21 of the Most Hilarious Foreign Titles of Famous Movies

40 Sticky Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia We Hid Under Our Cap to Help With Our Four-Seam Fastball

Why a Shockingly Dark Muppet Show Was Pulled From the Airwaves

35 of the Weirdest Things People Did As Kids

Weekend Update Went Completely Off the Rails Last Night

30 Common Misconceptions About the World

Turns out, hiding behind a car door won’t save you from a bullet

30 Common Misconceptions About the World

October 23, 2023

Ah, the information age. Yes, there’s a ton of information now at everyone’s fingertips, but not all of it great — or even remotely right. Here, in fact, are some of the most common misconceptions about the world. They are the beliefs that many people hold dear but which have no basis in reality.

30

Milk

MYTH: MILK BUILDS STRONG BE BONES. CRACKED.COM This myth started when schools were provided nutritional material that boasted the importance of dairy in your diet, when studies cannot link milk consumption with healthy living and especially stronger bones. Who gave them this material? The National Dairy Council. — 6 Ridiculous Science Myths You Learned in Kindergarten

29

Gum Takes Years To Digest GRACKED.COM According to your mom, that stick of Big Red you swallowed during your AP test might still be in your stomach come college graduation. But the human body is a highly evolved system that has failsafes in place: namely, you'll just @#$# it out. — Reader's Digest

28

Goldfish Memories i i saw everything officer CRACKED.COM You'll hear that someone has the memory of a goldfish, the most common number being 3 seconds. But studies found that goldfish could learn and identify two different songs, which a 3-second memory would make impossible. Keep that in mind, crime bosses installing huge fish tanks. — Reader's Digest

27

BULLETS GO STRAIGHT THROUGH CAR DOORS. (11 ANCELES to protect and to serve POLICE 24785 You can't use a car door as a shield. They are made to be light-weight, not bulletproof. CRACKED.COM — Myths About Crime We Believe Thanks To Pop Culture

26

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Serial killers are geniuses. REALITY It's mostly just the ones they make shows about. The latest studies put the average intelligence of serial killers barely above what's considered below average. One study puts it more clearly, saying that there is almost zero correlation between intelligence and psychopathy. — 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

25

MYTH Polar bears and penguins live at the North Pole. TRUTH Polar bears and peguins don't live anywhere near other. Polar bears live in the Arctic Circle region, and penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. CRACKED.COM — 18 Animal Misconceptions We Learned From Movies & TV

24

MYTH: CHOCOLATE IS AN APHRODISIAC. FACT: THE FDA SAYS APHRODISIACS Don'T eXIST. We've got drugs (and possibly natural cures) that treat sexual dysfunction. But when it comes to spurring sexual desire, we have nothing. There's no bodily mechanism for that. Chocolate doesn't even work as a particularly good placebo. CRACKED.COM — Sex Myths You've Probably Believed Your Entire Life

23

CRACKED COM Don't use cubes of cheese when making cheese sauce; make sure it's shredded. Using cubes of cheese risks the sauce burning in the time that it takes for them to melt. Grated cheese melts faster, mixing with the roux base, resulting in liquid cheesy goodness. — 26 Food And Cooking Common Misconceptions

22

MYTH: TONGUES HAVE ZONES FOR BITTER, SALTY, SOUR, AND SWEET. 1 2 3 4 GRACKED.COM The famous taste map is an artistic interpretation of 120-year-old data showing which parts of the tongue are more sensitive to what taste. While taste buds do have a larger concentration on the outer edges of the tongue, they are not so rigidly segregated as to make up specific taste zones for different flavors. — Center for Smell and Taste

21

MOVIE SWORD FIGHTS WOULD END WITH BROKEN BLADES. Edge-on-edge parry would damage the swords, resulting in dull and damaged blades. Most sword fighting involves the swords not making contact. CRACKED.COM — 5 Weapon Myths You Probably Believe (Thanks to Movies)

20

CRACKED.COM MYTH: State with the most serial killers? Must be Florida, or California. REALITY: It's Alaska. Proportional to its population, Alaska wins this one with around 15.65 serial killings per one million inhabitants. It's followed by Nevada, then Florida. Criminologists speculate that it might be due to the cover of darkness during those long Alaskan winter nights. The isolation of the state's remote locations might also play a part. — 14 Myths About Crime We Believe (Thanks To Pop Culture)

