Things Millennials Learned Growing Up That Were Totally Wrong

We'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn't fed misinformation as children.

Adults lie to children for a variety of reasons: to protect them, to make things age appropriate, to carry on traditions, or because they don't know the truth either.

But has one generation been lied to more than others?

Reddit user jackytheblade asked:

"Millennials, what's something you were taught growing up that turned out to be completely wrong in adulthood?"

Beanie Babies

"That Beanie Babies would be worth a bunch of money when I got older."

"I am older."

"No such luck."

~ elons_publicist

"I collected a ton of Beanie Babies as a kid (early to mid 2000's) just because I loved playing with them."

"I kept most of them after all these years and still have a big storage tote packed completely full of them."

"It would have been nice if they were actually worth something, but at least they have some sentimental value."

~ TheSuperAwesomeKAT

Food Fibs

"The food pyramid. That thing was everywhere."

~ Itsnottreasonyet

"Not just the food pyramid, Boomers were tricked in a whole bunch of ways, including being told that people require a glass of milk a day, that salt would give us a heart attack, and perhaps the most egregious, that fats—any fats, really—are bad and should be avoided at all costs..."

"Resulting in a generation of children brought up on non-fat—read: super sugary—processed foods and disgusting vegetables that were boiled to avoid using any oils or fats and unseasoned."

"Is it any wonder then why most of us grew up hating vegetables until we started having them baked with proper seasoning?"

~ Chimerain

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

"Recycling is nothing like what I was told it was."

~ IsntThisSumShit

"This one hurts. A school that I taught at had a huge recycling movement."

"We had recycling bins, taught the students what could go in them, a team of students even collected everyone’s recycling at the end of every day."

"And then on the weekends, one garage truck would take it all."

~ Infamous_Fault8353

Just Say No

"The DARE program told me that around every corner there was someone looking to offer me free drugs."

"40 years later and I'm still waiting for my free drugs."

~ HugeRequirement8839

"Man...I had so much Dare merch. A Dare ruler, a Pen and pencil. A Dare pencil pouch, magnet, pencil sharpener. Dare stickers. And last but not least...a Dare Hot wheels car."

"That last one was actually cool looking. Kept that one and got rid of everything else recently because I never wanted to see another Dare product in my life."

~ Nightshader5877

Company Loyalty Is Reciprocal

"Be loyal to a job and stay there for your entire career and that job will look out for you."

~ Timely_Physics_7329

"That left the building with pensions."

~ yalyublyutebe

"It was so much more. Man, back when we were kids in the 70s and 80s, my dad's company gave every family a turkey based on family size for thanksgiving and a ham or alternate roast for Christmas/the holidays."

"Every summer they rented out the local amusement park, roller coasters and all, and made all the dogs and burgers and drinks free, just for the kids and families to have a good day. Paid the workers too."

"He got an extra week vacation for his 5, 10th, 15th, and 20th year. The 25th they gave him a gold watch. The 30th they flew him to Europe with my mother all expenses paid. The 35th they bought him a gorgeous grandfather clock."

"He had a pension, a 401(k) and maxed social security. Until the last few years, he paid no match toward his healthcare either."

"Along the way, without having to apply and re-interview, they promoted him 6 or 7 times and made sure his real pay always went up as they trained him to do more and manage more."

"They hired him in at 19 without so much of a day of college and took care of him until he retired. He applied there in the first place because he could walk there from his house in a pinch. He still can, only now his house is renovated and bigger."

"Almost unbelievable that type of thing these days."

~ badluckbrians

Bob And Weave

"That running in a zig zag pattern away from alligators works."

"As a Floridian, my world exploded when I found out that wasn’t true."

"They lied to us in school."

~ HeiGirlHei

"That's what fish do and they still get ate."

"I ain't takin no advice from a creature that loses fights to a hook and some string."

~ Syhkane

Undigestable Doesn't Work Like That

"Don't swallow gum, it will stay in your stomach for x years—I was told everything from 5-20 years by different adults."

~ jackytheblade

"My mind was recently blown finding out that gum is literally plastic."

