things the masses of people seem to believe that aren't true.

[shortroundd]

I am not talking about conspiracies here that can't be proven with a bit of digging but more false stuff that seems to stick in the minds of the general population as truths.

1. All/majority of lotto winners go broke after 5 years. I have seen this touted out a lot yet there is no known source of it as no such research exists. There is the handful of bad stories that are circulated but this is only a minority out of 1000s of big winners worldwide. Infact, I recall the tabloids doing a feature with winners to celebrate Camelot's 20th anniversary or so and many winners had said their lives were better.

1. Marriage means all assets are split 50/50. Another huge misconception.

1. Prenups will protect 1 in divorce- again I think 2 and 3 come from people watching tv shows and movies that use this as factual when it's not.

1. Elvis sings 'Lonely this Christmas.'

1. The capital of Brazil is Rio.

Oh yes - “learning styles” is absolute bollocks

@OneTC

mean you read articles about someone having a cardiac arrest and how they were saved by the fact there was a defibrillator nearby. If it doesn't cause the heart to start beating again - how does it help

It is to help reset the correct rhythm

Defibs work on hearts that haven't stopped, the different muscles have just stopped working in sync

We stayed in a tiny village a couple of years ago, very rural, no pub, no village shop, and no mobile coverage at all! There was a former public phone box outside the rented cottage, it had been converted to house a defibrillator. The first instruction read something like “ If you think someone is having a cardiac event call 999”.

I love joined up thinking!

@LittleBoPeepHasLostHerShit

That gluten is "bad for you" even if you don't have coeliac disease.

Very much a young person's thing I think.

@Gardengates

You can get piles from sitting on cold concrete

Every single rape myth

Napoleon was short

My dgf said that first one, but it was seen even in the 80s as something old people said.

This, I lost 5 stone a few years back, I ate bread every day, also ate rice, potatoes, pasta etc all in moderation, without my carbs I probably would have starved to death

It's the highly-processed nature of some carbs which makes you fat. But yes, not all carbs are bad.

@Readytogogogo

That having your hair cut helps it to grow faster

Closely linked to shaving makes the hair grow back more/thicker.

@CharacterForming

I agree that people think that giving up gluten and caffeine is "healthy" in some ill-defined way for no particular reason except that some people are intolerant of gluten and caffeine just feels like it ought to be bad for you (I grant that it is bad for you if you take it in a way that stops you sleeping enough).

Been told by a doctor to give up caffeine twice. I do have it now.

@godmum56 Thanks for replying! The trouble is what causes 'problems' is open to interpretation too! For example I don't always answer my phone because I feel overwhelmed at the thought of chatting, but most likely that only causes slight annoyance to the caller - I'd always answer if it was working time and my boss called for example, or if someone had gone to the supermarket and I knew they were ringing to ask what they could pick up for me, I just don't want to have to make small talk. Likewise, I'm funny about food, especially in other people's houses, which can be disappointing for people who'd like me to share dinner with them but if they know me properly they know a frozen pizza is a safe bet and just stick with that. So a bit disappointing for them maybe, but not really 'a problem'? I don't know, it's a weird one.

"You must wait an hour after eating before you can go for a swim, otherwise you will get cramps and drown.

this is bollox apparently -- my mum used to actually time it on her watch when we were on the beach in Wales!"

Not sure about getting cramp and drowning, but many people do feel sick if they exercise after a heavy meal.

@Graphista Surely if “there are different types of ocd but there can be overlaps too. Mine is mainly contamination but there is also checking and "just" obsessive thinking patterns.
Even on ocd chat forums there's a huge range of ways in how it affects people. There are thing I can cope with that other sufferers cannot and vice versa.”

Then you can be a bit OCD? I mean compared to someone with severe range of the symptoms/conditions?

@FatOaf

A pound of anything is the same as a pound of anything else!

No. A kilogram of something weighs the same as a kilogram of something else.

There are different systems of imperial weights depending on the substance. A pound of flour weighs more than a pound of gold because everyday things like flour are weighed using the Avoirdupois system 1lb = 16 oz = 7,000 grains = 0.454 kg) but precious metals are weighed using the Troy system (1 lb = 12 oz = 5,760 grains = 0.373 kg). Imperial measures are ludicrously complicated.