19

Everyone honors St. Patrick by wearing green. But St. Patrick's official color is blue. The earliest depictions of St. Patrick show him clothed entirely in blue, not green, and when George III created a new order of chivalry for the Kingdom of Ireland, the Order of St. Patrick, its official color was a sky blue, known as St. Patrick's Blue. Blue was originally the color of Ireland, and a gold harp on a blue background still appears on the Irish constitution and presidential flag. The color green represents the divide between Ireland and Great Britain. CRACKED.COM http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/should-st-patricks-day-be-blue-180954572/ — 21 Historical Figures Everybody Gets Wrong

18

Rabbits and Carrots

MYTH Rabbits eat carrots, obviously. TRUTH Carrots should only be rare treats, as rabbits don't eat them in nature. Their main source of food should be hay, grass, greens, and pellets. CRACKED.COM — 18 Animal Misconceptions We Learned From Movies & TV

17

won't ruin your cast iron pans. With repeated use and proper care, cast iron cookware will build up a non-stick finish that won't require soap to clean. But until it forms, using a CRACKED.COM little soap won't hurt it. — 26 Food And Cooking Common Misconceptions

16

Fat does not cause weight gain. Healthy fats-such as eggs, avocados, and nuts-actually help people consume fewer calories, possibly due to the satiating effects of fat. CRACKED COM — 21 Debunked Food Myths

15

MYTH: WEARING TWO CONDOMS DOUBLES YOUR PROTECTION. FACT: THAT'S WORSE THAN USING JUST one. Condoms are designed to make contact with genitals directly, not to touch rubber. Wear two condoms, and they may tear each other. If you really want peace of mind, just use one extra-thick condom. CRACKED.COM — Sex Myths You've Probably Believed Your Entire Life

14

Coffee does NOT dehydrate you. The reason you might see an increase in urination is because it's mostly water. It actually helps hydrate you and you can count it toward your water intake. CRACKED.COM — 21 Debunked Food Myths

13

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss was a beloved children's author. And he didn't like children. Theodor Geisel, who wrote under the pen name Dr. Seuss, not only never liked children, but was actually scared of them. Не never had children of his own, and according to his widow, the reason he didn't like them was that he never knew what their weird child brains would make them do next. Не ventured into children's stories when his publisher tasked him with writing a book even first graders couldn't put down, using a vocabulary of just 250 words. CRACKED.COM http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/politicaldrseuss/film.html — 21 Historical Figures Everybody Gets Wrong

12

Myth: In most Reality: There were female depictions in pop gladiators too. Some of them appear to have been wealthy culture, gladiators are male. upper-class women voluntarily bound to the arena in search of thrills and notoriety. Eventually Roman society became less tolerant of noble women fighting and banned their recruitment and participation.And yes, they fought topless. CRACKED.COM — 26 Side By Side Comparisons That Fix Your Image Of History

11

Those They surrendered without a fight cowardly and let the Nazis overrun their French! country! In actuality, France fought bitterly against the Nazi invasion, with both sides sustaining heavy losses. Up until the moment when newly-appointed Prime Minister Pétain capitulated, the French had managed to bring down 1,800 German tanks and a third of the Luftwaffe L0959 Even after that, they mounted resistance movements all during the Nazi occupation. If you call that surrendering without a fight, you're stretching the concept to meaninglessness. CRACKED.COM — 26 Side By Side Comparisons That Fix Your Image Of History

10

MYTH: If a cop doesn't read you your Miranda rights, you can walk. FACT: Those rights apply to interrogation, not arrest. Despite what you see on every cop show ever, failing to advise a suspect of his or her Miranda rights doesn't mean the arrest doesn't count. And even if you're interrogated without being told your rights, all it means is that your testimony can't be used in court against you. CRACKED.COM http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/drunk_driving/miranda_warning.htm — 23 Widely-Circulated 'Facts' About The Law That Are Myths

9

GRACKED COM JUNE 1940... WE WILL FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES... BUT IN REALITY... CHURCHILL'S SPEECH WAS THE FAMOUS GIVEN IN PARLIAMENT AUDIO? AND NEITHER BROADCAST NOR RECORDED INSTEAD A BBC RECORDED 9 YEARS ANNOUNCER READ SECTIONS LATER AT HIS HOME OUT ON THE NIGHTLY NEWS TOR POSTERITY' — 26 Side By Side Comparisons That Fix Your Image Of History

