Ask people any of these questions: whether mice really love cheese, sugar makes kids hyperactive, or if Ancient Greek architecture was made of pure white marble, and there is a big chance they will nod their heads in agreement.

But many of these common beliefs that live years and years rooted in our conventional wisdom have little to do with facts. So today we looked at this illuminating Reddit thread where people named all the annoying myths many of us still cling to, and it may help us to recalibrate our truth and fiction radar if it’s out of sync.

#1

That having hobbies as an adult is only worth it if it brings in money. No, I love my meaningless and expensive hobbies, even if they don’t bring in any income.

Image credits: Sneezy_baby

#2

That antibiotics are needed for colds.

Image credits: Lululemonparty_

#3

That carnivorous pets can live healthily on a vegan diet.

Stop it. It’s animal abuse.

Image credits: BedBoundBean

Bored Panda reached out to Lauren McMenemy, a professional writer, journalist, and marketer with a desire to tell stories, shine a light on society and advocate for better mental health and self-care, who was happy to share some insights into how folklore-based myths and beliefs form and why people believe them.

Lauren, who is a writing mentor and coach who runs workshops and training to help people get their words down right, said that first, it’s worth defining the terms “myths” and “beliefs”.

“Many people, when you say ‘myth’ or ‘mythology’, will immediately think of the old gods or collections of tales based in folklore – such as the Greek tales of Medusa, or Nordic tales of Thor and Odin,” she said.

#4

That you need to wait 24 hours to file a missing person’s report

Image credits: ArtObjective614

#5

That men are more logical and less emotional than women.

#6

That we only use 10 percent of our brain

Image credits: niceguy-365

Moreover, “There is another usage which is more akin to religion: belief in faeries in Celtic nations, for example, has led to many common practices that still happen to this day.”“

Then there is the folklore-based myths and beliefs,” Lauren continued, “which are often based in practices designed to keep humans safe and healthy. Conventional wisdom can come from the latter, I think – don’t walk under a ladder, for example, lest something falls on you from above!”

#7

Trickle down economics

#8

The alpha theory for wolves, people still believe it even though the person who made the theory took it back. The ‘alpha’ of wolves is actually just the pack’s parents, and the pack is usually made up of their offspring.

Image credits: heliumskies

#9

That polygraphs are accurate and irrefutable in detecting lies.

Image credits: SuperSauceTaco22

When asked why some myths disappear while others remain something people believe throughout generations, Lauren said that it depends on the origin of the myth. “If it’s a story based in keeping people safe from harm, that will get more embedded over generations.”

Moreover, “The fairy tales about the dangers of the woods remain because it was dangerous to go into the forest – there lurked robbers, wild animals, entities that would do you harm. Those that disappear are more likely to be ones that have lost their relevance to modern society,” Lauren explained.

#10

You will catch a cold from being cold.

Image credits: atomicrutabaga

#11

The Shirley exception.

When looking at an issue, they assume that anyone who REALLY needs it will “Surely get taken care of…”

I.E. “All abortion should legally be banned, but surely one’s where the mother and child die will be taken care of.”

“It doesn’t matter how we treat prisoners because surely the ones there on accident are going to be protected.”

“This job won’t fire you for missing too much work because you’re REALLY sick, surely they realize that?”

“We don’t need to make strict laws about disability access because surely the legitimate cases will be taken care of.”

There is no Shirley making sure everyone is legitimate and those who need it with get some kind of justice in a magical fairy bending the rules just for them.

Image credits: Justalilbugboi

#12

“Your blood is actually blue but only becomes red when it comes out of you”

Image credits: NH-INDY-99

We also wondered if some people are more prone to believing popular myths and things like old wives’ tales than others. “Since the emergence of science and the Enlightenment, there has been a cohort of people who will claim logic above all else – if it’s not provable beyond a shadow of a doubt, then it’s ridiculous to believe in,” Lauren explained and added that these people are never going to believe in popular myths.

#13

Vaccines cause autism.

Image credits: HollyCupcakez

#14

“Lightning *never* strikes twice in the same place.”

Image credits: Back2Bach

#15

The ‘just world fallacy'[people get what they deserve].

It’s responsible for a lot victim-blaming, which re-traumatizes people who have already been traumatized. It’s the worst.

