Myths Are Widely Held Beliefs That Really Aren't True — And Here Are 18 Of Them That Are Very Ingrained Into All Of Us
Earlier this week, Reddit user u/messinaldo107 asked this question to the AskReddit community: "What is clearly a myth but is deep-rooted in our society?"
Well, lots of people had responses about myths that they wish others would stop believing. Here are some of the top-voted and best comments:
1."Cheaters never win."
NBC
"I had a co-worker that always showed me short cuts and easier ways to do my job and his motto was 'cheaters always win,' LOL."
"Or that it 'catches up to them in the end' or some other feel-good nonsense."
2."That good people get rewarded and that bad people get punished."
"We have to believe it, otherwise we have to face the deeply horrifying reality that a large amount of good things and bad things happen just because they do. That we have bugger all influence. Our brains want it to be fair so we try super hard to believe this sort of thing."—Xtratea
3."Carrots give you better eye sight."
"The myth started because the British needed an excuse for why they kept shooting down German planes during World War II. They didn’t want the Germans to know that they had radar, so they said their troops all had great night vision from eating carrots."
4."Rabbits love carrots."
Warner Bros.
"They'll eat them, but they don't have any particular affinity for them. The belief is based entirely on Bugs Bunny constantly carrying one. The only reason he does that is it was a parody of Clark Gable in It Happened One Night.
Over time people forgot about the movie, but Bugs has always kept the carrot and everyone started assuming rabbits love carrots."
5."'Lightning never strikes in the same place twice.' (Yes, it does — and frequently.)"
Universal Pictures
"Yeah, it is the entire point of lightning rods."
6."Shaving your hair makes it grow back darker and thicker."
"I've had several people insist this is true because they experienced it. I think the detail many don't account for is that hair gets softer and finer on the ends over time. If you're consistently shaving an area, it never has time to get to that point. So no, your new leg hair isn't going feel the same as the years-old baby hair you shaved off."
7."Coca-Cola didn't create the red and white Santa Claus. The red and white Santa was drawn by Thomas Nast way before Coca-Cola started using it."
8."The only thing you need to do to be rich and successful is work hard."
Variety
"'Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps' was intended as an absurd and impossible act not a goal."—randomanon1109
9."If your Tootsie Roll Pop wrapper has the guy with the bow and arrow pointing at the star, you get a free one."
10."Work should be fun, and if you do something you love you won't really be working. No, it's not. Work sucks in general. Even your fantasy of an ideal dream job is going to have annoying paperwork, shitty people to deal with, and just generally suck."
20th Century Fox
"Here's a better philosophy: embrace the suck and know that without this job you'll be on the streets anyway. So when work actually is fun, you appreciate it more."
11."If you just work hard, your bosses will appreciate it and promote you and soon you will be wildly successful."
Disney+/Marvel
"In reality they either don’t notice or they think they couldn’t do as well without you in that job and try to keep you there."
12."Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
"This was a slogan made up by the originators of the Kellogg’s company more than 100 years ago, not really based on any science.More detailed scientific studies in the last 100 years have mostly disagreed on it, and it depends more on the person and their personal and eating habits. But it’s definitely false to simply say that breakfast is the most important meal."
13."Menstrual synchrony. I honestly kinda wish it were true, it's kind of cute, but study after study debunks it. Some people swear it happens, but if you're each having a period roughly one out of four weeks a month, it'll coincidentally line up once in a while. I felt bad sometimes when I was younger and didn't have mine the same week as my friends, so I want to spare other menstruating people the same."
14."That we only use 10% of the brain."
"That humans only use 10% of their brain. Sorry to tell you, we don't have some massive untapped potential in our brains that will turn us into super-humans, or some shit."
15."Overly cracking your knuckles cause arthritis."
NBC
"I went to the doctor because I was having joint pain. Doctor poked around a bit and told me not to crack my knuckles. Cracking knuckles does not seem to affect my joint pain that I still experience."
16."That women have an extra rib."
17."That lemmings commit mass suicide to control their own population. This is a lie told in a Disney documentary back in the '50s. Ironically, it won an Oscar, I think."
And lastly...
18."Ginger ale doesn't cure anything, it's fucking sugar."
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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