ADVERTISEMENT

The internet is full of all kinds of information, especially fun facts and urban legends. You can find them on any social platform, and you probably read a few of them every day. Ranging from creepy and disturbing ones to funny and uplifting ones, people really seem to enjoy them and share them online and in real life. Who doesn't love to liven up a party by surprising friends with some unique trivia? But how do we make sure that the information we're reading is real and not made up?

Well, this online user decided to find out just that by asking, "What urban legend needs to die?" and they got some surprising and informative answers that might show you why you shouldn't believe everything you read online. So before you tell fun facts to your friends, check out the answers below to make sure that they're not fake!

#1

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That people only use 10 percent of your brain. That is only true for politicians

Freeagnt , Anna Shvets Report

#2

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That you need to wait 24 hours to report someone as missing.

You can, and SHOULD, report someone as missing as soon as they go missing. It could be the difference between finding someone who had a bad fall at home or getting lost in the forest, and finding their body.

OaklandLandlord , Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona Report

#3

That vaccines cause autism.

DragonspeedTheB Report

#4

That the McDonald's hot coffee lady had a frivolous lawsuit. The coffee was so hot it fused parts of her genitals and she had to have several reconstructive surgeries.

AsteroidArc Report

Add photo comments
POST
jenjoyner avatar
Xenon
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was so bad it required skin grafts. All she wanted from evil clown was $27,000 in medical bills. Not a frivolous lawsuit at all, but mickey postured it that way.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#5

The “welfare queen” trope that Americans constantly use to justify exploiting low wage workers and punishing the poor for being poor. It’s a straw man offered as proof that poor people are immoral and that any economic assistance system will only entice them to further immorality. It is false, repugnant, and damaging to not only the poor but the whole economy.

OKBeeDude Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#6

That vaginas get “loose” from having sex. There’s really Men out here that believe this

Nervous-Translator76 Report

Add photo comments
POST
jill_rhodry avatar
Jill Rhodry
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Two things that always struck me with the lack of critical thinking on this one 1) 1000 peens equals loose vagina but 1 peen a thousand times doesn't. 2) do they really think women are walking around with baby head sized vaginas?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

Gay people made your child gay.

Sargash Report

Add photo comments
POST
peanutandblue1069 avatar
Kokichi Ouma
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What 😶 We don't effect what gender your child likes, they like who they like and that's okay.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing Detoxing treatments...... NO Sharon, "harmful chemicals" are not just going to ooze out of your face and feet if you use that mask... That's not how the human body works at all damn!

DoubleFishes , engin akyurt Report

Add photo comments
POST
aerose101 avatar
Amanda Rose
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your liver and kidneys do that just fine on their own (most of the time).

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#10

"Black cats are evil" No they're not


Edit: getting spammed with "all cats are evil". Guys, I'm referring to different urban myths around the world which states that a black cat a demonic possession or just pure evil, related to witch and stuff.

thatIndianguy_07 Report

Add photo comments
POST
rubee avatar
Ru Bee
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If a black cat crosses your path...they are just heading someplace.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#11

That MSG is toxic.

EDIT: As an Aussie it took me a minute to work out what all the replies about MTG meant but yes, seeing the full name I agree Margery Taylor Green is as toxic as cyanide. No urban legend there. F*****g lunatic. Especially as an Aussie it's like "WTF America?".

HiMyNameIsLaura Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#12

That there are hot women in my area waiting for me to "chat with them".

toughcitykid Report

Add photo comments
POST
benitavaldez avatar
Benita Valdez
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There could be. I mean there have been record temperatures lately so definitely hot women in alot of areas

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#13

Rich people work hard and are smart and deserve their money.

Edit: Since this turned into a discussion of how rich people get their money, let me elaborate. Under capitalism, rich people get their money by exploiting the labor of the worker, your labor.

You have nothing to sell but your time and your labor, and they take advantage of this, and give you back pennies on every dollar you have created for them, amount depend on how much exactly they can get away with without you taking your labor elsewhere. They can fire you anytime and use the threat of homelessness and starvation against you, for they are the ones who own the shop, the factory, the office, the land, the trade, and without those things, you cannot turn your time and labor into commodities you require and want in your daily life. This is the coercion of labor under capitalism. Always remember that.

