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Words being able to affect a person physically is an old, yet effective literary tool solely used in fiction. We all know it doesn’t actually cause physical pain, but drama!
But words can actually cause physical pain to a person, if it’s the right combination of them, of course. And the combination has to be a particular shade of stupid—so stupid, in fact, that it makes you put your hand on your face, which is the universal sign of “please reconsider many things in your life”.
What makes it even worse is not the stupid thing someone said, but a person actually believing the stupid thing that was said. And there is actually now a very appropriate list for that, because entertainment!
Bored Panda collected the best responses to an AskReddit post asking folks to share the dumbest things people actually thought were real, and put them into a neat little list below. And by this point you know what to do, so do it, and enjoy it.
More Info: Reddit
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#1
I was told a great story by a friend who attended a town meeting addressing the locals 5G mast concerns.
In attendance was a representative from the network company.
A selection of people were permitted to take the mic and rant for hours about how they'd all been getting headaches, feeling more low than usual, flowers had been wilting, their dog wasn't himself, all manner of things blamed on 5G.
Several hours later after everyone had their say and the crowd of hundreds had been whipped into a fever the company representative had his turn to speak and simply said "thank you everyone for your comments but we haven't turned it on yet."
Jaguarundi 2 years ago
There were people near an airport where I lived that constantly complained about the noise. The airport had been closed for several months, the complaints increased.
RELATED:
#2
That everyones opinion has to carry the same weight as the one of someone who is proficient on a field and has dedicated hundreds of hours to obtain it.
#3
AlbionRemainsXIV said:
Trickle-down economics.
Ultima_RatioRegum elaborated:
If you were told this in a vacuum without any knowledge of the outside world, then it may seem to make logical sense. However, I don't think this is one of those beliefs that people have due to stupidity. The reason many people believe this is due to a multi-decade misinformation campaign waged by the owning class against the working class (and by working class, I mean anyone whose primary source of income is wage labor, from tradespeople to rocket scientists).
Barbara Kayton 2 years ago
This should be number 1 on the list. It’s how politicians dupe people into voting for them - just so the can continue to make themselves and the so/called “elite” richer, while driving everyone else into poverty.
#4
TheOvercookedFlyer said:
That the earth is flat.
hard_baroquer explained
Adam Savage did a TED talk that not only did the ancient Greeks (and I'm sure many other societies at the time) realize the earth was spherical, but they also calculated the diameter to a small percentage point. All they needed was shadows at noon at two points, and trigonometry.
So with that much history going so far back, it's so crazy idiotic that people would disregard that knowledge.
#5
That thousands of people coordinated, in several different states, to steal an election and left no evidence.
#6
That animals don’t feel emotions.
There are going to be people who reply to this comment that *still* insist animals don’t have emotions.
#7
I used to work as a paralegal and had to fight with Social Security when they accused my clients of fraud. Got on a call with an agent who insisted my client was faking the disability her daughter had. The daughter died of the disability and it says it on the death certificate. The agent told me it wasn't enough proof.
alias D. 2 years ago
How the f**k is there no proof how can a death certificate be f***ing not enough do you need a body to be exhumed do you need to be slapped with her corpse no you don’t you’re just being a little b***h about it(i’m sorry if that triggered anyone but please don’t downvote me downvote does not equal your lack of appreciation it equals me getting banned)
#8
The BBC Spaghetti-Tree Hoax of April 1, 1957.
Writer's Note:
This was a BBC broadcast for April Fools' showing a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from a tree. Back then, spaghetti as a product was not all that known in the UK, hence all the calls the station got for advice on growing spaghetti, completely oblivious to the fact that it's actually made from wheat flour and water.
#9
spagbetti said:
Scientology
MorticiaLaMourante replied:
I said "religion" in general, but Scientology has to be one of the worst.
#10
People that thought a 1/3 pound burger was smaller than a quarter pounder
#11
That MLMs are a “small business” and not a pyramid scheme where there’s little to no chance of making/not losing money.
#12
That if you ask an undercover cop if they’re a cop they’re required to answer honestly.
#13
Babies feel no pain and they believed that until the 1970's so they would experiment on babies up until then because they didnt feel pain. Scary.
#14
5G phone masts were spreading COVID. People actually burned them down because of that belief.
#15
Babyfart_McGeezacks said:
Beanie babies as an investment strategy.
TemporalTickTock replied:
One of my all time favorite photos on the internet is that picture of that couple separating their beanie babies on the floor of a courtroom during their divorce.
ShaZam Beaubien 2 years ago
As a dog owner, this would have been an investment that would have been eaten. I would be lucky if I had one survive.
#16
RilohKeen said:
“I need to buy these iTunes gift cards in order to pay off the IRS!”
wap2005 replied:
My grandma fell for this scam, I think it was Safeway Gift Cards or something. They said if she didn't take care of it right away they would have to send the police to her house and she couldn't get ahold of me or my mother to ask so she just went and did it. Was like $4000 or something like that, was a few years ago now.
