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Common misconceptions that you believed for a long time

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V

Veritigo_X

Member
DrFunk said:
That Eli Whitney (inventor of the cotton gin) was black
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I thought this up until recently. I think it's because the cotton gin always got mentioned during black history month in school.

Or we are truly living in an alternate reality where Eli Whitney is white and Trump is president. Thanks CERN.
 
A

Air

Banned
I can't really think of anything that I've held onto long enough that fits that bill. I do a lot of research into things I'm curious about but not explicitly sure if I'm correct, so I'm too attached to one way of thinking for long periods of time.
 
S

SliceSabre

Banned
Blind meant all you saw was darkness. I later learned legally blind people can sometimes still 'see' they just may not be able to see very well.
 
E

Ensoul

Member
I saw a commercial for Starburst candy when I was little. People ate them and flew into space. For many years I avoided Starburst because I feared the same would happen to me.
 
N

Nivash

Member
TheOfficeMut said:
Yea. A lot of Europeans I know wash their meat (my parents certainly did and still do). I was raised to think that it needs to be washed. Although I can recognize how asinine it may sound now and that cooking it is what actually kills the bacteria, I still do it out of paranoia. It's deeply ingrained in me and I simply don't feel comfortable unless I give it a quick rinse.
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You really should stop doing that. It's not just that it's pointless, it's potentially harmful. Chicken in particular. If the meat actually does have bacterial growth - like salmonella - you're going to contaminate your sink, your dishes or even yourself that way.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygi...n-can-cause-campylobacter-food-poisoning.aspx
 
B

boiled goose

good with gravy
TheOfficeMut said:
What happened?

I consider myself a liberal but if this last election taught me anything, it's that a lot of people on the fringe left won't consider me so because of my stance that progress, unfortunately, happens at a slower, compounding pace and that compromises have to be made in many instances to get anywhere. To some people I've spoken to in person, this attitude isn't liberal enough or liberal at all. It's either all or nothing to them.



As I understand it, while all parts of the tongue can perceive the same taste, it's that each section is more sensitive to a particular one.
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You are building a strawman.

The realization that progress happens slowly is independent from discussions about ideal values and also strategy about how to get change done.

Also, there is some nuance about why change happens slowly and which reasons are acceptable and which aren't and what can't change and what's an intrinsic part of a shared society.
 
P

PSqueak

Banned
Tha q-tips were meant to remove earwax from your inner ear too rather than just the outer, turns out it fucks you up.
 
M

Moofers

Member
I used to think that people in my country (the US) were just smarter and more decent human beings. Not compared to the rest of the world, just in general to how I see them now.

I also used to think our news outlets were mostly on the level aside from Fox News. Boy oh boy were the primaries an awakening.
 
T

TheOfficeMut

Unconfirmed Member
boiled goose said:
You are building a strawman.

The realization that progress happens slowly is independent from discussions about ideal values and also strategy about how to get change done.

Also, there is some nuance about why change happens slowly and which reasons are acceptable and which aren't and what can't change and what's an intrinsic part of a shared society.
Click to expand...

I was only saying that I've been told that I am not liberal enough or even liberal at all by some people because of my views on compromise (see: minimum wage, where I think going from what we have now to a national $15 average is unsustainable). I don't think how fast you expect progress to happen has any bearing on your political ideology, personally, but I've met people who think so.

I believe in compromise but that doesn't mean I believe everything requires compromise. Some things, I believe, are intrinsically right, wrong, and a right. But this isn't a discussion I want to get into.
 
ebullientprism

ebullientprism

Member
EdibleKnife said:
I believed the "we only use 10% of our brains" thing
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For some reason this "myth" really annoys me. So many people believe this that its ridiculous.

Every now and then someone will post a "motivational" Imagine-what-you-could-do-with-100%brainpower shite in a group chat that I am part of and it will irk me no end.

Actually most Whatsapp groups are fucking toxic with nonsense like that. Basically Facebook mini.
 
S

Silver Arrows

Banned
Maybe not common, but I always thought the Japanese surname of Miura and the Miura bull (famously named for the Lamborghini Miura) were somehow related to bullfighting.

They aren't. However, there is a relation between bullfighting and Japan: Togyu.
 
G

Grym

Member
jiiikoo said:
If you ate a seed, for example a orange seed, a tree would grow out of your anus. I believed that for a long time, as a kid that is. Should clarify that. Not anymore... No. Not anymore... *whistles*



Parent's are horrible. They love to see kids in shear terror. Sadists the lot of em.
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TheOfficeMut said:
Also believed the same thing with watermelon seeds. Was afraid an enormous watermelon would grow inside my stomach. My parents even told me that and I don't understand why they chose to petrify me.
Click to expand...

parents know...don't doubt

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/13/plant-sprouts-in-mans-lung/
 
P

Princess Viola

Member
I thought if you ate Fruit Gushers, your head would turn into a fruit like in the commercials.

