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Word spreads like wildfire and if it’s not true, then it goes around even faster. That’s one of the ways how gossip, fake news and old wives' tales are born.

To reverse the process is no easy feat, even if we have unlimited resources to fact-check every bit of information we get. So folks on Reddit took it upon themselves to make others aware that you don’t actually use only 10% of your brain and a watermelon won’t grow in your belly if you swallow a seed.

More info: Reddit

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples When I was pregnant I heard some mad s**t about what my cats would do to my baby. “Stealing its breath” was the most fairytale example. Both cats were horrified and disgusted by the baby and didn’t even go near her.

luala , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:
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Donteatme666
Donteatme666
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This needs to go away stupid stuff like this hurts kitties cuz people sometimes get rid of them when they have newborns and that's messed up

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#2

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body.

I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain.

chriseo22 , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:
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#3

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Birds disown their young if you touch them

(To be clear I am saying this is a myth. Despite the post title people are agreeing with this myth. No. A bird did not abandon their baby bc you touched it. Birds have a poor sense of smell, and if you don't believe me go ahead and google it)

Initial_Savings8733 , Tiểu Bảo Trương Report

Final score:
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Biytemii
Biytemii
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seriously if u find a baby bird on the ground that cannot fly and u can see the nest always try and pit it back!

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#4

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck, or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though.

I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this “advice” unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work.

SmoreOfBabylon , James Petts Report

Final score:
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#5

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis.

Choice-Grapefruit-44 , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:
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#6

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to.

Joke's on them - I haven't blow dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet.

worldbound0514 , Nathan Cowley Report

Final score:
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#7

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples That we only use 10% of our brain

Aimless_Scrolls , Amel Uzunovic Report

Final score:
72points
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Vic
Vic
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean.. This one depends.. if your brain is in a crock pot like in the picture above, then probably you are using 0% of your brain..

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#8

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner, because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters.

Fatmouse84 , ROMAN ODINTSOV Report

Final score:
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Ima Manimal
Ima Manimal
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or if the mother gets a scare, the baby will have a birthmark

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#9

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing

Severe_Airport1426 , Ron Lach Report

Final score:
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Lydsylou (she/her)
Lydsylou (she/her)
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those are the most important hours! REPORT SOMEONE MISSING AS SOON AS YOU THINK THEY ARE MISSING. Also don't just wait around at home because they might be back in half an hour. Even if they are back in half an hour having the police help will mean that if something had happened they would be found quicker

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#10

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him

LonelyMail5115 , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:
65points
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Tucker Cahooter
Tucker Cahooter
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That undercover cop in the picture is trying to fool everyone by actually dressing as a cop. Cunning, very cunning.

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#11

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples You can't get pregnant if you are breastfeeding.

esonic64 , MART PRODUCTION Report

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Jill Bussey
Jill Bussey
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It reduces the chances of becoming pregnant but does not prevent it.

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#12

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples This is a German one, but basically if you give your child a very Americanised name, then the child will be attention seeking and naughty and perform badly in school. It’s called Kevinism.

new_username_new_me , J carter Report

Final score:
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Gourdeous
Gourdeous
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it might be borne out of classism. There is possibly a correlation between 'fashion' names and lower social status, and that with some behaviours....

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#13

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Many Koreans still believe that if you sleep in a closed room with a fan on, that you will die. Does that count as an old wives tale?

FabianVG Report

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Mike F
Mike F
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only if you're sleeping in the bathtub, and the fan falls in.

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#14

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years

anon , Sherman Trotz Report

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lumberjack44 avatar
JL
JL
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only if you break a mirror at the moment you swallow it.

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#15

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples You can suck venom out of a snakebite.

CrunchyKittyLitter , Stephen Joel Report

Final score:
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Lydsylou (she/her)
Lydsylou (she/her)
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even if that did work it would just transport the venom to your mouth, re poisoning you

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#16

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples When you shave your hair it grows back thicker.

