Join the Fun!

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time When I was in junior high in the mid 80s, our Earth Science textbooks had continental drift, and our teacher said, "Okay, so I need you to ignore all of Chapter 4" (or whatever it was). "Plate tectonics has been the accepted theory taught in colleges for 10 years now, but K-8 textbooks haven't caught up yet."

I feel like the version of plate tectonics I learned was a tiny bit garbled compared to what kids learned 10 years later, but my teacher was directly pulling from college texts and published scientific papers and distilling it down for 6th graders, so more power to her!

AliMcGraw , NASA Report

Final score:

213points

POST

DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago

Props to this teacher.

83points

“Just ignore the bullies and they’ll go away”
“You can be anything you want to be when you grow up”

Pure-Contract7101 Report

Final score:

198points

POST

R.A. Haley 1 year ago

The only bullies I ever saw stop, did so because someone whooped their a**.

13points

StillSilentMajority7 , Unseen Histories Report

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time We were taught that Rosa Parks didn't get up from her seat because "she just got tired one day"; that the entire action was the spontaneous action of a lone woman.

In fact, the entire thing was scripted and choreographed. While Parks was a seamstress, she was also the secretary to the president of the local NAACP chapter.

She was recreating the protest done by Claudette Colvin. The NAACP wanted Parks to recreate it because Colvin was very dark complected, and a single mother.

The NAACP thought Parks, who was lighter skinned, would appeal to white audiences seeing this on TV

Final score:

180points

POST

David 1 year ago

It was a planned stunt, she tried 3 buses before one had a driver who reacted. It is also why they were able to respond so fast. But sometimes you need to force events to bring progress for a very real issue. And Parks had to be brave, because given the south back then, she is lucky she was not violently assaulted. She was brave even if it was a planned stunt

186points

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time Komodo dragon bites were deadly due to high concentrations of bacteria, not venom. Turns out that they are, in fact, venemous

actual-hakim , Jeffry Surianto Report

Final score:

178points

POST

Frostfirefox919 1 year ago

In fact, it's both!

9points

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time I’m now under the impression that we did not, in fact, have a nice friendly thanksgiving dinner with the native Americans

witwebolte41 , krakenimages Report

Final score:

176points

POST

pep Ito 1 year ago

The problem did not arise with the first settlers, who were few in number. The problem arose when the settlers increased in number and began to threaten the territories and way of life of the Indians.

75points

Sardonyx_3 1 year ago

*Native Americans

16points

David 1 year ago

The first one was friendly, a few years later things fell apart and a war started. But our modern thanksgiving is from Abe Lincoln as a way to unite people during the civil war

11points

Jaguarundi 1 year ago

The original invaders/pilgrims actually stole caches of stored seed grains and preserved food that the indigenous people had stored for their return to their Spring quarters. The invaders treated the indigenous people terribly and the indigenous people thought that the invaders were simpletons and would leave after the winter was over.The indigenous people showed the invaders how to survive, plant food and hunt the local animals while the invaders continued to raid their food stores at will, almost starving everyone to death over the first Winter. If the invaders in Massachusetts were handled like the invaders of Roanoke Virginia were, there would have been a completely different history for this country.

8points

The Original Bruno 1 year ago

Aren't there enough stories about how badly the Native Americans were treated without making up nonsense?

0points

Demongrrrrl 1 year ago

The Wampanoags (the native Americans who saved the pilgrims) view Thanksgiving as a day of mourning

6points

Simon Eppstein 1 year ago

I am partial to the historical version portrayed by Ms. Adamms in the documentary "Adamms Family Values"

5points

MC C 1 year ago

Actually the first Thanksgiving is when the Indians brought food to the settlers and started to show them how to grow American crops since they noticed they were starving, so yes it was a peaceful event

3points

TheGoodBoi 1 year ago

Well as far as I know, without fact checking, the Native Americans gifted corn to the settlers as corn was a major part of Native American's diet.

3points

The Original Bruno 1 year ago

Fun fact: Squanto was trying to teach the Protestant pilgrims a little of his Catholic upbringing. Man, they should make a movie about this guy's life. Captured from his home by White people, bought out of slavery by Spanish monks, taught English by aristocrats, returned home on exploratory vessels, returned home to find his entire people killed off by diseases, joined a new nation, and met new colonists.

