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If you read ancient folklore - fairy tales, fables and legends... no, not carefully edited versions for children in the 19th or 20th centuries, but the original texts - you can be surprised and even amazed at how scary and bloodthirsty they sound. Almost any old fairy tale is quite capable of causing some kind of phobia in a modern person.

But the good thing about the modern world is that today we are trying to understand the true essence of things and people, without always succumbing to their mass perception. And it turns out that certain things, phenomena or groups of people are not as scary as they have been portrayed as being for many years. And then we go to this dedicated thread in the AskReddit community... or read this collection that Bored Panda prepared for you.

More info: Reddit

#1

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Vaccines

hrmmmno , Mufid Majnun Report

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Mr. Nurse Man
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Vaccinations are wonderful feats of medical innovation. I strongly recommend them for those who are able to take them.

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#2

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous In terms of how much we thought it would affect us, probably quicksand.

mossadspydolphin , Arches National Park Report

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Detroit Citizen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my childhood I thought quick sand was a real and present danger, I thought it was everywhere. I was terrified of it. I should add I have lived in Michigan all my life. Michigan isnt known for quicksand lol. Oh and the Bermuda Triangle stories, pure nightmare fuel.

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#3

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Strangers. Most of the violent crimes you hear happen between acquaintances.

el_monstruo , Katleen Vanacker Report

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Goose of the Ahonkalypse
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kidnappings are predominantly by family members, murders of women predominantly by their male significant other or former signifigant other, and rape (of women and men) is predominantly by someone they know. Strangers abduct less than 1% of missing kids, only around 8% of femicides (child or adult) are by strangers, and around 8% of adult female rapes and 15% of adult males rapes are by strangers. I would include stats for my non binary friends but while I can find some related to overall risk for violent crimes I can't find any separating out stranger vs known assailant.

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No, we in no way want to claim that, for example, absolutely all snakes are completely safe, or that you will never become the victim of a plane crash. But the contemporary world is full of data, and on its basis we can conclude that certain species of snakes that live, let's say, in an area where we are planning to travel to are, in fact, not venomous.

Or that the likelihood of getting into a plane crash today is really extremely low. “If you take one flight a day, you would on average need to fly every day for 55,000 years before being involved in a fatal crash,” Executive Flyers quotes Arnold Barnett, who has calculated the chances of a plane crashing, and is an expert in the field of aviation safety and risk and Professor of Statistics at MIT. And now all that remains is to believe in the truth of the statistical data.

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#4

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Drag Queens

Daffneigh , Bret Kavanaugh Report

#5

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Snakes. People get so freaked out, but come on. It's a noodle with a face. Almost all snakes are non-venomous, and even the ones that are are NOT coming to hunt you down. No snake is coming to get you. If they attack, it's only out of defense - imagine if some gargantuan creature the size of a skyscraper was coming after you! Just leave them to live their lives in peace and they'll do the same to you. They're a huge part of a delicate ecosystem... plus they're cute as hell! Look at a hognose's upturned snoot or a ball python's little puppy dog face and tell me they're not.

TenaciousBe , Timothy Dykes Report

#6

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous The Bermuda Triangle, particularly with modern navigation equipment.

Chairchucker , Joel Arbaje Report

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Detroit Citizen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stories of the Bermuda Triangle terrified me as a child. Pure nightmare fuel. Oh and quick sand. I thought quick sand was everywhere. Ive lived in Michigan all my life, its not known for quicksand lol.

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“Our belief in scary stories actually comes from ancient times, when fear was the most important driver of survival for people,” says Volodymyr Nemertsalov, a teacher and school principal from Odessa, Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “Ancient people could hardly be convinced by logical arguments, but the classic 'The night is dark and full of horrors!' worked perfectly. Especially in cases where the listeners were small children - by default, more impressionable and gullible.”

“Hence all the numerous horrors of ancient fairy tales. Because, having told the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, the narrator then always added that it is unlikely that the kids would be as lucky to have people passing near their grandma’s hut... and therefore, it is better not to walk through the forest wilderness at all. This worked quite successfully for many centuries, but today it plays a cruel joke on us, because we are accustomed to believing in scary stories - even if they are actually not scary at all," Volodymyr concludes.

#7

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous People who have no/few friends

Most of the time they're either weird, shy, socially awkward, quiet, or simply just prefer to be alone

RadiantHC , Zhivko Minkov Report

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Detroit Citizen
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People made fun of me because i had very few friends. The friends I had were extremely close, loyal, good friends. I didnt know I was an introvert until the Millennials normalized it. Im GenX also, so a latchkey kid too.

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#8

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Immigrants wanting a better life…

Rabid_Stormtroopers , Nitish Meena Report

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Adam Belaire
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's even more amazing is immigrants simultaneously take all the jobs and don't have any jobs and are all on social welfare.

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#9

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Trick or treating on Halloween. Kids are not getting poisoned by candy from strangers.

Fishercat5000 , Haley Phelps Report

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Sami-Jo Ross
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or getting drug candy. I've said it before and I'll say it again, no one is giving little Timmy their drugs because that sh!t is expensive.

