Redditor SzyMeX335 wanted to hear about the shockingly stupid things people take as truth.
"What is the dumbest thing people actually thought is real?"
I have lost the thread when it comes to humans. We're dumb. The end.
That's Matt
Ridley Scott Nyff 2015 GIF by Film at Lincoln CenterGiphy"When we went to see the Martian in theaters, at the end some woman behind us told her friend, “I can’t believe I missed this. When did this happen?'"
amccutchan14
5G
"I was told a great story by a friend who attended a town meeting addressing the locals 5G mast concerns. In attendance was a representative from the network company."
"A selection of people were permitted to take the mic and rant for hours about how they'd all been getting headaches, feeling more low than usual, flowers had been wilting, their dog wasn't himself, all manner of things blamed on 5G."
"Several hours later after everyone had their say and the crowd of hundreds had been whipped into a fever the company representative had his turn to speak and simply said 'thank you everyone for your comments but we haven't turned it on yet.'"
IndividualDot9604
Bombing the Air
"'The rain follows the plow.' In the 1800s American West this was everywhere. The idea was that agriculture would bring rain and make farming super easy. Supposedly, when grasslands were turned into cultivated fields, the soil would release moisture into the air. Then human activity like factories or trains would make vibrations that formed rain clouds. Eventually the idea expanded to straight-up bombing the air with dynamite on kites."
Puzzleworth
Reductions
"A lot of people fall for the scams around a company selling you a device you plug into an outlet in your home and it 'reduces your electricity bill.' You'd honestly be surprised how many people have paid money for these and even swear by them even though it's 100% snake oil and incredibly dumb to think it would do anything."
360_face_palm
Fry 'Em
iphone GIFGiphy"That fake ad for apple phones getting the capability to charge via microwaving. Buncha people put their iPhones in their microwaves and fried 'em."
theskepticalpizza
Microwaving IPhones? At those prices?! Oh Lord.
Calm Down
mess reverse GIF by Jordan FisherGiphy"Ripping the tag off of the mattress. I accidentally ripped one while moving, the movers said i'd go to jail, so I hid in my room. I was about 5."
Sheriff___Bart
The Yank
"Those wrist bands that 'give you energy.'"
Valuable-Raccoon-734I
"I wanted to see what the scam was once in a mall where they were selling these. They first yank on your arm throwing you off balance easily."
"Then they put on the bracelet and yank on your arm again and you are magically steady as a rock. The impression is strong until you realize all that happened was that you were not caught off guard and were able to anticipate the force that was about to be applied and unconsciously braced for the yank."
Independent-Bike8810
Research Says...
"Posts that start with 'Science says/Psychology says... etc.' without the actual research study links."
Fu*aseGeiCactus
"Even with a link, half misunderstand the article or make wildly exaggerated claims (no, curing something in mice doesn't mean it will be possible to do the same with humans, it's not even that likely the research will apply to humans, but we can't do that research to humans so we use mice)."
"That and research articles whose results cannot be replicated."
FirstSurvivor
Oh Mickey!
"That dumba** video people keep posting of a delivery woman dropping off a package, then reading a tear off pad of paper (that's coincidentally big enough for the security camera to read) that asks her to open the package she just delivered and dress up in the Mickey Mouse costume to surprise their son (who is going to be home any minute) for his birthday when he gets off the bus. Delivery drivers are peeing in Gatorade bottles. Like hell they're going to take the time to do all that."
manderifffic
Seriously?
Judge Judy Reaction GIF by Agent M Loves GifsGiphy"Beanie babies as an investment strategy."
Babyfart_McGeezacks
"That picture of a divorced couple splitting up their beanie baby collection in the courtroom cracks me up."
Rambo2090
Car Lights
"I thought it was illegal to keep the lights on in the car until I was like 14."
"My parents are liars lmao 🤣"
Practical_Past1626
"We were leaving my mum’s place and I had the lights on in the back for the kids, and my mum was like “isn’t that illegal?” My mum only taught me that because she believed that too. Multi-generational lie."
elsharpo
Kid Gloves
"Babies feel no pain and they believed that until the 1970's so they would experiment on babies up until then because they didnt feel pain. Scary."
Mastercoolgr
"A pediatric anesthesiologist once told me that anesthesia wasn't used on infants (pre 1980 or so) because there was a good chance of killing the kids with too many meds."
"Anesthesia as a field of study is really quite young. If you were doing surgery on an infant you could go without anesthesia and hope they don't remember or you could give it to them and risk killing them (or permanent brain injury)."
