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We humans are a weird bunch. Some of us are shooting a spacecraft at an asteroid to demonstrate that it's a viable technique to protect the planet but others still insist that swallowed gum will stay in our stomachs for 7 years.
Interested in hearing the most prevalent misconceptions, Reddit user FM596 made a post on the platform, asking everyone to share myths that are passed from generation to generation, and that people still believe in. Turns out, there's no shortage of those! Continue scrolling and check out some of the most-upvoted entries.
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#2
That certain animal 'parts' have healing/magical properties. Like tiger whiskers protect the wearer or rhino horn cures impotence and hangovers.
We managed to get in touch with FM596 and they agreed to tell us more about what inspired their post. "One of the reasons I decided to ask this question was to see how many people will mention the thousand-years-old-myth of supposedly living in a democracy (in any country)," they told Bored Panda.
"Democracy was real and has existed only once. After it was violently destroyed, leaders used the word democracy to mislead us into thinking that what we have is the best we can get."
"Out of the 12,000 comments, only 12 people mentioned that myth, just 1 out of 12,000, or 0.008%. That says a lot about the level of political edification we get from the state."
#3
Boys playing with dolls (or other traditional feminine toys) will turn them gay. Or that anything will turn people gay or lesbian.
#4
Trickle down economics.
Waite Forit 2 years ago
If rich people were putting their money back into the economy, there wouldn't be any billionaires.
However, after going through the replies, FM596 thinks not all of them are valid. "First, not everything posted as a myth is, indeed, a myth. Many [of the entries] are half-truths, others are imprecisely expressed or misunderstood, and others are definitely non-myths."
The Redditor believes that, "we are ignorant on many critical subjects, because: "a) we get a really bad education from the state, and b) we are being bombarded daily with misleading information that aims to serve the best interests of the powerful few -not the people, and that's a fact, not a myth, that's the world we live in."
#5
That being out in cold weather will make you catch a Cold. The cold is a virus you catch from others and nothing to do with the outside temperature.
Waite Forit 2 years ago (edited)
There is basis of truth in this one. People stay inside more during cold weather. Spending more time with other people in an enclosed space makes you more likely to be exposed to any viruses that might be around. Also, studies have found that airborne viruses are carried farther by the more denser cold air. Therefore, there is a greater chance of airborne viruses touching a person rather than ending up on the ground.
#6
That you have to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person report.
Ironically, as much as we like to think that we value truth, we have also designed the world in a way that makes it really hard for it to travel between us.
There's a well-known MIT study from 2018 that analyzed the spread of news stories on Twitter. Using data drawn from 3 million platform users from 2006 to 2017, the researchers, led by Soroush Vosoughi, a computer scientist who is now at Dartmouth, found that fact-checked news stories moved differently through social networks depending on whether they were true or false.
"Falsehood diffused significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth," they wrote in their paper.
#7
That the hymen is a freshness seal like a snapple cap, has any bearing on virginity, and your first time should hurt and cause bleeding
#8
Religion, easily.
I get that people believe in religion but they have zero proof that any of it is true.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
While I agree with some of the guidelines for general behavior encouraged in religious texts——and duplicated in just about all of them, btw—-I just cannot buy the whole package. I agree we should all treat other people the way we would like to be treated, it’s an excellent rule of thumb for peacefully coexisting with other people, but I cannot abide how most religions then turn around and treat other people like s**t, just because they don’t go to the same church/synagogue/mosque/etc. It’s like, once you add people to a religion, it’s tainted, because humans have the annoying tendency to ruin every good idea and turn it to s**t.
madbakes 2 years ago
I understand that people need faith to get through difficult times. I do believe there is far more out there than what we humans are aware of, but I'm not willing to invest my life into something based on books written by men hundreds or thousands of years after events take place. Not to mention that I am not going to commit myself to some god that allows children to be abused and starved, among other awful things.
LeeBreezy 2 years ago
no one is asking you too, but be respectful to those who do believe. and the reverse goes to. stop forcing religion on people, ya psychoes!
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VeryDarkMatter 2 years ago
I often read "be respectful to those who believe". And I agree. But also to those who believe: Be respectful to people who don't. Stop telling gay people they are going to hell for example. Or women who had an abortion and so on. And don't excuse everything with your religion. I know this is just a minority of believer. But they are annoying enough already.
