After all, myths are often ore colorful than facts. They appeal to intuition, and they usually have a seductive cause and effect set up.
Often, they center around health--how to preserve good health or, in some cases, how to avoid catastrophe. And remedies like that often come from parents, grandparents, or kids at school, all of whom are so influential for some kid wrapping his head around the world throughout childhood.
And let's face it, the urging, wise words of grandma are far more compelling than a newspaper article about a debunking study that just came out.
But now, as adults, we're ready for the truth. And Reddit brought it in spades with a recent thread.
Mutating_Mammal asked, "What are some common 'facts' that people believe to be true even if the existing evidence states the contrary?
Reality is Less Charming
"Camels don't use their humps to store water. They use them to store fat reserves., Because storing fat reserves around the body like humans would keep them too warm, so they have it all in one spot."
-- Cielbird
Portions Gone Awry
"Myth: 'The pool is definitely clean, it has such a strong chlorine smell!' "
"Fact: A strong chlorine-like smell, like the kind you associate with public pools, is actually an indication that the water is not chemically balanced. It might even be a sign that the pool needs more chlorine."
-- theTinderess
Relevant!
"If the police arrest you and do not read your rights, the case will automatically be thrown out."
"That only invalidates any interrogation they conduct."
In Case You Were Feeling Old
"That 30 used to be considered 'ancient' back when the average life span was 25 or whatever. The average is offset by a huge number of child deaths. 30 was never ancient."
"Even hunter gatherer societies had people routinely living into their 60s."
-- ben_abuyah
A Much Quieter Killer Than We Thought
"A person drowning is not likely to be flailing wildly and yelling like in the movies. Drowning can often happen with mostly silence, especially with kids."
"Read up on the signs, it might save a life. I was drowning and lost consciousness when I was 5, I was told I barely made a sound. I went under, sucked in lungs full of water when I tried to cry out in surprise and blacked out. If it wasn't for my dad's instincts and quick action I'd be dead."
-- Guitar3544
Crunches are not Lasers
"A lot of people think they can burn belly fat by doing crunches or slim their arms down by doing push-ups, but targeted fat loss isn't possible & there's no evidence to suggest it is." -- TokoyamiTreadwell
"True. One analogy for this I heard involves a pool of water and a bucket. If you take water out of the pool with the bucket (burning calories to burn fat), even if you scoop in one place it will remove water evenly across the pool. Some people's genetics store fat more in certain parts of the body and you can't spot reduce body fat." -- xiGoose
A Well-Intentioned Myth
"That if you touch a baby animal, like a bird or rabbit, it's mother will neglect it and it will die. That is a myth. It was just a way for parents to get their kids to leave baby animals alone." -- Marius314
"Can confirm. Grew up in the 80's and my parents drilled this into me." -- NicolasSequeiraSucks
A Relieving Truth
"Cracking your knuckles too often will give you arthritis. Nope, no conclusive study has ever backed this up. It just releases the gas from the synovial fluid in your joints, which is neither good nor bad."
Rules are Rules, Haters
"You can tap a block to see if it is loose in Jenga which is stated quite explicitly in the rules and f*** you everyone who said i couldn't." -- benj_1029
"It's not out until it's free of the system or it falls. I remember you can even try to put it back before it's out to try a different one! Maybe that's house rules, though." -- rotaryrose00
A Sore Subject
"Cutting your facial hair makes it grow in thicker. I had a full on argument with an individual who firmly believed that genetics played no possible role in hair growth whatsoever. I have never been more perplexed or angry in my entire life."
"Sincerely,"
"bald at 25"
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
Friendships crash and burn for the same reason they thrive: the relationship is based on the ability to completely let your guard down.
That transparency is a coin with two very different sides.
One is wonderful for its openness and desire to collaborate. Struggles are shared, advice is trusted, and the ability to be one's true self is cherished.
The other side is the kind of trust with a shadow. Simply put, the relationship is taken for granted. Little work is offered because things became too comfortable somewhere along the line.
