Commonly Held Beliefs That Have Been Disproven By Science

Heavy Winds

"Hiding under a highway overpass is actually not a good way to survive a tornado."

"It has been scientifically proven that the wind gets concentrated and the speeds increase underneath the overpass."

"If you aren’t shielded by a bridge girder or something similar you’ll just get swept away and mulched."

"Your best bet for survival if you cannot escape the tornado is to find the nearest deep ditch or hole."

– jitsbay

"That's just a rumor that was started by a tornado"

– MikePGS

He Sees You

"Goldfish have a three second memory."

"They don’t and, supposedly, you can even train them to do tricks."

– twerkette

"They can even recognize human faces."

– fractalfrenzy

"So…you’re telling me Pumpkin the goldfish recognized me? 🥹🥹🥹 He was my first pet and I loved him so much"

– Inevitable_Willow_15

"Recognised? Pumpkin loved you."

– ihaveadarkedge

Crack!

"Cracking knuckles = arthritis"

– bigfart99

"There was a guy who only cracked the knuckles on his right hand his whole life to test this. He had no real difference between his hands arthritis-wise."

– Lmtguy

Boil A Frog

"A frog thrown in a pot of boiling water will jump out immediately. If a frog is put in a pot of cool water and that water is slowly warmed, the frog won’t notice and boil to death."

"This is indeed false"

– Backwards_Pessimist

"I love this one, we slowly boiled the water and the frog didn't jump out!after we removed most of its brain"

"Also if you throw a frog into boiling water it's not going to jump out, it's going to f*cking die."

– Enk1ndle

BOOM!

"That rice will make the birds who eat it explode. Birds eat rice all the time! It's actually good for them, especially brown rice."

"I believe this myth was made up so people would stop throwing rice at weddings, but harming the birds wasn't an actual risk. It was getting rice grains stuck in your ear that was."

– Mister_Moho

"The church my family went to had a sign on the door about not throwing rice at weddings, because the birds would eat it and "would get harmed". I think they just got tired of trying to get the rice out of the carpeting."

– genital_furbies

What About The Other 90%?

"We only use 10% of our brain"

– Key-Wallaby-9276

"I'm pretty sure I know a few people for whom this is true."

– maybebaby83

"...and others, that is a very generous overestimation."

– Any_Street

Lightning Flashed

"Lightning never strikes in one place twice."

– JarJarLifts

"Right? The Empire State Building gets hit about a few dozen times per year."

– dcbluestar

"Friends" Lied To Me!

"Despite popular belief, urine is not sterile."

– koalamiracle

"As a corollary: do not pee on jellyfish stings."

– Slant_Juicy

Both Can Be True

"“Fish don’t feel pain” , and simultaneously “Fish do feel pain” are both arguments which ignore centuries of research."

"They lack a Neocortex which deems them unable to “process” pain, however they have several nociceptors located around the mouth which allows them to “feel it”. What does this mean? Well nobody actually knows yet, and it is largely open to interpretation. It’s unfathomably hard for us to understand, as we can both feel and process pain. Some scientists describe “acting on instinct” as symptoms of pain when these nociceptors become compromised. Some scientists describe it as just that though, acting on instinct based on what parts of their body are compromised and hence weaker or vulnerable."

"For example : You hook and release a bass. That Bass now moves slower, eats a little less, and socializes less. Are these actions the result of the fish acknowledging the compromised nociceptors and acting accordingly while giving itself a chance to heal? Or is the fish genuinely hurting and sad? Research points to both being correct, but neither have enough evidence to prove anything yet."

"All we know with certainty is that we don’t have a definite answer supporting either argument, so anyone that leans hard one way or another doesn’t know what they are talking about."

– goldieglocks16

Lazy Simba

"Don't know if it's been said yet still scrolling, but that male lions don't hunt or do anything. Yes, lionesses do most of the hunting but males do help if the prey is too big and strong, such as with cape buffalo or giraffe. Males do a lot, staying back and protecting the territory which is very important if there are cubs, not to mention that the mane not only blows their cover more when hunting, but it tires them out quickly as it's a bunch of hair weighing on their head. Males also have to leave their birth pride at a certain age which of course until they can find a pride, they at that point have to hunt."

"Also on the topic of African animals (wildlife nerd) hyenas hunt more than lions and are more successful predators, and hyenas aren't dogs. Elephants don't think you or any human is cute."

"Edit: I was told wrong a lion's mane doesn't weigh as much as I thought, but it does have more of a negative effect on their hunting compared to a lioness."

– wildnstuff

That's That

"The one about earlobes (free, or attached) being inherited from your mom and dad were taught to us in 8th grade. We were supposed to go home and examine our parents. Mine are free, both my parents are attached and I'm not adopted. My science teacher sadly informed me that I MUST be adopted and that's that."

– snarksneeze

"I have an identical twin and he has one attached lobe and another that is free. Both of mine are attached."

– philodendrin

"I’m sad to inform you that either you or your identical twin MUST have been adopted and that’s that."

– TaintlessChaps

Blue Bloods

"That blood is blue until it comes into contact with air"

– xPunkdaddy

"Wow thanks, this is the first one I read that I didn't know. My old science teacher was amazing and she taught us it was blue, so I really doubted you until I looked it up. In her defense, she was a physics/maths fanatic and openly admitted biology just wasn't her thing. But still, I presume it must have been in our textbook. Madness!"

– guypr

Sweetness

"The belief that sugar causes hyperactivity in children.This belief has been around for decades, but numerous scientific studies have shown that there is no evidence to support it."

– Logpoze3

"One of my all time favorite scientific studies looked into this in the 90s. The researchers setup a randomized controlled study of boys (n = 35; 5-7 yo) who had been reported as sugar sensitive by their mothers. In the experimental group, the researchers told mothers the boys received a high dose of sugar. In the control group, researchers told mothers they received a sugar-less placebo. Mothers in the experimental group reported higher levels of hyperactivity than mothers in the control group. Well, it turns out the researchers fed both groups the same sugar-less placebo. The only thing measured here was the mother's belief that sugar causes hyperactivity."

– Metridia

I used to believe that, actually. Glad to know the truth!