IgnorantGenius , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:
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WhiteClawOfDeath
WhiteClawOfDeath
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It seems that way because the hairs are cut off and are blunt. They get softer after a while

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#17

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Starve a fever; feed a cold.

Edit: well it seems that both versions exist (starve a cold; feed a fever), but I've always heard the Starve a fever version, never the other one. The (wrong) explanation was that if you're hungry and cold, eating will warm you up. Since eating warms you up, you don't want to eat when you have a fever. Technically however, if you're sick, your body needs nutrients to get better, so you should not starve either.

LuvCilantro , Sora Shimazaki Report

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shanila.pheonix_
shanila.pheonix_
Community Member
10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you need nutrients all the time ESPECIALLY if you are sick(so u can recover). the only time i recall not eating food when sick is when i had a rlly bad stomach bug, and i would vomit even if i ate even the smallest candy. not fun. but even then, i made sure to drink water and electrolytes

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#18

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples My mil thinks that if I tickle my babies feet he will have a speech delay

EBSD , Pixabay Report

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Cam Schmit
Cam Schmit
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's always "mothers in law" with the terrible baby advice

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#19

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples The cold makes you get sick, not germs

Sector-Away , Pixabay Report

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Angrykitten
Angrykitten
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A recent published study did find that cold air breathed in through the nose reduces the noses role in the mmune system. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/new-study-links-nose-temperature-and-immune-response#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20new%20research,EVs%20that%20reduced%20their%20efficacy.

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#20

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry

LeastFormal9366 , Leah Kelley Report

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Hairy Platypus
Hairy Platypus
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do the tiny genitals make a difference in how you carry the baby??

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#21

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples No swimming for 30 minutes after eating

Top-Repair-2586 , Jim De Ramos Report

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#22

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Taking vitamin c will kill your cold, flu, etc.

At best it might prevent a cold if taken regularly but even that is disputed. It def wont help if you start taking tons after the fact.

Pretend_Travel_8939 , Lisa Fotios Report

Final score:
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apesauce531
apesauce531
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Vit c does help with cell regeneration but only what is needed at that time is utilised, the rest is passed immediately in your urine

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#23

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples "If you swallow a watermelon seed, a watermelon will grow in your stomach."

OfficialEmeraldChat , Elaine Bernadine Castro Report

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Hairy Platypus
Hairy Platypus
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It would need dirt and the sun, for one. Hey! I made a couplet! Maybe I should post this to the internet!

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#24

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Urine is sterile (it is not).

Oskarikali , dirtyboxface Report

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Wingsofwrath
Wingsofwrath
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Urine is sterile inside the body. That's why, when it gets into the abdominal cavity, for example due to a ruptured urether, it's called "sterile peritonitis".

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#25

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Butter on burns

XeniaDweller , Markus Spiske Report

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#26

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Carrots improve eyesight and night vision.

It was propaganda spread by the British during WW2 to hide the use of radar systems from the Germans.

Cedar13th , https://www.pexels.com/photo/orange-carrots-on-brown-woven-basket-3650647/ Report

Final score:
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Hairy Platypus
Hairy Platypus
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please don't believe everything you see on the internet! Carrots really do help your eyesight. "carrots are rich in the compound beta carotene, which your body uses to make a form of vitamin A that helps your eyes adjust in the dark." -Health.mil

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#27

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples If you cut your hair, it grows faster. No.

Mini-Heart-Attack , Engin Akyurt Report

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anonplz avatar
shanila.pheonix_
shanila.pheonix_
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

no, but it is good for ur hair, if you have split ends or dead ends.

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#28

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Vick's Vaporub cures all flu and cold like illnesses - just need to rub it all over.

anon , Tatsuo Yamashita Report

Final score:
23points
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#29

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples That people in Spain speak with a lisp because they didn’t want to embarrass a lisp-having king back in the day.

TheThemeSongs , Chevanon Photography Report

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#30

Someone Wanted To Know The Old Wives Tales That Are Still Believed Today And Got 30 Examples Only slashing 3 tires won't be covered by insurance

Bourbon_Escape , Magda Ehlers Report

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