Sometimes bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it. It shouldn’t be that difficult to grasp.

Image credits: ILikeNeurons

Having said that, Lauren believes that those cultures which are more rooted in traditional beliefs and practices are more likely to maintain some belief in myth and folklore. “Asian cultures, for example, have a strong thread of old stories running through them. And we see it, too, in the rise of modern witchcraft; so much practice in that realm is from ‘the old ways.’”

#16

That carrots give you good eyesight

Image credits: anon

#17

That when you meet “the one” you just know. And that there is a “one” for every one of us.

Image credits: breakeven_not

#18

Billionaires are smart and we should be “grateful” for the jobs they provide.

Image credits: silentbobdrummer

When it comes to conspiracy theories, especially modern-day ones, Lauren sees them as very different from common beliefs and widespread myths. “Can those modern-day conspiracy theories be harmful? Absolutely yes: look at what happened during the pandemic. Look at the rise of extreme right-wing views and of QAnon. These are very, very different to popular myths and old wives’ tales, which developed for mainly instructive reasons,” she concluded.

#19

An undercover cop has to tell you they’re a cop if you ask them.

Image credits: No_Instance_1851

#20

Watermelon seeds can grow watermelons in our stomachs

Image credits: Dull-King1348

#21

Ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture being pure white marble.

They are now. That’s because art dealers long, *long* ago washed the paint off.

Image credits: Needydadthrowaway

#22

There are a ton of ridiculous myths around pregnancy. The worst one I was told was not to ever raise my arms over my head so the baby didn’t get tangled in the umbilical cord.

Image credits: Nayru88

#23

Videogames cause violence. There is literally no correlation.

Image credits: Big-Preparation-95

#24

That msg is bad for you

Image credits: SnooPeppers4346

#25

That you cant swim after eating and must wait at least an hour.

Image credits: MentionSuspicious787

#26

That cats are cold or unfriendly. They’re not going to run up to every person like a puppy, but most are very affectionate with their humans.

#27

Zodiac signs and their effect on our everyday lives

Image credits: Certain_Performance

#28

Road widening improves traffic flow. It doesn’t, if anything it just causes induced demand and within Months the road is congested again.

Image credits: OhHiGCHQ

#29

That people in the Middle Ages thought the earth was flat?????
It has been widely accepted since Ancient Greece that the earth is round and I have no idea why people still call it the Dark Ages either

Image credits: achilles-alexander

#30

That if you shave it grows back thicker

Image credits: Future_pastor

#31

Eating cheese before bed gives you nightmares.

Image credits: Turnerredman

#32

Not so much a myth but a misconception… I still hear people laugh at the fact that solar powered flashlights exist, thinking they must be useless because flashlights are only needed in darkness, where solar panels won’t generate anything.

They charge their batteries with sunlight. The batteries supply power on demand. Was that such a difficult concept?

Image credits: ayyycab

#33

“50% of marriages end in divorce” is misused so frequently that I would qualify it as a popular and annoying myth, and it comes down to the general population knowing f**k-all about statistics.

If a couple goes to get married for the first time, there is NOT a 50% chance they are going to get divorced; the entire basis of the 50% number comes from factoring second, third, and even fourth and beyond divorces.

Try this: if every couple in the world did have an even split 50% divorce rate, and then just one couple gets divorced twice, then that number instantly becomes <50% chance due to the skew. Now factor in the countless amounts of multiple-divorce couples on the planet.

The myth is just awkward and breeds a surprising amount of pessimism towards marriage.

Image credits: YourDailyDevil

#34

That introversion = shyness or social incompetence. Like, it‘s not that hard.

#35

Almost all the weird things people believe about charging batteries is completely wrong, they are based on Old NiCad cells and most of that advice does not apply to lithium ion / LiPO batteries

#36

Shaking or flipping integral Polaroid photographs while they’re developing. This dates back to the ‘peel-apart” instant Polaroids that came before the all-in-one “integral” instant films. You used to have to coat the finished print with a polymer coating fluid, and shaking the print would help it dry faster. But it’s unnecessary now.

#37

That the middle ages were “dark” and people swam on sh*t and bathed only two times a year
Source: boredpanda.com