Legit didn't eat any of those until I was like 12 because I did not want to have a fruit for a head.
 
P

PillarEN

Member
Princess Viola said:
I thought if you ate Fruit Gushers, your head would turn into a fruit like in the commercials.

Legit didn't eat any of those until I was like 12 because I did not want to have a fruit for a head.
Click to expand...

Your friends never ate Gushers in front of you, or somebody in the school cafeteria?
 
P

PSqueak

Banned
ch4fx_ said:
That going to church makes you a good person.

SPOILER:
it fucking doesn't
.
Click to expand...

Going to church is just like going to school, you aint going to learn jackshit if you're not willing to, so it could make you a good person, but it's up to you.
 
S

StoneFox

Member
That spiders were horrible monsters out to get you.

A sharp interest in zoology and me getting close to these animals proved to me that they are not, and that they are actually quite fascinating creatures. Jumping spiders are very adorable and I enjoy letting them hop in my hands.
 
K

Kittygirl

Member
My hairdresser believed until she was in her mid-twenties that a married couple's first child could be born at any time. After that, it took 9 months.
 
P

PillarEN

Member
Jackben said:
...so how many cavaties do you have
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Nothing like going to the dentist and have your gums bleed like crazy because you didn't floss as they do it for you. Yeah floss your teeth fellas. At least once a week if you really hate it. Your gums will thank you long term.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
"Eating fat makes you fat"
"Eggs, meat, and cheese will clog your arteries"

Wish I realized that all of that was bullshit years earlier than I did.
 
P

| Praxis |

Banned
_Rob_ said:
Such a poorly thought out diagram, so common in classrooms even today! Although I'm talking up to my teenage years when I realised it made no sense.

Taste2.png
Click to expand...

They don't label the middle of the tongue

the booty eating section
 
P

PillarEN

Member
Zefah said:
"Fat makes you fat"
"Eggs, meat, and cheese will clog your arteries"

Wish I realized that all of that was bullshit years earlier than I did.
Click to expand...

Could you let me know what does clog arteries? I'm one of those people that seems to have a super fast metabolism so I never have to think about what I eat even though I do eat what is generally considered a decent diet.
Without knowing anything I am under the impression that our Czech cuisine is apparently pretty fatty and meaty and supposedly does a number on older men in the country. I just don't know because I'm somewhat active sports-wise and don't eat the cuisine every single day.
 
A

AppleSeason

Member
People nearby your school would give you free drug samples.

To this day, I never got even one single joint.




Also, that whenever Britons arrive at a hotel, they have to get in the pool immediately, even if it is 22:00 and the lights are off. For a few years I thought it was a cultural thing.
 
Z

ZackieChan

Member
TheOfficeMut said:
What happened?

I consider myself a liberal but if this last election taught me anything, it's that a lot of people on the fringe left won't consider me so because of my stance that progress, unfortunately, happens at a slower, compounding pace and that compromises have to be made in many instances to get anywhere. To some people I've spoken to in person, this attitude isn't liberal enough or liberal at all. It's either all or nothing to them.
Click to expand...

I hear you, brother

One Eyed Willy said:
That you needed a college degree to be successful.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Knowing what I know now about starting a business online, I never would have gone to law school. I could have lived the same rad nomadic life without the years of education, if I'd started a business on my own.
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
Akuun said:
I used to think racism was on the decline.

Nooope. Turns out it was still widespread but was just hiding.
Click to expand...

Seriously. I thought things were in a good place before the internet, social media, and fox news. It's depressing how bad things actually are.
 
C

cwmartin

Member
TheOfficeMut said:
Yea. A lot of Europeans I know wash their meat (my parents certainly did and still do). I was raised to think that it needs to be washed. Although I can recognize how asinine it may sound now and that cooking it is what actually kills the bacteria, I still do it out of paranoia. It's deeply ingrained in me and I simply don't feel comfortable unless I give it a quick rinse.
Click to expand...

It makes no sense.
 
S

StanleyStutters

Member
TickleMeElbow said:
I thought blood was blue while it's in your veins, and only turns red when it's exposed to oxygen. People at school used to say that all the time, so I just assumed it was true.
Click to expand...

EdibleKnife said:
I believed the "we only use 10% of our brains" thing
Click to expand...

Apt101 said:
Vitamin C helps prevent or treat colds.
Click to expand...

Ottaro said:
That our tongues have different areas for different tastes.
Click to expand...

One Eyed Willy said:
That you needed a college degree to be successful.
Click to expand...

I am a naive son of a bitch. I believed all of these at some point in my life.
 
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