It really is a bummer that people take advantage of elderly people.
Sabs 2 years ago
Got a PHYSICAL LETTER in the mail once that stated, we were to be arrested for some fraudulent activity yada yada, the best part was where the person wrote “The police are at this time driving to your house to arrest you. We can talk to the police officer and tell him to stop driving to your address to arrest you, if you send the gift cards” We laughed and had this mental image of some random police officer waiting by a post box to see if he can keep driving to arrest us.
#17
In my feed, this post is right above the post quoting Berlusconi saying "Putin invaded Ukraine to put decent people in Kiev". So I'm gonna with that.
#18
FantasticWriting502 said:
Horoscopes and anything astrology.
PLTuck replied:
I was doing a degree in Astronomy.
You wouldn't believe the number of people that started asking me about the meaning of their dreams and which rags horoscopes were the best. Even my DWP work coach thought I was doing a hokey pseudo degree, and then asked me to spell it!
Lonely Leafeon 2 years ago
I never understood why they call the study of something "logy" but for the study of space they use "nomy". Like is it because astro"logy" had already been used?
#19
Valuable-Raccoon-734 said:
Those wrist bands that “give you energy”. 🙄
superwetpajamas replied:
Almost as good as the wristbands that keep you balanced.
Independent-Bike8810 explained:
I wanted to see what the scam was once in a mall where they were selling these. They first yank on your arm throwing you off balance easily. Then they put on the bracelet an yank on your arm again and you are magically steady as a rock. The impression is strong until you realize all that happened was that you were not caught off guard and were able to anticipate the force that was about to be applied and unconsciously braced for the yank.
#20
When we went to see the Martian in theaters, at the end some woman behind us told her friend, “I can’t believe I missed this. When did this happen?”
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
Credit to the team who made the film, it felt like a real life experience.
#21
That fake ad for apple phones getting the capability to charge via microwaving. Buncha people put their iPhones in their microwaves and fried em.
#23
Kittypie75 said:
That posting "I will not allow Facebook to sell my photos" yada yada ON Facebook somehow makes their terms of service invalid.
G8kpr replied:
As bad as “if you forward this email, bill gates will pay you $1 for every person it gets forwarded to.”
My friend sent me that, and I said “why... why would Bill Gates care if you forwarded that email, how would he track how it got forwarded, he would have to pay out millions if not more. But what does it gain him?”
He said “I dunno, but it can’t hurt.”
I said "yeah, you’re sending me s#$t. Don’t do it."
#24
Sheriff___Bart said:
Ripping the tag off of the mattress. I accidentally ripped one while moving, the movers said I'd go to jail, so I hid in my room. I was about 5.
CouncilmanRickPrime replied:
Why is that even a thing people said?
Murgatroyd314 explained:
“UNDER PENALTY OF LAW THIS TAG NOT TO BE REMOVED EXCEPT BY THE CONSUMER”
What it actually means is that stores aren’t allowed to sell a mattress without that tag detailing what it’s made of. When the tags first appeared, some big name comedian came up with a bit speculating about why the tag was there and what the penalty would be, conveniently leaving off the last four words.
Bouche Clay 2 years ago
In prison, it's the height of rudeness to ask another inmate why they're there. I would tell people I had ripped the tag off a mattress. There were people stupid enough to believe me.
#25
Bad luck associated with the number "13."
I could say any superstition is dumb, but this one is so engrained that hotels won't even have a floor called the 13th. In the elevator, the numbers go from 12 to 14.
#26
Cow tipping
Cows don't sleep standing up. That's not a thing!
The amount of people I have met who have claimed to have knocked over a cow while standing up is crazy!
I don't understand why people claim to do it. I have met tourists who claim to have done it back in their home country all the time. No farming background or nothing. They will confidently tell me I am wrong even though they have never worked around cattle.
#27
Practical_Past1626 said:
I thought it was illegal to keep the lights on in the car until I was like 14.
My parents are liars.
SockaSockaSock replied:
I believed that if you had the air conditioning on and the windows open at the same time in the car or in a house it could create an air pressure imbalance that could suck you out the window. My parents were also liars.
What do you think ?
Bouche Clay 2 years ago
Today she murdered the bathroom rug, and hid one of her mice under it. At least I didn't have to bathe with it.
Chaotic_Llama09 2 years ago
I used to believe that in my Nana's bathroom, if the lights were off and the vent was on, it would blow ghosts through the vents. No, this was not influenced by anyone or anything, this was all me.
Bouche Clay 2 years ago
Today she murdered the bathroom rug, and hid one of her mice under it. At least I didn't have to bathe with it.
Chaotic_Llama09 2 years ago
I used to believe that in my Nana's bathroom, if the lights were off and the vent was on, it would blow ghosts through the vents. No, this was not influenced by anyone or anything, this was all me.
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