People believe all kinds of ridiculous things and some true-sounding things that are actually false as well. Some of these things have been repeated for ages and will probably never go away.
Thanks to the internet, others have sprung up more recently and spread fast. While you probably can’t convince the people who repeat such misinformation that they’re wrong, you can at least know the truth when they try to push it on you!
These are some of the crazy things that people mistakenly think are real but aren’t.
Legal Disclaimers on Your Profile Page Carry Legal Weight
This probably started out as trolling, and it worked like a charm. You can make a post forbidding Facebook, other sites, and other people from using what you post, but you’d get laughed out of court if a court even took your case to begin with.
Medical Advice on Social Media Is Meaningful
People on a certain “side” tend to believe what others on their side tell them, and that includes medical advice. Unfortunately, quack medical advice sometimes harms and even kills people. Your uncle’s mother-in-law’s second cousin, who knows a doctor who knows the “real” truth, isn’t someone to trust.
Saying You’re a Sovereign Citizen Means Something Special
Anti-government activists became fond of this term and thought claiming this status would exempt them from paying income taxes and following certain laws (conveniently, always ones they didn’t like). Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
Flushable Wipes Are Okay for Your Plumbing
Despite what the packaging says, almost any reputable plumber will tell you these wipes are bad for both septic and traditional sewer systems. They do flush, but they can clog pipes because they take far longer to break down than regular toilet paper does.
Cow Tipping Is Possible
Maybe if the cow died in a standing position, it would work. Otherwise, trying to push over an animal that weighs several hundred pounds sounds like a good way to get kicked or trampled.
You Can Drown If You Swim <30 Minutes After Eating
This one goes back for years and years. You probably heard it when you were a kid. If you swim after eating, you’ll cramp up and drown. Actually, no. More likely is that this was a tactic to keep kids from throwing up in pools.
Entering a Higher Tax Bracket Results in Net Income Loss
Many people who are at the upper end of one tax bracket fear a small raise pushing them into the next bracket because of this fallacy. It’s the income above your former bracket that gets taxed at a higher rate, so no, you are not losing money.
Their Own Memories
Have you ever listened to someone have a completely wrong recollection of something that happened years ago, even when everyone else knows it’s wrong? Forget about winning that argument; just smile and move on.
Public-School Classrooms Have Litter Boxes in Them
This conspiracy theory appeared in the past few years. Supposedly, schools are providing litter boxes for children who identify as “furries” and need to take care of their business in the classroom. Interestingly, there’s never been any proof of this preposterous idea despite the flood of allegations.
Detox Diets and Miracle Herbs Work
For most people, they don’t, and for those that they do “work” for, it was probably something else. They do work at separating desperate people from their money.
Mr. Rogers Wore Sweaters To Cover His Vietnam-Service Tattoos
This is a textbook example of how hard it is to kill a conspiracy theory. Since Mr. Rogers never took his sweaters off during the shows, there’s no proof this is false!
Shows like Real Housewives of… Are Real
No, they aren’t. They don’t reflect the real lives people lead; instead, you have people performing the roles of caricatures for entertainment value and validating stereotypes.
Vaccines Cause Autism
This claim has been debunked over and over and over again. Still, you’ll never convince the believers otherwise, and having some very high-profile advocates for their belief doesn’t help.
The Earth Really Is Flat
If you thought this belief was put to rest centuries ago, you’re wrong. What’s truly amazing, though, is listening to the “proof” flat-earthers offer.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Are a Deep-State Psyop
via DepositPhotos.com.
PSYOP is a military term for “psychological operations.” This brand-new conspiracy theory that has seized a troublingly large segment of America holds that the pop diva and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end are not really dating. Instead, shadowy pockets of the federal government are using them to get young voters to turn out in numbers sufficient to sway the 2024 presidential election to their preferred outcome, and they’re also fixing this year’s Super Bowl to further their plot.
15 Things That Feel Illegal but Are Actually Perfectly Legal
Life is full of peculiar situations where our instincts often tell us that something just can’t be legal, yet the truth might surprise you. Here are 15 things that might feel illegal but are entirely within the bounds of the law.
15 Things That Feel Illegal but Are Actually Perfectly Legal
15 Behaviors That Are a Dead Giveaways Someone Grew up Poor
Many people who grew up poor don’t exactly want to display this information for the world to see. However, it can come out in a wide range of behaviors that make it obvious that the person grew up lower class or in poverty.
Many people have habits that they picked up during those years that they haven’t let go of yet.
15 Behaviors That Are a Dead Giveaways Someone Grew up Poor
15 of the the World’s Greatest Lies
There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Information is often wielded as a weapon and used against the public. Some lies are so colossal that they’re practically universal in our society.