Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app

Continue in app Continue in browser

30 ‘Facts’ People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime

ADVERTISEMENT

People go to school to learn things, so it’s not that crazy to expect them to be correct, right? Well, unfortunately, sometimes they might not be. Some ideas, whether coming from peers, other acquaintances there, or even teachers, tend to be far from reality, and quite a few redditors seemingly learned it firsthand.

Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently shared the facts they were taught to be true in school, but have been disproven in their lifetime. Their answers covered everything from the food pyramid, to calculators, and even George Washington’s teeth, so scroll down to find them on the list below and see what other topics the false information covered.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime If you don’t do well you’ll end up being a garbage man. F**k you! Garbage men are awesome and make more that teachers. Also, less likely to get shot on the job.

pi1979 , Katerina Holmes Report

Final score:

240points

View more comments

#2

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime There’s never been a war fought on Australian soil. 1990’s 3rd grade teacher proclaimed it proudly. Indigenous Australians would beg to differ.

FuWaqPJ , Ivan Samkov Report

Final score:

226points

View more comments

#3

Not my lifetime, but my Mom's sister was initially forced to write with her right hand, despite being left-handed. Since they went to Catholic school, it was taught, as fact, that being left-handed was something something Devil.

When my Aunt started Grade 1, my Great-Grandfather died a couple weeks into the school year and bequeathed some money to the church and school. The family would not give it to them unless my Aunt was allowed to be left-handed.

Amazingly enough, the Priest, upon prayer and reflection, determined that being left-handed wasn't a problem anymore. Isn't that something? That's how my now 78 year old Aunt changed science at Blessed Sacrament when she was 5 years old.

mollymuppet78 Report

Final score:

216points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#4

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime My primary school teacher told me our bodies can't make new blood and we're born with all the blood we'll ever have. As someone who got nosebleeds I knew it was bollocks. When I questioned that adults are obviously bigger so have more blood she said it's watered down.

These people teach kids.

Appropriate-Divide64 , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:

200points

View more comments

#5

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime That I’d fail in life because I was not good at math.

I always had a hard time with math and physics and chemistry.

Turns out I am just not good with numbers, but succeeded with languages. I have a natural talent for languages. I am a translator and conference interpreter. I work with 5 languages.

My math teacher told my mom I’d never amount to anything if I didn’t master math. I was there and her words scarred me for life. I have been terrified of failure ever since.

anon , Yan Krukau Report

Final score:

181points

View more comments

#6

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime That while being on your period you'll only loose one spoon of blood! That's such a bs

Less-Meringue-1294 , Polina Zimmerman Report

Final score:

155points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#7

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Pretty much everything about Christopher Columbus.

02meepmeep , By Sebastiano del Piombo Report

Final score:

155points

View more comments

#8

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime The United States government prevents abuse of power through a well-engineered system of checks and balances.

RookieCards , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:

154points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#9

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime If you study well and have excellent grades, you will end up with a nice job and lots of money.

MyKinkyCountess , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:

149points

View more comments

#10

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Your permanent record will follow you into adulthood

Darth-Byzantious , RDNE Stock project Report

Final score:

130points

View more comments

#11

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime You won't always have a calculator on you.

Deuteronomy93 , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:

118points

View more comments

#12

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Myers Briggs garbage.

I even fought with my professor about it.

Turns out in the end I was right.

Canadianingermany , Yan Krukau Report

Final score:

111points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#13

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime In pharmacy school around the turn of the century we were taught that people in legitimate pain don't get addicted to opiates and opioids.

PayEmmy , MART PRODUCTION Report

Final score:

110points

View more comments

#14

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime All fat was bad for you, thus fat free foods became a thing for a while.

