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30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In

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From Santa (sorry…) to Bigfoot, there are hoaxes, lies, and old stories that don’t seem to die off, despite most people not believing them. Maybe they are comforting, interesting or so ingrained that a small portion of the population still clings on to these beliefs.

Someone asked, “What is the biggest hoax that people still believe?” and people shared all the delusions they had encountered. So get ready to possibly have your worldview shattered, make sure you are comfortable as you read through and upvote your favorite examples. Comment your thoughts and arguments below.

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#1

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In All that detox health science bs. Your body already has a detox system. It's called your liver.

EnvironmentLow9075 , Angela Roma Report

Final score:

260points

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#2

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In The privatized American “healthcare” system.

It takes billions of American taxpayer money to “operate” while *also* charging Americans billions on insurance premiums and fees.

Americans should either pay taxes that cover universal healthcare *or* pay insurance premiums and/or fees, NOT BOTH.

racoon-fountain , Pixabay Report

Final score:

250points

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#3

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In The Wakefield Paper. A deliberate hoax commissioned by a crooked law firm seeing to profit from legal judgments based upon the entirely falsified “results” of the “study”. This single act of entirely knowing and intentional fraud precipitated the greatest public health catastrophe of the antibiotic era: the modern antivaxx movement.

OHRunAndFun , Ivan Radic Report

Final score:

232points

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#4

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In "Be loyal to your company and they'll reward you"

Bull f*****g s**t... Only thing they'll do is exploit you more.

RaptureRising , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:

230points

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#5

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In That wealth trickles down

frenziedkoalabuddy , WoodysMedia Report

Final score:

192points

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#6

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In That cutting taxes for the rich is good for workers.

Pfffft.

Lutiskilea Report

Final score:

180points

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#7

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In “You can lose 25 pounds in three weeks and never feel hungry while eating all the delicious foods you want. Just call this 800 number…”

Gorf_the_Magnificent , Andres Ayrton Report

Final score:

170points

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#8

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Homeopathy
>
Germany, the birthplace of this movement, still allows people to study ‘MD Homeopathy’ despite the EU largely being opposed to it. In India one can get certified as a “Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery”. Most countries, while not recognising homeopathy doctors as legitimate, still allow sale of their “remedies” because they don’t see the harm in what are essentially sugar tablets and diluted alcohol.

dscchn , Nataliya Vaitkevich Report

Final score:

147points

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#9

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In I've met more than one person who turned down a raise because they thought they'd end up making less money because of taxes.

Nahhhh, son. Nah.

freestyle43 , Monstera Production Report

Final score:

144points

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#10

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In The stigma around MSG.

toastyavocadoes , Douglas Muth Report

Final score:

132points

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#11

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In that blood is blue when inside your body. I remember getting into it with a gym teacher he insisted “blood is blue inside your body but turns red when it’s exposed to the oxygen in the air like when you get a cut” but bloods whole purpose is to carry oxygen INSIDE the body, therefore it’s always red, and not turned red because the oxygen in the air.

apparently i’m still heated about that lmao

Stupid-ForYou , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:

129points

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#12

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Healing Crystals.

"Oh, if I put this inert rock next to my wrist, it'll help with my arthritis?"

sloopieone , Alina Vilchenko Report

Final score:

129points

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#13

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Alkaline water is pseudoscience, any chemist or doctor will confirm this

secularJ , unknown Report

Final score:

126points

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#14

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In All you have to do is work hard and you’ll get rich.

WWDB , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:

124points

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#15

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Humans only use 10% of their brain (well lately I guess some do)

DrummerBob10 , RF._.studio Report

Final score:

118points

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#16

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Pyramid schemes.

Happy_Bullfrog_5379 , Luis Quintero Report

Final score:

117points

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#17

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Im a police officer, and Ive had people tell me that ALL police officers MUST by law say they are cops if/when they are asked, including cops that are undercover. I tried to explain this would defeat the purpose of being undercover because the criminals would just simply ask "Are you a cop?" to everyone they were committing crimes with and invest is over. There is no such law but i can never win the argument.

actionjaxn411 , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

116points

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#18

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In The hysteria over GMO food. It is demonstrably fine. We have been genetically modifying food in an uncontrolled way since before the written word. The idea that it's *more* haphazard and dangerous when done with precision by scientists with advanced technology is completely absurd.

