"What's a conspiracy theory you believe is 100% true?"
Anything Found On Reddit
"I would believe any conspiracy theory that explains why I see a version of this question in my feed 3 times per day."- Longjumping_Ad_6988
Hold On To Your Butts
"Several years back, Samuel L Jackson did an AMA."
"He announced it a few days before and said he would read, up to 300 words, any statement that was the highest voted."
"The initial comment that was in the lead was a series of words for a gps system."
"Left, right, turn, 1,2,3,4,5 etc and of course motherf*cker."
"Halfway through though, another comment took the lead and ended up winning."
"It was a rather bland announcement that he was retiring from acting and taking up a life of crime fighting."
'Till the end of time, I will believe that his team said there was no way he was going to read a script that would immediately be posted to create a product that he would not get paid for."
'I am sure Reddit admins put their thumb on the scale to get the other comment to win."- frodosbitch
Samuel L Jackson Wink GIF by LionsgateGiphyMystery DNA Collection...
"When I was in middle school some group came and had every kid in the grade fingerprinted and mouth swabbed as a 'If My Child Goes Missing' packet for the children and parents."
"We got a copy of our fingerprints with our name on a form."
"And the sticker from that form was put on the tubes the mouth swabs would go back into."
"They set up in our gymnasium and the whole school of about 500 kids did it."
"I believe that was just a super easy way to get biometrics on the population before cellphones became popular."
"This was early mid 2000s."
"I’ve always wondered exactly who got that dna."- Equivalent_Seat6470
"I’m still convinced all these DNA test kits will be used/sold as a means to do things like deny medical coverage, plant evidence at crime scenes, population surveillance on a biometric level, etc."
"Got one as a gift once, handed it right back."
"NOPE."- nomadiceater
"The Candy Man..."
"The Ms on M&Ms have always been Ws."
"Willy & Wonka."- NorthernGamer71
Willy Wonka Smile GIFGiphy"Cost Cutting" My A**...
"All the recent tech layoffs (except Metas) weren't about cutting costs but about making workers afraid again and trying to claw back some of the leverage workers had been gaining."- boones_farmer
Maps Be Damned
"Bielefeld, Germany, does not exist."- Mikeavelli
They're Not Fooling Anyone
"Area 51 is where the US develop and test Intelligence, Surveillance, Tracking and Reconnaissance equipment, and the UFOs people are are actually new forms of surveillance equipment."- dazedan_confused
Area 51 GIF by MOODMANGiphyWhy They Didn't Release The Snyder Cut...
"DC makes sh*tty movies to give people comic book fatigue to spite marvel."- Season8isGreat
All In The Eye of The Beholder...
"That Contemporary art is used to launder money."
"Look it up. It makes sense."
"Rich person buys an art piece for $1,000, turns around and values it at $1,000,000, then sells it to a private buyer for 1.5x it's value."
"The buyer pays with a form of legal tender (cash) that cash has now been cleaned and is in the rich persons pocket, then he goes and commissions more art and repeats the cycle."
"After 5 years he has cleaned more money than offshore accounts, shell corporations, and high cash flow businesses could in 50 years."- Weird-Replacement-61
Bored Modern Art GIF by unimpressionismGiphySeriously though, who actually uses change?
"The 'coin shortage' is just a way to have us all move to using our debt/credit cards and digital currency 100% of the time."
"When that finally happens, the government will have full access to viewing our funds and income and can freeze it whenever they want, which would give them full power over the economy."- Tomb5t0ne
Who Actually Bought Baseball?
"Michael Jordan’s first 'retirement' was because he was suspended for gambling."- trojan_man16
What Else Would "Central Intelligence" Mean...
"CIA drugging US citizens without their knowledge to learn how to manipulate people's minds."- Xtrepiphany
cia GIFGiphySome people will believe literally anything they're told.
But just about everyone believes at least one sensational fact with zero evidence to back it up.
"What's the dumbest myth people today believe?"
With A Few Deep Breaths, You Can Get Away With Anything
"'Lie detectors' as a literal thing."
"There's a reason they aren't admissible as evidence in court in most places."- bitew41489
test homer GIFGiphyHow Would That Even Work?...
"My dad had this guy helping him out, think Big Box store DIY curb ready helper, who told him 'If you sleep with your hair wet, you will bleed out of your mouth'."
