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31 Common Myths That Are Total B.S.

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31 Common Myths That Are Total B.S.

September 06, 2023

We’ve all been told a million times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What you might not know is that there isn’t really any science backing that up. More on that and 30 other common myths and misconceptions about the world below…

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The name Plato is synonomous with reason. But it actually means broad. Plato is the most famous student of Socrates, and his name has come to stand for ancient Greek philosophy. But his real name was Aristocles. As it turns out, the nickname Plato (meaning broad) was bestowed by his wrestling coach, Ariston of Argos. There are several theories as to why. Some suggest that it's a reference to his wide forehead, or the breadth of his eloquence. But the most logical assumption is that it's an allusion to his, ah, robust physique. CRACKED.COM George McLean & Patrick Aspell, 1997 — 21 Historical Figures Everybody Gets Wrong

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Julius Caesar

I'm the heir to my great Gaius Julius, as you and powerful uncle, .I will are now the Emperor use his name on my title! you shall be called Julius Caesar MYTH REALITY Augustus, the First Roman Gaius Julius Caesar Emperor Myth: The name Caesar is Latin for Emperor. Reality: The first five emperors of Rome (Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero) were all related to or heirs of the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar by birth or adoption, and as was customary they took his name for their own. By the time Nero died, a Caesar had been on the — 26 Side By Side Comparisons That Fix Your Image Of History

29

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. — 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

28

Think women mostly fantasize about Ryan Gosling making love to them in the rain? Think again. A poll conducted for research published in The Journal Of Sexual Medicine revealed that common fantasies included: Sex in a strange place- 82% Performing oral sex- 72% Being masturbated-71% Being dominated-65% Being tied up- 52% Group sex-5 57% GRACKED.COM — 27 Sex Myths Too Many People Still Believe

27

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 attacks take place near Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. CRACKED COM — 15 Countries We Picture Wrong Side By Side With Reality

26

MYTH: Did you hear about the woman who sued a haunted house for being too scary? FACT: She was chased by a guy with a chainsaw after her tour was over. Cleanthi Peters, 57, and her granddaughter, 10, had finished their tour of the Universal Studios haunted house. Not only did some costumed jackass chase her, he stood over her revving his chainsaw after she'd fallen and hurt herself. The lawsuit was actually over the wet floor she slipped on. CRACKED.COM htto ://articles orlandosentinel. com/2000-01-05/news/ 0001050039_1_halloween-horror-nights-maniac-anguish — 23 Widely-Circulated 'Facts' About The Law That Are Myths

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MYTH: BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BE MEAL OF THE DAY. 2 PAC CRACKED COM To date, there are no conclusive studies that link morning eating with better health. Moralizing the act of consuming corn flakes in the morning is all thanks to anti-masturbation czar John Harvey Kellogg, who sold his upstanding cereal under the guise of being a more productive member of civilized society. — The Guardian

24

CRACKED.COM Despite what they show in movies and on TV, if someone flatlines (aka, astystole, or no heart beat), using the defibrillator paddles (CLEAR!) will do nothing. You need to perform CPR. Instead, you would use the paddles when someone is in ventricular fibrillation, or Vfib (rapid heart contractions due to abnormal electrical activity in the heart). http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/d/ De-fib the V-fib. defibrillation.htm — 15 Science Myths Out There (Thanks To Pop Culture)

23

Incest

MYTH: INCEST LEADS TO messeD-UP BABIES. FACT: IT BAReLY Does. Having a cousin as your sexual partner does increase the risk of birth defects by 2 to 3 percent, but that's it. In fact, one Rutgers professor estimates 80 percent of every single married couple in human history were second cousins or more closely related. CRACKED.COM — Sex Myths You've Probably Believed Your Entire Life

22

Celery

MYTH: DIETING? YOU SHOULD eAT CALORIE- BURNING FOODS. 80 Pd 100 FACT: THERE'S no SUCH THING. So-called negative calorie foods tend to be some sort of fruit or vegetable that supposedly contains fewer calories than it takes to digest it. But the calories your body burns in fueling the digestive cycle are minuscule compared with the calories in the food itself. Even chewing, and even celery. CRACKED.COM content ime.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804 1896439_1896359_1896346,00.html — 24 Food And Cooking Myths

21

You Use 10% Of Your Brain CRACKED.COM This fact, a favorite of blacklight poster owners everywhere, isn't true. Though the neurons that actually do the thinking make up only 10% of your brain, the other 90% of white matter is very much active... and required. If you don't believe us, try removing it!* *please don't. — Reader's Digest

20

Ice Cream

Ice cream doesn't cool you down, it warms you up! That's because the body heats up while it digests the ingredients in ice cream. GRACKED.COM — 21 Debunked Food Myths

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A SILENCER DOESN'T WORK LIKE IN THE MOVIES A silencer muffles the sound of gunshot, only comparitively. It's much louder than the noise that is used for movies. CRACKED.COM — NPR

18

Don't just leave your vegetables on the table after boiling them. Shock them with cold water instead. This stops the cooking process, letting them retain their color and crunchiness. CRACKED.COM — 26 Food And Cooking Common Misconceptions

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MYTH Monkeys eat bananas, obviously. TRUTH Monkeys don't eat bananas like the ones in the grocery in the wild. If you feed a monkey a banana, it's nutritionally like giving them chocolate cake. CRACKED.COM — Business Insider