It was only a few decades prior that adults were in the same boat. Bite the stick and hope you pass out."
justhappen2banexpert
I don't have the words. Oh, I do... "I give up."
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comment below.
Curious to hear from non-religious people online, Redditor Graysie-Redux asked:
"Atheists of Reddit: What could change your mind?"
The proof is in the pudding.
Proper Comeuppance
"Every single paedophile/rapist in religious positions of power being simultaneously struck by lightning."
– serharridan
Evidence
"Any actual evidence. Also change my mind about which god(s)? Yahweh, Zeus, Osiris, Amaterasu?"
"I'm always amused by people not understanding what athiesm is. It's not a belief. Its a rejection of a claim and that's it. It's not what evidence would convince me otherwise, it's what evidence do you have. I observe said evidence and say that's not sufficient evidence because..."
– Rdr198829
Deeper Persuasion Required
"Nothing could suddenly change my mind into believing in the Christian (all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving) God. Proof of an entity with reality-changing powers would certainly change my world-view, but only to the point where I recognize that such a thing exists in the known universe. Ability does not imply divinity (or altruism)"
– Piercewise1
A Father's Experience After A Heart Attack
"My dad is an atheist, and had a major heart attack last year which came extremely close to killing him many times. He was in a coma for more than a month."
"During that time, several Christian family members wondered if he was having a religious experience, had seen/spoken to god or maybe his late daughter as an angel, and would awake as a religious man now."
"I said there was zero chance. Even if he did actually have these experiences and then come out of the coma and tell us about them, he would never say 'I talked to god while I was in a coma.' He would say 'The chemicals in my brain did an interesting thing while I was in a coma.'”
"As it happened, he did live and was able to tell us about his experience. None of it was remotely religious. It was mostly memories of thinking the hospital staff were torturing him."
"The closest thing he had during the coma was a dream where he saw my wife telling him that my dead sister and my wife’s dead sister were talking in heaven."
– PRGuyHere
These atheists believe in heavy sarcasm.
The Mythic Creature
"As a former atheist, what changed my mind was that, i learned the flying spaghetti monster existed."
– ThundaCrossSplitAtak
Egyptian Deity
"Christians, what would convince you to worship the Egyptian god Ra?"
– RedofPaw
"Whichever one, Christ or Ra, shows up in front of me first and bitch slaps me."
"Edit: if one of you offering to slap me are a God please teleport to my location to prove it you coward."
– RikenVorkovin
Money Talks
"I don't even need proof. I'll believe in him for €10m. I accept cash."
– ShadyShamaster
"Now that's a conversion method I could get into."
– yomommasofat3
The jury is still out for these Redditors.
Time To See Someone
"Don't know if there's anything. If some god appeared I'd still wonder if this was some hallucination and make an appointment with a psychologist."
– Destriant_of_Perish
Seeing Is Believing
"I think for me god would have to appear on a societal level in addition to seeing them myself. If my friends and relatives (who are also mostly atheist or agnostic) testified to also seeing god, as well as the general public and it became a known thing that god was real and making appearances I would probably believe it too."
– Feral_doves
Hearing It From The Source
"A god showing me they're real."
"Not a person telling me why their god is real. That's evidence of nothing."
"Gods shouldn't need middlemen."
– Vic_Hedges
There is not enough convincing that can persuade atheists to believe in an all-powerful, omniscient entity.
Many of them would attest to a higher power if they could be presented with tangible evidence of its existence.
Yet, I'm pretty sure most people who claim to have faith have not witnessed any appearances by God.
So this is an interesting conversation about what leads people to believe or completely dismiss the possibility that there might be something greater out there than any of us can ever imagine.
What do you think?
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They'll get my vote
"Candidates for President should be required to take the Civil and Foreign Service exams, and publish their scores."
I'm not looking for a passing grade, just an objective measure of competence."- cryptoengineer.
I think you meant "you're", not "your"...
"Even if it is just fan fiction, put effort into the grammar."- ImaGamerNoob.
"Spelling, grammar, and punctuation exist to make writing comprehensible."
"F*cking use them."
"It’s not that hard."- ActuallyCausal.
GiphyWhen you get to be a certain age.
"Senior citizens should absolutely have to retake their drivers exam every couple years as they get older."- mox44ah.
Up in the air.
"I hate flying budget airlines because the majority of my fellow passengers are so uncouth and don't possess common flying etiquette."- BudovicLagman.
"There should be a separate security line at the airport for people who are flying for the first time or aren't familiar with the rules."- PhiloPhocion.
flying den haag GIF by Rotterdam The Hague AirportGiphyAnd what makes you an expert?
"Expertise matters."
