43 Fake Myths People Still Hold Onto, As Shared In This Viral Thread

Comedian Ron White once famously called his show You Can't Fix Stupid. The statement is debatable, because in theory, education is supposed to do that, but it's a completely different story when it boils down to practice. And so there is always work to be done when pushing away the tide of ignorance.

But until then, Redditors embrace the reality by asking questions and sharing experiences. Specifically, this time around, someone on Reddit asked people to share the dumbest myths people today still believe, and the r/AskReddit community was quick to deliver.

Scroll down, enjoy the list, and why not upvote and comment some of your stories in the comment section below!

More Info: Reddit

#1

Vaccines cause autism…..

Image credits: loxisi5751

#2

That there are dozens of hot singles in my area just dying to meet me.

Image credits: ComesInAnOldBox

#3

When I had cancer a few years back and was doing chemotherapy I had people who constantly questioned that I actually "had cancer" due to the fact that my hair didn't fall out until I was actually in remission (Had been off chemo for about 2-3 weeks when my hair started gradually thinning and falling out).

It's a complete myth that every single person's hair will have the same reaction to chemo. Some people lose hair right away, some don't. Everybody is different.

Image credits: DorothyGMilne

#4

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

Image credits: merofo8329

#5

I still believe that if any of my limbs hang off the bed while sleeping that a monster will grab them. I also believe that the moment I remember this and pull them back on the bed is just in the nick of time before a monster grabs them.

You can't prove there isn't a monster under my bed.

Image credits: bitew41489

#6

Tear here to open.

Image credits: TheDarkSide2187

#7

Trickle down economics.

Image credits: A-Chntrd

#8

That humans only use 10% of their brain. This is false, regardless of how those who proclaim this myth seemingly demonstrate that it is in fact true.

Image credits: MatthewWakeman

#9

That there are magic pills that make you lose weight and gain muscle without ever going to a gym. Or that there are snake oils that will take years off of your face and make you look young. There's a sucker born every minute.

Image credits: Linux4ever_Leo

#10

The whole “Alpha/Beta male” thing

Image credits: Oppie8645

#11

That you eat spiders in your sleep.

Spider will not knowingly walk into a preditors mouth.

They can sense both the heartbeat, heat and noise from humans. All things that would alert them not to go into our mouth.

Image credits: messeboy

#12

At some point, a viral video allegedly proved that the “beg buttons” at crosswalks are just placebos.

Some of them are, but most of them really do add a cycle for pedestrians to get a walk signal. You should use them regardless

Image credits: holesix705

#13

“Do what you love and never work a day in your life.”

No one is paying me to play video games and eat pizza.

#14

"Lie detectors" as a literal thing.

There's a reason they aren't admissible as evidence in court in most places.

Image credits: bitew41489

#15

There are dumber ones out there, but the one I, as an estate lawyer, deal with constantly is the idea that there needs to be a "reading" of the will, where the family all gather and the lawyer reads it aloud to them for the first time. We don't do that, we just mail everyone their own copy if they want it.

It's a really stubbornly persistent one because people continue to see scenes of it in movies and TV shows, where it's used for some big dramatic reveal. I've even had irate beneficiaries insist that the administration of the estate can't be "official" until there's a reading.

Way, *way* back, like 150 years ago or so, I believe we used to do something like that at times because you couldn't exactly presume literacy on the part of the beneficiaries, but now we feel it's a pretty safe bet that you can either read it or find someone who can.

Image credits: PigHaggerty

#16

Religion imo

Image credits: Sockerkatt

#17

Life is fair, and bad things only happen to people who deserve it.

Image credits: bitew41489

#18

Halloween candy is commonly laced with [illegal substances] or razor blades.

Image credits: Tempe-Jeff

#19

Detox drinks

Image credits: Ok-Relief-723

#20

That Einstein failed his grade school math class. It was the subject of a Ripley’s Believe It or Not column in 1935 and Einstein himself refuted the article. In primary school he had been at the top of class and by 15 he had mastered differential and integral calculus.