16

CRACKED.COM A Cure to SWANSON - - Shark Cancer! Cartilage Dietary Supplement 250 capsules 250 IN ©HealthMoathly.co.uk FOR MEED 10 KNOW ABOUT THIS REBARKABLE The myth that shark SHARKS cartilage can not only STILL be a healthy benefit but a cure for cancer DON'T GET came from the mis- CANCER conception that sharks THE CONTINUING STORY OF SHARK CARTILAGE THERAPY DR. I. WILLIAM LANE don't get cancer. LINDA COMAC However in the past few years it has been proven that sharks do get cancer and their cartilage does little to nothing in the ways of treating cancer. — 40 Myths (That've Been Around Forever) We All Believe

15

Abraham Lincoln was soft-spoken and dignified. And he was also a ridiculous badass. Lincoln was known to haul crates of stones weighing over 1,000 pounds around his hometown. As a militia captain he constantly engaged in impromptu wrestling matches with the other soldiers. His only defeat on record is to a guy who grabbed him by the crotch. There are also two recorded instances of Lincoln picking somebody up by the neck and tossing him aside like a doll - one of which happened while he was on the campaign trail. CRACKED.COM David Herbert Donald, 1996 Lincoln. — 21 Historical Figures Everybody Gets Wrong

14

GRAGKED.COM THE WAY WE PICTURE IT: Richard III was an evil hunchback who walked with a limp. HOWEVER: Shakespeare's portrait was exaggerated. The king had a curved spine, which could have been hidden by a skilled tailor and there is no evidence of a limp. P.S. his role in the princes in the tower affair has yet to be proven. — 26 Side By Side Comparisons That Fix Your Image Of History

13

Fingerprints

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Found fingerprints at the crime scene? Bingo! REALITY: There are no true consensus as to how and if fingerprint forensics really work. The precision and methodologies of fingerprint forensics have been questioned and opposed by a lot of experts (even entire countries). The claim that no two fingerprints are identical has still not been proven, but the error rate has. Point is that it's not an exact science, and shouldn't be believed to be. — 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

12

Self-loathing? Daddy issues? Sex addiction? Actually, a 2013 study suggests that BDSM practitioners are even more mentally healthy than the average person CRACKED.COM — 27 Sex Myths Too Many People Still Believe

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

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MYTH: If you want to be rolling in dough, you should pull off a bank job. FACT: Bank robberies have very low payouts. In 2010, bank robberies netted an average of $7,500, and there's a roughly 25 percent chance your ass will get caught. Unlike in the movies, the cash is locked up and requires a complicated authentication process to retrieve it. Since you're under the gun, as it were, you get what's in the teller's drawer, which is a few thousand bucks, tops. CRACKED.COM http://theweek.com/articles/474644/poor-rewards-robbing-banks-by-numbers — 23 Widely-Circulated 'Facts' About The Law That Are Myths

9

MYTH: COLUMBUS DISCOVERED NORTH AMERICA CRACKED.COM Of course you can't discover a continent that has already been inhabited by people for thousands of years. Even if you adjust the claim to only include European travelers, that honor still goes to Norse explorer Leif Erikson, who landed in Newfoundland in 1000 A.D. — NPR

8

Need to go into space without a full space suit? No problem, simply hold your breath for the short time it'll take to pressurize the airlock. Just like Dave here in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Actually, DON'T do that. See, while it's totally possible to survive brief exposure to a vacuum; holding your breath leaves nowhere for the air in your lungs to go when the pressure drops. (A vacuum is simply a lack of pressure.) Except straight through the lungs themselves, of course. Popped lungs aren't much in the breathing department, so even when the airlock fills with precious — 15 Science Myths Out There (Thanks To Pop Culture)

7

Virginity

MYTH: LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY WILL HURT. FACT: IT PROBABLY won'T. The hymen isn't a barrier that gets painfully ripped open, and it has generally dissolved before a woman's first time having sex. If sex is uncomfortable, it's probably just a physiological response to anxiety, making this myth only a self-fulfilling prophecy. CRACKED.COM — Sex Myths You've Probably Believed Your Entire Life

6

Bread

MYTH: BREAD GeTS STALE BECAUSE IT DRIES OUT. FACT: STALeness comes FROM TOO MUCH MOISTURE. When bread gets too much moisture, the starches in the bread start to crystallize, making the bread tough and stale. And refrigerating bread won't keep it fresher. Low temperatures actually speed up the crystallization process. CRACKED.COM https://kitchen-myths. com/2011/11/19/myth-bread-becomes-stale-by-drying-out/ — 24 Food And Cooking Myths

5

Blood Is Blue CRACKED.COM Veins are blue, but when your blood reaches the air, through a cut or getting hit by a train, it turns red, right? Not true. Blood is red whether it's inside or outside your body. Tissue just affects how the light is reflected. — Reader's Digest

4

Brown sugar is not healthier than regular white sugar. vs The only difference between the two is the taste. Although the difference in taste is caused by brown sugar's containing more minerals, the amount is too small to have any sort of effect. CRACKED.COM — 21 Debunked Food Myths

3

DON'T SUCK VENOM OUT OF A BITE Sucking out poison can contaminate the wound and damage nerves or blood vessels. You may also harm yourself. CRACKED.COM — New York Times

2

Don't wash chicken before cooking it! Water splashing from the chicken will spread bacteria all over the place. Just cook it as it is. GRACKED.COM — 26 Food And Cooking Common Misconceptions

1

T. Rexes

MYTH T-Rexes had terrible vision. URASSIC PARKO TRUTH T-Rexes could see as well as a hawk or an eagle. CRACKED.COM — Mental Floss

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