Redditor thoughtofeverything wanted to talk about history and all of its evils.
So they asked:
"What has been the most destructive lie in human history?"
The lies are vast and many. Let's count.
Get Up!
Good Morning GIFGiphy"That you can wake up in the morning and 'just rest your eyes.'"
ICTheAlchemist
"That's why I have 5 alarms. One morning my gf is just going to murder me."
Bubbling_Psycho
“Radium Girls”
“Radium paint isn’t poisonous.”
"Thousands of watch-dial workers in the US used to apply radium brushes on their tongues to paint numbers on watch dials, and almost all of these workers were women. As these workers were dying due to radiation poising, the companies brought in fake doctors and convinced the victims and their families that they have venereal diseases like Syphilis."
"As this was mostly affecting women, most were scared to share it with their families for fear of retaliation and abandonment. The suffering endured by these women was extremely awful, their jaws fell off, their bones fractured, their hair was lost, and most lost eyesight until their eventual painful death."
"These women were called 'Radium Girls.' Eventually many fought back settled lawsuits and brought the entire Radium production industry down, unfortunately, many innocent women lost their lives before this evil industry was brought down. Source: https://www.britannica.com/story/radium-girls-the-women-who-fought-for-their-lives-in-a-killer-workplace"
EntryFriendly
1920 to 1970
"Thomas Midgley and General Motors lying that exposure to tetra-ethyl lead is harmless."
"Tetra-ethyl lead was a gasoline additive present in all gasoline sold in the US until it was banned in the 70s. Almost every child growing up from 1920 to 1970 had lead poisoning to some degree."
"Entire generations grew up with their minds being poisoned, unable to reach their potentials because of him. Not to mention the secondary effects, lead exposure is associated with criminal behaviors."
Tuungsten
In 1843...
"A specific historical example: In 1843, a man called Hong Xiuquan claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus. This led to him starting the Taiping Rebellion, which caused the deaths of between 20 million and 70 million people. Then again, he probably believed it, so it might not count as a lie."
PuzzleMeDo
"Chinese history is freaking wild. The sh*t that happens always ends up getting 10 million+ people killed. It's how you get incredibly gruesome massacres like the Sichuan massacre."
Thathitmann
LIE!
Stressed Saved By The Bell GIF by PeacockTVGiphy"Sugar isn’t the problem, it’s fats! Let’s make everything 'fat-free' and just triple the sugar content!"
hamboneclay
"Yeah this one gets me pretty upset. Just a straight up lie."
passionateaboutEH
Sugar. Man's greatest enemy.
The Change
Election 2020 World GIF by INTO ACTIONGiphy"Climate change is YOUR fault. YOU need to change the way YOU do things. Not the corporate conglomerate that's pumping a billion tons a year."
itsflowzbrah
Philip Morris Lies
"The 1964 Surgeon General’s report concluded that smoking cigarettes causes death and disease. However, in a 1971 television interview, the president of Philip Morris denied the health risks that pregnant women and their babies face, saying that 'It’s true that babies born from women who smoke are smaller, but they are just as healthy as the babies born to women who do not smoke. Some women would prefer to have smaller babies.'"
HisGibness
Scandals
"Nestle — The Baby Killer Scandal. They deliberately lied to mothers in developing countries to sell their baby formula, telling them that their own milk was nutritionally insufficient and their babies would be unhealthy if they continued to breastfeed them. The result of this marketing campaign was approximately 66,000 infant mortalities."
"Source: https://www.nber.org/papers/w24452"
voicebread
Ten. Days.
"Oxycontin isn't addictive."
ChickNuggs
"I was in a car accident, was given a prescription for Oxycontin. Doc told me 'get off it as soon as you can manage your pain with over the counter drugs.' I was on it for ten days. Ten. Days. I experienced withdrawal symptoms when I quit."
Drakmanka
"I watched Dopesick. The Sackler family is pure evil and largely created the opioid crisis solely for profit."
Tuckernuts8
Do your duty...
Recycling Bottles GIF by 60 Second DocsGiphy"Plastic is easily recyclable so long as the public does their duty to sort it and bring it to its designated waste area."
cellocaster
History is littered with mess. Physical and metaphorical.