"And he was 110% sure that was fact."
"We were both just confused and bewildered at this statement."
"What the hell had this guy witnessed?!"- bitew41489
Purely For Dramatic Effect
"There are dumber ones out there, but the one I, as an estate lawyer, deal with constantly is the idea that there needs to be a 'reading' of the will, where the family all gather and the lawyer reads it aloud to them for the first time."
"We don't do that, we just mail everyone their own copy if they want it."
"It's a really stubbornly persistent one because people continue to see scenes of it in movies and TV shows, where it's used for some big dramatic reveal."
"I've even had irate beneficiaries insist that the administration of the estate can't be 'official' until there's a reading."
"Way, way back, like 150 years ago or so, I believe we used to do something like that at times because you couldn't exactly presume literacy on the part of the beneficiaries, but now we feel it's a pretty safe bet that you can either read it or find someone who can."- PigHaggerty
Shouldn't They Also Have To Register Their Legs?
"Black belts have to register their fists as weapons."
"I can't believe I was dumb enough to fall for that."- gorox47927
...Still Best Not To Try It...
"If you drop a penny off a skyscraper, it will eventually fall fast enough to puncture someone’s skull."
"By that logic, raindrops would hurt or straight up kill you."
"Not to mention hail."- UnvwevweOsas
Tyler Labine Penny GIF by HULUGiphyA Balanced Diet Is All It Takes...
"Detox drinks."- Ok-Relief-723
Though We Should Believe This One...
"Tear here to open."- TheDarkSide2187
You Never Know What Your Good Luck Is...
"It is believed in Indian culture that keeping your unibrow means 'good luck'."
"I kept my unibrow for 20 years thinking it is my 'good luck' until I got stage 5th of kidney failure and I did my eyebrows after that because who gives a f*ck about luck anymore."
"Now my eyebrows look cute af."- Full_Sector_1606
miranda sings eyes GIFGiphyThe Reason Everyone Sleeps With Their Mouths Closed
"That you eat spiders in your sleep."
"Spiders will not knowingly walk into a preditor's mouth."
"They can sense both the heartbeat, heat and noise from humans."
"All things that would alert them not to go into our mouth."- messeboy
If Anything, It Might Actually Come Out Faster...
"I remember the myth that gum takes 7 YEARS to fully pass through your digestive system."- QuandiliusDinglebop
You Shouldn't Wait 48 Seconds!
"You have to wait 48 hours to report someone missing."- loxisi5751
No Two Bodies Are The Same
"When I had cancer a few years back and was doing chemotherapy I had people who constantly questioned that I actually 'had cancer' due to the fact that my hair didn't fall out until I was actually in remission."
"Had been off chemo for about 2-3 weeks when my hair started gradually thinning and falling out."
"It's a complete myth that every single person's hair will have the same reaction to chemo."
"Some people lose hair right away, some don't."
"Everybody is different."- DorothyGMilne
Once A Genius, Always a Genius
"That Einstein failed his grade school math class."
"It was the subject of a Ripley’s Believe It or Not column in 1935 and Einstein himself refuted the article."
"In primary school, he had been at the top of the class and by 15 he had mastered differential and integral calculus."- rolis20544
albert einstein GIFGiphyAlways Make Sure That Lid Is On Tightly
"Not sure if this fits here exactly, but the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit being a frivolous case filed by a money hungry customer."
"That poor lady was a real victim who suffered legitimate injuries who only wanted her medical costs covered."- deneto1043
Always Check With Your Doctor First...
"That magnetic jewelry / healing will cure just about anything."
"A dude named Mesmer the 1780 came up with the idea, and it has been debunked many times."
"Yet it’s still a billion dollar industry."
"Fun fact - the word 'mesmerized' is related to him."- rolis20544
Be it watching too much TV will make your eyes fall out or Windex can clear up any ailment, some people will truly believe anything.
And no amount of convincing will ever change their mind.
Redditor UnbentJohnson2 was curious to learn of the many things people have no doubt in their mind are true, with nothing to back them up, leading. them to ask:
"What do you KNOW is true without evidence? What are you certain of, right down to your bones, without proof?"
Think Twice Before Throwing Out School Projects...