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In addition, many myths are often supported at the corporate or even state level - for example, about the risks of nuclear energy. At one time, large oil and gas exporters skillfully took advantage of the accidents at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, and especially in Chernobyl, so that, for example, many European countries closed their nuclear power plants altogether.

At the same time, the impact of fossil fuels on the environment, as we can now see, turned out to be almost worse than from major accidents at nuclear power plants. Moreover, modern nuclear power plants are built with unambiguous consideration of the negative experience of their predecessors. But fears - fears have not gone away...

#10

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Swimming after eating - I used to fully believe I would drown in seconds if I didn’t wait a full hour before getting back in the water.

Kind_Lettuce580 , Marino Linic Report

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LizzieBoredom
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In 1982, little Timothy Walker threw up the 4 hot dogs he had previously wolfed down into the pee-laden waters of our community pool thus causing a day long pool closure. We called him Timothy BarfDog for the rest of the summer.

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Well, in any case, we expect you to read this selection to its very end, and always remember that any concern should ideally have a rational basis. And be based on facts. Otherwise, it will be like sticking your foot out from under the blanket at night with childhood fears. Although... who knows, maybe it’s better to buy a bigger blanket. Well, you'd just better read and discuss everything in the comments, but as for the blanket - it’s better to just play it safe, isn’t it?

#13

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Trans people

CommanderReiss , Delia Giandeini Report

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SofieTheMJFan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here's my thing. I am in no way trying to offend anyone. But I don't think it's fair for female athletes to compete with Trans women. Especially in the Olympics. I am all for Trans rights, except this. Maybe we could have a new category? Unisex, or Trans? (Please don't down vote me if you disagree, I don't want to get banned. If you disagree, please just reply. We could have a nice discussion)

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#15

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Leaving your foot hanging out of the bed covers.

Frozenlime , cottonbro studio Report

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TheGoodBoi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope. Can't chance it. Must have absolute protection against the monsters. You lift your feet up and tuck that blanket under your feet, then wrap yourself up like a burrito.

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#16

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Travelling alone as a woman. So many people looked at me in shock when I told them about my solo trips. Sure, it's not without a risk, but nothing in life is and I'm not gonna miss seeing the world and living life just because I haven't got someone to go with me. And so far I haven't made a single negative experience. The world isn't always as evil as some make it out to be.

Ml17W , Ehsan Eslami Report

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Sandra Morison
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It can be dangerous you just have to minimise the risks through common sense and some research

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#18

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Flashing your high beams at someone who doesn't have their headlights on at night. I've done it hundreds of times and I've never been gang-style assassinated

Alternative_Run_6116 , Kendrick Fernandez Report

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TheGoodBoi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honking at someone who isn't paying attention at a green light is a different story lol. I usually do a quick harmless honk, almost every time I get the finger. Why are you mad at me 😂, you're the one busy on tiktok/snapchat lol..

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#19

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Flying

Ok_Distance9511 , Jason Toevs Report

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arthbach
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Flying is the safest means of transport, followed by bus, train and ferry. Right down at the bottom there are cars and motorbikes.

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#20

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Hiking. I’ve been shocked at the amount of people who think a bear is about to get them. This even happens in places where bears don’t exist.

anon , Leo Report

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Yer maw 󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

100% coming for me in the Scottish highlands but aren't as bad as the wild haggis - those wee f*****s are relentlessly savage

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#21

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Public transportation. It’s insanely safe by number of miles traveled and most of the security issues come with too few people using it.

DeLaRey , Dennis Siqueira Report

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WindySwede
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1,4 B rides was taken in 2022 in Sweden from regional traffic. Trains, busses, boats is the main thing. I think I read the report correctly..

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#22

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Foreigners

ElGoorf , Dynamic Wang Report

#24

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous GMOs

DROOPY1824 , Brands&People Report

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James S
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All human grown is modified by thousands of years of selectively breeding, choosing genes that benefit us. GMO is just an accelerated version of what we've been doing

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#25

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Alligators.

Yes, people do get eaten sometimes but as someone who grew up in Florida, they are everywhere and if they were that dangerous there would be an attack every day.

BaconReceptacle , Kyaw Tun Report

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#26

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Turning the light on in the car.

LeilaTheBirb07 , Erik Mclean Report

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Detroit Citizen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think every parent of my generation told their child that they would get a ticket if the light was turned on after dark lol

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#28

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous I'll throw in beekeeping! Super fulfilling!

Stanwich79 , Beeing Report

#29

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Swallowing gum

neen209 , Ketut Subiyanto Report

#30

30 Misconceptions About Pretty Safe Things, Despite Most Saying They’re Dangerous Chicago. They’re barely even in the top 100 most dangerous cities anymore (98th). And yet they’re still the default example of a dangerous city in a lot of people’s minds.

PoorCorrelation , Sawyer Bengtson Report

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James S
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

695 murders in Chicago, population 2.7million, in 2022. In the whole of the UK, population 67 million, 602. Per head of population Chicago has 26 times more murders

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Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.