Dumb shit you might think is true. - General

So, all I'm making this thread for is just a summary of common things many people might think to be totally true, when in fact they aren't. Yes, much of this will come from sources that are looked down upon as reliable by the mainstream community (Mythbusters, Cracked or what-have-you), but let me make something clear here: [B]NONE OF THIS WILL BE MADE UP[/B] I'm not trying to decieve you here, and hopefully nobody else that might post a response to this will either. More than anything, this gives you a valid arguement against people who say something that might sound right when in reality isn't. You could easily find all of these things on articles you find on Digg or MSN, but this is here to compile much of that information so you don't have to search for it, not dissimilar from the LMAO and Hot Girl threads. With that out the way, here's a few for starters... [U]Tap Water is Dirtier than Bottled Water.[/U] You've probably heard this dozens of times from your family and friends, something along the lines of "You don't need to drink from the tap, there's bottled water in the fridge. It's cleaner." But the big point they're missing is that the bottled water was not in fact collected from a mountain spring in some far off mystical land like the label might have you believe. It was still mass produced in a factory setting by stone cold machines, then stored in a warehouse and eventually sent out to stores by diesel trucks. By Comparison, the water from your tap was collected from a local water source and purified, and paid for with your tax money and water bills. If the tap water was dirtier, why would the city even bother trying to compete with bottled water companies? [U]You swallow anywhere from 6 to a couple dozen spiders every year.[/U] This is not to discredit anybody you enjoys eating spiders (you know you're out there), but the theory behind this one is that a spider crawls into your mouth while you're asleep and down your throat, where it dies. First of all, this is a huge insult to the intelligence of Spiders everywhere. this is a species that is smart enough to lay traps using nothing more than what it's body produces. They aren't stupid enough to not understand they are currently on the body of what is comparitively a behemoth, whose loud snores are like giant rumbles in the air. But let's say that a spider lacks the ability to understand that. When was the last time something even slightly interrupted your breathing patterns, even while you're awake? You cough, or even go into convulsions, and that's even if the thing that's currently suffocating you isn't moving. If a spider was in your throat, it would panic once it realised the walls themselves were moving, and disrupt your breathing even more. You would cough, probably wake up, and spit the spider out, then stare in immense relief that you didn't just eat it. [U]You Yawn because you're tired.[/U] This one sounds fair enough. Most people, like you, tend to yawn more when you need some sleep after staring at a computer moniter for 37 hours. And yet, science has yet to actually figure out [I]why[/I] people yawn. Something so common and so simple doesn't actually have one confirmed explanation. The original theory was you yawn to expel excess air from your lungs, and you yawn more when you're tired because you actually breathe deeper. This went out the window when somebody did a fake yawn and realised they inhaled first, thus adding more oxygen to their lungs. The other major theory was that it was to expel excess carbon dioxide from the body. This makes sense, but then you realise you wouldn't have to do the mandatory breathe in before you yawn if that were the case. These are just a few examples, feel free to post more if you know any, or are compelled to look up any to share.

[QUOTE=FuhFuhFresh;24018960] [U]You swallow anywhere from 6 to a couple dozen spiders every year.[/U] This is not to discredit anybody you enjoys eating spiders (you know you're out there), but the theory behind this one is that a spider crawls into your mouth while you're asleep and down your throat, where it dies. First of all, this is a huge insult to the intelligence of Spiders everywhere. this is a species that is smart enough to lay traps using nothing more than what it's body produces. They aren't stupid enough to not understand they are currently on the body of what is comparitively a behemoth, whose loud snores are like giant rumbles in the air. But let's say that a spider lacks the ability to understand that. When was the last time something even slightly interrupted your breathing patterns, even while you're awake? You cough, or even go into convulsions, and that's even if the thing that's currently suffocating you isn't moving. If a spider was in your throat, it would panic once it realised the walls themselves were moving, and disrupt your breathing even more. You would cough, probably wake up, and spit the spider out, then stare in immense relief that you didn't just eat it. [/QUOTE] I've always been afraid of this, or any bugs crawling in my mouth while I'm asleep.

Wat? Dumb shit you may think is true but actually is? :suicide:

Dumb shit you think is true but isn't

[u]This is a great thread and it belongs in this section[/u] I think it's true

santa

Chewing gum takes a few days to digest and not 7 years as a popular myth suggests

The bottled water one is a half truth here in South Australia. Our tap water is quite bad, over-chlorinated and hard. Bottled water tastes far better, although most people use a PuraTap to filter the tap water anyway.

[QUOTE=Tippmann357;24019161]Chewing gum takes a few days to digest and not 7 years as a popular myth suggests[/QUOTE] I thought it digests like any other food, in 6-8 hours.

[QUOTE=Tippmann357;24019161]Chewing gum takes a few days to digest and not 7 years as a popular myth suggests[/QUOTE] This is a good one. Chewing Gum actually just comes right out in the same manner you swallowed it. It WOULD, however, take 7 years to dissolve in stomach acid.

