Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Dispel Myths That Are Still Widely Circulated As True

People Dispel Myths That Are Still Widely Circulated As True
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
Make us preferred on Google

With the rapid spread of misinformation, you'd think everyone would all be a little more thorough using the super computers in our pockets to double check information. Unfortunately, not everyone does and, because of that, we have a lot of angry people who get incredibly inappropriate online when you correct them.

Sorry, but Christopher Columbus was just not that interesting of a guy.


Reddit user, u/KnotKarma, wanted to hear what we should know as false when they asked:

What myth is still widely circulated as truth?

It's My Birthday, I'm Out Of Here

homer simpson episode 20 GIFGiphy

That people in the middle ages only lived to 40 or something. There was a lot of child dead, thus lowering the average age. Living till 60, 70 years old wasn't strange.

dankmeme96

It was definitely more common to die early because of lack of medical care, but yeah it's not like people dropped of old age at 40 or 50

1629throwitup

Why Do We Celebrate This Guy?

People in general though the world was flat until Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

No, the Ancient World figured that out a long time before. People just thought that it wasn't possible to sail across the ocean to Asia because sailors would run out of food by then, while Columbus thought that wasn't case because he thought Asia was bigger than contemporary estimates.

Penguator432

Curse You For Making Me Believe In A Magical Body

That the tongue has different regions for salty, sweet, bitter and sour.

honguss

Why were we ever taught that?

waterbuffalo750

Damn you Ms Frizzle!

bertsbuys

Not How Science Works

If an HIV positive person has sex with another HIV positive person, they don't have to worry about protection. They do, because there are 140 different strains of the HIV/AIDS virus, and getting infected with another strain, especially a potentially-deadlier one, could be dangerous. Also, pregnancy is still a very big risk for HIV positive women. If you are considering a sexual relationship, get tested, and talk to your doctor about birth control.

PaulfussKrile

Sounds Like Big Water Is Influencing What You Know

I was adamantly told by some seniors at work not to drink the water that boiled twice because it cooks the oxygen out of it.

DesignerPilky

What is with seniors and water that's been boiled twice? My grandmother used to say that it would make the water radioactive - I still can't wrap my head around the fact that a woman that had been a chemist her entire working life believed this.

Though I've heard others who grew up in the Soviet Union, like my grandmother, echo this so perhaps it's some silly propaganda that stuck.

malapropistic

Yeah, No. They Don't.

Undercover police have to tell you they are policemen when you ask them.

kevicuni6

Breaking Bad has a great scene where an undercover cop tricks a guy into selling him drugs using this myth.

JEbel72

Not Just Some Of The Bread, But ALL Of The Bread

talking homer simpson GIFGiphy

The Food Pyramid

WCGWjoiningReddit

So much bread 🍞😂

5m0k37r3353v3ryd4y

Everybody knows about Big Tobacco and Big Pharma, but what about Big Gluten using scams like this to line their pockets?

JoltyKorit

Crack. A. Way.

Knuckle cracking doesn't lead to arthritis, it just an old wives tale people use in place of simply telling you it's annoying them.

Crack away!

SquilliamFancySon95

Not As Positive An Impact As You Think

Organic crops don't use pesticides or herbicides.

Teacup_Cannibal

Another myth is that organic farming is somehow always better for the environment. In many cases, it can actually be much worse. One example is that in conventionally grown crops, you can use precisely calibrated fertilizer so that you're "feeding" your crops exactly as much nitrogen as they need through the soil, whereas with some types of organic fertilizers, you have to way overshoot it to make sure the soil is fertilized sufficiently, which results in massive nitrogen runoff and water pollution.

Father-Son-HolyToast

It's Kind Of An All Or Nothing Deal

That you can reduce fat from a particular body part

AAAARRRGGGGHHHH

You Know What...Maybe That One's Right.

That we only use 10% of our brain

xtra_sleepy

My cousin had a roommate who thought this and tried to use "100% of his brain" to run through a wall.

Cipher1414

Learn From Bugs Bunny

surprised homer simpson GIFGiphy

Bulls hate red.

They are actually colour blind and are reacting to the movement of the cloth and the a--hole behind it.

pumperthruster

You also gotta keep in mind those bulls are poorly treated and usually given some kind of stimulants. Bulls on our ranch are actually quite friendly as long as it's not breeding season.

Redneckpride99

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump Dragged After Image Of Him On Fox News Watching Himself On Fox News Goes Viral

President Donald Trump was widely mocked after an image from Fox News of him watching himself during their live coverage on the Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C. went viral.

Trump is widely known to obsessively watch news coverage of himself day and night, hence why he's become notorious for attacking news organizations and political opponents on Truth Social at all hours.

Keep ReadingShow less
Members of the Patriot Front
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Photo Of Black Woman Surrounded By White Nationalists On DC Metro For July 4th March Goes Viral—And It Speaks Volumes

Reuters photographer Cheney Orr took a photograph of a Black woman on the DC Metro on July 4 surrounded by Patriot Front members as they prepared to march amid the America250 festivities that has struck a chord with the public living under President Donald Trump's administration.

The neo-Nazi organization, which is based in North Texas, proceeded with its demonstration despite the cancellation of numerous Fourth of July events across the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, including the parade planned to mark America's 250th anniversary.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kathy Griffin (left) criticized The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon after Conor McGregor (middle) appeared as a guest on host Jimmy Fallon’s (right) late-night show.
@kathygriffin/Instagram; The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube

Kathy Griffin Sounds Off On 'The Tonight Show' For Banning Her While Allowing Conor McGregor As A Guest In Viral Rant

On June 16, MMA fighter and accused rapist Conor McGregor appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he discussed his return to the UFC, a time he knocked someone out in 13 seconds, and the origin of his nickname, "The Notorious."

Fallon, of course, left out any questions regarding McGregor being found liable in a sexual assault case stemming from allegations made by Nikita Hand.

Keep ReadingShow less
Melissa Gilbert on a red carpet; A vintage photo or Michael Landon
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Kypros/Getty Images

Melissa Gilbert Shares Sweet Throwback Photos Of Herself And Michael Landon On The 35th Anniversary Of His Death

There were not many TV families more beloved than the Ingalls on Little House On The Prairie, the beloved series based on the novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which had a nearly decade-long run from 1974 to 1983.

Particularly touching was the relationship between Laura, played by Melissa Gilbert, and Charles "Pa" Ingalls, played by Michael Landon.

Keep ReadingShow less
Karlie Kloss; Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump
@bloombergoriginals/Instagram; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Karlie Kloss Sparks Heated Debate With Her Take On Navigating Political Differences With Her Trump In-Laws

Supermodel Karlie Kloss is in hot water on the internet after addressing how she navigates her Trump-aligned in-laws' kleptocratic fascist politics.

Kloss, who is married to Jared Kushner's brother Joshua and is a Democrat, recently sat down with Bloomberg to discuss what it's like to be married into a family she doesn't agree with.

Keep ReadingShow less