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38 Debunked Misconceptions to Help You Gain Superiority Above Those Who Still Believe

We’ve got some big ol’ eye rolls for anyone who still believes these

38 Debunked Misconceptions to Help You Gain Superiority Above Those Who Still Believe

November 01, 2024

For anyone who blindly believes some random fact they just stumbled upon, we’d like to inform you that there’s a little thing called Google. Believing any old thing was a bit more acceptable in the pre-Google days, since leafing through encyclopedias or trekking down to the library was a pain in the butt. Nowadays, though, there’s no excuse.

Here, we searched for and debunked these myths and misconceptions to help get your feet wet, but from now on, you’re on your own, kiddo.

38

Sell-By Dates

MYTH Store-bought foods should be x thrown out after the expiration date on the packaging. FACT The FDA doesn't require expiration dates, except for baby formula. The date on most food is an estimate, and is often put on food to encourage consumers to throw it out and buy a new one. X0 LP245 18:53 R1 EC2 31/12/2019 CRACKED — CalypsoArt/Shutterstock
FDA

37

Organic Food

MYTH: ORGANIC FOOD IS ALWAYS BETTER. Organic food has not been found to be significantly healthier than non-organic and eating the recommended serving

36

Lemmings

MYTH Lemmings commit mass suicide. TRUTH Disney faked a scene in their documentary White Wilderness, where the myth derives from. CRACKED.COM — Source

35

Lobsters

MYTH Lobsters are monogamous. TRUTH Female lobsters spend up to two weeks with a mate. CRACKED.COM — Mental Floss

34

Milk

MYTH: MILK BUILDS STRONG BE BONES. CRACKED.COM This myth started when schools were provided nutritional material that boasted the importance of dairy in your diet, when studies cannot link milk consumption with healthy living and especially stronger bones. Who gave them this material? The National Dairy Council. — 6 Ridiculous Science Myths You Learned in Kindergarten

33

Swallowing Spiders

MYTH: YOU EAT 8 SPIDERS IN YOUR SLEEP EVERY YEAR. CRACKED.COM The irony of this myth is that it was started to prove how likely people are to accept information as fact when they read it online. Eating a handful of spiders every year was SO outlandish, to the author of the original article in 1993, that it was the perfect lie to use. — Source: Scientific American

32

Herbs

MYTH: The right herbs can get you in the mood. FACT: Herbal aphrodifiacy can kill you. According to the FDA, no herbal supplement can actually boost your sex drive, and Spanish Fly has been shown to permanently damage the urinary system. Worse, in 1995, four men died from taking herbal aphrodisiacs. The myth probably arose in ancient times, when some herbs contained vitamins people were actually deficient in. CRACKED.COM features/9912150015 1 aphrodisiacs-wild-oats-herbal — Source: 24 Ways You've Misunderstood Sex Your Whole Life

31

Toilet Flushing

Earth's Effect on Toilets myth... busted CRACKED COMI No, the Coriolis Effect and the Earth's rotation doesn't make Australian toilets flush backwards — Source: HowStuffWorks

30

T. Rexes

38 Debunked Misconceptions to Help You Gain Superiority Above Those Who Still Believe — Source: Mental Floss

29

Sharks

38 Debunked Misconceptions to Help You Gain Superiority Above Those Who Still Believe — Source: BBC Science Focus

28

Spartan Children

No, spartans didn't throw their sick newborn babies off a freaking cliff. This myth was easily debunked when they did an archaeological dig at the inf

27

Sex and Stamina

MYTH: sex SAPS STAMINA. FACT: ITMIGHT even Give you more STAMINA Everyone thinks having sex before an athletic event can disrupt your performance. But

26

Condoms

MYTH: condoms ARe 98% effective. FACT: THEY'RE JUST 82 % eFfective OVeRALL. They're 98% effective at preventing pregnancy when used perfectly. That me

25

Connecticut’s Nickname

Myth: Connecticut is nicknamed the Constitution State because the Constitution was signed there. WRONG. Connecticut got its nickname from the state'

24

Benjamin Franklin’s Kite

You might have heard that Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment is a myth... but do you know who started it? BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HIMSELF He made the whole

23

Taste Buds

MYTH8 YOUR TonGUE IS ZoNeD BY FLAVOR TYPE. BITTER SALTY SALTY SOUR SWEET FAGT8 YOUR WHOLE ToNGUE TASTES THINGS. The myth about your tongue being able

22

The Color of Blood

MYTH: THE BLOOD LEAVING YOUR HEART IS BLUE. FAGT8 IT'S ACTUALLY DARKER RED. The myth that deoxygenated blood is blue comes from the fact that through

21

Alaska

CRACKED.COM MYTH: State with the most serial killers? Must be Florida, or California. REALITY: It's Alaska. Proportional to its population, Alaska wins this one with around 15.65 serial killings per one million inhabitants. It's followed by Nevada, then Florida. Criminologists speculate that it might be due to the cover of darkness during those long Alaskan winter nights. The isolation of the state's remote locations might also play a part. — Source

