'We only use 10% of our brain': 20+ Old wives tales that folks still believe

JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor

Dec 17, 2023 5:00 PM EST

Before the internet, the only way you would possess information was if someone you knew told it to you, or you read it in a book somewhere. It was hard to fact-check something, so you generally accepted what your parents/elders told you, no matter how valid it actually was. Community knowledge is important. We lean on each other for information about our world and our surroundings, but sometimes things slip through the generations that are perhaps more symbolically true than factually true. I remember being told that if you sneezed with your eyes open, your eyes would fall out of your head. One of my favorite viral videos disproved this tale. It's fun to live in a world where things like that are possible, though.

A recent Reddit thread explored these strongly-held legends and exposed what lurks behind them. Keep reading to have your childhood ruined.