Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Commonly Held Beliefs That Have Been Disproven By Science

view of Earth and satellite
view of Earth and satellite
Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Rumors can be dangerous, especially when they are about scientific facts.

Sometimes, rumors are told and retold so many times that we actually start to believe the rumors rather than the actual fact.

These rumors turn into commonly held beliefs.

When I was little, I used to believe bumblebees were superheroes because they're wings were so small, physics said that they couldn't actually fly. I found out later than I would've liked that that's not true.

Redditors know a lot of commonly held beliefs that have actually been disproven by science and they are eager to share.


It all started when Redditor Redt_Wolf16 asked:

"What is a popular belief that is scientifically proven wrong?"

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!

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Chris Pratt
@prattprattpratt/X

Chris Pratt Roasted For Pretending To Close His Eyes While Praying In Viral Video

Chris Pratt is being roasted once again for what many consider yet another bit of performative Christianity.

Pratt, like many religious types, has been seizing the ongoing social media discourse about Charlie Kirk's death as an opportunity to highlight his faith.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump Ripped After Griping About 'Sissy' New NFL Kickoff Rule In Unhinged Rant

President Donald Trump was criticized after he complained about the NFL's new "Dynamic Kickoff" rule that is designed to make playing football safer, calling it "sissy" football in a Monday morning post on Truth Social.

Under the previous rules, kickoffs began at the kicking team’s 35-yard line, with the goal of sending the ball as far as possible to pin the opposing offense deep in its own territory. The receiving team would try to advance the ball, which would often lead to high-speed collisions as players sprinted directly at each other.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mehdi Hasan; JD Vance
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Crooked Media; Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images

Political Commentator Epically Fact-Checks Vance's Baseless Claims About Political Violence

In the wake of far-right activist Charlie Kirk's assassination, Vice President JD Vance has stepped up his attacks on leftists, this time by baselessly claiming that the far-left is more likely to commit political violence than the far-right.

Vance hosted a special episode of Kirk's podcast to attack what he referred to as “the lunatics in American politics" and said without any evidence that the suspect in Kirk's killing was motivated by far-left ideology.

Keep ReadingShow less
group of people using laptop computers in an office
Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Open Up About The Biggest Morons They've Ever Worked With

Have you ever met someone who made you wonder how they survive day-to-day? Simple tasks seem beyond their ccapabilities.

Have you ever worked with someone whose skills are completely inadequate for sustainment of life—let alone the needs of the job?

Keep ReadingShow less
Rafael "Ted" Cruz; screenshot of video Cruz posted on X
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; @tedcruz/X

Ted Cruz Dragged Over Cringey Video Of Him Painting Over Charlie Kirk Graffiti In Houston

On Sunday, Texas MAGA Republican Senator Rafael "Ted" Cruz exploited graffiti—allegedly found on a busy roadway in Houston—that was unkind toward murdered Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, for a self-promoting photo-op and video.

He then posted both still images and the video on X.

Keep ReadingShow less