Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Pieces Of Misinformation Never Seem To Die Out

How do we keep spreading obvious lies?

There is some misinformation that has been passed through generations.

And I'm not just talking about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

There is dangerous nonsense being spewed out there.

Time to get some things straight. RedditorBlugged_Bunnywanted to hear about the lies we need to watch out for so we can shut them down. They asked:

"What misinfromation seems to never die?"

"Everything happens for a reason."

Stop playing me...

What they said...

ben franklin GIFGiphy

"Half of the quotes attributed to Gandhi, Dr Seuss, Oscar Wilde and Ben Franklin."

ehsteve23

“Half of the quotes attributed to Gandhi, Dr Seuss, Oscar Wilde and Ben Franklin."

"-Ben Franklin"

Da_JuiiCeMann

"the hard way"

"That if you shave any hair on your body it grows back thicker and darker."

psychedellie

"I learnt this 'the hard way.' I'm a guy with not so thick beard, my father (who is medic) always told me to shave often so my beard would get thicker. After years and years and years trying, one day I started suspecting this was false. A quick google search confirmed, to my disappointment. So now I simply don't shave at all anymore."

6RatasOnMy6

More than Once...

"Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. In fact it does - and with great regularity. Thus, the need for lighting rods in some lightning-prone locations."

waqasnaseem07

"Learned this at a young age- we had a tree on the farm I grew up on that had been hit multiple times by lightning in the years I was there. It was pretty tore-up looking, but still alive. Damn thing was right outside the rec room in the old house though, and I was in that room right by the window when it happened twice. Knocked me on my a** both times."

LoopyMercutio

Flushed

"That you can detox/cleanse your body with certain drinks or pills."

yvonv

"You DO need detox though, but in the form of a healthy, rich and diverse diet containing vegetables and fruit. And some happen to be more effective at essentially detoxing and healing your body than others such as blueberries, avocado, asparagus, all kinds of cruciferous plants, and so on."

"Any diet should contain those regularly. Even processed extracts or industrially created shelf stable crap from those often doesn't have the health benefits of just eating raw broccoli because the healthy stuff in it is heat sensitive. Boiled broccoli is still very healthy but doesn't come close to raw especially the green bits."

kek337

Seriously?

Long Legs Snl GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy

"Grand Daddy Long Legs are the most poisonous spider on the planet but their fangs are too small to pierce skin… ugh."

Kangabolic

I believe ANYTHING involving spiders. No matter what!

Harvest

Cell Division Mind Blown GIF by Massive ScienceGiphy

"That Stem cells come primarily from aborted babies.They don't, they are harvested from bone marrow today."

Moosen_Burger

Several Things

"1- That bulls get angered by the colour red- they are color blind so it really makes no difference. It's the waving of the cape that gets to them."

"2- Bats are blind- this simply isn't true either. Bats have almost as good eyesight as humans and some larger bats have eyesight almost 3 X as good as that of a human."

"3- Nails and hair of a person continue to grow after death- the skin retracts as it becomes dehydrated after death. The nails and hair do not grow, the just appear longer."

waqasnaseem07

the only ingredient in the dish...

"That MSG is bad for you. It's literally a naturally occurring amino acid in certain green plant life that utilized photosynthesis, with normal salt used as a binding agent. The myth came from a single person writing to a newspaper back in the 70's (I believe) where he ended up with a headache after visiting a Chinese restaurant, and the only ingredient in the dish he had that he didn't recognize was monosodium glutamate."

"And because people are stupid and it sounds scary, he blamed it on that, and it led to a bunch of people reporting similar anecdotal stories that led to the myth of it being bad for you. There have been dozens of studies confirming that it's perfectly safe and doesn't cause headaches or any other known ailments."

Tonsai

Usage...

"We only use 10% of our brains."

bunnies_and_birdies

"That is or was a very common misreading of an article from a popular weekly magazine in the 1960s, Life or Look. The article was based on a survey of psychologists and the point was that people only use 10% of their capabilities, not their brain. This article led to the Human Potential Movement in the 60s and 70s, with things like Werner Ernhard's est program."

moxie-maniac

Crack

Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The OfficeGiphy

"That cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis."

littlephrogboyo

"Cracked my knuckles as I read this and it was extra satisfying."

Ocelot-of-karma

Did we get all that? Stop repeating nonsense.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Steelworkers local union leaders; Donald Trump
Hudson Institute, ALLISON ROBBERT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Trump-Supporting Steelworkers Are Pissed Trump Opposes Major Deal—And Everyone Had The Same Response

Pittsburgh steelworkers who supported President-elect Donald Trump were devastated that he has reiterated his opposition to the proposed $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel Co.

One union leader who had attended Trump's rally before the election called the incoming President's vow to block the Japanese steelmaker from buying the Pittsburgh-based US Steel when he takes office a "gut punch."

Keep ReadingShow less
Miley Cyrus; Tish Cyrus
Kevin Mazur/TCA 2009/WireImage; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Miley Cyrus Reveals That Controversial 2009 'Stripper Pole' Performance Was Her Mom's Idea

Singer Miley Cyrus was telling all in a recent episode of Spotify's Billions Club, discussing her notorious performance at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards.

In the performance, she became the talk of the pearl-clutching town when she danced with a pole—implied heavily to be one for exotic dancers, coming out of an ice cream cart–while singing her hit song Party In The USA.

Keep ReadingShow less
Logan Brown holding copy of "In My Daddy's Belly"
@loganecbrown/Instagram

Conservatives Rage Over New Children's Book About Pregnant Trans Man

Transphobes are being called out over their outrage in response to the new children's book In My Daddy’s Belly by trans author Logan Brown, which was inspired by his experience being pregnant and having a baby.

Brown was on the cover of Glamour UK magazine in June 2023 and welcomed his daughter into the world later that year. Brown said afterward that Glamour "fully embraced me and my body on the days of the shoot."

Keep ReadingShow less
Sabrina Carpenter singing; Carpenter looking shocked
palomaidaliasandoval/TikTok

Sabrina Carpenter Surprises Herself By Masterfully Hitting 'Defying Gravity' Riff In Hilarious TikTok

Sabrina Carpenter was up for a TikTok challenge where participants try wailing the famous battle cry riff at the end of the epic Wicked song, "Defying Gravity," but with her own twist.

Her look at the end says it all.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Showering RFK Jr. Bizarrely Photobombs Wife Cheryl Hines As She Promotes Beauty Products

Conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Health and Human Services secretary pick—was bizarrely featured showering behind his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, as she attempted to promote her Hines + Young beauty products and a "Make America Healthy Again" candle.

Hines, best known for her starring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm, appeared amused by what she referred to as a “content interruption” in text at the top of the clip.

Keep ReadingShow less