But Nobody Came. 2 years ago
im a christian and 100% this as someone whos bi :)
Load More Replies... Bella10 2 years ago
It’s all about men controlling you and people needing something to have faith in. Religion is a crock of shite
Louloubelle 2 years ago
Right? I mean, believing in some god is acceptable, but if you told someone you believed the Tooth Fairy was real, that's not. It makes about as much sense.
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Lisa H 2 years ago
I will say that from a strictly psychological standpoint, praying does help ease the mind a bit, even if it turns out no one's there. Can't fault someone for trying to destress however they know how. Forcing others to do so, that's a totally different thing, but I'm just talking about an individual basis.
Bella10 2 years ago
Or you could just meditate, which is proven to lower stress levels
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Chan Heng Li (Zhonghuass) 2 years ago
I'm a bit worried about getting downvoted, but I would like to say that my religion, Buddhism, has many practices which, later, have been proven by science to be scientifically correct.
BobTDG 2 years ago
Quite a few Buddhists aren't theists, its a philosophy not a religion.
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Fau Melo 2 years ago
Burden of proof is on the person making the claim. You can't disprove Santa either... That's not how it works
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meow point1 2 years ago
Uh... agnostic here, but I think saying things like that is just asking for trouble!
Haunting Spirit 2 years ago
Fun fact: There are a lot of professors and great Atheists that tried to find proof of the opposite, that there is no god and they didn't succeed either.
Dani Fogel 2 years ago
You know, I don't have a problem with religion. I have a problem when people use it as an excuse for what they do.
Got Myself 4 Pandas 2 years ago
I understand the need for powerful beings in control of the world before we were able to understand the science behind nature, where the sun went, why storms happen, what diseases are and why they kill people - early humans wanted ways to explain this, wanted answers just like we do today, wanted to understand why things worked the way they do - but with understanding more and more the mechanisms behind these things it removes the need (in my opinion) to have some powerful god making it happen. These days I find religion mostly unnecessary and honestly quite problematic- some of the worst people I have ever known were very religious yet they believed they were superior because of some belief that they chant about in a group weekly. Being religious doesn't make you a good person, if you're a d**k to people you're still a d**k, just a religious one. I'm of the don't be a d**k faith, its fairly straightforward - just don't be a d**k to people, simple.
Aunt Riarch 2 years ago
People need explanations, and they need parents. The lack of the first engenders the supernatural version of the second. I've no objection to people finding comfort in the privacy of their own heads. Just don't turn it into a system of government
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brodie 2 years ago
friendly reminder that you shouldn’t disrespect others religions just because you don’t believe in them (this includes atheism/agnosticism)
Michael Largey 2 years ago
Just because a belief is religious does not mean that it is worthy of respect. Some of the worst beliefs people have are rooted in religion (and, yes, some of the best).
Load More Replies... Lara M 2 years ago
The evidence to look for is not whether or not God literally exists, but whether or not practicing religion makes people feel better and mentally healthier. There's plenty of evidence for that. The stories don't need to be true to be useful.
Carrie B 2 years ago
But the stories have caused way more harm than have been useful.
Load More Replies... Whocares smith 2 years ago
What a silly list... I'm not into it but I understand it. It's not about proof, it's faith and feeling.
Not No one 2 years ago
I think that if you don't think religion exists that you should believe no religion exists. You can't pick and choose whcih one. I don't like how people don't believe in christianity but think that islam is a thing and so on. It isn't right.
Tamra 2 years ago
But you are literally describing how different people choose to believe in different religions, which is their right. I've never heard of a Muslim saying they don't believe Christianity exists, they just don't believe as Christians do.
Load More Replies... Cowws 2 years ago
Sometimes I wonder why I'm a Christian. It all boils down to me believing the evidence that Jesus rose from the dead to be true. I believe it's a historical event like the pandemic we're in - one that demands a response. For me, it's to follow Jesus. If someone would disprove that Jesus rose from the dead or showed me that the evidence I base my life off is false, I doubt I'd stay a Christian.