Also, trees and plants can't run away from predators, they have to protect themselves with chemistry. Pesticides are naturally occuring and omnipresent. In fact, food we consider inedible is mostly that due to the presence of said pesticides, compounds in them which make them unpalatable or dangerous for us to eat.

DeadFyre , David Prasad Report

Final score:

116points

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#19

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In One big lie that some people still believe is that cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. It's been debunked, but it's amazing how many still believe it!

blandsiding , Eren Li Report

Final score:

103points

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#20

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In The food pyramid.

Scurvy-Banana , Rachael Moore Report

Final score:

90points

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#21

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Shaving making hair grow in thicker.

WarpedMathematician , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

89points

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#22

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In The common cold is caused by being cold.

BubbhaJebus , Andre Furtado Report

Final score:

89points

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#23

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In I think the amount of people that continue to fall for hustle culture and the snake oil salesmen push it. There is huge emphasis in modern society on not only being rich but being rich young by the simplest/fast means necessary. Its honestly depressing how many people continue to purchase master classes/work shops that all filled with surface level near useless information.

reddit.com , Ron Lach Report

Final score:

87points

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#24

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Chiropractic adjustments, getting your vertabrae popped and ground on a frequent basis is good for you.

mywifesoldestchild , Cojanu Alexandru Report

Final score:

82points

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#25

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Drinking 8 glasses of water a day. Gluten being bad for you if you don’t have celiacs.

Joel22222 , Maurício Mascaro Report

Final score:

70points

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French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

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#26

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Don’t go swimming after eating

FreshStartRetry , Dương Nhân Report

Final score:

62points

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#27

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Carrots improve your eyesight. This was English propaganda during WW2. They didn't want Germany to know that they had radar which spotted their bombers. It was those sharp eyes of Brit's pilots.

om54 , Ron Lach Report

Final score:

61points

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#28

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In That going to sleep with or going out with wet hair causes a cold.

geordiesteve520 , Polina Kovaleva Report

Final score:

54points

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#29

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Milk for strong bones.

Dairy industry advertising campaign that isn't supported by evidence and in fact we have a good amount of evidence to the contrary.

Thatweasel , samer daboul Report

Final score:

44points

Puppy Dancing! 11 months ago

Rickets is almost eliminated in countries with mIlk consumption.

45points

Ace 11 months ago

That's a false association. In the Western world vitamin D has been added to many foodstuffs, sometimes including milk (particularly in the USA). If you weren't getting the supplements or enough sunlight to not need them then no amount of milk/calcium would help.

27points

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censorshipsucks 11 months ago

cancer is higher in those countries too. So is it causation or correlation? you decide.

13points

Desiree Meredith 11 months ago

Rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, not a calcium deficiency. Milk is fortified (meaning added to) with vitamin D.

8points

keyboardtek 11 months ago

Milk powder was sent to African countries that had starvation and famine. It made matters worse because most Africans are lactose intolerant.

5points

Nimitz 11 months ago

Rickets is caused by vitamin D deficiency, which we add to milk and it can be cured/prevented with basic supplementation

2points

BTDubs 11 months ago

Guys, it's basically a calcium supplement. Calcium = healthy bones. Why else would docs recommend Calcium for people with osteoporosis?

15points

Temporary Dork 11 months ago

There's more to milk than calcium, which is why it's not ideal as a calcium supplement.

3points

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Bunny gurl 11 months ago

My mom (dietitian) said that milk is good for bones bc there is calcium and calcium is good for bones

13points

Ace 11 months ago

Your mom was as much a victim of marketing as anyone else. Lots of things were generally accepted by healthcare professionals for years, sometime decades, but have since been shown to be wrong; this is just one example. (I recall my GP in the 1980s recommending huge doses of Vitamin C to treat a cold, for another example).

3points

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Joe Publique 11 months ago

You have 'a good amount' of evidence that drinking milk weakens bones? Source please?

8points

Dane 11 months ago

Yes, rickets has been eliminated in milk-drinking countries, but that is the result of added Vitamin D. The fact is, it seems every other mammal is weened at a young age...not sure why humans aren't.