SpewPewPew , RDNE Stock project Report

Final score:

107points

View more comments

#15

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime That George Washington’s teeth were made of wood. No. It’s so much worse

alloverbeautiful , Gilbert Stuart Report

Final score:

105points

View more comments

#16

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Surgery can be performed on very small infants without anesthesia because pain reception isn't developed yet.

qpgmr , Nhia Moua Report

Final score:

104points

View more comments

#17

The system/time will take care of putting “bad guys” where they belong.

Regular-Quality3143 Report

Final score:

94points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#18

Carrots are good for night vision.

This was a lie the British used to explain how they could spot German bombers during WWII. The truth, that they had broken the German Enigma machine and were decoding secret messages, was kept a secret for decades. The full story was not told until the 1990s.

I consider the Enigma coverup to be the best kept secret in human history.

dylans-alias Report

Final score:

91points

View more comments

#19

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime I once asked one of my elementary school teachers what a rainbow was, and she told me scientists hadn't figured it out. I walked around until my early 20s thinking that. Also, I think it was this same teacher who told me Columbus thought the Earth was flat. They were training teachers a different kind of way in the 70s and 80s. It's honestly one of the reasons I'm thankful for the internet, because depending on your teacher or an outdated encyclopedia for answers could be a real roll of the dice.

UhOhFeministOnReddit , Sinitta Leunen Report

Final score:

86points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#20

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime You only use 10% of your brain each day.

E8inches2Short , Julia M Cameron Report

Final score:

85points

View more comments

#21

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime In grade school they told us that the Titanic would never be found. Not exactly a disproven “fact,” but still amusing that technology has advanced so far in such a relatively short amount of time.

fanchettes , Thirdman Report

Final score:

83points

View more comments

#22

Dinosaurs being cold blooded.

ulcers were from stress (most are from bacteria)

Neanderthals were a less evolved human ancestor

Sugar makes kids hyper

Final score:

79points

View more comments

#23

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime It takes 7 years to digest gum

OhMyGodItsMegan , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

79points

View more comments

#24

Pluto not being a planet

90DayTroll Report

Final score:

71points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#25

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Blood is blue until exposed to oxygen, then it turns red.

LazerShark1313 , Mikhail Nilov Report

Final score:

71points

View more comments

#26

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime I learned tongue taste maps at school. Turns out it’s complete nonsense.

TimmyMTX , Pavel Danilyuk Report

Final score:

68points

View more comments

#27

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Using plastic bags will help save the environment

meatybone , Kevin Malik Report

Final score:

64points

View more comments

#28

That male pattern baldness trait passed down from your maternal line. Mom's side loaded with full heads of hair, however found out early I received zero of the genetics promised.

Personal-Actuary-712 Report

Final score:

60points

View more comments

#29

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime That we would all but run out of oil by the year 2000

fatbongo , Tom Fisk Report

Final score:

55points

View more comments

#30

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime A little bit before my time and most teachers already knew it was wrong but it was still in my third and fourth grade science books since they were dated to when it was still in vogue in the 70s even though we were told to mostly ignore it, but Global Cooling. I imagined massive ice ages by the time I was an adult since I ignored my teachers and read the passages anyway. I was disappointed to find out how wrong it was. Heh.

frice2000 , Laura Portik Report

Final score:

54points

View more comments

Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium

Unlimited content

Ad-free browsing

Dark mode

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#31

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime the food pyramid.

CharlesNotManson69 , Yaroslav Shuraev Report

Final score:

23points

View more comments

#32

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime That we only have 5 senses

kinetic-passion , Adam Winger Report

Final score:

21points

View more comments

#33

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime “No one is going to wait for you to look up information in the real world, you have to know it” has to be the most insane thing I ever heard

cheezturds , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

19points

View more comments

#34

Not school exactly but in grade 4 we had the D.A.R.E program come talk to my class and they said a lot of stuff that's not true. I remember them saying weed has more chemicals in it than cigarettes, and caused cancer faster than cigarettes. Anything that goes in your lungs that not oxygen can cause cancer but I don't think it causes cancer faster?