2points

Sarah Fitzpatrick 12 months ago

Are you being funny? Squanto: A Warrior's Tale https://g.co/kgs/VSXp77

0points

Jared Robinson 1 year ago

sure didn't. Read something the other day about it being some sort of feel good campaign done by the government in the mid 1900's. Could be wrong though I don't believe anything any f*****g more.

1point

Huddo's sister 12 months ago

How recently did they begin teaching that this wasn't the case in the US? Because when I was growing up in the 90s in Australia I was taught it wasn't peaceful...

0points

Nicky 12 months ago

They ate swan and popcorn. I bring popcorn to Thanksgiving dinners cause I can't cook!

0points

Max Fox 12 months ago (edited)

No, this person is wrong. There were, in fact, many friendly dinners with indigenous Americans.When the settlers were few and seemed to be settling in a small number of locations and establishing small villages, things were still more or less friendly. Later, as the Europeans wanted to expand and were taking land from the Indigenous peoples, things got a lot less friendly.

0points

Brian Droste 1 year ago

The first Thanksgiving they had eel, deer, fish and not sure what else they had there.

0points

Still DG 1 year ago

We can't even have a nice friendly dinner with our own families

0points

Cjay 1 year ago

I mean we did… but the relationship didn’t last past when we needed them to survive

0points

Nichole Harris 1 year ago

Way too much.... AND somehow too little crammed into one story

0points

Nathan Cuperus 1 year ago

What I wish I had really learned in school (I'm thinking around high school age), is just how quickly that early relationship between the indigenous people and first European colonists went downhill after that first thanksgiving. It got so incredibly bad so quickly.

0points

martymcmatrix 1 year ago

So, better re-name the hole thing into »F🔞ck-offing«?

0points

Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago

Next time someone says "they need to go back to their own country" ask them what percentage indigenous (native) blood is in them. When they say "none", tell them to get the f+++ out.

-2points

Minus One Marble 1 year ago

The "first Americans" genetic group comes from the Siberian region and the three (at least) subsequent main migrant waves originate from East Asia make up the genetics of what we now call Native Americans. This means that people who come from those areas in Asia and Siberia today would be extremely similar as far as their genetics or "blood" as laymen would put it. The statement you have made is really beyond the pale. Nobody has the right to tell anyone to gtfo of anywhere.

3points

Sunny Day 1 year ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Need_Bacon , Mohammadreza alidoost Report

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time the we wont be walking around with a calculator in our pockets

Final score:

158points

POST

pep Ito 1 year ago

Then you run out of battery power and you can't even add with your fingers and then it's all crying. ;)

45points

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time In the early 80’s we were told that soon we would soon use the metric system in the US.
Still waiting .

Low-Argument3170 , Darling Arias Report

Final score:

148points

POST

Jill Bussey 1 year ago

Everyone else in the world wishes you would.

127points

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time We had lessons on how to get out of quicksand at school.

I have no doubt that the method is valid - but the ‘disproven’ bit for me is the need to know how to get out of quicksand. It really isn’t an issue.

In a similar vein, we had a lot of education about stranger danger. Again - not disproven. But much more valid would have been education about how much child abuse and abduction is committed by someone known to the victim. Australia’s Most Wanted had me petrified to look out the window at night. Turns out the dangerous person wasn’t lurking outside waiting to get in. He was a member of my family.

KetoCurious97 , Clevergrrl Report

Final score:

146points

POST

Bored Batgirl 1 year ago

Quicksand, spontaneous combustion and the Bermuda Triangle all seemed like things I was going to need to be concerned about in life.

15points

#10

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time The tastebud zones thing.

keepinitrealzs , Don Hassan Report

Final score:

145points

POST

LizzieBoredom 1 year ago

You are now entering The Tastebud Zone.

57points

marimba79 , Murat Emrullah Aydoğan Report

#11

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time That as a kid, strangers were going to constantly offer you [illegal substances] . Thank you, D.A.R.E. program.

