History itself is a lie.
At least that's how it feels.
These last few decades have become more and more eye-opening.
Humans are a mess.
And our track record in decency is shoddy at best.
So many cover-ups have done more harm than good.
So let's know them so we never repeat them.
Redditor thoughtofeverything wanted to talk about history and all of its evils.
So they asked:
"What has been the most destructive lie in human history?"
The lies are vast and many. Let's count.
Get Up!
Good Morning GIFGiphy"That you can wake up in the morning and 'just rest your eyes.'"
ICTheAlchemist
"That's why I have 5 alarms. One morning my gf is just going to murder me."
Bubbling_Psycho
“Radium Girls”
“Radium paint isn’t poisonous.”
"Thousands of watch-dial workers in the US used to apply radium brushes on their tongues to paint numbers on watch dials, and almost all of these workers were women. As these workers were dying due to radiation poising, the companies brought in fake doctors and convinced the victims and their families that they have venereal diseases like Syphilis."
"As this was mostly affecting women, most were scared to share it with their families for fear of retaliation and abandonment. The suffering endured by these women was extremely awful, their jaws fell off, their bones fractured, their hair was lost, and most lost eyesight until their eventual painful death."
"These women were called 'Radium Girls.' Eventually many fought back settled lawsuits and brought the entire Radium production industry down, unfortunately, many innocent women lost their lives before this evil industry was brought down. Source: https://www.britannica.com/story/radium-girls-the-women-who-fought-for-their-lives-in-a-killer-workplace"
EntryFriendly
1920 to 1970
"Thomas Midgley and General Motors lying that exposure to tetra-ethyl lead is harmless."
"Tetra-ethyl lead was a gasoline additive present in all gasoline sold in the US until it was banned in the 70s. Almost every child growing up from 1920 to 1970 had lead poisoning to some degree."
"Entire generations grew up with their minds being poisoned, unable to reach their potentials because of him. Not to mention the secondary effects, lead exposure is associated with criminal behaviors."
Tuungsten
In 1843...
"A specific historical example: In 1843, a man called Hong Xiuquan claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus. This led to him starting the Taiping Rebellion, which caused the deaths of between 20 million and 70 million people. Then again, he probably believed it, so it might not count as a lie."
PuzzleMeDo
"Chinese history is freaking wild. The sh*t that happens always ends up getting 10 million+ people killed. It's how you get incredibly gruesome massacres like the Sichuan massacre."
Thathitmann
LIE!
Stressed Saved By The Bell GIF by PeacockTVGiphy"Sugar isn’t the problem, it’s fats! Let’s make everything 'fat-free' and just triple the sugar content!"
hamboneclay
"Yeah this one gets me pretty upset. Just a straight up lie."
passionateaboutEH
Sugar. Man's greatest enemy.
The Change
Election 2020 World GIF by INTO ACTIONGiphy" Climate change is YOUR fault. YOU need to change the way YOU do things. Not the corporate conglomerate that's pumping a billion tons a year."
itsflowzbrah
Philip Morris Lies
"The 1964 Surgeon General’s report concluded that smoking cigarettes causes death and disease. However, in a 1971 television interview, the president of Philip Morris denied the health risks that pregnant women and their babies face, saying that 'It’s true that babies born from women who smoke are smaller, but they are just as healthy as the babies born to women who do not smoke. Some women would prefer to have smaller babies.'"
HisGibness
Scandals
"Nestle — The Baby Killer Scandal. They deliberately lied to mothers in developing countries to sell their baby formula, telling them that their own milk was nutritionally insufficient and their babies would be unhealthy if they continued to breastfeed them. The result of this marketing campaign was approximately 66,000 infant mortalities."
"Source: https://www.nber.org/papers/w24452"
voicebread
Ten. Days.
"Oxycontin isn't addictive."
ChickNuggs
"I was in a car accident, was given a prescription for Oxycontin. Doc told me 'get off it as soon as you can manage your pain with over the counter drugs.' I was on it for ten days. Ten. Days. I experienced withdrawal symptoms when I quit."
Drakmanka
"I watched Dopesick. The Sackler family is pure evil and largely created the opioid crisis solely for profit."
Tuckernuts8
Do your duty...
Recycling Bottles GIF by 60 Second DocsGiphy"Plastic is easily recyclable so long as the public does their duty to sort it and bring it to its designated waste area."
cellocaster
History is littered with mess. Physical and metaphorical.
What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments.
@tulipanet/Bluesky
@which–witch–ru/Bluesky
@phillip–rees/Bluesky
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social