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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
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#1
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.
Donteatme666 12 months ago
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
RELATED:
#2
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.
#3
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)
#4
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.
#5
Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis.
#6
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.
#8
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.
#9
That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing
Lydsylou (she/her) 12 months ago
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
#10
An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him
Tucker Cahooter 11 months ago
That undercover cop in the picture is trying to fool everyone by actually dressing as a cop. Cunning, very cunning.
#11
You can't get pregnant if you are breastfeeding.
Jill Bussey 12 months ago
It reduces the chances of becoming pregnant but does not prevent it.
#12
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.
#13
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?
#15
You can suck venom out of a snakebite.
Lydsylou (she/her) 12 months ago
Even if that did work it would just transport the venom to your mouth, re poisoning you
#16
When you shave your hair it grows back thicker.
WhiteClawOfDeath 11 months ago
It seems that way because the hairs are cut off and are blunt. They get softer after a while
#17
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.
shanila.pheonix_ 12 months ago (edited)
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
#18
My mil thinks that if I tickle my babies feet he will have a speech delay
#19
The cold makes you get sick, not germs
Angrykitten 12 months ago
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.
#20
You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry
Hairy Platypus 12 months ago
How do the tiny genitals make a difference in how you carry the baby??
#22
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.
apesauce531 12 months ago
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
#23
"If you swallow a watermelon seed, a watermelon will grow in your stomach."
Hairy Platypus 12 months ago
It would need dirt and the sun, for one. Hey! I made a couplet! Maybe I should post this to the internet!
#24
Urine is sterile (it is not).
Wingsofwrath 12 months ago
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".
#26
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.
Hairy Platypus 12 months ago
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
#27
If you cut your hair, it grows faster. No.
shanila.pheonix_ 12 months ago
no, but it is good for ur hair, if you have split ends or dead ends.
#28
Vick's Vaporub cures all flu and cold like illnesses - just need to rub it all over.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 12 months ago
It doesn't cure, but it does offer short-term relief for some symptoms.
#29
That people in Spain speak with a lisp because they didn’t want to embarrass a lisp-having king back in the day.
What do you think ?
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 12 months ago
Can we have some new ones, please,instead of the same ones over and over again?
Belladonna.dreams 11 months ago
If you're pregnant, craving salty food means you're having a boy. Craving sugary foods means you're having a girl. If this were true, I'd have 2 girls instead of boys.
Load More Replies...
Ryan Mercer 11 months ago
Put a penny in your belly button to prevent motion sickness? Turns out the skin absorbs the copper and helps relieve nausea.
Nils Skirnir 11 months ago
That men have fewer ribs than women. This was even taught in health classes up until the seventies.
Keley Babs 11 months ago
Think it's messed up we call them OLD WIVES' TALES. Women have had to be very observant of their natural world around them and when they get something right, it's called a scientific fact, but if it's something silly, we called an old wives.
Ryan Mercer 11 months ago (edited)
Anecdotal evidence, no matter how accurate, by itself, is not a scientific fact.
Load More Replies...
The Redhead 11 months ago
Was told that to keep your baby from having pain & crying during teething to put an egg in a paper bag in the closet. The egg won't go bad because it's in the dark.
The Redhead 11 months ago
Do not go outside during the eclipse. It's believed pregnant women who are in the presence of the eclipse could cause their baby to have facial deformities or birth marks. Although a month & a half later my daughter was born prematurely (fine now) hmm...no deformities or birth marks though.
Ivana Bašić 12 months ago
If you sleep with cats, a cat hair will get into your blood and travel to your brain and kill you. Especially dangerous for babies. No comment.
Hey! 11 months ago
I never heard that one before. But, it might be based on the fact about allergies? If I inhale cat hair I will get a pneumonia within hours. I'm highly allergic.
Load More Replies... Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 12 months ago
Can we have some new ones, please,instead of the same ones over and over again?
Belladonna.dreams 11 months ago
If you're pregnant, craving salty food means you're having a boy. Craving sugary foods means you're having a girl. If this were true, I'd have 2 girls instead of boys.
Load More Replies... Ryan Mercer 11 months ago
Put a penny in your belly button to prevent motion sickness? Turns out the skin absorbs the copper and helps relieve nausea.
Nils Skirnir 11 months ago
That men have fewer ribs than women. This was even taught in health classes up until the seventies.
Keley Babs 11 months ago
Think it's messed up we call them OLD WIVES' TALES. Women have had to be very observant of their natural world around them and when they get something right, it's called a scientific fact, but if it's something silly, we called an old wives.
Ryan Mercer 11 months ago (edited)
Anecdotal evidence, no matter how accurate, by itself, is not a scientific fact.
Load More Replies... The Redhead 11 months ago
Was told that to keep your baby from having pain & crying during teething to put an egg in a paper bag in the closet. The egg won't go bad because it's in the dark.
The Redhead 11 months ago
Do not go outside during the eclipse. It's believed pregnant women who are in the presence of the eclipse could cause their baby to have facial deformities or birth marks. Although a month & a half later my daughter was born prematurely (fine now) hmm...no deformities or birth marks though.
Ivana Bašić 12 months ago
If you sleep with cats, a cat hair will get into your blood and travel to your brain and kill you. Especially dangerous for babies. No comment.
Hey! 11 months ago
I never heard that one before. But, it might be based on the fact about allergies? If I inhale cat hair I will get a pneumonia within hours. I'm highly allergic.
Load More Replies...
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