What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments.
I wish I had been taught more about finances. Money shapes everything.
Hold
Gym Pray GIF by CassiaGiphy"Swallow and hold when shaving the hair on your Adams Apple. Think I got to age 23 before I knew that."
"Edit: Thanks for the awards, glad I could be of help. I was shocked when I learned this a decade or so ago. Pass on what you have learned for future menkind."
garbagiodagr8
Time is of the Essence...
"Money comes and goes, but you'll never get your time back. My kids and their mothers were well taken care of for many years, meaning they didn't have to work. I made all the money and we weren't hurting for anything financially. Over time, though, I saw my relationships with my children start to fade, to the point where I didn't know then anymore."
"It was all cause I was never around. I was gone 12, 14, 16+ hr days as an executive chef, missing holidays concerts and birthdays and crap. My kids were getting older, and didn't even care to come around anymore. Could you really blame them though, it wasn't like dad was around to spend time with anyways. I realized something had to change, and it wasn't them, it was me."
"I quit my job outright and my girlfriend started working again to help out. Now I work less than half of what I was before, providing home care to the elderly, and spend most of my time getting to know and reconnect with my family again. Cause in the end, they are what's most important."
Worthy Efforts
"An honest try is worth some wait sometimes. Took me four years as a nurse to finally get it. Wanted to run so many times. Now I made it to the ER and found my passion in trauma nursing. It takes 4-7 years to get good at something, and much of that is painful. It's sad to see so many nurses quit so soon before they really have a chance to become good at it. And on the flip side though, some people in nursing school really are in the wrong place and should try something else."
Honorable_Son
Keep the Peace
"Understanding and controlling my anger took me way too long to figure out. I live a significantly more peaceful and contented life than I have at any other point in my existence because I got it taken care of. It took me over a decade and a half to recognize it and years to find a decent enough therapist to help guide me through it. But even after finding the right therapist, I still had to do the work."
"And it's an ongoing journey; you can't think of it like a destination. Gentlemen: don't wait and don't ignore it. Anger, especially unrestrained and misappropriated, doesn't make you tough or manly. It doesn't give you an air of darkness or mystery. It just makes you an a-hole or, at best, sullen and difficult to be around. Take it from me, you will feel so much happier and lighter if you shed that anger."
ArrdenGarden
Walk On
Homer Simpson Reaction GIF by reactionseditorGiphy"Never be afraid of abandoning something that isn't working for you and starting something new. Walking away isn't always weakness. Being stubborn to your own detriment is."
ninja-gecko
Always be ready to walk away. Yes you want to commit, but recognize toxic and run.
$$$ Matters
Pay Day Money GIF by MOST EXPENSIVESTGiphy"Finances. Don't know anything about money. I know how to hold onto it and spend it on bills. Past that I really need to learn."
NikolaiCru237
Manly Mending
"Sewing. (Mainly mending). It keeps you wearing cloths you like and will save you thousands of dollars. And a little bit more you can also do basic hemming. So kids clothing lasts many times longer (get larger size. Hem and pull in to fit. Slowly undo it as they grow) or use on your own to get tailor looking fits."
Accomplished_End_138
Outages
"There's a red rope that hangs down from the drive mechanism on your garage door opener. If there is a power outage, or problem with the sensors and the door won't open, pull down on the rope and it disengages the mechanism so you can manually open the garage door."
"Normally there is a latch on one side that you can close that then manually locks it until the situation is fixed and you can re-engage the mechanism to put it back into automatic mode. Always surprised how few people know this."
foursheetstothewind
You're wrong Edward!
"Correct your bro if they are wrong."
brattobat
"Unless they're grilling/cooking and you're a guest in their house. No backseat-cheffing. Eat the food, enjoy the food, and keep your mouth shut when you notice that they should be patting dry the sous vide steaks before searing so they actually get a good crust on the meat instead of serving what is essentially boiled grey steak, Edward."
Drach88
Together
South Asian Yes GIF by IdentityGiphy"How to be alone. And once that's been mastered, how to be together."
KombuchaKetamine
Every lesson starts in one place... the mirror. Lesson number one.
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