In those conditions, an ugly corner of character will rear its head one day. And then it's all over with
Yeetus_the_freakus asked, "What was your 'We're done' moment with a friend?"
A Self-Serving Ethos
"She got mad when I was faithful to my girlfriend and turned her down, so she tried to torpedo my relationship." -- Liamiller
"When he was jealous of my relationship with a girl that he liked and tried to make himself look better by trying to make me look bad." -- Denster1
"Apparently when someone gets into a relationship it makes them THAT much more attractive to someone else or they just don't like seeing their 'Lessers' happy." -- Spiced-Apples
Not a Good Look
"He threw a house party. He then convinced everybody to play drinking games and get extremely drunk. He even convinced the dedicated drivers (one of whom was me) to also get drunk by saying everyone can crash at his place so no one needs to drive home and everyone can get drunk."
"He later threw a tantrum because everyone was drunk and he didn't want his house full of drunk people. He then threw everybody out in the middle of the night and just shut the door. He did this twice within one year."
-- _monicorpse
"But Should Old Acquaintances Be Forgot"
"When she complained that I was ruining her new years' eve after a drunk guy assaulted me and hit me with a bar stool and I wanted to go home." -- ElectronicFerret
"Ah yes, how dare you wish to seek medical attention for possible serious injury. So selfish of you. Like seriously, in what world does this dumb piece of sh*t think that's decent logic? She must have been absolutely tanked but that doesn't make it any less stupid and wrong." -- VTark
How Unaware in Your House?...
"Used my house as a middle point so he could come into town and f*** around on his wife (also a friend of mine). When it all blew up he was unaware I knew what was going on and he fed me a bunch of sh*t that wasn't true in attempts to convince me he was somehow the victim."
"So that was that."
-- Happy8Day
The Priorities Come Out
"My grandmother had just passed away, and I was really upset about it. She told me that people die, 'that's how life works,' then proceeded to complain to me for 15 minutes about how upset she was that her mom stole $20 from her to get some weed." -- VaticanCameos714
"Ah the default idgaf answer." -- BobMarleyTot
A Poor Pupper Catalyzed the Break
"When he decided an out-of-town party was more important than staying home with his dog that was dying." -- notasleannotasmean
"Dogs > People 100 times out of 100." -- w0ke_brrr_4444
Rough Place to Patch Things Up. Rougher Place to Screw Things Up.
"When I found out he f*cked my wife in the Pizza Hut bathroom. This was nearly 30 years ago and I never spoke to him since, until the other day I was at a convenience store and he walked in and tried to make conversation like we were long lost buddies."
"I never gray rocked anyone so hard."
A Tough Ask
"She was having an affair with a married coworker at my company and asked if I'd spy on him at work for her."
"I was not about to jeopardize my career to facilitate her banging someone else's husband."
-- coo_coo_mf
Never Looked Back
"He and and another friend complained about a $3 cover charge, insulted the band, insulted the waitress and brought her to tears."
"I stood up, threw enough cash on the table to cover the tab and the cover charge and walked out of the pub."
"Never spoke to them again. That was 16 years ago."
-- shavemejesus
Impatience for Cheap Shots
"When she made fun of my husband to his face. It was when he and I first started dating and she just straight up said: 'What the f*** is wrong with your nose?' "
"For the record there is nothing wrong with his nose, its just a curved nose like idk, Vincent Cassel's. It was pretty rich coming from her. Regardless I stopped talking to her at all after that, total b***h move."
-- YouJabroni44
One-Sided Effort
"We were friends for 8 years, neighbors for 3. After we both moved we wound up in different countries for a while, still talked weekly. Then I wound up five hours away from her, I would drive to see her at least every three-four months on my way to take my daughter to her dads even though she was an hour out of my way."
"Loaned her money to keep her water on (never saw the money again, also never asked for it cause if I didn't have it to lose I wouldn't have given it in the first place) paid for everything when we went out."
"She gets a new boyfriend and they drive to my city for a vacation. Tells me she's there. She's 2 miles away in a hotel. I invite her over she says no because boyfriend doesn't want to, I offer to meet her for lunch at the mall she says can't because she missed the shuttle and the 10 min 2 block walk to the mall is too far."
