16 Myths Your Parents Told You, but They’re False

Misinformation and myths abound in various forms of media, leading people to believe in falsehoods that can shape their perspectives and actions. It is crucial to critically evaluate information and seek reliable sources to navigate through the sea of misconceptions.

Okay, here’s the first one — Myth or True: Carrots help you see in the dark.

While carrots are full of vitamin A which helps maintain eyesight, you won’t get night vision! In the 1940s, British air forces invented a new radar, and to keep it a secret, they told everyone it was carrots that helped them see at nighttime!

Diamonds aren’t a special gemstone.

While Diamonds may be a great engagement rock, they’re not as rare as we’ve been made to believe. Advertising campaigns have made this very common rock something extraordinary! If you want something really rare, Painite gems will look beautiful and empty your wallet at the same time. Around $50,000 a carat!

Froot Loops have different flavors.

There’s no point in avoiding the color you don’t like; all the colors are the same flavor! Even Kellogg’s has stated that they all share the same blended fruit flavor. Well, now I don’t know what to believe anymore!

Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building can obliterate a person below.

While the penny won’t tickle, it will not damage anyone on the ground. Simply, the penny can’t build up enough speed while it’s tumbling to the ground! Better to just keep the change in your pocket.

The moon has a dark side.

No, the moon isn’t going to use the force to rule! Our satellite is tidally locked with the Earth, meaning we’re always looking at one side. But there’s no permanent dark side!

Kleenex was originally designed for gas masks.

Yeah, Kimberly-Clark originally designed a thin cotton substitute to be used as a filter! In 1924, Kleenex began selling in the US as a cold-cream and makeup remover, eventually turning into the soft tissues we love today!

Chocolate is bad for you.

While too much chocolate, just like too much of anything, can indeed do some harm, a little bit can be quite good for you. Not just any chocolate though, only the dark variety. Yum

Weekend sleep-ins will help you catch up on lost sleep.

As comfy as your bed is on a Sunday morning, you just can’t make up for missed sleep! Irregular sleep can lower your concentration and performance. If you’re refreshed when you wake up, you’ve had the right amount!

Zombies are real!

No human has ever turned into a hungry zombie that we’re shown so much in the movies, but they do exist in the animal kingdom! A fungus that has a really long name I don’t want to pronounce takes over ants with its chemicals! Under the control of the fungus, the ant leaves its family to find a very specific branch or leaf. Then, it lets the fungus sprout out of it and releases spores back into the world. How delightful.

The largest living organism is the Blue Whale, African Elephant, or Shaq!

While all those are large, the honey fungus in the Blue Mountains, Oregon wins by quite a bit. With the length of 3.4 miles, that’s 6 and a half Burj Khalifas end to end, and it’s still growing! But, on the bright side, it’s edible! Mushroom omelet anyone?

Turkeys can blush.

Just like humans, turkeys blush when excited, angry, or sick! The skin on their heads and necks can turn red or even a shade of blue! The fleshy flap of skin that hangs over their neck is called a snood! It also turns bright red when the bird is excited. Maybe not at Thanksgiving, though!

We only have 5 senses.

There’s no right number, some say 5, 7, 14, 24, or even 57! Our most basic senses are actually sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, but also movement, body position, temperature, balance, and the sense of our internal state. Like feeling your heart! For example, close your eyes and touch your nose, that’s proprioception or body position!

Bats are blind.

Bats’ eyesight is actually better at nighttime than ours! They just can’t see as well in daylight because they only see in black and white! Perhaps this myth arose from the fact that bats use sonar to navigate without sight.

Unicorns are real.

They’re not horses though, it’s deer that are likely the culprit! A single horn can be a genetic anomaly found in some species, possibly leading to the unicorn legend that formed a long time ago!

Honey never spoils.

Uncovered in a humid environment, it will spoil! As long as the lid stays on it and no water added to it, honey shouldn’t go bad, though. Having antifungal and antibacterial properties means no organisms can live in it! No matter how old your stored honey is, it’s probably perfectly edible.

Oranges are always orange.

Sweet oranges are a hybrid of tangerines and the pomelo with bright green skin to help protect them from the sun! In warmer climates, like South-East Asia, oranges are still bright green when ripe. Makes you wonder what came first, the fruit or the color!

There are bugs in your strawberry Frappuccino.

But not anymore! A dye made of ground up tiny insects called cochineal bugs is used by many companies to make the color red! Starbucks stopped using bug red color in their strawberry Frappuccino’s in 2012.

Firefighters use wetter water.

To be more efficient at stopping fires, firefighters recently started adding certain chemicals to the water. The wetting agents reduce the surface tension of the water, making it easier to spread and soak into objects.

Leave wasps alone and they’ll leave you alone.

While this works for bees, their cousins the yellowjackets will disagree! Known as one of the most bad-tempered wasps, they’ve been said to sting unprovoked. Even if you just happen to walk by their nest! If you see wasps, give them a wide berth.

The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be torn down after 20 years.

The Eiffel Tower was designed to show off France’s industrial power during the World’s Fair. The designers cleverly put transmitters and antennas on top to make the tower too useful to eventually demolish.

Head lice prefer dirty hair.

Lice don’t really think about hair cleanliness. They simply need human hair to hang on to, whether it’s squeaky clean or greasier than a fryer! Lice feed off of our scalps, and the hair is just a place to hang out.

Camels’ humps store water.

Camels don’t store water — they store fat in their tissues. Just like me after the holidays. These reservoirs of fat allow camels to survive for days in the desert without stopping for food. They drink large amounts of water at a time and store that in their bloodstream!

You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Staying hydrated is critical, especially in hotter weather. But we seem to forget that every drink is mainly water, even tea and coffee! Our bodies are the best indicators of when to drink water. Feel thirsty? Then it’s time to have a drink!

An elephant never forgets.

Having the biggest brain of all land animals, elephants should have a great memory, and they do! Being able to remember their entire territory, friends, and spots to find water is crucial to the social structure of elephants. They might even have a better memory than you and I! Now, where did I leave my keys?

Bananas grow upside-down.

Bananas grow naturally towards the sun as they’re getting larger, that’s why there’s a curve! So, does that mean we’ve been peeling them the wrong way this whole time? Maybe.

No number before 1,000 contains the letter A.

You can try and spell each number out if you like, but I bet you’re just going to take my word for it!

The Guinness Book of World Records was created to settle arguments.

The world’s best trivia book was published in 1955 after an argument about the fastest game bird in Europe! The managing director of Guinness brewery realized there wasn’t a go-to book for trivial questions, so he created his own, and the rest is history!

You’re eating real wasabi.

When you’re sitting down for tasty sushi, that green paste sometimes isn’t wasabi. It’s horseradish! Real wasabi is very expensive with a milder taste to it. If it’s not made in front of you, it’s not going to be the real thing! So there.