This structure is designed to squeeze every bit of value out of you in the form of money, the form of profits. You are always closer to the homeless man on the street then the boss in an air conditioned office. Unionize. Organize.

Pumpkinfactory Report

Add photo comments
POST
khallkhall avatar
Khall Khall
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they offer a job making 50k a year, as a broad generality you're adding 500k a year to their bottom line. It's not true in all cases for all jobs at all companies but... yeah, car salesman, factory worker, etc etc it is true.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#14

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing You don’t get sick because it’s “cold” outside or “you don’t have a jacket on”

randomandoo , Brittany Colette Report

Add photo comments
POST
alimagrog avatar
AR
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being cold can lower immunity a bit, but it’s not the cause

View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That touching baby birds or rabbits will cause their mothers to reject them because they smell like human. They absolutely will not. Don't go messing with babies for kicks, but if you can put a baby (that you are 100% sure belongs there) back in it's nest, do so. If you aren't sure, call a wildlife rehabilitator so you're not putting fledgelings where they don't belong.

Competitive-Ad-9662 , Paige Cody Report

Add photo comments
POST
binnytutu avatar
Binny Tutera
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The problem is when they are handled TOO much. That is not good for baby animals and birds, no matter how cute they are.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing Ostriches. Do not bury. Their heads. In the sand. If they’re afraid of something, they will run, kick, or bite. One of my biggest animal myth pet peeves.

otusasio451 , Adriaan Greyling Report

#17

"You can't get STDs from oral sex"

One of the clinics I work at is a free sexual health clinic. Too many women are in there for mouth/throat/other digestive problems stemming from unprotected oral sex and various STDs.

chewedgummiebears Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#18

Vaccines cause autism, and the COVID vaccine was the Mark of the Beast.

The heel stick done on newborn babies to test for PKU and other genetic diseases is also not the implantation of a microchip.

notthesedays Report

Add photo comments
POST
khallkhall avatar
Khall Khall
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ten minutes they make you wait after you get your COVID vax is to charge up the microchip wirelessly. Or, you know, to make sure you don't have a bad reaction. But the first one is a lot funnier to me.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

That your pullout game is strong. No, it isn't. Invest in an actual form of pregnancy prevention.

BrienneOfDarth Report

Add photo comments
POST
jill_rhodry avatar
Jill Rhodry
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What do you call people who practice the rhythm (pullout) method? Parents.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

The government has your best interests at heart

Jon2046 Report

#21

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing The Bermuda f*****g Triangle. I live in Bermuda. The triangle is smack dab in the middle of hurricane territory so ships and planes back in the day (that didn’t have weather mapping) would get spanked by them frequently. It’s so irritating when you’re trying to introduce yourself, saying “I’m from Bermuda” and the response is “LiKe ThE tRiAnGle oMg hOw diD YoU sUraViVe”

Edit: Bermuda also has the highest cost of living in the world. More than NYC, Switzerland, or Dubai

Edit 2: methane from ‘volcanos’ in the triangle is just bogus. The only volcano that’s anywhere near the triangle is the DORMANT one that formed Bermuda.

Many a hurricane passes through the “triangle” every single year. Go back a couple hundred years and I’m sure you’d think that traveling through there was ‘cursed’ when realistically it was just a stupid time of year to travel that way

Edit #3: thank you for the upvotes! I just want people to see my little island x

Y’all are ridongculous! 4k+?? That’s over 5% of the population
Edit#4: we are now at over 10% of the population… lordamercy

P.s. Bermuda doesn’t have sharks like that. No one has ever been attacked. At most, a couple tiger sharks and nurse shakes have been seen (which is an island wide spectacle) but they aren’t on our radar like that. Same with tectonic plates. Nowhere near any of them

WinnerInfamous , Wikipedia Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#22

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing You don't eat spiders in your sleep.

sam_my_friend , Pixabay Report

Add photo comments
POST
kelleyvice avatar
Kelley Vice
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not unless you have some kind of spider-dispensing mechanism built into your CPAP mask

View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing The idea that there are people in your neighborhood just waiting for the chance to poison your kids by giving them unwrapped Halloween candy.

gcm6664 , Sebbi Strauch Report

Add photo comments
POST
delphinum4 avatar
Zophra
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But...but this was always my excuse of why I just had to "test" some of their candy. Like the Reeses and Twix especially might be poisoned.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

That if you work hard you’ll be successful in life.

