22 Common Misconceptions People Still Believe Today (23 Photos)

Hoaxes and fake news surface all the time, only to be debunked just as quickly. Yet even after a hyped-up story is proven false, many people continue to believe it. Here are 22 common misconceptions that just won't die.







Many believe that if you pick up a baby bird, its parents will abandon it. That’s actually a myth: if you put a fallen chick back into its nest, the parents will keep caring for it.





Legend has it that when Marie Antoinette stepped onto the scaffold in 1793, her hair had turned stark white overnight from the stress of facing the guillotine. Can extreme stress really turn your hair white that fast? Turns out, no—not overnight, and not even in a week.



Cracking your knuckles is often blamed for causing arthritis. In reality, it does no harm, though popping sounds themselves can sometimes point to underlying joint issues.



People often think shaving makes hair grow back thicker. It doesn't—otherwise, getting a full head of hair would be as easy as shaving your head.



Many still believe joining an MLM company is a viable business opportunity. In reality, studies have long proven that MLMs only profit those at the top of the pyramid.



Plenty of people still believe arterial blood is red while venous blood is blue. Don't fall for this nonsense!



The myth that humans only use 10% of their brains is everywhere. Don't flatter yourself: we use 100% of our brains, just to varying degrees of capability.



Employers using polygraphs on staff might as well scrap the machines: their reliability is massively exaggerated, and test results depend on dozens of factors—honesty being far down the list.



"Food pyramids" are as popular as they are flawed: nutritional needs vary greatly depending on geography, age, and individual health requirements.



The idea of a logical left brain and a creative right brain is wildly popular, but completely false from start to finish.



Detox cleanses are mostly just a cash grab. Your liver and kidneys handle detoxification on their own—and they do it completely free of charge.



MSG has a terrible reputation, with some even claiming it's a dangerous carcinogen. In truth, it occurs naturally in many foods—like tomatoes—and is completely harmless.



Many believe a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s, leading them to happily kiss their four-legged friends. In reality, canine mouths harbor plenty of bacteria that may be harmless to them, but can cause problems for humans.



The Flat Earth theory. Yes, people actually still believe this!



Tracking your personal carbon footprint might feel like a responsible choice, but individual green initiatives accomplish little in practice. BP actually popularized the concept as part of a marketing campaign to shift focus away from the fact that around 72 companies produce 90% of global pollution.



Plucking one gray hair will cause three more to grow back in its place—or so people think. In reality, pulling out grays doesn't trigger more gray hair; graying is simply inevitable, and once the process starts, there's no stopping it.



Contrary to popular belief, professional fighters aren't required to register their hands as lethal weapons. No body part can actually be registered as a weapon.



The tale that NASA spent millions developing a space pen while the Soviets simply used a pencil is a great story, but it's completely false. NASA didn't spend massive fortunes on space pens, and pencils are actually unsafe in zero gravity—graphite dust can float into astronauts' lungs.



Many believe it's illegal to drive with the interior light on in a car. In reality, it's just impractical: dome lights strain your eyes when trying to see outside, especially at night.



It’s commonly believed that getting cold gives you a cold. In fact, colds are caused by viruses. Getting chilled might make it easier for a virus to take hold, but without a virus present, you won't get sick.



Many believe that the average person swallows about 8 spiders a year in their sleep. In reality, spiders are cautious creatures and won't crawl into a human's mouth—there's no food in there for them.



The idea of a wolf pack hierarchy with an "alpha" at the top and an "omega" at the bottom was pure researcher error. The author of the original study published a retraction a year later—and has spent the last thirty years trying to debunk his own myth.