4points

Joe Publique 11 months ago

What are you talking about? Almost all humans are weaned off their mother’s milk (or formula) on average between 2 and 4 years old and the fortification of milk with vitamin D is uncommon in most European countries.

1point

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Fall F. 11 months ago

Dairy products have calcium in them in a very high level. No, they are not miracle, but they surely don't harm, more are they benefiting your body. If you are not intolerant, of course.

4points

David 11 months ago

Calcium is needed, and Milk is a good source, just not the only source. But nursing women, they body takes the calcium from their own bones to the baby's milk if there is not enough calcium being taken. Milk is good for strong bones, just not the only source for calcium. Big difference between it is fake and it is misleading

4points

Xenon 11 months ago

As a sufferer of osteoporosis I just take calcium every day.

3points

JBRyu 11 months ago

Calcium= healthier bones?? There is nothing wrong with drinking milk. Some people cant and that's fine as well.

3points

Pedantic Panda 11 months ago

Milk contains Calcium which is good for bones.

3points

DeeDee M 11 months ago

It needs to corrected to; calcium for strong bones, which can come from many different sources BESIDES milk. Including supplements.

2points

Xenon 11 months ago

1200 mg a day for me. With vitamin D.

2points

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Babette M 11 months ago

Well you do need a decent intake of calcium when you're growing a second skeleton inside your body, or feeding said skeleton by the expression of nutrients from your body. Many people do this, actually. If the calcium in your food is inadequate, it will be taken from your own bones.

2points

BTDubs 11 months ago

Ann Reardon (food scientist) did a great explainer video on youtube. If your interested, here's the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIu9oOBoy8s

1point

Lyone Fein 11 months ago

Consuming calcium is necessary for healthy bones and teeth. Milk has calcium.

1point

Viv Hart 11 months ago

Milk = Calcium. Calcium = strong bone structure.

0points

Tree P 11 months ago

I hated milk as a kid. I guess my bones must be dust by now.

0points

Animal lover 11 months ago

Sorry, I still don't buy this. I have been drinking milk for 75 years and I still think that it has helped my bones. I take a lot of medicine and have had two kinds of cancer, but my bones are really good

0points

Per-Ole Sjuve 11 months ago

It's delicious though.

0points

Xenon 11 months ago

Why you don't see antlers everywhere in the woods, chipmunks and squirrels and others will know on them for the calcium.

0points

Flora Porter 11 months ago

No evidence? What about Dutch people?

0points

TotallyNOTAFox 11 months ago (edited)

Consuming too much milk over longer times can lead to higher risks of developing osteoporosis, especially for women. Acids within the milk can cause the body to withdraw calcium from the bones to balance the pH values. Some is good, too much is counterproductive

0points

Gavin Winchester 11 months ago

Yeah, wrong. Sorry but I’m a medical scientist/nutritionist. And you’re entirely full of c**p. There is SOME minor calcium release in urine due to protein consumption, but it is far outweighed by calcium absorption increase when consuming protein, and massively so when supplied by dairy. FFS, get educated or just shut up

8points

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Almost sunny 11 months ago

Did not know, thank you

2points

Lorraine R 11 months ago

That's why I question the addition of calcium to Orange juice. Also, one of the most important nutrients in milk is the protein, and you don't get much of that in OJ.

0points

just me 11 months ago

I call bull

0points

Temporary Dork 11 months ago

This comment has been deleted.

-3points

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Tuesday 11 months ago

TIL...

0points

Shane Clark 11 months ago

This campaign was started to stop all the milk the us government was buying to keep the dairy industry afloatm

0points

Ample Aardvark 11 months ago

It makes absolutely no sense that humans "need" milk, not being babies AND from another species. Yes it a source of calcium and vitamins like most foods, but no one would die or break all their bones by walking to the corner shop without it

-2points

Gavin Winchester 11 months ago

So glad to have an expert here. It is a pseudoscience thread after all and you seem an expert on exactly that

0points

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#30

30 Biggest Hoaxes That Some People Still Believe In Recycling is saving the environment

hbsboak , Lisa Fotios Report

Final score:

23points

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Justin Sandberg

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Ieva Pečiulytė

I'm a Visual Editor for Bored Panda. I’m also an analog collage artist. My love for images and experience in layering goes well with both creating collages by hand and working with digital images as an Editor. When I’m not using my kitchen area as an art studio I also do various experiments making my own cosmetics or brewing kombucha. When I’m not at home you would most definitely find me attending a concert or walking my dog.

