 months ago
But there are some that are more objective. In the age of the internet, it's entirely possible to go to the source and find out what is real. Read the actual transcript of a speech. Watch the video. Look at the pictures and determine which are real and which have been manipulated. Look at facts. It's proven that Trump is a liar and a felon. His words are documented. His court cases are a matter of public record.
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ColdSteelRonin 7 months ago
News is: This thing happened in such and such location today, such and such person/s were involved and it affected such and such person/s. Etc. Anything else is commentary and or analysis. ALL news organizations have strayed from the path.
Day Andie 7 months ago
Journalism classes used to teach the five Ws and what the are. Who, what, when and where are facts. Why is speculation and may or may not have any relationship to the truth.
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UncleJon_TheMadScientist 7 months ago
Newsmedia has truly become nothing more than tabloid reporting fueled by someone's agenda... all you got to do is watch several different newscasts about a story and compare how different each one is... best is when you witnessed the event and none of them can agree with what you yourself know and experienced
Gunný Petersen 7 months ago
Your garbage orange fanta f****r is thankfully not my president. I'm so blessed to not have to breathe the same air as that f**k! I'll never visit the US as long as he is alive.
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Philly Bob 7 months ago (edited)
If they reported the sky was green, MAGATs would believe it. After all, they believe gas is below $1.99 a gallon here because dear leader told them that. (it's not... lowest I've seen where I am and surrounding areas is $2.89 but average price is about $3.12)
DrBronxx 7 months ago
Sadly, you'd be hard pressed to find any truly objective news organizations. The ones mentioned here are just a couple the mosts egregious examples..
CatD 7 months ago
The AP and Reuters are pretty reliable. I don't watch news anymore, I read several sources.
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Susan Reid Smith 7 months ago
The purpose of the news isn't to give out accurate information. It is to excite and alarm people so they watch the news, thereby being able to sell advertising.
Wild Cream 7 months ago
I’m tired of this “both sides are equally bad” BS. The US left is nowhere near as evil as the current US far right, and I’m sorry, that’s just the truth. There’s some quote along the lines of “when the Left goes crazy, they throw soup at paintings and block traffic and glue their hands to walls. When the Right goes crazy, the guns come out, human rights are taken away, US citizens are deported, racism runs rampant and people actually die.”
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Lizzy Lizzard 7 months ago
And yet it's Fox that had to make the legal argument that their programming should be taken as opinion-based rather than as factual news to defend against a defamation trial.
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#8
Sherlock Holmes. I went to the Sherlock Holmes museum a while ago and I'd say about 80% of the tourists in there were under the impression he was a real person.
#9
Sovereign Citizen stuff.
I. E. If you tell the court that you are the flesh and blood person but not the strawman that has the same name as you, and that you were just travelling in your car and not engaged in commerce, and therefore the cops had no right to stop you and you didn't need a license plate, then the judge is going to nod and say well done for your knowledge of maritime law and let you go.
You are going to jail.
Wild Cream 7 months ago
US sov cits are hilarious. “We refuse to play by any of your rules or follow any of your laws or pay taxes but we expect all the same benefits as taxpayers and you HAVE to give them to us because this is America!” 😂 we have some up here in Canada too who think the exact same way, I haven’t seen as many but they’re a hoot
The same applies, for example, to Sherlock Holmes. The great detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's genius is, of course, a fictional character—but the author's talent, multiplied by numerous film adaptations in recent years, merch sold all over the world, and other related things, did its job. Many people really think that Holmes actually existed.
By the way, another thing is also interesting here. Despite the fact that Holmes himself in the stories was an extremely rational person, alien to any mysticism, the person who invented him was a big fan of spiritualism and other theories that were fashionable at the beginning of the 20th century.
By the way, when in 1926 the young but already popular writer Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared (it is said that the reason for this was some mental issues), Conan Doyle, who by that time had completely retired from writing, also joined in the search for her.
In fact, the outstanding writer tried to find Christie not with the help of deduction, but by turning to spirits. Needless to say, he was 100% unsuccessful.
#10
The American Dream.
#12
Religions, any, anywhere, any time in history.
The alleged falsification of the US astronauts' landing on the Moon also occupies a place of honor on this list. However, what no supporter of this theory can explain is why, in the midst of the 'Cold War' and the fierce confrontation between the two great powers in space, Soviet propaganda didn't pick up such a tidbit but simply admitted that it had lost this "Moon Race"?
Just imagine that you are in a bitter feud with your neighbor, in which you both use literally all means, and then you get your hands on some absolutely damaging info on your neighbor, but you don't use it! Is that actually reasonable? Of course, no.
Then, before they try to convince me next time that Stanley Kubrick or someone else allegedly filmed the moon landing on a Hollywood soundstage and all that other stuff—first explain how one of the most powerful totalitarian machines in human history could make such a blatant mistake!
#13
That the justice system aims for justice. It's there to enforce order, not justice. Took me a while to learn that.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago (edited)
The way I've heard it is that the legal system exists to administer the law. It's got nothing to do with abstractions such as "order" and "justice" - it's just about the law. Honest lawyers will tell you not to go to court for anything if you can avoid it - it's a chilly, heartless world.
#14
That your star sign/other astrology things, hold any merit whatsoever to who you are as a person, or the life in which you lead.