"I just finally said screw it told her she was a crappy friend and haven't spoken to her since. It sucks, I miss her but I have better friends that deserve my attention and time."
-- spiffydrew
Regrettable Investments
"It took about 18 months to two years, but I gave a bunch of money to a 'friend' to buy a beater car for my sibling ($700-$800). I didn't push; work and life gets in the way, but after about a month, I asked what was going on. Apparently there'd been two decent cars on the hook, but they fell through, and now I/we needed to wait. I was cool with that."
"The excuses kept coming, and, at around the 12 month mark, I was asked to do some house/puppy sitting for them. I checked the small tin that had been conspicuously on the TV unit for the past year (I wanted a pizza and was a day before pay), full of money for my sib's car. Yup; empty."
"Okay. Righto. I let it lay for a week or so, then told them that hooray, they didn't need to shill for my sib any longer, as their work was going to enter a lease agreement for a vehicle (absolute f***ing lie). So, if they could just drop the cash back off, that'd be the end of that."
"Cue the next six months of whinging and whining, until I decided it just wasn't worth it; and if they'd been willing to lie to my face for over a year, they're not a friend."
-- Nemisis1509
A Slew of Horrible Discoveries
"Damn. I'd say when I realized she was a total sociopath. At first I thought she just had a rough upbringing. But she lied about half the things she accused her parents of.
"Started hitting her boyfriend and blaming it on her multiple personality disorder (something she made up about a year after we became friends). Tried to kick my dog."
"Told me about how she put a hamster in the microwave to watch it blow up. Started to set fires in our neighborhood (never got out of control luckily). And started spreading rumors about me."
The Last Straw
"Anytime we'd hang out, she would do/say some stupid shit that would make me look at her sideways. Then, one day she said something to me so rude, under the guise of being funny and then I snapped on her. That was the last interaction between us years ago."
"Everyone kept pleading for me to reach out and mend things, but I didn't do anything wrong, so."
-- khaila_
Financially Motivated
"Tried for years to keep the friendship going with zero effort from her. Finally had some progress when she got pregnant but quickly realized she only wanted gifts from me."
"I didn't try at all after that, she sent me a happy birthday message along with an invitation to some MLM party she was having, blocked her."
-- unkind-raven
An Ethical Impasse
"She decided to kill her current horse instead of trying to sell him or give him away. She thought he was dangerous, when really she was just a wuss and he didn't want to jump. She had a new horse coming and needed the stall."
"Done. I can't be friends with a person who treats animals as disposable. Especially horses, a herd animal that trusts is enough to let us strap a saddle onto them and ride them around. Don't be a sh** human."
-- Holybull79
A Hasty Approach to Posting
"My friend posted on Facebook about us going to the pride parade together. I asked him to remove my name or take down the post because I wasn't out to many people yet and we have a lot of the same friends. He flat out refused. What a d***!"
-- vizzie1
Just a Bad House Guest
"I gave him a ride to brunch. He proceeded to get so drunk that he got all of us kicked out for making repeated lewd sexual comments at the waitress after being warned about it, then he threw up all over the side of my car and said he's pay for washing it, but couldn't come up with 10 bucks when we got to a car wash."
-- ElToberino
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
There is a common theme to these most hated inquiries: they all alienate the one being asked.
They're characteristically personal, asking why some core aspect of the person is there in the first place. These questions are leading ones. The implication behind them is nearly as loud as the question itself. It's as if they demand, "Why would you be the way you are?"
Then again, parties or work picnics can be chaotic places, bringing out the worst social faux pas in folks. Perhaps this list will go a long way and instruct people how not to lean on the worst questions when they find themselves at a loss for what to talk about.
After all, if these come out most when the conversation is dying, they do little to resurrect a flow of discussion. Instead, they kill the vibe completely.
gypsy888888 asked, "What's one question you hate being asked?"
Care to Make That More Specific?
"What's your favorite song?"
