Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Divulge The Dumbest Myths People Still Believe Today

Little boy peeking through a crack
girl in blue shirt lying on bed
Photo by bady abbas on Unsplash

"Don't step on a crack or you'll break your mother's back".

"If you make too many funny faces, they'll eventually get stuck."

"Watching too much TV can make your eyes fall out."

Three of the many superstitions parents, teachers, and other authoritative adults tell children in hopes of getting them to behave.

It doesn't take long for children to realize that these are all merely myths.

This doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of well-educated adults who still believe silly myths like these.

In spite of bountiful scientific evidence, not to mention common sense, some people remain convinced that superstitions and folklore, no doubt meant to frighten or entertain, are actually based in reality.


Redditor JoeyDotnot was curious to hear the most ludicrous myths people still believe, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest myth people today believe?"

With A Few Deep Breaths, You Can Get Away With Anything

"'Lie detectors' as a literal thing."

"There's a reason they aren't admissible as evidence in court in most places."- bitew41489

test homer GIF Giphy

How Would That Even Work?...

"My dad had this guy helping him out, think Big Box store DIY curb ready helper, who told him 'If you sleep with your hair wet, you will bleed out of your mouth'."

"And he was 110% sure that was fact."

"We were both just confused and bewildered at this statement."

"What the hell had this guy witnessed?!"- bitew41489

Purely For Dramatic Effect

"There are dumber ones out there, but the one I, as an estate lawyer, deal with constantly is the idea that there needs to be a 'reading' of the will, where the family all gather and the lawyer reads it aloud to them for the first time."

"We don't do that, we just mail everyone their own copy if they want it."

"It's a really stubbornly persistent one because people continue to see scenes of it in movies and TV shows, where it's used for some big dramatic reveal."

"I've even had irate beneficiaries insist that the administration of the estate can't be 'official' until there's a reading."

"Way, way back, like 150 years ago or so, I believe we used to do something like that at times because you couldn't exactly presume literacy on the part of the beneficiaries, but now we feel it's a pretty safe bet that you can either read it or find someone who can."- PigHaggerty

Shouldn't They Also Have To Register Their Legs?

"Black belts have to register their fists as weapons."

"I can't believe I was dumb enough to fall for that."- gorox47927

...Still Best Not To Try It...

"If you drop a penny off a skyscraper, it will eventually fall fast enough to puncture someone’s skull."

"By that logic, raindrops would hurt or straight up kill you."

"Not to mention hail."- UnvwevweOsas

Tyler Labine Penny GIF by HULU Giphy

A Balanced Diet Is All It Takes...

"Detox drinks."- Ok-Relief-723

Though We Should Believe This One...

"Tear here to open."- TheDarkSide2187

You Never Know What Your Good Luck Is...

"It is believed in Indian culture that keeping your unibrow means 'good luck'."

"I kept my unibrow for 20 years thinking it is my 'good luck' until I got stage 5th of kidney failure and I did my eyebrows after that because who gives a f*ck about luck anymore."

"Now my eyebrows look cute af."- Full_Sector_1606

miranda sings eyes GIF Giphy

The Reason Everyone Sleeps With Their Mouths Closed

"That you eat spiders in your sleep."

"Spiders will not knowingly walk into a preditor's mouth."

"They can sense both the heartbeat, heat and noise from humans."

"All things that would alert them not to go into our mouth."- messeboy

If Anything, It Might Actually Come Out Faster...

"I remember the myth that gum takes 7 YEARS to fully pass through your digestive system."- QuandiliusDinglebop

You Shouldn't Wait 48 Seconds!

"You have to wait 48 hours to report someone missing."- loxisi5751

No Two Bodies Are The Same

"When I had cancer a few years back and was doing chemotherapy I had people who constantly questioned that I actually 'had cancer' due to the fact that my hair didn't fall out until I was actually in remission."

"Had been off chemo for about 2-3 weeks when my hair started gradually thinning and falling out."

"It's a complete myth that every single person's hair will have the same reaction to chemo."

"Some people lose hair right away, some don't."

"Everybody is different."- DorothyGMilne

Once A Genius, Always a Genius

"That Einstein failed his grade school math class."

"It was the subject of a Ripley’s Believe It or Not column in 1935 and Einstein himself refuted the article."

"In primary school, he had been at the top of the class and by 15 he had mastered differential and integral calculus."- rolis20544

albert einstein GIF Giphy

Always Make Sure That Lid Is On Tightly

"Not sure if this fits here exactly, but the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit being a frivolous case filed by a money hungry customer."

"That poor lady was a real victim who suffered legitimate injuries who only wanted her medical costs covered."- deneto1043

Always Check With Your Doctor First...

"That magnetic jewelry / healing will cure just about anything."

"A dude named Mesmer the 1780 came up with the idea, and it has been debunked many times."

"Yet it’s still a billion dollar industry."

"Fun fact - the word 'mesmerized' is related to him."- rolis20544

Be it watching too much TV will make your eyes fall out or Windex can clear up any ailment, some people will truly believe anything.

And no amount of convincing will ever change their mind.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public via Getty Images

Trump's Commencement Speech Claim That The U.S. Is 'Hot' Right Now Turns Into Hilariously Brutal Self-Own

President Donald Trump's attempt to smear the Biden administration turned into a self-own while he spoke at the commencement ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy this week.

Trump spoke as several hundred protesters gathered outside Coast Guard Academy campus in New London, Connecticut. During the nearly hour-long address to cadets and their families, he alternated between praising the graduating class of 2026 and revisiting familiar themes about what he described as the country’s recovery after a period of decline.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshots from @tiktoktimmay8's TikTok video
@tiktoktimmay8/TikTok

Dad Brutally Reviews Perfumes During Daughter's Birthday Party At Ulta In Hilarious Viral TikTok

For those who did not know, having a birthday party at Ulta Beauty is now a possibility. Complete with skincare sessions, mini-makeovers, discounts, and goodie bags, it's kind of perfect for teens and tweens who are enthusiastic about makeup and skincare.

But while the birthday party is going on, what is a bored parent to do?

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshots from @dadgummit10's TikTok video
@dadgummit10/TikTok

Guy Goes Viral After Bombing Job Interview With Hilarious Answer To 'What's Your Weakness?'—And Oof

Let's face it: every single one of us has flopped at least one job interview. Whether we knew in the moment that it wasn't going well, or it only hit us later how spectacularly we'd missed the mark, we've all been there.

But at least most of us can say that we didn't freeze up and start spouting facts about our favorite snack.

Keep Reading Show less
Photographer taking photos of newlyweds
Erstudiostok/Getty Images

Couple's Engagement Photo Goes Viral For Its Unintentional Optical Illusion—And We Can't Stop Laughing

When two people are planning to get married, there are countless details to consider, often to create an incredibly beautiful and aesthetic wedding.

One detail that most couples take very seriously is the photographer who will take the wedding photos and help create an engagement announcement.

Keep Reading Show less
Redditor imfrom_mars_'s photo of a textbook that includes a ChatGPT prompt
u/imfrom_mars_/Reddit

ChatGPT Response Appears To Make It Into School Textbook—And We're Doomed

Students are being actively discouraged from using ChatGPT and other AI-generation tools, as they are expected to learn their educational concepts and be able to put them into practice. They are also not supposed to use these tools while writing papers or during at-home tests.

Given how expensive grade school and college textbooks are, it is reasonable that educational writers and content professionals should be held to the same standards. Wouldn't it make sense for them to use the knowledge of their field, rather than what's been fed into ChatGPT, to make a textbook a worthwhile purchase for students?

Keep Reading Show less