Renots42 Report

Final score:

18points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

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

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

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

#35

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Once you get to high school, nobody will accept papers not written in cursive

FridgesArePeopleToo , August de Richelieu Report

Final score:

17points

View more comments

#36

That animals are pure instinct machines. Turns out even flies may have sentience and can get PTSD from being swatted at. That’s effed up. I don’t want to traumatize a fly

Final score:

17points

Libstak 1 year ago

Then why do they keep coming back for more?

26points

Lara Verne 1 year ago

They're adrenaline junkies.

1point

Load More Replies...

Rinoboyrich 1 year ago

Because flies are also stubborn and vengeful.

0points

WonderWoman 1 year ago

Some are like men who don't want to stop and ask for directions so they keep driving around in circles, lol

0points

Paul Brown 1 year ago

Because they want to traumatized YOU!!!

0points

Ace 1 year ago

Sentient? Sort of. PTSD? No.

6points

VioletHunter 1 year ago

I doubt the PTSD as well. At least I've read they have an extremely short memory span.

4points

Load More Replies...

Strawberry Pizza 1 year ago

Source?

4points

Penny Fan 1 year ago

Little f*****s traumatise me though!

2points

Rick Seiden 1 year ago

I don't want to traumatize a fly either. I want to kill it!

2points

Vermonta 1 year ago

My cats traumatize them and they come back for more

0points

View more comments

#37

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime Y2K would end us all!

Lonely-Heart-3632 , Rowan Freeman Report

Final score:

15points

View more comments

#38

30 'Facts' People Learned In School That Have Been Disproven In Their Lifetime The whole 'meteorite killed the dinosaurs' thing wasn't yet the accepted theory when I was a kid.

senefen , Cup of Couple Report

Final score:

11points

View more comments

#39

That moss always grows on the north side of trees.

Edit: Should have added, this so called fact would help you if you had gotten lost hiking as North would point to civilization or some s**t.

stealth57 Report

Final score:

10points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Miglė Miliūtė

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Greta Jaruševičiūtė

Greta is a Photo Editor-in-Chief at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication.In 2016, she graduated from Digital Advertising courses where she had an opportunity to meet and learn from industry professionals. In the same year, she started working at Bored Panda as a photo editor.Greta is a coffeeholic and cannot survive a day without 5 cups of coffee... and her cute, big-eared dog.Her biggest open secret: she is a gamer with a giant gaming backlog.

Greta is a Photo Editor-in-Chief at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication.In 2016, she graduated from Digital Advertising courses where she had an opportunity to meet and learn from industry professionals. In the same year, she started working at Bored Panda as a photo editor.Greta is a coffeeholic and cannot survive a day without 5 cups of coffee... and her cute, big-eared dog.Her biggest open secret: she is a gamer with a giant gaming backlog.

What do you think ?

Elizabeth West 1 year ago

Need to add, "being taught that Southern slave owners treated their slave like family, and the slaves were happy." That was taught into the 1980s, and is gaining traction again in Florida.

13points

David Paterson 1 year ago (edited)

What! You mean that there are some people in the USA who refuse to accept black activist propaganda. How terrible of them.

1point

Load More Replies...

Marley Nachi 1 year ago

These are mixed with ignorant teachers being mean - this student will be a failure...VS. Science that was thought to be correct at the time. (Not misleading on purpose, just disproven with new facts). Might be best to recognise this before roasting things just for being 'wrong'

1point

Strawberry Pizza 1 year ago

Some of these are deliberately vague. Sources/context required.

1point

TMoxraaaar 1 year ago

Why on earth does the Activity claim there is an answer to my post then 99% of the time it's just not here? Get it together IT.