Monday 2 years ago
That seems like a pretty decent mindset. Keep your beliefs but be open to looking at evidence should it be found.
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G'ma B 2 years ago
Someone very, very intelligent had to come up with our design … who could that be!??
Den Ver 2 years ago
Probably the same person who gives bone cancer to children and who "designed" spirochetes to create brain damage.
Load More Replies... Den Ver 2 years ago (edited)
DC = "What can be stated without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OP = I get that people believe in religion but they have zero proof that any of it is true. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lyone Fein = "And zero proof that it is not." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DC = "What can be stated without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Den Ver - (DC: I liked your quote and I copied it as a way to bookmark it in my comments section.)
Phoebe Stein 2 years ago
Christianity is the worst! Everything is so rigid, and supposed to be substituted for science.
Foxes forever! 2 years ago
I agree, God Or the gods go’s against science, and physics, if science proves it’s real I will “ believe “ in that religion
Stephanie A Mutti 2 years ago
It's a lot like trickle-down economics. Be patient in your suffering today because tomorrow you will be rewarded.
idrow1 2 years ago
But without religion, what would people use to justify their horrible behavior?
Monday 2 years ago
Uhh.....probably planetary positions and other astrological nonsense? People are very good at justifying their behaviors!
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Adam Francis 2 years ago
Um... there is plenty of proof. People keep trying to disprove God's existence and are convinced by small details that don't match the big picture.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 2 years ago
Adam, could you please direct us to scholarly and scientific articles proving this? That is was religion is based on faith and believing.
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Got Myself 4 Pandas 2 years ago
And now I've George Michael stuck in my head........
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Salty Baritone 2 years ago
Really? Just gonna decide without any research or further education that ALL religion is false? It’s just been a part of human civilization since we had civilization. But sure, you got it right on the nose. 🤦♂️
Fau Melo 2 years ago
There are no proof any of the more of 3000 gods created by men are real. Religion is man made and it really shouldn't be seen as law anywhere.
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Wayne Gossman 2 years ago
Everyone lives by faith! Faith is living according to what you know, in spite of how you feel! Why get up in the morning? Because you know the sun will come out! (Even though it often does not feel like it will.) Some of us know (from experiences! Not strange fancies! That there is a greater purpose than just surviving one more day! (And I think any religion that is about men controlling you is a crock of shite!)
Valden 2 years ago
Really? Are you aware that in Christianity, there is no actual mention of hell (eternal suffering for sins on earth). It is a construct of the wealthy to control and pacify the poor. The belief that someone who's greedy and treats their employees like second-class citizens will get his or hers in the end helps people feel better about their status in life.
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bibbitybobbityboop 2 years ago
I am atheist/ satanist There is zero proof knowing and not knowing we should respect someone’s religion when they respect our own. I better not see any Christians coming at me telling me Satan is bad, because they are not they literally only punish people who do bad things.
#9
That GMOs are bad. Without GMOs, we wouldn't have a lot of the food we have today.
Panda in the Fake South 2 years ago
We've been eating GMOs for 1000s of years. That's what selective breeding does. Some of the foods we eat would be poisonous in their original forms
#10
That we use 10% of our brain. Power or capacity, this was actually proven to be b******t.
#11
That shaving makes hair grow back thicker and longer.
Anne Marieke Fransen 2 years ago
When you shave, the hair is cut in two. The lower part of the hair is now the top, where it used.tot be the middle of a hair. The original top of the hair had to move up to skin level and further on and was damaged doing so. And damaged means thinner. So the cut side is al the way up and as thick as possible. And this is what you experience when it grows further on. Massive and thick hair.
#12
I got pregnant in 2002 and people legit told me I shouldn't raise my arms over my head because the cord would wrap around the baby's neck. Not just great grandmas telling me this either. People at my restaurant job fussed at me all the time for getting things off high shelves. Insane.
Panda Kicki 2 years ago
This was hilarious! Can those people please draw a pic on how they think your arms and the cord ia connected?
#13
That your generation is always the last good generation.
#14
Swallowed gum will stay in your stomach for 7 years. Never seen a single wad of gum in the hundreds of thousands of stomachs I’ve looked into.