I'm a Visual Editor for Bored Panda. I’m also an analog collage artist. My love for images and experience in layering goes well with both creating collages by hand and working with digital images as an Editor. When I’m not using my kitchen area as an art studio I also do various experiments making my own cosmetics or brewing kombucha. When I’m not at home you would most definitely find me attending a concert or walking my dog.

What do you think ?

Gustav Gallifrey 11 months ago

Hey, BP: Can we stop with the 'popular hoaxes' threads until you hear of some new ones? Because 1. these are tired, and 2. it makes you look very lazy.

13points

Pasej 11 months ago

Fantastic list! I can't wait to read it again in a week and then again the week after that.

11points

Zakaar Bovus 11 months ago (edited)

What about the week after that?

3points

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Sergio Bicerra 11 months ago

One that's not being said: you won't grow 3 inches in a month, and i'm not talking about height.

4points

MayaGeGe 11 months ago

Hahaha

2points

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longlivethequeen554 11 months ago

These are not all hoaxes - check facts people. And yes, I'm aware I'm gonna get downvoted

3points

Mary Peace 11 months ago

I upvoted you. Some of the comments were very confusing, people contradicting each other until you don't know what to believe. Back where I started on a lot of issues.

1point

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Joe Publique 11 months ago

Let's add: fortune tellers, psychics, mediums, etc...

3points

Mike Fitzpatrick 11 months ago

Gee, it's THIS one again, how exciting! /s

2points

John Harrison 11 months ago

With the entire internet at their disposal, BP reaches into the recycle bin once again.

2points

MasterJoseph 11 months ago

I have one: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That phrase is not necessarily true, since it was made to sell Grape-Nuts of all things!

1point

T.O.S.o.R. 11 months ago

College education. A person that learns a skilled trade can earn $100,000/year or more and not have a $200,000 debt to pay.

1point

Ace 11 months ago

I'm sure at least two or three of these are 'new' since the last time it was posted.

1point

Thenatural 11 months ago

Let's add....sex is malleable and you can change it.

0points

BTDubs 11 months ago

Ladies, Gentlemen and Gentlethem, we got a transphobe... Again.

2points

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Gustav Gallifrey 11 months ago

Hey, BP: Can we stop with the 'popular hoaxes' threads until you hear of some new ones? Because 1. these are tired, and 2. it makes you look very lazy.

13points

Pasej 11 months ago

Fantastic list! I can't wait to read it again in a week and then again the week after that.

11points

Zakaar Bovus 11 months ago (edited)

What about the week after that?

3points

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Sergio Bicerra 11 months ago

One that's not being said: you won't grow 3 inches in a month, and i'm not talking about height.

4points

MayaGeGe 11 months ago

Hahaha

2points

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longlivethequeen554 11 months ago

These are not all hoaxes - check facts people. And yes, I'm aware I'm gonna get downvoted

3points

Mary Peace 11 months ago

I upvoted you. Some of the comments were very confusing, people contradicting each other until you don't know what to believe. Back where I started on a lot of issues.

1point

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Joe Publique 11 months ago

Let's add: fortune tellers, psychics, mediums, etc...

3points

Mike Fitzpatrick 11 months ago

Gee, it's THIS one again, how exciting! /s

2points

John Harrison 11 months ago

With the entire internet at their disposal, BP reaches into the recycle bin once again.

2points

MasterJoseph 11 months ago

I have one: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That phrase is not necessarily true, since it was made to sell Grape-Nuts of all things!

1point

T.O.S.o.R. 11 months ago

College education. A person that learns a skilled trade can earn $100,000/year or more and not have a $200,000 debt to pay.

1point

Ace 11 months ago

I'm sure at least two or three of these are 'new' since the last time it was posted.

1point

Thenatural 11 months ago

Let's add....sex is malleable and you can change it.

0points

BTDubs 11 months ago

Ladies, Gentlemen and Gentlethem, we got a transphobe... Again.

2points

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