30 Common Misconceptions That Are Totally Untrue

1. That you have to wait for 24h before you can report a missing person. If someone is missing, go get help!

2. That washing chicken gets it rid of bacteria. No. Cooking chicken gets rid of bacteria, given that you do it well. Washing chicken, on the other hand, can contaminate your whole kitchen with salmonella.

3. If an HIV-positive person has sex with another HIV-positive person, they don’t have to worry about protection. They do, because there are 140 different strains of the HIV/AIDS virus, and getting infected with another strain, especially a potentially deadlier one, could be dangerous. Also, pregnancy is still a very big risk for HIV-positive women. If you are considering a sexual relationship, get tested, and talk to your doctor about birth control.

4. That you can reduce fat from a particular body part

5. The Food Pyramid

6. That the tongue has different regions for salty, sweet, bitter, and sour.

7. If you work hard at school and get good grades you'll get a good job and enjoy a stable life.

8. I was adamantly told by some seniors at work not to drink the water that boiled twice because it cooks the oxygen out of it.

9. That diamonds are rare and therefore should be expensive, that is just a myth perpetrated by the de beers diamond cartel.

10. Organic crops don't use pesticides or herbicides.

11. people believe in the whole alpha and beta wolves thing It’s not true. The “leaders” of the pack are the parents. -in natural wolf packs, the alpha male or female are merely the breeding animals, the parents of the pack, and dominance contests with other wolves are rare if they exist at all.

12. That you can tell if someone is a "virgin" by looking at their hymen to see if it is "intact."

13. The Bermuda triangle. Turns out ships and planes disappear at the same rate all over the world's oceans.

14. The mystery of how the pyramids were built. They know how they were built. Ramps, pulleys, ropes, and labor.

15. That we only use 10% of our brain

16. Gum takes 7 years to digest

17. Bulls hate red. They are actually colour blind and are reacting to the movement of the cloth and the a**hole behind it.

18. That whole "you eat seven spiders a year" myth. It was created by some lady in the late 90s or early 2000s to prove that ridiculous things can be found on the internet, spread like wildfire, and believed by many.

19. Shaving hair causes it to grow back longer and thicker.

20. You have to wait 30 min to swim after eating

21. That goldfish have a 6 second memory. I mean it's still not great, I think like a couple of months. But still... Get your fish a bigger damn tank

22. That the seeds are the spiciest part of hot pepper. The seeds are the only part of a pepper that isn't spicy. The white stuff near the seeds though, spice max.

23. That cold is caused by lower temperatures. The cold is a virus that transmits between people. Edit: a lot of people are saying that cold temperatures weaken the immune system and thus indirectly make you more susceptible, and while it’s true, the direct cause for common colds is caused by human contact.

24. Knuckle cracking doesn't lead to arthritis, it is just an old wives tale people use in place of simply telling you it's annoying them. Crack away!

25. A lot of people still believe a woman sued McDonald’s because her coffee was hot. In reality, the woman had 3rd-degree burns throughout her pelvic area and only asked that her medical bills be paid.

26. Antibiotics can cure virus infections. No, they don't

27. That MSG is very bad for health and anything with it is seen as unhealthy.

28. Your blood is blue when not oxygenated

29. Carrots being good for your eyes. It was a myth created in WW2 by the allies to explain how their pilots got so good at shooting down enemy planes all of a sudden. (The real reason was radar technology).

30. The Myth: You can tell if a snake is venomous or not by the shape of its pupil (slit for venomous, round for nonvenomous). The Truth: Pupil shape has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not a snake has venom, and, if you're close enough to get a good look at a snake's pupils, you're probably close enough to get bit. The Advice: If you cannot, from a safe distance, immediately identify a snake beyond a reasonable doubt, assume it's dangerous and behave accordingly; keep your distance, stay out of its direct path, and keep your eyes on it until one or the other of you leaves the area.