Disinformation is spreading faster than ever before, and it’s influencing what people perceive as reality.
Research suggests that a substantial portion of the general population holds beliefs not supported by evidence. For instance, a study conducted by the University of Chicago found that at least 50% of Americans believe in at least one conspiracy theory.
Here are ridiculous things many Americans still believe, according to data.
Chocolate Milk Comes from Brown Cows
It’s a joke that would be right at home in a children’s cartoon, but a rather significant number of adults are taken in by this myth. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy conducted a survey and found that 7% of American adults, or approximately 17.3 million people, believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows.
It highlights a significant disconnect between consumers and the origin of their food. Advocates of agricultural literacy utilize this as evidence that the majority of individuals are completely unaware of where their food is being produced.
We Only Use 10% of Our Brains
The widespread notion that human beings only use a fraction of their brain’s potential is a long-standing myth, often exploited in movies and self-help workshops.
Neuroscience has entirely debunked it, however. Brain imaging, such as fMRIs and PET scans, reveals that we utilize virtually every part of our brain, even when we are doing nothing.
Neurologist Barry Gordon at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine calls the 10% myth “laughably false” and notes that even minimal brain damage can be devastating, which would not be possible if we had 90% of our brain capacity to spare.
Astrology Can Predict Your Future
Despite a lack of scientific evidence, belief in astrology is strong. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 27% of American adults believe in astrology. This belief is particularly evident in the younger generation, where it has been reported that there is a greater interest in horoscopes and zodiac personality types.
Astrology is regarded as a pseudoscience by the scientific community because numerous studies have failed to establish a link between planetary positions and human fates or personalities.
Cracking Your Knuckles Causes Arthritis
Many of us grew up with a parent or grandparent warning that cracking our knuckles would lead to arthritis. While the sound may be annoying to some, there is no scientific evidence to support a link between the habit and joint disease.
A California doctor, Donald Unger, infamously cracked the knuckles on only his left hand for over 60 years and had no sign of arthritis in either hand, for which he received a tongue-in-cheek Ig Nobel Prize for his self-experimentation.
The “popping” is simply the collapse of nitrogen bubbles in the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints.
Big Pharma Is Hiding a Cure for Cancer
A popular conspiracy theory is the suggestion that there is a universal cure for cancer, but that pharmaceutical companies are keeping it under wraps for profit. Specialists explain that “cancer” is not a single disease but a complex group of over 100 different diseases, each of which requires different treatment.
“There is never going to be one ‘cure for cancer’ any more than there is one ‘cure for infectious diseases,'” says Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer. “We are making amazing advances with treatments such as immunotherapy and targeted therapies, which is a much more nuanced and realistic snapshot.”
MSG Is Inherently Bad for You
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been demonized for decades, held accountable for a constellation of symptoms called “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”
Yet, extensive research, including double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, has been unable to establish a direct link between MSG and symptoms in the general population.
You Need to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day
The “8×8 rule”, drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily, is a widely cited health suggestion with surprisingly limited scientific basis. While hydration is essential, our water needs vary depending on factors such as age, climate, and activity level.
Plus, we get plenty of water from food (like fruits and vegetables) and other beverages (like juice, tea, and coffee). Most experts now suggest simply drinking when you’re thirsty.
Sugar Makes Kids Hyper
Certain parents maintain that a sweet treat sends their kids bouncing off the walls. However, a number of controlled studies have validated the fact that sugar does not cause children to be hyperactive.
So-called “sugar rush” is rather a product of the stimulating environment in which kids are more likely to overindulge in sweets, such as birthday parties or holidays.
Expectation bias also plays a role; parents who believe that sugar affects their child’s behavior are more likely to report as much.
Gum Takes 7 Years to Digest in Your Stomach
This is an ancient kids’ legend to keep kids from swallowing their gum. If you do swallow some, it will not come to life in your digestive system for the next seven years.
While it is true that the artificial base of chewing gum is indigestible, it simply passes through your system like any other food and is expelled within a few days.
The Full Moon Affects Human Behavior
The notion that a full moon leads to a rise in crime, hospital admissions, and unusual behavior, sometimes referred to as the “lunar effect”, is an ancient one. Despite its appeal, especially with some emergency room and law enforcement personnel, studies have consistently found none.
A review of over 100 research studies into the topic area concluded that the full moon has no influence on human behavior. Confirmation bias is likely at work here; people tend to take note of unusual events and attribute them to the full moon, without observing similar events on other nights.
Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice
This metaphor for unlikely events is simply untrue. Lightning is very likely to strike the same place twice, especially if the place is a tall, pointy, and isolated object.
The Empire State Building, for example, is struck by lightning between 25 and 100 times every year. Meteorologists assure us that lightning follows the path of least resistance, and a location that was a good conductor in the past will likely be so again.
Dropping a Penny from a Skyscraper Is Lethal
The idea that a penny dropped from the roof of a skyscraper would gain enough speed to kill a person on the sidewalk below is an urban myth founded on a bad idea of physics.
A penny is too flat and small to be aerodynamic. Air resistance, or drag, would limit its terminal speed to 30 or 50 miles per hour, fast enough to hurt, but hardly fast enough to cause serious harm.
Going Out with Wet Hair Will Make You Sick
Your mother probably told you not to go outside with wet hair, or you’ll catch a cold. Cold and wet may be uncomfortable, but they don’t make you sick. The flu and the common cold are viral infections.
You must be exposed to a pathogen to contract an infection. Being cold can slightly weaken your immune system’s defenses, but it’s germs, not cold or wet hair, that cause illness.
Ostriches Bury Their Heads in the Sand
This is one of the oldest animal myths. Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand when they feel threatened. This myth likely originated because ostriches use their beaks to dig shallow dugouts in the ground to nest.
As they incubate their eggs, they are often near the ground, and from a distance, it may appear that their head is buried. Actually, a frightened ostrich is more likely to run at high speeds or deliver a deadly kick.
Lemmings Commit Mass Suicide
The myth of lemmings following each other blindly off cliffs to mass suicide was perpetrated by a 1958 Disney documentary, White Wilderness, in which the producers staged the scene.
Actually, lemming populations go through boom-and-bust cycles. During a population boom, enormous numbers migrate to new habitats and food sources.
Some will fall off cliffs or drown trying to cross bodies of water during the migration, but it is not intentional.
Key Takeaways
There are many common misconceptions that lack evidence or scientific support, spanning a range of topics, including health and nutrition, as well as nature.
Polling data show that a significant percentage of the U.S. public accepts misinformation and pseudoscience as fact.
Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, are largely to blame for these myths persisting, as people tend to focus on evidence that supports their existing beliefs.
Healthy skepticism regarding what you hear and searching for credible sources are essential skills to survive in a world full of persuasive but mostly false information.
Also on MSN: 12 tough truths about life we all try to ignore
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
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