Kilogrammes are a measure of mass not weight. In the SI system Newtons or N are the measure of weight and force. So a kg of anything can have a weight of pretty much any value depending on where in the universe it is.

@FirewomanSam But washing towels at 20 degrees would be gross wouldn't it. Or nappies, or normal underwear for that matter! Anything really apart from delicate cardis and the like. I don't like the thought of having 'still-a-bit-period-flavoured' undies in my drawer.

Been told by a doctor to give up caffeine twice. I do have it now.

It's in the NICE guidelines on managing hypertension, so doctors say it pretty much automatically to patients being treated for high blood pressure/cardiovascular risk.

@MissDollyMix

That during the first lockdown you were only allowed out for one hour a day.

This was the case in Wales.

That victims can decide 'not to press charges'

That we had to leave the EU in order to have blue passports

@Footnote

That urine is sterile That “eskimos” have 40+ words for snow Some people seem to believe that Hitler was German That nuclear reactors create more radioactive waste than coal fired power plants That Spanish people lisp in imitation of a past king That someone called their child La-a That humans are descended from monkeys

Wikipedia says Hitler formally renounced his Austrian citizenship in 1925. So he must have either been stateless or German.

Kilogrammes are a measure of mass not weight

Kilograms and pounds are both units of mass. Strictly, weight in imperial measures is expressed in pounds force. I was assuming the weighing was taking place on earth.

The Système Internationale (SI) unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), not "kilogramme".

[quote SuperSocks]@godmum56 Thanks for replying! The trouble is what causes 'problems' is open to interpretation too! For example I don't always answer my phone because I feel overwhelmed at the thought of chatting, but most likely that only causes slight annoyance to the caller - I'd always answer if it was working time and my boss called for example, or if someone had gone to the supermarket and I knew they were ringing to ask what they could pick up for me, I just don't want to have to make small talk. Likewise, I'm funny about food, especially in other people's houses, which can be disappointing for people who'd like me to share dinner with them but if they know me properly they know a frozen pizza is a safe bet and just stick with that. So a bit disappointing for them maybe, but not really 'a problem'? I don't know, it's a weird one.[/quote]
i would say that's pretty neurotypical if we are going to do labels.

Yes but if you are confident that the men you live with are not sexual predators or violent then YOUR fears are going to be of men outside the home, aren't they?

Exactly. It's not that your loving partner is going to randomly attack you without warning. Unfortunately some women are in abusive relationships that they struggle to escape from. That is where the statistical risk comes in

[quote SuperSocks]@FirewomanSam But washing towels at 20 degrees would be gross wouldn't it. Or nappies, or normal underwear for that matter! Anything really apart from delicate cardis and the like. I don't like the thought of having 'still-a-bit-period-flavoured' undies in my drawer.[/quote]
why would cool washing towels be gross?

@CellophaneFlower

That antibiotics are painkillers. My MIL is the worst for this (actually she probably believes most things on this thread 🙄). She'll get prescribed antibiotics, then say she's in pain but she hasn't taken her antibiotics yet. I'll ask her if she's taken a painkiller - no, as she's got antibiotics. Her Dr dishes them out like sweets, she takes them for a few days, then says they've upset her stomach so stops mid course. EVERY time.

again that's a well kind of......antibiotics kill the infection which causes inflammation and swelling which is usually painful...so when the antibiotics kick in the pain will go away....

"The theory is a lot of people think there are 50 because their minds go to a pack of cards- which has 52."

I thought it's because we think of 50 and then two in strange places, Hawaii and Alaska.

That cats are happier homed in pairs. Actually, most cats prefer to be solitary, though there are exceptions.

Mine was ecstatic when her sister died and she became the sole feline.

But washing towels at 20 degrees would be gross wouldn't it. Or nappies, or normal underwear for that matter! Anything really apart from delicate cardis and the like. I don't like the thought of having 'still-a-bit-period-flavoured' undies in my drawer.

modern washing powder is equally effective in cold water. It makes no difference