"People who have studied an issue all of their lives have better opinions on that issue that people who don't."
"Have individual experts been wrong in the past?"
"Can 'the wisdom of crowds' be surprisingly accurate?"
"Sure."
"'I know better because I know less', is a crock of sh*t.- copperdomebodhi.
That seems like an easy fix.
"As a professional tradesman, I can clearly see when a 'handyman' has been doing so-called upgrades."- skuterpikk.
I can't believe they let them in here!
"A lot of different places should have required etiquette courses before you can use/be a member."
"Some examples: public transportation, especially flights, gyms, concert venues, movie theaters." - Drunk_Lahey.
How dare you serve me something from a box!
"I'm pretty bougie about food."
"My in-laws invited us over for shrimp risotto one night and it was literally Uncle Ben's cheesy rice, those little canned shrimp, and thawed broccoli."
"Nothing inherently wrong with the dish but I was (silently) snobby about it being presented as 'shrimp risotto'."- loudlittle.
Dinner Cooking GIF by B’gan FoodsGiphyBeing a polyglot is so in right now
'To speak at least one or more foreign languages."- Exynika
"Everybody should be proficient in at least one other language than their native one."- Material_Ambition_95
You may call me "Doctor".
'People who have PhDs in non-stem subjects tend to have greater emotional intelligence."- aerosmithangel
school college GIF by Western Illinois UniversityGiphyWriting is a God-given gift
"Not everyone can learn to be a good writer.'
"I very firmly believe, as with any talent, you can learn of course but only to a limit."
"And we all have limits."
'Just because you want to be a great writer doesn’t mean you’re capable of it."
"A lot more goes into it than merely having the talent."
"It’s like what they say about acting, prepare for rejection."
"Lots of it and don’t take any of it personally."
"And you are permitted one night with a bottle of wine reading the reviews - good, bad - to dwell and then you move the f*ck on."
"But yeah, I think great writers are born."
"Good writers are taught but only ever to a certain point."
"I would’ve loved to have been a singer but I can’t sing."
"I could learn control and technique but I do not have a musical ear and I will never, no matter how much I want it, actually attain a level of talent I do not actually possess."
"I might improve but I will never really succeed."- C*mInMeBro88
This is what a therapist is for.
"Istg, the level of insecurities I see on the internet these days is walking a fine line of narcissism."
"Like no one cares, we all have bodies, no one’s wrong in them, everyone needs to chill out and stop making their delusion everyone else’s problem."- soma_nova
the office therapy GIFGiphyExpatriating? Then assimilate!
"If you're gonna live in a foreign country, even for a short while, you've gotta learn at least the basics of the language there."
"It's not only for your own benefits, it's a good way to show that you respect the culture and the country."
"It's true that almost everyone speaks English, but expecting native people to adapt to you instead of you adapting is just disrespectful."- mr_brown_rodent
Parenting should require a license
"People should have to attend childrearing classes with an exam and passing grade before having children."- thecrystalcrow
No matter how much you have... learn how to manage your money!
"My elitist opinion is, there is no other reason to be financially illiterate other than illiteracy."
"If you don’t understand how money works and/or how to budget, read a book about it."- crezyte
GiphyExpress line for questionable habits!
"There should be a separate line at convenience stores for cigarettes and lottery tickets."- annh53182
Some might say having standards is an admirable quality.
Though it's probably wise to hide your disgust when your in-laws serve you cheez whiz and not your favorite camembert.
For the longest time I thought Elton John was singing to Tony Danza. Not a "Tiny Dancer." I hear that's a common one.
Birth Control
birth GIFGiphy"My mother gave birth to everyone including my father and probably even random strangers around me."
lizzie_datcat
Outside of School
"That teachers slept over night at school."
Worldly-Luck-8513
"I saw my first grade teacher in Kroger one day and it scared the crap out of me. I didn't think she was allowed to leave the school."
twcplus3
"Not me, but my sister had some kids at Sunday school. When she mentioned something about her mom, the kids were so shocked. My sister cracked up and asked them 'did you think I stayed only in this room for all of my life?' Apparently the kids thought exactly that."
Wit-Hoid6674
Change
"Every day my dad would come home from work and put a handful of change on the dresser. I thought that's what he was paid that day."
vinigua
"Once when I was a kid I was at my dads office and his coworker handed him some change and I 100% thought the same."
steeemo
THE POWER!!
"I clearly had superpowers because when I ran I could hear the wind in my ears- I must have been approaching the speed of sound. I also remember being amazed at my powerful breath which could push a SOLID piece of paper across a desk."
badideas1
"I also had ear-wind superpowers. I also believed that I had other powers that I just hadn’t figured out how to use."