0points

Roxy222uk 1 year ago (edited)

When I was at primary school the largest dinosaurs, such as diplodocus, were too heavy for their legs to support their weight on land so our books depicted them standing in lakes, eating pond weed, buoyed up the water. They were believed to have part of their brains at the base of their spine, so it was a legit insult in the 70s to imply someone's brain was down by their bum as a way of calling them thick. I was taught that The Dark Ages in the UK was so called because after the Romans left all the clever things they knew how to do were all forgotten. At the time I was confused, thinking 'surely the Brits saw how they did them??' and couldn't see how I was wrong. Grew up and found out I wasn't wrong. The Dark Ages merely referred to the lack of documentation compared to when the Romans were in charge. Oh, and Elon Musk's most recent stupid comment reminded me of being taught that increasing automation in factories plus finding North Sea gas (which was going to end up practically free)

0points

Roxy222uk 1 year ago

meant that in years to come people would barely need to work. It didn't come to pass then and it's not going to come to pass now.

0points

Load More Replies...

Joy 1 year ago

I was 10 years old where we were "taught" that girls who grow up with an abusive father will then marry a man with the same abusive traits so they could try to change them. I grew up with a very violent father. I knew that was a load of s**t.

0points

pineapple87 1 year ago

That Pluto was a planet.

0points

notlikeyou1971 1 year ago

How about George Washington and the cherry tree. When he supposedly told his dad " I cannot tell a lie. I cut down the cherry tree" That was a bs story to try push honesty on kids.

0points

Elizabeth West 1 year ago

Need to add, "being taught that Southern slave owners treated their slave like family, and the slaves were happy." That was taught into the 1980s, and is gaining traction again in Florida.

13points

David Paterson 1 year ago (edited)

What! You mean that there are some people in the USA who refuse to accept black activist propaganda. How terrible of them.

1point

Load More Replies...

Marley Nachi 1 year ago

These are mixed with ignorant teachers being mean - this student will be a failure...VS. Science that was thought to be correct at the time. (Not misleading on purpose, just disproven with new facts). Might be best to recognise this before roasting things just for being 'wrong'

1point

Strawberry Pizza 1 year ago

Some of these are deliberately vague. Sources/context required.

1point

TMoxraaaar 1 year ago

Why on earth does the Activity claim there is an answer to my post then 99% of the time it's just not here? Get it together IT.

0points

Roxy222uk 1 year ago (edited)

When I was at primary school the largest dinosaurs, such as diplodocus, were too heavy for their legs to support their weight on land so our books depicted them standing in lakes, eating pond weed, buoyed up the water. They were believed to have part of their brains at the base of their spine, so it was a legit insult in the 70s to imply someone's brain was down by their bum as a way of calling them thick. I was taught that The Dark Ages in the UK was so called because after the Romans left all the clever things they knew how to do were all forgotten. At the time I was confused, thinking 'surely the Brits saw how they did them??' and couldn't see how I was wrong. Grew up and found out I wasn't wrong. The Dark Ages merely referred to the lack of documentation compared to when the Romans were in charge. Oh, and Elon Musk's most recent stupid comment reminded me of being taught that increasing automation in factories plus finding North Sea gas (which was going to end up practically free)

0points

Roxy222uk 1 year ago

meant that in years to come people would barely need to work. It didn't come to pass then and it's not going to come to pass now.

0points

Load More Replies...

Joy 1 year ago

I was 10 years old where we were "taught" that girls who grow up with an abusive father will then marry a man with the same abusive traits so they could try to change them. I grew up with a very violent father. I knew that was a load of s**t.

0points

pineapple87 1 year ago

That Pluto was a planet.

0points

notlikeyou1971 1 year ago

How about George Washington and the cherry tree. When he supposedly told his dad " I cannot tell a lie. I cut down the cherry tree" That was a bs story to try push honesty on kids.

0points

You May Like

50 Unique And Random Facts You Can Use In Conversations When You Run Out Of Things To Say

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

30 “Today I Learned” Facts Ranging From Weird To Cool (New Pics)

Evelina Šiukšterytė

35 Disturbing Facts People Didn’t Ask To Know

Justinas Keturka

Back to Homepage

More about Facts

Related on Bored Panda

Related on Bored Panda

Trending on Bored Panda

Also on Bored Panda