You know that unsettling feeling when something you’ve believed your whole life turns out to be wrong? Well, it turns out a lot of what we “know” is based on shaky assumptions, outdated science, or straight-up fiction. These widely accepted “truths” have been passed around for decades, even centuries, without a second glance. Welcome to the rabbit hole of false truths and mind-bending realizations.
Microwaves Emit Dangerous Radiation
People often worry that microwaves emit harmful radiation, but that’s not the case. Microwaves use non-ionizing radiation, which isn’t powerful enough to cause cancer or damage your DNA. Modern microwaves also come with powerful safety precautions and metal shielding, so there’s no need to worry about radiation causing any issues. The only real danger microwaves pose comes from misuse, such as heating metal objects. Even though the term “radiation” sounds scary, it’s tightly controlled and made completely safe for everyday use.
Astrology Has Scientific Backing
Astrology is one of the most popular interpretation practices in the world, but it doesn’t have any scientific proof. Various studies, including double-blind tests, have proven that astrological predictions don’t outperform random chance. Funnily enough, as Earth turns on its axis, many zodiac dates have changed, which means most people don’t even belong to the right sign anymore. Although astrology is entertaining, it shouldn’t be used to determine the characteristics of random people or dictate relationships.
The Moon’s “Dark Side” Never Gets Sunlight
The Moon’s “dark side” is an inaccurate term. Both sides of the Moon receive equal parts of sunlight, just not simultaneously. Since the Moon is tidally locked, one of its hemispheres will always face Earth. But as the Moon orbits, its dark side also sees light, even if we can’t observe it. Perhaps the misunderstanding persists because of Pink Floyd’s album, or maybe we’re just a bit misinformed at times!
Daddy-Longlegs Spiders Are Highly Venomous
Many still believe this myth because they confuse daddy-longlegs with cellar spiders, despite neither being a threat to humans. Cellar spiders do have weak venom, with fangs that can penetrate human skin, although many believe they cannot. Daddy-longlegs, on the other hand, aren’t even spiders and have no venom. The idea that they are somehow the “most venomous spider” is completely made up.
Urine Is Sterile
Despite common belief, urine isn’t sterile, even in a healthy person. Scientists have found a multitude of bacteria in urine, particularly from the bladder and urethra. It’s believed that this myth originated from outdated testing methods for bacterial detection, as well as survival and wartime stories. Urine might not be dangerous, but you shouldn’t use it to clean wounds or assume it’s free of bacteria.
Stretching Prevents Soreness
Stretching before or after exercise doesn’t have the benefit you think it does. The soreness you feel, also known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), is primarily caused by microscopic muscle damage, and stretching is not necessarily the best method for preventing this pain. Better remedies include active recovery, proper hydration, and rest, even though stretching can still help improve flexibility and range of motion.
Fever Causes Brain Damage
Fever is a part of the body’s natural immune response and rarely causes any harm. Although fevers might seem alarming to many, with threats like brain damage, such outcomes are extremely rare and generally only occur when the body temperature exceeds 107.6°F (42°C). The most common fevers, even in children, are beneficial and help the body fight off infections.
Special Glasses Can Cure Colorblindness
If you think color blindness can be cured with some fancy glasses, think again. Colorblindness-correcting glasses only filter out specific wavelengths of light to enhance color contrast, which aids some users in distinguishing between colors better. The glasses don’t work for all types of colorblindness and don’t restore normal color vision. Unfortunately, the experience is often partial and highly individualized.
Scorpions Sting Themselves If Submerged In Alcohol
The bizarre myth that scorpions, when submerged in alcohol, sting themselves and ultimately commit suicide is completely false. Scorpions are immune to their venom, and any erratic movement they might exhibit is due to extreme distress when alcohol is poured on them, not because of suicidal attempts. Scorpions, lacking the neurological complexity for such self-destructive behavior, simply react to the discomfort, and this is merely a projection of human emotions onto animal behavior.
Alcohol Warms Your Body
The warm sensation felt when consuming alcohol is only due to your blood vessels dilating, which brings warm blood to the skin’s surface, where heat escapes quickly. While you might feel warmer, this can lower your core body temperature tremendously as your body loses heat more rapidly. This is just another reason why alcohol is risky in cold-weather survival scenarios since it tricks the brain while cooling the body.
Cremated Remains Are Ashes
Cremated remains aren’t exactly what we envision them to be. The “ashes,” or the grayish substance referred to, are finely ground, pulverized bones, with all soft tissue vaporized during the cremation process. The term is more poetic than accurate, but the distinction can be important when considering environmental or ceremonial uses of cremains.
Goldfish Memory Is Mere Seconds
Goldfish don’t have as short a memory as commonly believed. Studies have shown that their memory can last weeks or even months, and they can be trained to perform tasks, recognize feeding schedules, and even navigate mazes. The “three-second memory” myth was likely created to justify poor treatment in small bowls, but these fish are far smarter than credited. They especially deserve more mental stimulation and space than they are typically given.
Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Swimming
There are no medical or scientific reasons for you to wait half an hour after eating to swim. This myth likely originated from the belief that blood would be diverted to the stomach during digestion, resulting in muscle cramps in the water. However, this is false; the human body is more than capable of handling both processes simultaneously. It might feel a bit uncomfortable, but there is no reason to fear drowning.
Bulls Hate Red Flags
Bulls do not hate red flags since they are actually colorblind to the color red. The only provoking action is the motion of the red cape, or the muleta, and not its color. Cattle only see in shades of blue and yellow, so red appears as a gray tone. Red is chosen by tradition, for its dramatic effect and to mask blood stains, rather than because it enrages the bull.
Sharks Can’t Get Cancer
The myth that sharks can’t get cancer was widely promoted by supplement companies selling shark cartilage as a remedy for cancer, claiming that their immunity held a key to human treatment. The reality is that there are many documented cases of tumors in various shark species, proving that they are not immune to cancer.