Embarrassed-Ad-1639
Around the World
Singing In The Rain Dancing GIFGiphy"I thought when it starts to rain every where in the world was raining at the same time, like no where was safe."
hauntedhouseparty
That rain one I forgot about. I thought that too. LOL.
Save them
loop vortex GIFGiphy"I must’ve been 6 and my parents always told me 'Think of the starving children.' I started intentionally throwing away food. I thought the trash can was some type of portal to the starving children."
Midnightdreamm
D & D
"Thought drinking and driving meant any drink."
Individual_Dog_8595
"I remember freaking out that we were all gonna go to jail because the sign said 'Don’t drink and drive and my dad had a coke."
187penguin
"Reminds me of the Phil of the Future episode where the cop pulls the parents over and ask if he’s been drinking and he say 'nothing but all day.'"
ChoppyWAL99
Here Comes Baby
"When I was quite little I thought having babies was mandatory by law and that boys also had babies. The idea of being forced to have a baby was the worst thing imaginable to me. I was ready to dodge the baby draft."
twoheadedghost
"Mine is sort of along the same line. Before I knew about sex, I thought women spontaneously became pregnant. I was legit terrified my (hypothetical future) wife would become pregnant without me doing anything to cause it before we were physically, mentally or financially prepared."
GuiltyReality9339
Seeing Red
"I thought you only had the blood you were born with and when you ran out that's when you died. I was very careful to avoid cuts."
GlassAsparagusSpears
"I was so worried that we only have a certain number of layers of skin, so I was also very concerned about cuts and scrapes. Could only graze my knee seven times before my bones started showing I guess!"
charizardFT26
Nuts
peanut butter eating GIF by SMOSHGiphy"I thought peanuts were made from peanut butter. Like I thought the factory had peanut shaped molds, like a cupcake mold, and they’d fill it with peanut butter and bake. Voila! Peanuts."
brittanydude
In the tummy
"When I was 7, my Mom was pregnant and I asked how did the baby get in her tummy. My parents answered that my Dad had the seed to make the baby and he gave that to my Mom. The only way I could understand my Dad giving my Mom something that was inside him was to visualize him vomiting on her. It was disgusting to imagine! Absolutely disgusting!"
loveandrubyshoes
Oh the innocence of it all. I miss it. Now there are things I wish I could forget.
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I waffle with religion. That's good old Catholic guilt for you. So the atheists intrigue me.
come on dude...
Joan Cusack Seriously GIFGiphy"My former classmate goes out of his way to defy anything laid down by religion. He said since Sundays were historically holidays for praying, he doesn't give them in his startup. Gives Mondays off instead. Like come on dude."
User deleted
Blessed
"Get mad at little stuff like 'bless you.' I say 'bless you' and it's just a common courtesy when someone sneezes. I've had a people say 'I'm an atheist.' Congratualtions, I am also."
mkicon
"Tons of religious people in the south and tbh when a nice religious person tells me 'have a blessed day' I always smile and say 'you as well' because they were being freaking nice to me and it’s a freaking nice thing to say back. That’s it. No other reason. Still atheist. Not compromising my beliefs (or lack there of). Just being freaking nice."
shampoo_mohawk_
Expressions
"I'm an atheist and sometimes I use 'Jesus Christ' or 'Jesus f**king Christ' as an expression for shock. I was never even Christian, nor was anyone around me growing up (born and raised in a Jewish community). It's just an expression that's intuitive and people get."
-temporary_username-
"Well to be fair, if you were Christian then using his name like that would actually be blasphemous."
MiniDemonic
Identity
"Identifying as an atheist is what gets people. No one enjoys people who feel they are morally and intellectually superior to others, religious or non-religious. Rudeness knows no bounds. Advertising your atheism is just as annoying as someone advertising their religion."
forman98
Sharp Dislike
Parks And Recreation Thumbs Down GIF by HULUGiphy"Getting mad at other atheists who defend the right for religious people to believe what they want. I’ve had this happen to me way too often and it makes me realize why so many people dislike atheists."
godofcyanide
Everyone is so touchy on these matters.
We get it...
"I don't get it."Giphy"Preach about how they are atheists... like a religion."
Rogurzz
"collective responsibility"
"I got banned from r/atheism because one of the mods was trying to say that all Muslims are morally responsible for the actions of terrorists who are Muslims. I said that the idea of 'collective responsibility' is one of the first steps towards fascism."