"Forgets every song iv'e ever listened to"
"Uhh i guess All Star??" -- FishyFishu
"It's like I've never listened to any song, watched any movie, or learned any color!" -- luluing
"Someone asked me something like this in a team meeting when I had just started a new job. What is my favorite band? I panicked and said Weird Al" -- MadGreenJellyBean
Stocked with a Deflating Answer
"'Do you and your twin share boyfriends?' No. She's married to a man and I'm a lesbian." -- babyimafiend
"That's how you know they watch too much porn." -- CaKeWeed
"Twin here. my bro and i have been asked if look and compare each others penis's. No. No we don't." -- nicolasmaclean
A Racist Red Flag
" 'Are you Chinese?' NOOOOOOOOOO." -- PepeHands217
"People that say ni hao to every Asian need to be smacked across the face." -- 1337speak
"This is relatable on a spiritual level and I f*cking hate it." -- Quickscope_noob
" 'What kind of Chinese are you?' " -- stinkycum
This One's From the Void
"Would you like to upgrade YouTube Premium?" -- ElGato-TheCat
"Or Weather Channel Premium...just f*cking let me see the temperature." -- RabidPlaty
" 'No, but please ask me every time I open the app.' " -- Qukeyo
He Can, But Now He Won't
"My dad was my principal in my middle school."
"Everyone would walk up to me and say,'Are you the principal's son?' And then they just sit there and say, 'Can you ask your dad to give me free 100's?' I hated it." -- Kboyd3366
"Bro, they thought I was getting high grades because my mother (principal) showed me all the exams, so no one ever talked to me." -- KyloRenWest
On. The. Spot.
"Why don't you drink?"
"Because mind your own business, that's why. Because my answer is depressing, a real conversation-killer. Because I don't feel like explaining to my boss why I'm a teetotaler when I decline to drink at out-of-office social functions."
-- Surax
Former Cashier's Commiserate
" '"Haha, it didn't scan, must be free, right?' " -- Dabistar
"As a former retail person this burns down to my core, like no Karen, there is a price, the machine either can't figure it out or doesn't know it." -- throwaway126400963
"I am just a man that wants to watch the world burn. I say things like this specifically to see my cashiers eye twitch/see them cringe. Something about it is so satisfying. It started after I became a dad. I am sorry that I am not sorry." -- BareBearFighter
Excellent, You Know the Definition
"I'm colorblind, so.... 'WhAt iS ThiS CoLOr?' " -- HannibalLectR
"I have a colorblind friend, and my favorite line to use is, 'HOW MANY COLORS AM I HOLDING UP?' It's earned me a slap to the face more than once." -- Karjo2000
"Ditto I rely on my 7 year old to decipher what colors what. It's why most of my wardrobe is white black and grey." -- NoLameBardsWn
A Few Very Good Reasons
"Why are you not talking?" -- iS3ed
"I am an introvert and i HATE this question. Especially when they ask that in front of a whole crowd." -- J1mmy09
"I answer, 'I speak when I have something to say, unlike you.' " -- HelpfulDescription4
"I'm listening to you." -- KiloMegaGegaTeraNoob
Believe it or not, a WHOLE LIFE Gave Some Certainty
"Are you sure [my slightly unusual last name] is pronounced like that? Yes, I'm sure." -- pistachiomeeting
"How the f*ck are people confidently able to argue about the pronunciation of the name of the person they're arguing with?" -- Vsauce666
"I mean yeah, I know it like my last name. Oh wait." -- Iced_Road
"Whats worse is my last name is completely phonetic. But people love to throw in silent e or long a that don't exist. Just read the letters dammit." -- ZoiSarah
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
Reddit user direwolf107 asked the folks at r/AskReddit about their profound encounters with strangers, and got some wonderful answers.
10.
I was about 16 and getting the bus home from school. It was always super crowded and and you'd be really lucky to get a spot on before the driver closed the doors and drove off. You could wait 4 or 5 buses before one came along that you could get on.