#16
That fish only have a 5-second memory. My fish are fed automatically on a timer and they know dinner time better than my goddamn cat.
#17
That your hair and fingernails still grow after you die. It's mainly an optical illusion. Your skin decays and shrinks, causing hair and fingernails to look like they've grown.
#18
That birds will abandon their babies if they have a human scent on them.
#19
That cats kill babies.
I’ve run into this so many times since having kids. And it’s not the older grandmas making these statements. I’ve had 20 year olds tell me that you can’t have cats if you plan to have babies because “they’ll steal their breath” or some other variation. No amount of reasoning or rationale will dissuade them of this belief
Chucky Cheezburger 2 years ago
I've always hears that this come from cats that end up sleeping on a baby and the baby can't breath. I have no idea if this is true or not.
#20
Circumcision is medically beneficial enough to be *routinely* done to every male infant born, rather than just like.. you know… waiting to see if it’s actually necessary.
#21
Pit bulls can lock their jaws. If they bite you then you have to kill them because their jaws are locked.
No, I am not kidding. I’ve heard this BS from the elderly and from kids. They just keep repeating this nonsense.
Waite Forit 2 years ago
Only if it is a hybrid created in a Chinese research lab and one of its parents was a snapping turtle.
#22
90% of the myths surrounding pregnancy and childbirth.
If the baby’s heart rate is fast it’s a girl. If you crave sweet things it’s a girl, if you are carrying “high” it’s a girl.
They’re the only ones I can think of at the moment but there are so many other myths out there.
das aprilkind 2 years ago
funnily enough I had a major sweet tooth in both my girl pregnancies and was craving savoury foods with my boy. Didn't know about that belief though...
#23
Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
Waite Forit 2 years ago
As Fleetwood Mac would say, “Lightning strikes maybe once, maybe twice.”
#24
Someone can be tested to determine their virginity status. Hymens aren't barriers, they aren't supposed to be broken, and they heal when they do tear. No one, not even a doctor can look at someone and know they're a virgin or not.
#25
Bulls become angry seeing the color red.
Kookamunga 2 years ago
Bulls become angry when men in stupid Prince outfits taunt them while crowds cheer and then the poor bulls get speared. Absolutely disgusting.
#26
That reading in dim lighting will cause you to lose your eyesight.
#27
If you watch the TV too much or too close, you will go blind
#29
One that's still not known well is the white people in the south and middle America that think they are part Cherokee. You're like 99.9% sure to be wrong. Your family is wrong. There wasn't a "Cherokee princess" or any of that. It's a folks tale basically. And your grandma was told the same as a kid, she told your mom, hour mom td you.
People get defensive about this because you have to accept that A) Your family accidentally mislead you on something your whole life, and B) you don't have some magic Cherokee princess Native American blood. You're just white.
This is what happened with Elizabeth Warren. She was told this tale and believed she was part Cherokee. I was also told this and believed it while growing up. Almost all of my friends were told the same about themselves too.
Just a folk tale passed down the generations
CaptainDinosaur 2 years ago
100% true. I heard the same c**p my whole life. Did the old 23&me test... ZERO native DNA. I'm literally more Neanderthal than Native American.
#30
Carrots improve vision. Has to be on the list for top propaganda campaigns. Started in WWII to cover for the use of radar. Still to this day more people I meet believe it than don't.
What do you think ?
Jason Marin 2 years ago
That removing a gray hair from your head will cause ten more to grow back.
WonderWoman 2 years ago
Right? LOL because if it were true balding people would gladly pluck the grays to get two more.
Load More Replies... Wayne Gossman 2 years ago
How do you add more? That spinach has an amazing amount of iron. Like all dark leafy greens it has some, but not a lot. Someone mad an error with a decimal point many years ago and some textbooks picked it up and for years it was taught.
Jason Marin 2 years ago
That removing a gray hair from your head will cause ten more to grow back.
WonderWoman 2 years ago
Right? LOL because if it were true balding people would gladly pluck the grays to get two more.
Load More Replies... Wayne Gossman 2 years ago
How do you add more? That spinach has an amazing amount of iron. Like all dark leafy greens it has some, but not a lot. Someone mad an error with a decimal point many years ago and some textbooks picked it up and for years it was taught.
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