"He said that a Muslim waking up and deciding to not renounce their religion every morning was the same thing as a Nazi going out in public with a red Swastika armband. He banned me and deleted half of my comments so that it looked like he 'won' the argument."
Diet_Coke
Leave Others Alone
"Trying to get religious people to give up on their beliefs, it also annoys me when religious people try to get me to believe, just let people believe in what they want."
dreamingsmallish
"The most militant preaching I have ever encountered was from an atheist trying to get me to give up on my belief in some kind of nebulous higher power. Not even the God of the Bible or any other codified religious text just a higher power in general."
Educational-Candy-17
Know it All
"There's a lot of good answers that have already been mentioned by others, so I'll add something different: When they think they know how all religions work because they grew up christian. I see so many people making judgments about islam and judaism that are just completely wrong but they believe that since it applies to christianity it must apply to all religions."
sunsetgal24
Source of Evil
Saoirse Ronan Ash GIF by A24Giphy"Telling religious people what they believe (like quoting the Bible/Quran) so they can go on to tear it down, while the religious person is just like, 'I don't believe that.' Also, believing that religion is the only source of evil in the world, and that without religion we'd all be living in peace and harmony. As if humans can't be evil without religion."
Solesaver
"god bless"
"The way I always look at it is the intention behind it. Just because I don't believe in their God or a god I'm not going to ever chastise someone for praying for me or saying 'god bless' or whatever. If their intention is to wish me a good trip, a safe trip, or good health then whatever, thank you for the good wishes."
"I could care less if the god was the christian God, a Hindu God, or anything. I'll take the good intent and hope it f**king helps. Now if they wanna pray over me just because I do not believing in their god and they want to 'save my soul' then that turns into an entirely different thing."
ScreamSalvation
Harmful
"Being a d*ck to someone religious for no good reason. If the person doesn't bother you, don't be a d*ck to them."
Kaiser93
"I don't know what you classify as bothering. Christians that believes LGBTQIA+ people are sinful and deserve to go to hell are terrible and they should know they are terrible people. There is also so many harmful ideas in religions that deserve to be crap on."
zenntanio
Logic?
"Their thinking that being an atheist means that the rest of their thoughts are all correct. Nope. That's just laziness masking as sophistication. The rest of your thoughts on politics, economics, nutrition, relationships still need to have a rigorous logic applied to them or an admittance it's an irrational belief system. Which is fine either way."
Thin_Low_2578
unfunny clowns
clown GIF by Team CocoGiphy"Going apes*it everytime a religious person talks about/acts according to their belief in a totally harmless way. Not every atheist does this but those who do are unfunny clowns that should shut up."
SadChip779
Deeply Devoted
"Disregarding others’ choice to believe in a religion. I have many religious friends and though I never found any sense in religious belief some people do and are very devoted to it. In my books, as long as your religious belief doesn’t make you a fanatic or someone who oppresses minorities belonging to other religions you do you."
“'The way you see a rock is very different from how I see it.' To accept each other’s varying vision of the 'rock' (or life) can lead to a peaceful Co-existence."
frxgmnts
Shameful
"Complaining about harmless religious practices that don't impact other people. It's one thing if someone's using their religious beliefs as an excuse to control or shame others, but it's cringey when someone gets upset just because someone else likes to pray or spend a day at their house of worship."
upvoter222
why are they mad at me?
"Going out of their way to disrespect someone else's beliefs. Stuff like 'I got invited to dinner at my Muslims friends house, but since I'm atheist I brought pork, why are they mad at me?' or smaller stuff, correcting someone who says bless you after a sneeze. Same goes for the other way around too, I once had a religious boss who didn't give Christmas off to any employee who he found out was atheist because 'they can't celebrate it anyway.'"
zykthyr
It’s not my business...
"Disrespecting religious people. I don’t believe in God or whatever. I’ll argue if someone tries to tell me it’s a fact. But I also let people do whatever religious stuff they’re into, like daily/weekly worship, dietary restrictions, religious clothing, etc. without bothering them. It’s not my business."
Pandaburn
Superior
powers nun GIFGiphy"Imply they are intellectually superior to people with any kind of belief. Such a dips**t behavior."
dudurossetto
biblical literalists...
"Ex-Christians from families that were biblical literalists, because not all christians are like that, e.g. my parents believe in the Bible but also evolution, and my dad (they’re christian btw) says that most of the old testament is not entirely accurate as it was passed down orally for a freaking long time. So atheists who say that all Christian’s are the same/believe the same thing really annoy me (I’m an agnostic atheist)."
ennawinter17
When it comes to faith and religion... we really need to just leave one another alone. Let people just do what's best for them.
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