Image credits: rolis20544

#21

“Lightning never strikes the same place twice.”

Yes it does, that’s the entire reason for lightning rods on buildings.

Image credits: poxayif250

#22

Anything about MSG. I battle with my health conscious wife about this often.

EDIT: Too much of anything is bad for you. I still don’t understand the demonization of MSG.

Image credits: Mister_Pibbs

#23

You have to wait 48 hours to report someone missing

Image credits: loxisi5751

#24

I remember the myth that gum takes 7 YEARS to fully pass through your digestive system

Image credits: QuandiliusDinglebop

#25

That you can write a comment 36 minutes after the post has been made and believe that it will gain any sort of traction

Image credits: kingo15

#26

Still blows my mind that people think the Earth is flat.

Image credits: EerieArizona

#27

It is believed in Indian culture that keeping your unibrow means “good luck” I kept my unibrow for 20 years thinking it is my “good luck” until I got stage 5th of kidney failure and I did my eyebrows after that because who gives a f**k about luck anymore. Now my eyebrows look cute af.

Image credits: Full_Sector_1606

#28

"Oh, I dont want a raise/make more money, because then I'll lose more money to taxes and take home less!"

You only get taxed on the money thats made above your current bracket. Its literally impossible to make more money and take home less.

Image credits: JustHach

#29

Corporations care or even exist for any reason other than to make money.

Image credits: Jacket-Okay

#30

Being cold is what makes you sick

#31

That you can target fat loss in specific areas of the body by doing certain exercises (like doing sit-ups to lose belly fat)

#32

That the underdogs are:

always good;

always right.

Image credits: rolis20544

#33

Had a cab driver insisting that the reactor meltdown at Fukushima was a failed Chinese attack on the US. The plan was to superheat the rods so they'd burn into the ground, through the center of the Earth, and come out in America and irradiate it.

Amazing.

Image credits: DavidSLadd

#34

So many people think Narwhals are mythical.

A more serious one, that people who have been hurt or oppressed are morally better. My Mom thought that because she had been hurt by her Dad, whatever she did to the family was somehow justified. The Hutus were legitimately oppressed by the Tutsis (but to be fair, that comes back to Leopold, the patron satan of Africa). All people are fundamentally similar.

Image credits: loxisi5751

#35

That magnetic jewelry / healing will cure just about anything. A dude named Mesmer the 1780 came up with the idea, and it have been debunked many times - yet it’s still a billion dollar industry. Fun fact - the word “mesmerized” is related to him.

Image credits: rolis20544

#36

Astrology. It's just a fun nerdy thing but now it's almost religious beliefs

#37

That shaving makes your hair grow back thicker. My 37 year old partner still believes this and it does my nut in!

#38

There are still people who believe that having [making love] in certain positions or eating certain foods can influence the sex of your unborn child or impact whether you have twins/multiples.

Image credits: NoSleepNoCoffee1

#39

People think bats are blind. They aren’t

#40

My dad had this guy helping him out (think Big Box store DIY curb ready helper) who told him "If you sleep with your hair wet, you will bleed out of your mouth"... and he was 110% sure that was fact.

We were both just confused and bewildered at this statement.

What the hell had this guy witnessed?!

Image credits: bitew41489

#41

That Titanic’s third class were locked below, and not allowed into the boats. Just about any myth on the Titanic topic (especially conspiracy theories) are extremely dumb.

#42

Headlights off at night is a gang-banger initiation rite. So, don't flash your lights at them.

Image credits: Tempe-Jeff

#43

Had to explain to a grown a*s adult that blood isn’t blue inside the body and red once it hits oxygen because… blood already carries oxygen.

ETA: I didn’t expect this to take off, I first commented when the post was brand new and only had 30 comments. I understand that I came off as a snarky a*****e about it, but the dude and I were cool after 10 minutes of convincing him that what he was taught was a myth. No hurt feelings, buds.

Image credits: whatdoesntkillyou