Facts Redditors Were Taught in Grade School That Turned out to Be Utter Phooey

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 17, 2023 7:00 PM EST

Information is ever-evolving. That's why there are new editions of textbooks, up-to-date encyclopedias, and good folks working tirelessly to constantly update Wikipedia pages (I'm NOT looking at you, Wiki-vandals). We're always learning new things, observing new phenomena, and doing new research. They used to teach that Pluto was a planet. I'm still salty about that changeover. Pluto was my favorite planet and I wanted to see it succeed. Kuiper Belt Object just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

Keeping up with all the changes can be hard. That's why we have teachers and professors on the front lines of information, to keep us abreast of what we need to be kept abreast of. Sometimes, though, facts fall through the cracks, time marches on, and we forget that what we learned in middle school might not still be true. Redditors recently shared the false facts they've had to check themselves on over the years. 

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit u/Educationalplankto • 18h What is a fact that you learned in grade school that has been disproven?
    via u/Educationalplankto
  • 02
    actual-hakim . 15h Komodo dragon bites were deadly due to high concentrations of bacteria, not venom. Turns out that they are, in fact, venemous
    via u/actual-hakim
  • 03
    sosomething. 16h When I was little, I was taught about the brontosaurus, mighty long-necked plant eater of the dinosaurs. Later, I was taught that, whoops! They accidentally stuck some random bones together and there was never any such animal. Later still, I recall hearing that, oh, actually, there was a brontosaurus after all! Or was there? To this day, I am still, as a 42-year-old man, unclear on whether or not there was ever such a thing as a brontosaurus.
    via u/sosomething
  • 04
    Approximatl. 12h I remember learning that MSG (sodium glutamate) was really bad for you. It was one of those things I heard both at school and in my family to the point where we wouldn't buy any product that had MSG in the ingredients. There have been multiple studies showing no evidence of adverse health effects from MSG. There is a subset of people that report hypersensitivity to it. But in double blind experiments, their symptoms tend to show up when they don't know they've eaten it. Converse
    via u/Approximatl
  • 05
    keepinitrealzs. 16h The tastebud zones thing. Catlore 14h ● Reply 5.2k For those who don't know, we used to be taught that different zones of our tongue tasted different things. One part tasted sour things, one part tasted sweet, etc. It was ridiculous and disproven by anyone who had ever eaten food, but it was still in science books.
    via u/keepinitrealzs & u/Catlore
  • 06
    AliMcGraw 16h When I was in junior high in the mid 80s, our Earth Science textbooks had continental drift, and our teacher said, "Okay, so I need you to ignore all of Chapter 4" (or whatever it was). "Plate tectonics has been the accepted theory taught in colleges for 10 years now, but K-8 textbooks haven't caught up yet." I feel like the version of plate tectonics I learned was a tiny bit garbled compared to what kids learned 10. years later, but my teacher was directly pulling from college tex
    via u/AliMcGraw
  • 07
    bullet_proof_smile. 16h Humans are the only animals that use tools.
    via u/bullet_proof_smile
  • 08
    sherrie_on_earth • 10h And that (non-human) animals didn't have emotions and couldn't feel pain. Reacting to pain by squealing or whimpering or what looked like happiness in wagging a tail were really just reflexes or pre-programmed responses to stimuli like a machine. And only humans could feel love, not animals. Pre Jane Goodall these were a not uncommon beliefs but even as a kid it was obviously wrong to me. I had a dog. One time I really got into it with a teacher who insisted animals didn't
    via u/sherrie_on_earth
  • 09
    Purple_Information41 • 17h Gum doesn't sit in your system for 7 years
    via u/Purple_Information41
  • 10
    anthonystank. 16h Where did we end up on "you can see the Great Wall from space"? Because at different points that was both true and definitely disproven in various textbooks I had. ST616 15h ... Reply 3.1k The suppossed fact was that it was the only man made object that could be seen from space. That's certainly not true, there is no distance where you'd be able to see it but not also be able to see other man made objects. It's very long but not particularly wide.
    via u/anthonystank & u/ST616
  • 11
    marimba79 - 16h That as a kid, strangers were going to constantly offer you drugs. Thank you, D.A.R.E. program.
    via u/marimba79
  • 12
    Twours1944 - 16h Regardless of the source, anything on the internet was considered to not be a valid reference.
    via u/Twours1944
  • 13
    Still SilentMajority7 • 17h We were taught that Rosa Parks didn't get up from her seat because "she just got tired one day"; that the entire action was the spontaneous action of a lone woman. G In fact, the entire thing was scripted and choreographed. While Parks was a seamstress, she was also the secretary to the president of the local NAACP chapter. She was recreating the protest done by Claudette Colvin. The NAACP wanted Parks to recreate it because Colvin was very dark complected, and a sing
    via u/StillSilentMajority7
  • 14
    Low-Argument3170 • 16h In the early 80's we were told that soon we would soon use the metric system in the US. Still waiting .
    via u/Low-Argument3170
  • 15
    710forests. 8h I was told theres no such fish as an alligator gar when I chose it for a report. The teacher refused to let me look it up on the internet (very early at the time and "untrustworthy") or encyclopedia (would take too long). So she asked the kid in the room who was known for being into animals. He had never heard of it, so it couldn't possibly exist. I will NEVER not be salty about this
    via u/710forests
  • 16
    tiddysprinkle. 17h Blood is blue in your veins and only turns red when you bleed bc of oxygen
    via u/tiddysprinkle
  • 17
    Begany11 16h I was taught that in college you will spend all of your study time in a library reading and researching using books and reference catalogs. The internet was evil and full of lies and not a valid resource for academic research.
    via u/Begany11
  • 18
    O 88988988988 • 18h Back in my day, Pluto was still a planet.
    via u/88988988988
  • 19
    show_pleasure • 18h That carrots make your eyesight better. This was in the early 90s.
    via u/show_pleasure
  • 20
    loquacious_avenger • 17h the food pyramid tellitothemoon . 15h ... Reply 2.3k What do you mean? Be sure to eat your 7-8 servings of spaghetti every day for optimal health.
    via u/loquacious_avenger & u/tellitothemoon
  • 21
    Need Bacon. 18h the we wont be walking around with a calculator in our pockets
    via u/Need_Bacon
  • 22
    Lucius_Funk. 16h Eggs are bad because of cholesterol.
    via u/Lucius_Funk
  • 23
    Your_Mum_Is_So_Fat 14h ● Turns out that my mum is actually not so fat that every time she turns around it's her birthday.
    via u/Your_Mum_Is_So_Fat

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reddit stories school facts history Fun Fact middle school askreddit reddit story animal facts back to school fake news false Fake Science reddit thread Reddit true facts fun facts
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