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.

Is this going to turn into one of those threads where somebody says they always thought Skegness was in Scotland?

That shingles is adult chicken pox

That doctors can ‘section’ you 🙄

That neutering calms dogs down.
That dogs scooting on their arses need worming.
Neither is correct.

That GRA reform is a Labour policy/initiative. It's a Conservative policy.

That you only need sunscreen if it's hot.

@eekbumbler

That the correct spelling of definitely is definately.

... or "defiantly" ... and that the correct spelling of publicly is publically 😁

One I always believed because it was sacrosanct when I was a kid:
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!

Some of these rolly eyed comments are about quite specialist knowledge. I'm sure we all have things we know that the majority of the population doesn't know - without being unbearably smug about it.

@ButtockUp

That all your domestic waste goes to landfill.

That bleach gets rid of limescale.

That French bulldogs are ok .

Good point about all of those.

There are good reasons to think twice about single use plastics and cut down as far as reasonable, but no the non-recyclable plastic film I put in my bin in London will not end up in the stomach of a Pacific dolphin or landfill anywhere: it'll be burned and used to create energy.

Ring around a Rosie is not about the plague. Was told it was years ago, and only found out recently that it isn’t.

That all surnames beginning Fitz were originally given to someone’s illegitimate son.

That you shouldn't squash a cockroach as it releases its babies that you can't see and they will hatch everywhere and infest your home

That tourists from non EU countries can use the NHS.

@Airyfairymarybeary

Cows milk made for their calf is completely normal for grown adults to consume.

But it is completely normal. At least in parts of the world. We’ve been drinking it for thousands of years and many humans in milk drinking cultures have developed lactase persistence because of this.

Whether it’s ethical is a different question.

That having mice means you don’t have rats. Ask me how I know it’s not true

That etc. is 'ect', 'fazed' is 'phased' and CAMHS is 'CAHMS'.

@Valkyrie40

That napoleon was french.

That's a great one, but I think you could definitely make the case that he died a Frenchman even though he wasn't born French..

@Magicandspiders

You can catch a cold by being cold.... Out your jumper or you'll catch a cold. Drives me insane!

You're actually more likely to catch a cold if you're feeling cold. There have been studies to show it. I think they put people's feet in cold water if I remember correctly.

That's a great one, but I think you could definitely make the case that he died a Frenchman even though he wasn't born French..

Well he's most definitely the most famous Frenchman who wasn't from France!

That sugar makes you hyper. It doesn’t.

That eggs are dairy 😂😂

Yes, you still need to be exposed to the virus but I think being cold can make it more likely to infect you?

@ScreamingMeMe

That you lose most body heat from your head. Nope.

www.bbc.com/future/article/20130708-is-most-heat-lost-from-your-head

And it gets done to death every Christmas: but no, the name Santa Claus is not of American origin, and the Coca Cola company did not invent his red costume.

Similar to you can catch a cold from the cold.

whatdo you mean social workers can take your children?

Any issues in the workplace can be solved with a visit to HR