"Back when I was 10 there was a competition for school kids to write a treatment for an episode of 'Doctor Who', with the best one being developed into a full episode in the next series and the winner receiving a writing credit."
"I was a huge fan of DW at the time and the competition was actually run through schools, so my teacher made the entire class do it, but I was very excited."
"I began writing a story about the Doctor landing on a planet full of defective cybermen, who's programming had gone awry and had been left on this asylum planet to rot."
"The Doctor lands there in response to a mysterious distress call from a woman and attempts to find and save her while avoiding the dangerous dysfunctional cybermen and the looming threat of planetary destruction at the hands of the normal cybermen."
"I finished my short treatment and gave it to my teacher to submit."
"Unfortunately it turned out the competition was very strict about the formatting of submissions and mine was returned because I had used the wrong formatting in some way, it seemed like a weird reason."
"I was a bit disappointed and that was the end of that."
"But then, a year or two later, there was an episode of DW called 'Asylum of the Daleks', which seemed incredibly similar to my story except with Daleks."
"So incredibly, eerily, similar in fact, that to this day I am absolutely convinced that Steven Moffat saw my script and came up with a formatting excuse so that he could remove me from the competition, steal my story, change the bad guys and claim it as his own."
"I have zero evidence, I don't even still have the treatment I wrote, or any letter from the BBC about my submission, and yet I know in my bones that Steven Moffat stole his script from 10 yr old me."- vanhet
Trendsetter
"Back when I was 18 I got my first tattoo, the Squaresoft logo on my upper arm."
"It was 2001 and I was also on my own in a new state."
"I was and still am a huge rpg fan and it’s the height of my geekdom."
"Well, I sent in a picture of me and my tattoo with a short letter about me and my favorite games to Official PlayStation Magazine."
"They published my letter and photo along with the caption 'We don’t know whether to be impressed or frightened'."
"The very next month they started a 'Tattoo of the Month' section and I am absolutely sure 100% that I either started that or was the story that proved the concept, the test."
"Unless someone can come from that team’s time and tell me I’m not, I’ll always believe I was the start of that."- ThatSquareChick
Happy Ice Cream GIF by DrumstickGiphyGotta Catch Em' All
"That my cousin stole my holographic 1st edition Charizard Pokemon card back in the early 2000's."- axxonn13
A Cute Face Can Help You Get Away With A Lot...
"My brother deleted my game save on purpose."
"He was old enough to read, he knew what he was doing."- Raichu7
Law Of Physics
"For every sock that goes missing a Tupperware lid appears."- countryroads8484
Animation 3D GIF by eyedesynGiphyAt Least He Kept Up Office Morale...
"That my last boss secretly hated me even though we had, on the surface, a very positive relationship."- mejok
...Unlike This Guy
"My ex-boss used Covid as an excuse to make me redundant because I was the only member of his team to be hired by someone else and not him."
'F*ck that guy forever."- box_frenzy
They'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse
"There’s a travel agency that’s been around in my town for as long as I can remember."
"I wholeheartedly believe it’s a front for the mob."-NeighborhoodNerd0·
godfather GIFGiphySome Would Say There's Plenty Of Evidence Here...
"We’re all too in over our heads."-doinkxx
Talent Is Heredetary... Most Of The Time...
"That a LOT more famous actors than we realize are secretly the children of other famous actors from the previous generation."
"I call it the Hollywood Bastard Theory."- DarthToothbrush
Coincidence? Or Karma...
"If I'm stuck in traffic and switch lanes because the other lane looks like it will move faster, the lane I just switched from will automatically go faster."- mlime18
driving changing lanes GIF by South Park GiphyThe Risks Of Putting Something In Writing
"Getting a name tattooed on your body is a curse both on you and the person whose name is on you for as long as you wear it."- h00paj00ped
Constant Self Doubt...
"My cat is in a constant superposition of having recently eaten and being starved to death. "
"At least, that’s how she acts."
"Also, any of my feelings about myself."
"Can’t contradict or disprove those no matter how hard you try."- ColourfulFunctor
Something To Be Said For Building Up Immunity...
"That being sick with a bacterial infection as an infant and almost dying is the reason why I am never sick despite being a super unhealthy person."- A__SPIDER
Tired I Feel Sick GIF by Muffin & NutsGiphyIt can be hard not to raise an eyebrow at people who believe in something with no evidence to back it up.
