Ever felt massively gaslit? People have been picking the biggest lies that everyone believed at the time
Everyone’s had the wool pulled over their eyes at some point.
It may be comforting to think that together, we’re wiser than the sum of our parts. Wisdom of the crowd, and all that. This may also be a delusion. Us humans might be our most gullible en masse.
User MangaLoco posed the following question in the r/AskReddit forum:
What’s the biggest lie that everyone believed at the time?
Some of these responses will have you kicking yourself, thinking, “How did we believe that?” But we did, didn’t we. We surely did.
1.
Tongue chart
The tongue chart thing was taught in schools for a while.
–bennycoconut
If this is something you remember learning about, you’re not the only one.
I’m so mad about that! I remember when they taught us that, I specifically tested my own tongue and found it to be false, but assumed I must just be doing it wrong or had a weird tongue or something. How did that stupid myth ever become so prevalent when it’s so easily tested???
–Taro-Starlight
Beats me.
2.
‘Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!’
In 1898, the American battleship USS Maine was sitting in Havana harbour, when it suddenly exploded.
The American press ran with the story that Spain, who still controlled Cuba at the time, was at fault. “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!”
So we crushed the land and naval forces of the greatly diminished Spanish Empire in a matter of months, and took over Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam.
The only problem? The explosion was an accident, no real evidence was ever found for Spain’s guilt.
The newspapers wanted to sell more copies, and President McKinley really wanted an empire like the great powers of Europe.
–Grombrindal18
More specifically, the New York Journal and the New York World were in a circulation battle with each other and needed to one-up each other’s inflammatory headlines.
The New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer. Yes, that Pulitzer. The award is named after the guy whose newspaper made shit up and started a war.
–marishtar
3.
The secret to caramelised onions
Chop onions, and cook over low heat until fragrant and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
–SpicyMustFlow
Fortunately, another user has some wisdom to share…
Used to work at a restaurant where my prep list included caramelised onions, and I used to just speed-run it.
High heat, constantly flipping and moving.
Did this for months until eventually I made myself some lunch with those onions , and realised they were NOT caramelised. They were just brown.
Literally no one complained or told me. After that, just put them in a large pan and low heat cooked them all morning while I did the other prep, and they were so flavourful.
–-Nick____
Yep, let them simmer at a whisper, give ’em a poke with the spatula every so often. Magic! But slow magic.
–SpicyMustFlow
4.
That story about Marilyn Manson’s rib
You know the one we mean.
That Marilyn Manson had a rib removed so he could suck his own dick.
–ReadySystem6511
This transcended oceans, countries, and continents.
–horn_ok_pleasee
Where were you when you heard it?
Heard about it all the way in Pakistan! One powerful rumour, that was.
–UmairB92
Someone else heard about it in France in the 1990s.
I heard about it in my tiny town in eastern Ukraine in early 2000s. Well before our town even got Internet. How?! It’s like it was airdropped into all our brains like that U2 album.
–Spare_Hornet
*That* U2 album would be Songs Of Innocence, which Apple “gifted” to every iTunes Store customer, free of charge.
I heard it in early 2000s in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from a guy who was from Dagestan.
–wahidshirin
Another heard it somewhere in Malaysia, in the early 2000s.
5.
Fat makes you fat
People were so worried about fat making you fat that they removed it from everything they could and then replaced it with sugar to make up for the lost taste. Now good luck finding anything made without copious amounts of corn syrup.
–sundaemourning
6.
Tomatoes are poisonous
That tomatoes were poisonous.
At the time, it was common to use Pewter plates. The acid from the tomatoes reacted with the metal and caused lead to leach out, resulting in lead poisoning and leading to the belief that tomatoes are poisonous.
–PippinUnderground
7.
Those pesky interior lights in your car
That turning on the interior lights in your car while driving was illegal.
–stump1010
If you managed to go through childhood without falling victim to this vicious rumour, we doff our caps to you.
8.
That you eat spiders in your sleep.
–erritstaken
“Myth: You unknowingly swallow an average of four live spiders in your sleep each year. Fact: This very widespread urban legend has no basis in fact” – from the Burke Museum. You might’ve heard a different version, such as that over a lifetime, you will swallow enough spiders to fill a jar while sleeping. This, too, is bogus.
Hot tip: If you heard it in the playground, it’s probably bogus.
You’re obviously supposed to eat them when your awake, otherwise you can’t taste them.
–Not_Artifical
9.
That every song was devil worshiping when it’s put in reverse.
–greatname_itsnottake
BBC Culture has a pretty neat article on the hidden messages in songs, which sorts the wheat from the chaff, i.e., trumour from rumour. Find it here.
10.
That Mike Tyson was going to fight.
–Dave1955Mo
Ouch.
If you don’t get this one straight away, it means you successfully avoided the Internet’s outpouring of rage following a fight between Mike Tyson and a YouTuber called Jake Paul. Well done you.
11.
That the chocolates hanging on the Xmas tree were poison until Xmas day. My younger brother was a visionary; he risked it and didn’t die. Me? I waited until Xmas day when there were none left.
–TraditionalRemove716
You’re a fool, TraditionalRemove716. But we all were.
12.
Cutting taxes on the rich will create a rising tide that lifts all boats and in the end the wealth will trickle down.
–DiagnosedByTikTok
Double ouch.
13.
There was a Tomb Raider nude code.
–BlizzPenguin
That’s enough True Lies for now – ed
Source: r/AskReddit