People Are Sharing Debunked Myths That Other People Continue To Believe, And It's Kind Of Absurd
We've all been fooled by myths and urban legends before — but sometimes, people keep believing things no matter how untrue they may be.
u/SeRYoZHiK01 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What myths do people continue to believe in despite the fact that it's all complete nonsense?" Read some of these suggestions closely — you might just learn something:
1."Bulls get angry seeing the color red."
2."Lightning never strikes the same place twice."
3."That people swallow eight spiders in their sleep on average per year. Apparently the myth began to show how readily people accept information they read on the internet as facts."
4."Blood is blue before it leaves the body, and it only turns red when exposed to oxygen."
5."That different places on your tongue taste different flavors. Anyone else remember those color-coded tongue drawings in textbooks?"
6."Wolves don't have 'alphas' the way people think they do. The person who popularized that concept has spent most of his career trying to debunk it, and the term is no longer used in the scientific community."
7."That MSG is bad for you... It's naturally occurring in things like mushrooms and seaweed, and the FDA even recognizes it as safe."
8."Lifting heavy weights will ruin your joints. At certain extremes that may be possible, but the average person lifting weights is actually doing something really great for their muscles, bones, and joints!"
9."That you have to wait a certain amount of time after eating before swimming. Otherwise you'll get cramps."
10."That playing violent video games makes you violent in real life."
11."That vaccines cause autism. This belief originated in the 1990s and was based on a now-discredited study that has been debunked by numerous subsequent studies. Despite this, some people continue to believe in this myth and refuse to vaccinate their children, putting them at risk of contracting serious and potentially deadly diseases."
12."That people freaked out when The War of the Worlds was broadcast on the radio. It was part of a low-ratings sci-fi show that barely anyone listened to. It was on at the same time as the most popular radio show of that time. They announced after every commercial break that it was the show. Also, breaking news like that wouldn't have commercials..."
13."Marie Antionette saying, 'Let them eat cake.' It was first quoted 50 years after her death, and at the time she allegedly said it she would have been 14 and living in Austria."
14."Black cat crossing brings bad luck."
Agree? Disagree? Have your own additions? See you in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