However, we can supposedly all agree that that's not quite as troublesome as people who continue to believe in something in spite of AMPLE evidence to the contrary.
Curious to hear what some of those might be, Redditor standardgenre45 asked:
"What is a survival myth that is completely wrong and could get you killed?"
These involve conserving your available resources while they last.
Hydrate
"Rationing water is generally a terrible choice - drink what you have until it’s gone. Use that time with good hydration levels to take stock of your situation and make good choices."
"Decision making and physical ability drop off very quickly when you are dehydrated. The first decisions you make after realizing you are in a survival situation are critical and pay long dividends."
"Most survival situations are resolved within 72 hours and many hikers are found dead in the desert with full water bottles."
– RangerActual
Not Peeing Enough Is Bad
"I used to work with a guy who spent much of his Air Force career teaching survival to aircrews and I remember him saying, 'Ration sweat, not water.' He said to conserve energy and avoid doing physically strenuous things like constructing a better shelter during the day, but keep drinking water. His other maxim was, 'If you're not peeing, you're not drinking enough.'"
– LuckyOldSon
Save Your Battery
"Changing the voicemail on your mobile phone to tell incoming callers about your plight. That bullsh*t just wastes battery"
"At the first sign of trouble, send a SMS with your best location details to everyone on your contact list, even if you have no signal and set it to max power save with WiFi, Mobile Data and Bluetooth off. Your phone will continually try to get the SMS out if even if you get a little signal for a few seconds and will use a lot less power doing it."
– cruiserman_80
You might keep these in mind when it comes to someone trying desperately to stay afloat.
Drowning Survivors Take Note
"Perhaps not really a myth, but something people may think is true after watching people get rescued from the water on TV. 'get them breathing and send them on their merry way.'"
"If you rescue someone from a near drowning, they still need to go to the hospital, even though they are safely on land now."
"The lungs are coated with a slippery mucous like substance called a surfactant. It's kind of a lubricant and it keeps them from collapsing and sticking to themselves. If they ingested a lot of water into the lungs, chances are they have washed away the surfactant. Their lungs could collapse at any moment and their ability to uptake oxygen is reduced. Get the survivor on oxygen."
"source: rescue trained scuba diver here."
– EatDiveFly
Interpreting The Signs
"Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention."
"What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help!"
– goddavid22
Come Equipped
"It usually looks like someone is trying to climb an invisible ladder with their hand barely above the water, and unless you're a world champ water polo player, do not approach without a floatation device. They are desperate and you will become their floatation device, which can result in both of you drowning."
– mahboime
Driven To The Depths
"If you go into a lake when in a car dont wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds."
"Edit - Source: must buddy did his master thesis on exactly this and I got to practice it several times in a pool."
– discostud1515
Never stick to the obvious when trying to provide aid in traumatic situations.
Look Out For Other Signs
"This is true of trauma/injuries too. People who are seriously hurt aren't usually the ones screaming and flapping around. They'll more likely be in shock or losing consciousness. If you are on scene at a large accident like a traffic collision or something and it's safe to help, look out for the quiet people"
– Sionain
The Quiet Victim
"Yep. Was involved as a passenger in a very nasty car wreck. The drivers were yelling and screaming. I was calm, matter of fact, and quiet. I remember the medic asking me what was on the airbag and I calmly said, 'That’s part of my tongue I bit off. Can you please help me out so I can walk this off?' Yeah, I had eight broken ribs, a 16 inch gash in my leg, a fractured trachea, and more. I was completely calm until about two hours into it at the ER."
– The_Curvy_Unicorn
Bears are cute...until they tackle you.
Don't Underestimate Them
"That bears can’t run down hills. They can. They’ll get you too."
– [deleted]
They're No Joke
"I was actually going to try and find this fact and what do you know, it’s at the top!"
"Bears are no joke, they run, climb and swim like a damn CrossFit junkie jacked up on meth."
"Another thing is they don’t gas out quickly, I’ve seen videos of bears running full speed than swimming across a river and running full speed again to catch prey."
"Insane…"
– djd1985
Speculation is rampant on the internet and it's important to do thorough research before applying supposed survival tips.
Better yet, hopefully you're not in any of the predicaments stated above that involve you resorting to questionable survival guides.