Johnny_Menace Report

Add photo comments
POST
suckit avatar
Loverboy
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It can happen but it's not guaranteed. Some people just get luckier, some people are smarter, there's a lot of factors. Working hard doesn't guarantee success.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

The customer is always right

chrisk9 Report

Add photo comments
POST
david2074 avatar
David
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I recently learned the whole phrase is "The customer is always right in matters of taste". That actually makes sense. If the customer likes something they are right about what is to their own taste. That's far different for how the shortened version is used by some customers to insist they are right in any situation. Which of course is BS.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That you can target fat on a particular place on your body, like tummy fat. Fat doesn't know where it lives.

Edit: I am, believe it or not, aware of the existence of plastic surgery. You don't need to tell me about it.

catsdelicacy , Towfiqu barbhuiya Report

Add photo comments
POST
suckit avatar
Loverboy
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also means you can't put fat in places you actually want it. It's alright, I'll get that dumpy someday

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

You can suffocate if you leave a fan on while you sleep (you can't)

Urine is sterile (it's not)

Highways have straight segments so that airliners can land on them in emergencies (they don't)

You should drive at a normal speed in low-visibility weather so the car behind you doesn't hit you (you should slow down)

You can suck out the venom from snake bites (you can't)

Men think about sex every 7 seconds (they don't)

dog_in_the_vent Report

#28

All the human traffickers that lurk in Target, Walmart, etc looking to snatch up random children and/or women.

People are more than likely to be trafficked by people they know than random strangers.

Pear_Jam2 Report

Add photo comments
POST
kirstyskelton avatar
Kirsty
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You say this, but years back we had a case in my local asda (Walmart), baby taken out of a trolley, mum had turned to get something on the shelf and poof, baby gone. Mum was smart and didn't run around to find her, just ran straight to security at the front doors. They pulled the shutters immediately and went over the tannoy to tell people description of baby missing and to be quiet. Followed the crying to the toilet where two women were found shaving the babies head and changing her clothes. Shutter didn't go back up till the police were there for them. I was in the car park when the shutters went down. My kids stay with me and I'm alert in every supermarket. It's not that those types of predators are there more than elsewhere, I take it that predators like that go about their day as normal and take opportunities that arise as and when spotted. Like an inattentive parent with their kids two aisles away.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#29

That there’s litter boxes in high school classrooms. I’ve heard this about 3-4 different schools in my area.

Edit: I get there's litter to clean up vomit and for the active shooter stuff. I'm talking about the people who swear they "know someone" who says there's a litter box for a girl in a cat suit and b******g tail who makes all the students watch her poop in the corner.

It's an anti LGBTQIA+ dog whistle.

blimpcitybbq Report

Add photo comments
POST
normeo127 avatar
Norm Gilmore
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What sort of dystopian nightmare place needs a litter box for active shooter emergency's. Oh wait....

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing "Blood is blue inside your body & red when it comes out."

Nope.

weedbetterknot , Los Muertos Crew Report

#31

That Dungeons and Dragons is satanic witchcraft, that's still a popular ideal in the bibble belt

GoufPilot118 Report

Add photo comments
POST
khallkhall avatar
Khall Khall
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish it was true tho. Would have made being a library nerd in middle school so much more profitable....