20

Urine Is Sterile

Urine is sterile. It's a myth that pee is totally clean. In reality, even healthy people have some bacteria in their urine. CRACKED — Source

19

Mental Illness

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Mental illness and gun violence go hand in hand. REALITY: Incorrect. It's estimated that only 4% of all violent gun crimes involve mental illness. Yet the majority of Americans believe otherwise. Alcohol abuse and stress from getting a divorce or losing a job are way more likely to induce gun violence. Mental illness, however, is a great risk factor for gun suicides, and makes up the majority of gun-related deaths in the US. — Source

18

Serial Killer Geniuses

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Serial killers are geniuses. REALITY It's mostly just the ones they make shows about. The latest studies put the average intelligence of serial killers barely above what's considered below average. One study puts it more clearly, saying that there is almost zero correlation between intelligence and psychopathy. — Source

17

Benito Mussolini

CRACKED BENITO MUSSOLINI Mussolini was known for making the trains run on time, but this was more of a myth than reality. People who lived in Italy during his rule said that the railway system had already been improved before he and the fascists came to power. — Snopes

16

Remaining Silent After Being Arrested

CRACKED.COM MYTH: If you get arrested, you can just remain silent and the cops must stop questioning you. REALITY: You have the right to remain silent, but you need to state it out loud. Rulings by the Supreme Court have stated that you must vocally assert this right. You can also state that you will remain silent until you have a lawyer present. — Source: 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

15

Bonnie and Clyde

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Bonnie and Clyde: The Legendary Bank Robbers. REALITY: They mostly robbed small grocery stores and gas stations. In the four years the Barrow gang targeted banks, they hit less than 15, didn't get away with much money, and a lot of times Bonnie stayed home and wasn't even involved. It was also easier to rob places with lower risk and quicker getaways. — Source: 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

14

Serial Killers

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Most serial killers had an abusive childhood. REALITY: A whopping 70% of serial killers reported no child abuse. These numbers might include individuals who don't want to admit experiencing a traumatic childhood, but that's still a pretty high number debunking the popular belief. Many of them did however report bed wetting, abusing animals, and setting things on fire. — 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

13

The Dumb Blonde Stereotype

THE STEREOTYPE ... BLONDES ARE DUMB. BUT In REALITY ... THAT'S A MYTH ... INVENTED BY SUFFRAGETTES. A specific troupe of blonde burlesque performers m — For details, read 6 Terrible Stereotypes (That Came From Positive Things)

12

A Goldfish’s Memory

MYTH: GOLDFISH ONLY HAVE 3 SECOND MEMORIES. CRACKED.COM All over the world, cultures have a prevailing myth that goldfish have memories that last only in seconds, whether it's 3, 10, or 30. The reality is that the rather intelligent fish have memories that go back months, even years. Sorry if this makes you feel bad about putting them in a bowl. — Source: Telegraph

11

Madagascar

Myth: Madagascar is all jungle and primitive tribes. Reality: It has a thriving economy with its own airlines, 5 star hotels, - MAGAGASCAR and shopping malls. The capital city of Antananarivo has a population of 1.4 million. ... GRACKED GON — 15 Countries We Picture Wrong Side By Side With Reality

10

Friday the 13th

Movie Trivia Everyone Gets Wrong - Myth Quentin Tarantino almost directed a Friday the 13th movie. Reality He had no intention of ever doing such a th — Source: Digital Spy

9

Being John Malkovich

Movie Trivia Everyone Gets Wrong - Myth The beer can that hits John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich was unscripted. Reality It was scripted, and a w — Source

8

Deliverance

Movie Trivia Everyone Gets Wrong - Myth The Dueling Banjos scene in Deliverance was unscripted. Reality It was totally in the script. A rumor spread t — Sources: Snopes,

The Polish Charging German Tanks

Myth Reality The Polish were trying to The Polish tried to charge disperse German infantries at German tanks during between those German tanks. the ba

Alexandria Library

CRACKED COM MYTH The contents of the Alexandria Library were destroyed when invaders sacked and burned the city REALITY BUDGE Although fires and riots

The Legend of Zelda

LIE You can NOT beat The Legend of Zelda without the sword. IT' DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! THIS. If you don't grab the sword at the very beginning, you ca

Chris Martin

Movie Trivia Everyone Gets Wrong - Myth Chris Martin played a zombie in Shaun of the Dead. Reality No he didn’t, and Simon Pegg was quite happy to deb

3

Siberia

MYTH Siberia is a frozen wasteland. REALITY Parts of Siberia have beautiful summers. Novosibirsk reached 87.80F (31C) last June. CRACKED COM

2

Human Trafficking

CRACKEDCO MYTH: Human traffickers are almost always men. REALITY: Female traffickers make up a large part of all human traffickers. 37% of traffickers

1

Somali Pirates

Myth: Somalia has the highest rate of piracy in the world. Reality: The piracy rate in Somalia has dropped significantly since 2013. Now most pirate a

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