8

MYTH: Worried about the police? You might be tempted to film them. On Origine POLIC POLICE FACT: In more and more states, that's illegal. In the past, lower federal courts have generally held that the First Amendment protects your right to videorecord in public places, especially if you're recording public servants such as the police. But in a number of states, courts have decided that unless the officers give consent to being filmed, you're committing a crime. And the video you thought would protect you can land you in prison for 15 years. CRACKED.COM http://gizmodo.com/5553765/are-cameras-the-new-guns — 23 Widely-Circulated 'Facts' About The Law That Are Myths

7

Kenya

Everyone pictures Kenya as a wild or impoverished land But in reality Kenya is a modern state with bustling cities and a capital home to over three million people. CRACKED.COM — 15 Countries We Picture Wrong Side By Side With Reality

6

MYTH: WATCH OUT! THE ACID in COLA WILL meLT YOUR STOMACH. FACT: THERE'S not enouGH ACID TO HARM YOU. Cola does contain small amounts of citric acid and phosphoric acid, but they're incredibly diluted. Orange juice contains more acid, for example. And by comparison, the gastric acids in your stomach fluids are much, much stronger. So claims that cola will dissolve a steak or a nail and give you osteoporosis are just spurious. CRACKED.COM http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp — 24 Food And Cooking Myths

5

Despite your parents' belief that teenagers these days hook up way too easily without ever committing into their relationships, a 2014 study reveals that there are no changes in sexual behaviour among youths AT ALL. Youngsters nowadays aren't doing anything that their parents didn't do in their youths. It is now apparent that 'Hookup Culture' is not a 'thing'! CRACKED.COM — 27 Sex Myths Too Many People Still Believe

4

GRACKED.COM WHEN YOU HEAR THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, YOU IMAGINE POOR COUNTRIES. IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY INDICATE A COUNTRY'S FINANCIAL PROWESS AT ALL. SUCH INDICATION LABELS THE COUNTRIES' POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES DURING THE COLD WAR: CAPITALISM FOR FIRST WORLD AND COMMUNISM FOR SECOND WORLD. THIRD WORLD MEANS COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT AFFILIATED TO ANY OF THESE IDEOLOGIES. — 15 Countries We Picture Wrong Side By Side With Reality

3

Thanksgiving

MYTH: TURKEY MAKES YOU SLEEPY. FACT: IT'S THE BIG meAL THAT Does IT. Science-y types will claim that turkey makes you sleepy because it contains tryptophan, which eventually becomes seratonin and melatonin, the sleep neurochemicals. But turkey doesn't contain enough to affect your tiredness level. The reason you're sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner is because your very full body needs to focus on digestion. https://www.washingtonpost.com t.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/11/ CRACKED.COM 24/no-turkey-doesnt-make-you-sleepy-the-science-of-thanksgiving-feasts/ — 24 Food And Cooking Myths

2

CRACKED.COM SHARKS NEVER GET FULL YEAH, ACTUALLY, CURRENT ESTIMATES SAY A SHARK WILL EAT ONE SEAL PUP EVERY THREE DAYS. http://news.discovery.com/animals/sharks/great-white-sharks-eat-more-130321.htm — 15 Science Myths Out There (Thanks To Pop Culture)

1

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S WOODEN TEETH The original George W. did wear dentures, but they were never made of wood. Some of his dentures were made of hippopotamus ivory, which stains easily and has a grain, so they probably looked like wood to the casual observer, thus leading to the myth which many of US were taught in school as fact. George's dentures were made of various materials including gold, lead, ivory, and human teeth, but none of them CRACKED.COM contained any wood. — 40 Myths (That've Been Around Forever) We All Believe

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

Movies & TV

Dave Chappelle Evacuates L.A. Fires in Goriest ‘SNL’ Sketch Ever

Movies & TV

5 Sitcom Stars Who Went on to Win Oscars

Trivia & Jokes

32 of the Most WTF Experiences People Had at a Party

Movies & TV

The Five Most Acclaimed Fan Films

Movies & TV

Dave Chappelle Says He’s Tired of Controversy Before Stirring Up More of It During His ‘SNL’ Monologue

Movies & TV

The Disgraced Stars Who Stopped By Springfield on Their Way to Being Canceled

VIRAL ON CRACKED

1

A 20-Year-Old, Web 1.0 ‘Simpsons’ Fan Site Just Came Back Online

2

32 of the Most WTF Experiences People Had at a Party

3

40 Sticky Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia We Hid Under Our Cap to Help With Our Four-Seam Fastball

4

20 Onscreen Relationships That Should Never Have Existed

5

The Five Most Acclaimed Fan Films