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#33

That if you ask if someone’s a cop, they have to tell you if they are a cop

alcotstorui Report

#34

Bigfoot. It's 2023, if you can't get at least, a 720p video of him, Then give it up!

pasenast Report

Add photo comments
POST
david2074 avatar
David
Community Member
9 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is one of my favorites. I grew up in big foot country. so from time to time you would see somebody's blurry video of a supposed sighting. Then as soon as just about everybody has a HD Vidoe recorder in their hand (cell) and there are no more easy excuses for blurry film - suddenly the sightings go way down to basically zero. lol

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

The idea that GMOs are bad for you. Seriously, we’ve been modifying plants and animals for years via breeding. Stuff like CRISPER is basically just a more precise version of that, the difference between doing surgery with an obsidian dagger and a sterilized scalpel.

highliner108 Report

Add photo comments
POST
artturf avatar
XenoMurph
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But GMO is different to selective breeding. Humans cannot produce offspring with a sheep no matter how hard they try, but genetic modification could splice a sheep gene into human DNA. (Yes I know GM is not permitted in humans, but you get the point.)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#36

That shaving something will make the hair thicker.

fjordlord6 Report

#37

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That doctors will let you die if you are an organ donor to steal your organs.

Clarence_Bow , Piron Guillaume Report

Add photo comments
POST
gr_4 avatar
G R
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Except in China where the government kidnaps and murders dissidents and members of certain religious faith to harvest their organs for sale. Why this isn't a bigger scandal (along with Chinese concentration camps) I don't know.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

That if you swallow gum it takes 7 years to digest

Celistar99 Report

#40

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That daddy long legs are the most venomous spiders in the world, but their fangs just aren’t big enough to spread enough venom. Edit: I’m referring to cellar spiders. Daddy long legs is vague term that describes several types of arachnids, none of them are venomous though.

BlackConverse020 , Marino Linic Report

Add photo comments
POST
peanutandblue1069 avatar
Kokichi Ouma
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just imagine them as a cool lil friend with sunglasses flexing their legs

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#41

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That it's a felony offense to rip the tag off of your Mattress.

There was a major scandal in the past, where a couple mattress manufacturers were recycling used mattresses, re-stuffing them, and subsequently reselling them. 🤢

It is ONLY illegal for stores and manufacturers to rip the tags off of new mattresses for sale. However, once you buy it, and your mattress warranty expires (usually after 1 year or less), feel free to rip that annoying tag off

Extreme_Today_984 , Stephen Andrews Report

Add photo comments
POST
glenellyn2 avatar
Glen Ellyn
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't believe how many people do not understand this. The tag says "not to be removed EXCEPT by consumer. Sheesh.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#42

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing Our seventh grade English teacher Miss Jackson was not in Playboy in the 1980s... It does not matter that your brother's cousin's neighbor has the actual issue and they are going to bring it in to school someday.

Loud_Butterscotch110 , Victoria Priessnitz Report

Add photo comments
POST
kb0569 avatar
Karl
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A girl I went to school with had quite a successful career posing for Bongo mags in the 80s

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#43

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That it's super illegal to turn on your cars inside dome light while driving at night.

Both-Invite-8857 Report

Add photo comments
POST
ohxrkqra avatar
Kira Okah
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I asked my partner once while in the car about this - knew that it wasn't illegal but didn't know why the urban legend existed. They pulled over to somewhere safe and showed me. Havng the light on screws up your road visibility something fierce.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#44

In my country, there's something called "Deochi or deochiat", which mainly translates to "evil eye" or "getting evel eyed".

It is believed that this happens when an older person admires a younger person too much. Aaaand no, not in a disturbing way, more like, a grandma admiring her grandson for how handsome he is and such. The grandson starts feeling sick, fatigued, nauseous, etc.

This is an actual, real phenomenon that happens because of the widespread belief in it.

I've experienced it a couple of times when I was young, and I've seen many others experience it.

The "cure" for this "deochi", is most of the times a prayer, or a charm that, get this, you can't be taught, you have to "steal" it from a gypsy.

It all of course is fake, just superstition, the power of belief. After I figured it out and stopped believing it at idk, 14-15, I've stopped experiencing it completely.

The people I managed to convince that this doesn't really exist, stopped experiencing it as well, confirming my theory.

Just goes to show how influential believing in stupid stuff can be.

Pixel0607 Report

#45

45 Annoying ‘Facts’ And Urban Legends People Have To Finally Stop Believing That Marilyn Manson had a rib removed to suck his own member

LiliumLena , Wikipedia Report

Note: this post originally had 65 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.