GirlFriday 7 months ago
I have a cousin who is REALLY into astrology. One of my favorite ways to annoy her is to attribute random behaviors or preferences to my star sign, but I change my star sign each time. I say, "I really like pasta, I guess that is the Libra shining through," or, "I really like to drive fast, that's because I am a Taurus."
#15
That politicians care about you.
In any case, there are many things that people tend to believe, even if they are shown visual evidence that these things are made up from start to finish. Merely because they want to believe them or because they want to be different from others—with their "special knowledge." There can be many reasons for this.
So let's just read this selection of people's viewpoints to the very end - and maybe give your own examples of such things, in case you have something to add here. Well, and if you want to argue with the authors of some quoted opinions, please go ahead. After all, truth, as we know, is born in disputes.
#16
Meritocracy. Nepotism still rules the day.
Mel in Georgia 7 months ago
Nepotism and the kind of bias and racism when you hire everyone based on who you think will "fit in."
#17
That you need to wait 24 hours before you're allowed to report someone as missing.
Meanwhile: some people apparently believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows...
Therese Clarke 7 months ago
on a humorous note, a visit to Germany in 1975, as we passed through cow country, the tour guide told the bus that white cows gave white milk, brown cows gave brown (chocolate) milk and black and white cows gave Black & White
#18
The Holy Grail. Not part of Biblical canon, started appearing in Biblical fanfic in the Medieval era I think?
#19
That gum stays in your stomach for 7 years.
marianne eliza 7 months ago
That's a parental lie to keep little kids from swallowing the gum and then asking for another piece.
#20
Stockholm Syndrome. After Swedish psychiatrist Nils Bejerot came in as a negotiator with no prior experience in a bank robbery turned hostage situation in 1973 and absolutely fouled up the job, the hostages conducted the negotiations themselves and afterwards publicly called him out on his incompetence. The leader and speaker for the hostages was a woman, so Bejerot tried to shield himself from criticism and get his revenge by theorizing that the woman have fallen in love with her captor and lost her reazoning abilities in the process. Stockholm Syndrome is essentially retrograde sexist tripe packaged in academic paper format.
#22
The idea that you are entitled to exactly one phone call if they take you to jail. That's never been a thing.
#23
Eating carrots improves eyesight.
DeShotz 7 months ago
The vitamin A in carrots is beneficial for healthy eyesight. The myth is that carrots substantially improve night vision. That myth comes from British World War II propaganda to explain why RAF pilots were so successful in intercepting German planes attacking Britain at night instead of the real reason, which was radar.
#24
Frog in a boiling pot will jump out no matter how slowly you turn up the heat. The study where this comes from required the frog to be lobotomized before it didn't jump out.
Mel in Georgia 7 months ago
We need a better story to make the point of tolerating something until it hurts you. It happens a lot.
#25
That if you touch a bird nest, the mother will abandon it.
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 7 months ago
You still shouldn’t touch them though! And while this isn’t true for birds it may be somewhat true for mammals.
#27
There being a physical Underground Railroad (like a subway system) that black people traveled through to go north and escape slavery.
#28
The idea that life has a clear timeline or set path lol sorry love It doesn’t.
Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
There is a clear timeline. Born, live, die. Pretty much always happens in that order.
#29
Acupuncture, homoeopathy, most chiropractic, (insert more snake oil "medical" or fad heath thing here).
Janelle Collard 7 months ago (edited)
Acupuncture helped me walk better after I had a stroke - I didn't drag my right foot any more. Plus - it helped me to quit smoking - 6 years, 9 months + 10 days ago. My chiropractor aligns my pelvis which was tweaked during birth.
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Yeah, you heard 7 months ago
Why is mythical creatures in the survey at the end? There were no mythical creatures even mentioned in the list of things people believe!
Roxy222uk 7 months ago
Always, always the same old stuff, so boring. How about the belief that BMI was invented so people could tell as an individual if they are overweight. It wasn't created for individuals but for populations (i.e. average) and it was created to detect when a population was becoming too underweight. Very clear that if the average BMI is below a certain amount the government needs to bring in extra help, and if it goes below an even lower amount then emergency measures are required. If a population is dangerously underweight there can't be an innocent explanation. On the other hand, as we all know, an individual having a high BMI can be down to all sorts of things, and is nowhere near as reliable an indicator of future health risks as we're led to believe.
StretcherBearer 7 months ago
Funny thing about this statement it is nearly word for word what someone in an echo chamber and just wandered out would say.
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Yeah, you heard 7 months ago
Why is mythical creatures in the survey at the end? There were no mythical creatures even mentioned in the list of things people believe!
Roxy222uk 7 months ago
Always, always the same old stuff, so boring. How about the belief that BMI was invented so people could tell as an individual if they are overweight. It wasn't created for individuals but for populations (i.e. average) and it was created to detect when a population was becoming too underweight. Very clear that if the average BMI is below a certain amount the government needs to bring in extra help, and if it goes below an even lower amount then emergency measures are required. If a population is dangerously underweight there can't be an innocent explanation. On the other hand, as we all know, an individual having a high BMI can be down to all sorts of things, and is nowhere near as reliable an indicator of future health risks as we're led to believe.
StretcherBearer 7 months ago
Funny thing about this statement it is nearly word for word what someone in an echo chamber and just wandered out would say.
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