Whenever it comes to myths, the spiders one pisses me off to a large extent. People actually believe that shit?

4chan caused 911.

[QUOTE=Pyth;24019189]I thought it digests like any other food, in 6-8 hours.[/QUOTE] I don't know about you but I don't shit 4 times a day

The myth I hate the most is the "You only use 10% of your brain" myth

The theory I have been told is that when you feel tired your brain is actually deprived of oxygen (energy). If my biology teacher isn't a liar then there is quite a bit of evidence to support this. Therefore, as part of the respiratory system (in which oxygen plays a vital part), when you yawn you are collecting more than the average amount of oxygen to fuel your brain. [QUOTE]and you yawn more when you're tired because you actually breathe deeper. This went out the window when somebody did a fake yawn and realised they inhaled first, thus adding more oxygen to their lungs[/QUOTE] Why did it go out of the window? This seems fairly logical, as I have just stated.

[QUOTE=FuhFuhFresh;24018960] [U]You Yawn because you're tired.[/U] This one sounds fair enough. Most people, like you, tend to yawn more when you need some sleep after staring at a computer moniter for 37 hours. And yet, science has yet to actually figure out [I]why[/I] people yawn. Something so common and so simple doesn't actually have one confirmed explanation. The original theory was you yawn to expel excess air from your lungs, and you yawn more when you're tired because you actually breathe deeper. This went out the window when somebody did a fake yawn and realised they inhaled first, thus adding more oxygen to their lungs. The other major theory was that it was to expel excess carbon dioxide from the body. This makes sense, but then you realise you wouldn't have to do the mandatory breathe in before you yawn if that were the case. [/QUOTE] I thought you yawned to help get rid of excess heat faster in your head. I might be hugely mistaken though.

Anyone who has taken anatomy can tell you yawns exist because of oxygen and carbon dioxide imbalances ie low in oxygen or high in carbon dioxide.

Do earwigs crawl inside your ear, damage the ear drum?

[QUOTE=Mr. Clipper;24019539]Do earwigs crawl inside your ear, damage the ear drum?[/QUOTE] No

[QUOTE=Mr. Clipper;24019539]Do earwigs crawl inside your ear, damage the ear drum?[/QUOTE] No. They're called earwigs because they enjoy living in cold, dark areas with very narrow passageways, like eardrums, where only they can really go and are therefore much less likely to get eaten by predators.

[QUOTE=Tippmann357;24019161]Chewing gum takes a few days to digest and not 7 years as a popular myth suggests[/QUOTE] However the sugar substitutes used in sugar free gum are pretty shitty and can damage various organs and your vision so you shouldn't swallow that shit. Sugary sum is fine.

This reminds me of the "facts that amaze you" thread a while back. Everyone posted shit facts without looking anything up. "hey if my friend said X, then it must be true"

i rated dumb not because the post is dumb, but in respect to the "dumb things you may believe"

[quote=fuhfuhfresh;24018960] [u]tap water is dirtier than bottled water.[/u] you've probably heard this dozens of times from your family and friends, something along the lines of "you don't need to drink from the tap, there's bottled water in the fridge. It's cleaner." but the big point they're missing is that the bottled water was not in fact collected from a mountain spring in some far off mystical land like the label might have you believe. It was still mass produced in a factory setting by stone cold machines, then stored in a warehouse and eventually sent out to stores by diesel trucks. By comparison, the water from your tap was collected from a local water source and purified, and paid for with your tax money and water bills. If the tap water was dirtier, why would the city even bother trying to compete with bottled water companies? [/quote] [quote]tap water is dirtier than bottled water.[/quote] [quote][b]tap[/b] water is dirtier than [b]bottled[/b] water.[/quote] [quote][b][u]bottled[/u] water is dirtier than [u]tap[/u] water[/b][/quote] [sp]he got the title wrong[/sp] [sp]don't start a shitstorm[/sp]

The underlined sections are what you might believe. Get it right.

you should post some more OP, these are quite interesting.

I'm trying to encourage it to not be "Let's sit down and listen to FuhFuhFresh explain things", but "Let's post things so that everybody can understand certain things better."

[QUOTE=FuhFuhFresh;24018960]If the tap water was dirtier, why would the city even bother trying to compete with bottled water companies?[/QUOTE]Because no one takes a shower in Fiji water, and no one uses ice mountain to do their wash. They don't use Hinckley Springs to fill their toilet it up with. The city doesn't compete with bottled water. You're a moron to even think that the city is trying to make a CPG out of their well water, and hoping Pepsico doesn't rape their well market.

[QUOTE=CrimsonFox;24020059]bad post[/QUOTE] Did you really not understand the formatting?

[QUOTE=CrimsonFox;24020059]dur tap water is dirtier than bottle watre[/QUOTE] Now go read the rest of the underlined titles smart one. Actually, go read the whole OP first.