Final score:

138points

POST

sturmwesen 1 year ago

I am still waiting

114points

#12

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time "putting aboriginal children in schools was okay at the time (I was taught ) and they wanted their children to go. The aboriginals were treated with respect and their traditions and values were protected." - Canada in the 90's, more specifically my social teacher in grade 6 or 7.

Pretty sure now that's not how it went down.

brkuzma , Zakaria HANIF Report

Final score:

134points

POST

Heffalump 1 year ago

Well done BP: illustrating a bit about the cultural genocide of Canadian First Nations peoples with a picture of an Australian First Nations child. Well done. Brilliant.Just so damn impressive.

7points

#13

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time When I was little, I was taught about the brontosaurus, mighty long-necked plant eater of the dinosaurs.

Later, I was taught that, whoops! They accidentally stuck some random bones together and there was never any such animal.

Later still, I recall hearing that, oh, actually, there was a brontosaurus after all!

Or was there?

To this day, I am still, as a 42-year-old man, unclear on whether or not there was ever such a thing as a brontosaurus.

sosomething , Vaibhav Pixels Report

Final score:

132points

POST

Donkey boi 1 year ago

To clarify for those wanting to know if it is a Dino or not, (in the simplest terms possible): It was actually Apatosaurus that was mixed up. With the Apatosaurus, they had previously never found a head/skull with rest of it (same with the brontosaurus), so when they found one just metres away, they assumed it was for the same Dino (Spoiler alert: It was not). Because of the mix up, they thought it was a type of Brontosaurus. However some people did not agree and put the head of another completely different Dino on it. They eventually worked it out (in 2015), found the right head, and established that it was not a type of Brontosaurus. So while we've never found a head, the Bronto IS a Dino

113points

#14

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time Eggs are bad because of cholesterol.

Lucius_Funk , Nick Fewings Report

Final score:

130points

POST

Stephanie Did It 1 year ago

My poor Grandma was restricted to one egg per week by her cardiologist in the 70s, and it was pitiful how much she cherished that egg.

76points

#15

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time Respect those in authority.

The government, your company, your boss have your best interest at heart.

If you work hard and play by the rules, you'll get ahead.

Pour_me_one_more , energepic.com Report

Final score:

129points

POST

sofacushionfort 1 year ago

Feign respect for those in authority. They may be totally incompetent at running things, but they have a well-crafted chamber of horrors for anyone who displeases them

58points

#16

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time I remember learning that MSG (sodium glutamate) was really bad for you. It was one of those things I heard both at school and in my family to the point where we wouldn’t buy any product that had MSG in the ingredients.

There have been multiple studies showing no evidence of adverse health effects from MSG. There is a subset of people that report hypersensitivity to it. But in double blind experiments, their symptoms tend not to show up when they don’t know they’ve eaten it. Conversely the symptoms DO show up when they think they’ve eaten it but haven’t actually.

Conclusion: MSG is literally just salt and glutamate protein, which is separately in just about everything you eat anyway.

Approximatl , Elina Sazonova Report

Final score:

127points

POST

Adam Belaire 1 year ago

Uncle Rodger approves of MSG, therefore it's good for you.

60points

#17

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time the food pyramid

loquacious_avenger , Jane Doan Report

Final score:

124points

POST

Vic 1 year ago

A pizza slice is a food pyramid!!

73points

#18

32 “Now-False Facts” That Were Really Taught In Schools, But Did Not Stand The Test Of Time I've got 2 good ones.

I had a social studies teacher tell me that Asian eyes were slanty because it was a defense mechanism for sand blowing in the wind. This was who taught topics like history and geography. She also said some other racist stuff against Asians that I won't repeat here.

That same teacher told us that the city of Buffalo was named by taking the original native American name for the land Belle Fleuve (which is French for beautiful river or something) and "mucking it up". I never questioned why native Americans were giving things French names.

Anyways, in hindsight I now realize she was a terrible teacher.

716green , Antony Trivet Report

Final score:

107points

POST

Pedantic Panda 1 year ago

I don't think the eyes theory is that far wrong. Current scientific theories point to protection for desert environments and/or high levels of UV light.

49points