Anyway, me and my friends had been really lucky that day and managed to squeeze on to the first one, just about. The lady behind us started begging to be let on, saying she had a job interview. The bus driver said he was sorry, but the legally couldn't because of how many people were on. He kept asking us to move down but there wasn't any room and people were starting to get mad and telling him to just go. The woman started sobbing. It was about 2010 so we'd all been hit really hard with the economic crash, and jobs were hard to come by.
Like, it broke my heart. It was the first time I'd really seen an adult publicly in such distress. So my friend and I just got off and she got on. We didn't even look at her or exchange any words. The bus was free for teenagers, all we lost was 30 minutes that we would have normally waited anyway. But my parents were fairly comfortable, I'd never had to face how bad things were before. It feel like a big moment for me.
I still think about her from time to time. I hope she's okay, I hope she got that job. I can't imagine how it must have felt to be that desperate.
9.
I was on my way back from Disneyland Paris, sat in the airport and a guy beside me was typing away on his laptop. A little curious at what he was writing I peeked over and saw the title "the last letter I'll ever write". I was frozen for a few minutes, im 24 and I had absolutely no idea what to do. I thought maybe he was a writer and if I ask ill look stupid. Eventually though I turned round to him and said, "Look man, I really hope I'm making a fool of myself, but are you OK?".
Turns out he and his long term partner had broken up, and they were meant to be coming on this holiday, that he'd now come on with his dad. He blamed himself, and he'd been going to therapy for a while to get out of a a pretty dark place but some days were better than others, and writing the letters was an exercise from his therapist.
We chatted for a bit, about her, his dad, me, life in general. Turned out his brother lived nearby me and frequented a coffee shop right by where I used to live.
Eventually my plane got called, and we hugged and I told him I really hope things get better for him and that at the very least I'd had a lovely time talking to him. We left there and I still wonder what happened to him. I hope he's happy now, I hope that he's managed to find some good in the world again. But I guess I'll never know for sure.
8.
When I was a kid, I flew by myself for the first time. At the airport, when I was about to check in, I spotted an elderly lady looking at me. Deeply. At first I thought I accidentally hit her or something, so I asked if she needed anything. She nodded. Didn't give it much importance so I just checked in and headed to my plane. Later, already on the plane, I see the very same lady, looking for her seat. Of course I helped her and asked her what number her seat was. She handed me her ticket. "B37". I'll never forget it because I was the C37. She sat right next to me. I was scared. I was a kid, and I wasn't used to coincidences. Anyway, long flight.
When we arrived and were waiting for the plane to land for us to head out, she finally says "You know, you really look like my daughter, I even thought you were her! But she passed away 5 years ago, silly me. Here, this is her with my grandkids". She handed me her phone with a zoomed in picture. I was paralyzed when I saw her.
She looked EXACTLY like me. But she was 28 and I was 10. I couldn't even talk. Now that I am older, every time I look in the mirror for my birthday, I remember that lady and the picture. I am a living photo of her daughter. Every year that goes by, is a year that I look more like that woman in the picture.
When I turn 28, I hope this memory will finally scare me less.
7.
GiphyA stranger I interacted with at Wall-Mart about 4 years ago is still engraved in my brain.
I was with my mom shopping, and we found ourselves at the yogurt section. I love this stuff, so I was looking around at all the flavors pretty carefully. Well, after a little while a searching, a older man came up and started also searching through as well. He was maybe mid 40s or early 50s. I remember him being really tall, and he had a resemblance to my features. He had my build, same skin complexion, same hair color, you name it.
As we're searching through, he chuckles and says how he's gotta find the perfect flavor, and I agree with him. It's like our little mission to find the best kind - it was a lighthearted feeling just searching through the brands and flavors with him. He asks what my favorite flavor is, and turns out we had the same favorite. I thought that was pretty cool.
A little bit more looking through the section goes by, and he introduces himself as John.
My name is Jonathan.
He then found the ones he wanted, which were the same brand as the ones I was getting, and he put them into his cart, smiled at me, and rolled away.
I have not seen him since, but every time I remember the story I can't help but think that there's always a possibility I met my future self - even if it's just a silly idea.
