Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share Debunked Myths That Everyone Still Believes Today

People Share Debunked Myths That Everyone Still Believes Today
Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

People believe some really ridiculous stuff, don't they?

When I was younger, it seemed every adult believed that you couldn't swim for several hours after eating. Why did they all believe this? I fought them on this all the time, by the way.

I shouldn't have had to, just because I'd eaten some barbecue during a pool party.

Guess what, though? That belief is unfounded.

People told us more about the myths that annoy them after Redditor SugoiSuu asked the online community,

"What are the myths that got debunked multiple times but still believed by people?"

"That you get warts from frogs. Warts come from the human papillomavirus and come from contact with the virus through broken skin. It is a human-specific virus and cannot be spread through different species."

mtn_cat

Why do people believe this crap?

Do they still think you can kiss a frog and turn him into a prince, too?

"Popping your knuckles is actually harmless and the "study" that claimed it caused arthritis was heavily flawed. Studies now show that it has nothing to do with causing arthritis."

l-e-mon

I believed this... when I was a kid. I eventually learned. But the adults who still believe this? What's up with that?

"Many people still believe..."

"Many people still believe hymens are like plastic food seals that cover up the hole and get popped when you have sex for the first time, and if a girl doesn't bleed she's not a virgin."

[deleted]

The myths surrounding women's bodies are just ridiculous thing, aren't they?

Here's an idea: SEX ED!

"That if you get too close..."

"That if you get too close to a baby bird, the mother will smell human on the baby and abandon the nest. You probably should still avoid touching baby birds for other reasons like disease or risking injury to the animal though."

NawlSideNative

THE REJECTION!

But yeah, this doesn't happen. So farfetched.

"That fish only have a 5-second memory. My fish are fed automatically on a timer and they know dinner time better than my goddamn cat."

Osr0

I bet they do. Animals are much smarter than we give them credit for.

"That one thing..."

"That one thing about swallowing like 7 spiders a year in your sleep. Why the hell did anyone ever think that was a thing?"

ReaperSCP

Because people are gullible.

Sooooo gullible.

It hurts.

"That your hair..."

"That your hair and fingernails still grow after you die. It's mainly an optical illusion. Your skin decays and shrinks, causing hair and fingernails to look like they've grown."

CasinoKitten

I grew up hearing this. There are entire generations of people who believe this.

"That certain animal parts..."

"That certain animal 'parts' have healing/magical properties. Like tiger whiskers protect the wearer or rhino horn cures impotence and hangovers."

storm-in-a-teapot

Sorry to disappoint, guys, but animals are not "magic" and here for your personal amusement and woo-woo.

"That you have to wait..."

"That you have to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person report."

popthetab

We can definitely pin some of the blame on movies for this one. "Oh, you know for certain your daughter was kidnapped and might possibly be murdered? Looks like you'll have to take matters into your own hands and pursue some good old fashioned vigilante justice, sorry."

"No amount of reasoning..."

"That cats kill babies."

"I've run into this so many times since having kids. And it's not the older grandmas making these statements."

"I've had 20-year-olds tell me that you can't have cats if you plan to have babies because "they'll steal their breath" or some other variation. No amount of reasoning or rationale will dissuade them of this belief."

anothertimesometime

Cats are wonderful creatures. It's a shame that people believe such nonsense about them.

Here's some advice...

Google is your friend. It's very easy to debunk this stuff. I remember being taught that the tongue had taste zones––we even had to fill out a worksheet labeling the tongue's different zones. That's totally wrong, in case you haven't figured it out.

Know some myths that annoy you? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Giorgia Meloni; Donald Trump
Antonio Masiello/Getty Images; Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images

Italian Prime Minister's Sarcastic Remarks About Distancing Italy from The U.S. Resurface After Trump's NATO Gripe

Sarcastic remarks Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made earlier this month in response to calls for Italy to distance itself from the U.S. resurfaced after President Donald Trump claimed during a speech at the World Economic Forum that the U.S. has "never gotten anything" from NATO.

Trump stoked tensions at the gathering of world and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, by continuing his push to seize control of Greenland from Denmark. He reiterated his reasoning that owning Greenland is crucial to domestic and international security, dismissing the fact the territory is under the control of a key ally.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amy Poehler; Jennifer Lawrence
Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube

Jennifer Lawrence Stunned After Amy Poehler Suggests She's Showing Subtle Sign Of Perimenopause At 35

Menopause can often seem like a mystery, with many women knowing only that this new stage of their life is supposed to begin somewhere around age 50 and that the women in their family went through it before them.

But in recent years, Gen Xers and Millennials have opened up about the symptoms of menopause and how to abide those symptoms, and they've also increased awareness about what comes before it: the transitional time called perimenopause.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Ripped After Claiming The U.S. 'Owns' The Moon In Mind-Numbing Fox News Rant

On Tuesday, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump held another unhinged press conference that didn't help the White House's claims that Trump isn't cognitively impaired.

Among the topics the POTUS ranted and rambled about were Somalian immigrants, insane asylums, Don Lemon, his mother's assessment of his baseball prowess, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Greenland.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz
Noam Galai/Getty Images

Ted Cruz's Team Responds To Backlash After He's Spotted On Flight Out Of Texas As State Braces For Winter Storm

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz's team was forced to respond to criticisms after he was photographed on a flight to California on Tuesday as Texas prepares for an arctic cold front and potentially severe winter storm conditions—events that are reminding people of Cruz's now-infamous trip to Cancún.

Political strategist Shea Jordan Smith shared an image of Cruz taken on January 20 that shows him "on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front."

Keep ReadingShow less