"I’m a scientist (ecologist) who has spent decent time with some who study plastic pollution and thought I was at least a little informed on this sort of thing, and had no freaking clue until my kid asked what gum base was and I Googled it."

"I don’t think I ever really thought about what it was they replaced the chicle with in modern times."

~ RobHerpTX

Adding Up

"You won't always have access to a calculator."

~ CaratacusBambino

"That's true."

"At the same time it's hilarious to see someone struggle to do basic math like calculate tips without a calculator."

~ phoenixmatrix

Student Debt

"If you go to college, you’ll be set for life."

~ Gogs85

"That was also told to us GenXers by our Silent Generation parents, who actually did get set for life by going to college. But by the time it was our turn, it was not the case."

"My dad never had to look for a job, apply for a job, or write a resume. The recruiters read the college graduation rosters and came looking for him."

~ BubbhaJebus

Like Calligraphy

"You're going to be expected to write in cursive when you grow up."

~ eb0027

"I remember that one. Also, expectations about line heights.

In hindsight I do see a use for cursive in schools."

"Developing fine motor control in an education system where the really old f*cks love the idea of keeping cursive around, but have spent decades working to cut out art—with drawing/painting the other really good one for developing that motor control—completely."

~ foxden_racing

Moving Violation

"It’s illegal to have the light on in the back of the car while mom is driving."

~ Arratril

"My mom just told us that she couldn’t see when we did that and to try to look outside—while it’s dark out—with the light on in our rooms."

"I tried it and sure enough, couldn’t see."

"Didn’t have an issue after that! I was a 'good kid' middle child, though."

~ riversong17

A Matter Of Taste

"Tongues have different taste zones."

"The tip of your tongue is where the Sweet taste buds are, up front on both sides is salty, back on both sides is sour, bitter is in the very back and the middle tastes umami."

"Turns out that’s bullsh*t."

~ Birdo3129

"The diagram was right next to the food pyramid."

~ cupholdery

Halloween Hoax

"People hide drugs in Halloween candy."

~ petterdaddy

"It amazes me every Halloween when the news warns us to check for gummies."

"Who is giving out $20 bags of edibles to kids?"

~ WorldsWorstTroll

The Whole Loaf

"The crust of the bread has all the nutrition which is why we have to eat it."

~ Region-Certain

"My mum told me it would make my hair curly."

~ AdDdeviL

"OMFG, I thought it was only my mom who lied to me about this!

You too? Where did this come from‽‽"

~ sfcitygirl88

Violence = Affection

"Boys tease you/bully you because they like you!"

"Holy f*ck, did that advice send the wrong message."

~ SheSheShieldmaiden

"Thankfully my parents never told me an abusive boy is abusive because he liked me."

"In fact, one of my neighborhood friends who happened to be a boy suddenly turned on me one day. He threw a rock at my head, hurting me."

"My mom was livid… she walked to the boy’s house, pounded on the front door, and told the boy’s dad she’d strangle the little sh*t if he ever came near me again. She had a few more choice threats."

"The guy was flabbergasted. I was really impressed by the pure mama fury… she probably would have been arrested for that display now, but people did stuff like that back in the day."

"Never saw the kid again."

~ FalconBurcham

"Years ago I was at a neighbor's house and my friend's brother choked me to the point of near blackout. I ran home to my mom to tell her. She called his mom and they both agreed that her son just liked me and I liked him back."

"Even though I was crying and later had bruising on my throat, my mom would tease me relentlessly about my 'boyfriend down the street'. Anytime I told her how scared I was or that I was afraid to go over there to see my friend, she would joke about my crush on the boy who hurt me."

"Even as an adult I am so resentful of that."

~ Technical-Banana574

"There was a boy in my grade who would straight up hit me in class, and that's what they said—he just likedme."

"No, maybe he's just a bully who would one day have a history of domestic violence."

"But, yeah, let's teach girls that affection is shown by leaving bruises and emotional scars."

~ EmmalouEsq

What lies were you told as a child?