6.
When I was fresh out of college I drove over two hours away for a job interview and got into a car accident like a block away from the building. My car was completely totaled. A woman who was stopped at the stop sign near my accident pulled over and got out to make sure I was okay. I was completely fine physically but have very bad anxiety and immediately had a panic attack. I was sobbing and couldn’t catch my breath and this complete stranger sat with me the entire time telling me to breathe and just being so caring and supportive. She waited with me for the police to come, she helped me talk them through what happened, she called my mom for me, she even called the office I was on my way to so she could let them know about the accident and that I would call them to reschedule my interview. As if that wasn’t enough, once she found out that I was that far away from home and it was going to take my mom two hours to get to me, she CANCELLED HER MEETING THAT SHE WAS ALREADY LATE TO SO SHE COULD DRIVE ME HALFWAY.
She did not think it was a big deal whatsoever. She just stepped up to the plate to help without question. I would have been completely alone and lost without her that day. She was an angel, honestly. I lost her business card between all the paperwork from the accident and I've been kicking myself over it for the last five years. All I want is to call her and tell her how thankful I am and that I've kept her in my thoughts ever since. Roxanne if you're out there, thank you so so much. And please for the love of god send me your last name so I can send you some flowers.
5.
GiphyI was having a rough day and I thought I'd get an ice cream to cheer myself up. I was standing in the line and this old lady looked at me and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine and just had a rough day. I got up to the front to get my ice cream and she tells the cashier, "I've got this young man, he's had a rough day". She smiles at me and says enjoy your ice cream. I still think of her whenever I have a rough day. I send her my good vibes.
4.
An old man I overheard telling his grandkids that if their dad got accepted to the job he was interviewing for in town, they would move there and then they could visit each other all the time. I never even saw the guy interviewing for the job but I really hope he got it
3.
A year after graduating from a tiny college on Idaho, I was at Disneyland with a high school buddy. I was totally convinced that I saw a college friend, Adam, in line at Pirates of the Caribbean. I kept waving at him, but he looked at me like I was out of my mind. My high school friend tried to talk me down, saying that "Adam" clearly had no idea who I was...it's not him...everyone has a twin...yada, yada, yada.
The line finally snakes around to where I am standing right next to "Adam" so I tap him on the shoulder and ask "hey, aren't you Adam M?" And he says "no, I'm his twin brother Aaron"
34 years later and I still tell that story at parties. I only met Aaron once, in 1986, in line at Pirates, but I do wish him...and Adam...a very happy birthday on Facebook.
2.
I met my husband's doppelganger once. The man looked EXACTLY like my husband. I was eith someone at the hospital waiting for their medical transport to pick us up and I saw who I thought was my husband across the street. My husband was supposed to be at work so I was confused. I called out to him but he didnt respond. My patient and I walked over to him but I stopped short a few feet away because I started to realize maybe it wasnt actually him. His clothes were different and this man was assisting someone in care giving type role -my husband absolutely would not do that.
The guy noticed me staring at him and so I explained why and even showed him a picture of my husband. He swore that was a picture of him and this was all some practical joke. I had to show him pictures of my husband and I together for him to realize the pictures were not of him. This man could have been his identical twin. I often think of that encounter and how insane it was. I also think of the astronomical chances that not only did my husband have a doppelganger but that we lived in the same city for a while and I happened to cross paths with him.
1.
Once I was walking to work past a homeless shelter pickup spot. It was a sunny day, middle of summer. A small lady was standing on the sidewalk wearing rain boots, a yellow raincoat, and wrapped completely in a blue vinyl tarp. As I walked by her, she leaned into me, looked me in the eye and said, "...fish monster...?"
I still think about her. Did she think I was a fish monster? Was she concerned that I had seen a fish monster? Perhaps she felt I was unprepared, and her questioning tone was more about if I'd heard about the potential of fish monsters.
Such a surreally complex interaction in just two words. One thing I know for certain is that whatever the fish monster status was, she was clearly the best prepared of everyone present.
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "🤐" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.