Lies my teacher told me
July 20, 2011 9:46 PM Subscribe
Some misconceptions are so pervasive that they're even believed and taught by experts. What are some of these misconceptions in countries other than the US?
There is a popular misconception that deoxygenated blood is blue. Today I witnessed an online discussion that was started when someone expressed shock that anyone believes this. Several people chimed in to say that they had actually been taught that it's blue in school. Most of these people were from the US, although there was at least one German who was also taught this myth.
This got me wondering--what are some other misconceptions are so pervasive that they make it into the schools, or are even believed by some experts?
Fan death is a classic, if extreme, example of what I mean. It's not hard to demonstrate that it's false and most people outside of South Korea have never heard of it, but it's widely believed by "authorities" within South Korea.
Were you taught a commonly believed myth in school? Or do experts in your country commonly repeat a myth you know is false? I'm especially interested in answers from outside the US, as, well, I went to school in the US.
There is a popular misconception that deoxygenated blood is blue. Today I witnessed an online discussion that was started when someone expressed shock that anyone believes this. Several people chimed in to say that they had actually been taught that it's blue in school. Most of these people were from the US, although there was at least one German who was also taught this myth.
This got me wondering--what are some other misconceptions are so pervasive that they make it into the schools, or are even believed by some experts?
Fan death is a classic, if extreme, example of what I mean. It's not hard to demonstrate that it's false and most people outside of South Korea have never heard of it, but it's widely believed by "authorities" within South Korea.
Were you taught a commonly believed myth in school? Or do experts in your country commonly repeat a myth you know is false? I'm especially interested in answers from outside the US, as, well, I went to school in the US.
That Fan Death wiki links to the one for common misconceptions.
One I heard a lot from 'experts' and teachers growing up was that soda dehydrated you. It doesn't. You get in more water from the liquid than the diuretic effect of caffeine.
Also the typical drowning response doesn't really happen. People look pretty peaceful as they're drowning because by the time it happens they're too tired.
Those are two big ones I hear a lot.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 9:52 PM on July 20, 2011
One I heard a lot from 'experts' and teachers growing up was that soda dehydrated you. It doesn't. You get in more water from the liquid than the diuretic effect of caffeine.
Also the typical drowning response doesn't really happen. People look pretty peaceful as they're drowning because by the time it happens they're too tired.
Those are two big ones I hear a lot.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 9:52 PM on July 20, 2011
I was taught (and I think it is commonly believed) that the Mayans never came up with the idea for the wheel. In fact, they had toys with wheels, but no use for actual wheels in the terrain they were living in.
posted by Gilbert at 9:53 PM on July 20, 2011
posted by Gilbert at 9:53 PM on July 20, 2011
Best answer: The idea that blood types influence personality is popular in Japan.
More seriously, there is widespread denial of the Armenian genocide amongst the Turkish people and government.
posted by Rhaomi at 9:58 PM on July 20, 2011
More seriously, there is widespread denial of the Armenian genocide amongst the Turkish people and government.
posted by Rhaomi at 9:58 PM on July 20, 2011
You need 8 glasses of water per day, in addition to any other fluid intakes.
posted by wilful at 10:04 PM on July 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by wilful at 10:04 PM on July 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
Despite the fact that it's sometimes asserted by people who should know better, "Ring around the Rosie" is not, in fact, about the Black Death.
posted by PussKillian at 10:12 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by PussKillian at 10:12 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I was taught in school (and warned by my own parents and others) to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before going swimming, otherwise you risked crippling cramps that would cause drowning.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:29 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:29 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Bad people put poison and razor blades into Halloween candy. Pretty sure I saw this on the local news as a child*.
* yes, there were televisions.
posted by trinity8-director at 10:54 PM on July 20, 2011
* yes, there were televisions.
posted by trinity8-director at 10:54 PM on July 20, 2011
Anything about how the system of prescription medicine is helpful, caring, etc.
But yeah, Fan Death is officially mentioned in plenty of Korean newspapers - and laughed at by anyone with a three-digit IQ.
posted by chrisinseoul at 11:00 PM on July 20, 2011
But yeah, Fan Death is officially mentioned in plenty of Korean newspapers - and laughed at by anyone with a three-digit IQ.
posted by chrisinseoul at 11:00 PM on July 20, 2011
Ethiopians believe that opening a window on a bus will cause everybody to catch horrendous diseases, so no matter how incredibly hot & stuffy your packed bus is during its 12 hour journey, you will be aggressively shouted down if you try to get even the tiniest bit of fresh air from outside.
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:16 PM on July 20, 2011
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:16 PM on July 20, 2011
Bad people put poison and razor blades into Halloween candy. Pretty sure I saw this on the local news as a child*.
Actually, my mother, who was born in 1950, has 2 ever so faint scars on her left cheek, from one of the old style thin double edged razor blades (not the hard edged ones, but the bendy type), which was in an apple she got in her trick or treat bag.
This was in the region of Garfield, CA, but I do not remember how old she said she was at the time.
Also there's this.
The poison part is unfounded, but the pins and razor blades part is most assuredly fact.
posted by efrog at 11:17 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Actually, my mother, who was born in 1950, has 2 ever so faint scars on her left cheek, from one of the old style thin double edged razor blades (not the hard edged ones, but the bendy type), which was in an apple she got in her trick or treat bag.
This was in the region of Garfield, CA, but I do not remember how old she said she was at the time.
Also there's this.
The poison part is unfounded, but the pins and razor blades part is most assuredly fact.
posted by efrog at 11:17 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Somewhere in Africa" (sorry that's so vague, I really don't recall the specific region) they say: bathing in hot water will make you get sick. I read about this (maybe?) on MeFi from a traveler (Peace Corps? Missionary?) whose host family insisted he should wash with cold water, bc of this belief.
posted by wowbobwow at 11:43 PM on July 20, 2011
posted by wowbobwow at 11:43 PM on July 20, 2011
That hair and fingernails continue to grow after death. they don't your skin dehydrates and shrinks making it 'appear' as though they have grown.
posted by mary8nne at 12:02 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by mary8nne at 12:02 AM on July 21, 2011
Best answer: I think we could put most of Chinese medicine in this box. First, realize that Chinese medicine is still practiced an awful lot here in China, it's not just an ancient/special-interest thing. Western-style drugstores sell nearly identical boxes of pills side-by-side in the same section (say, the "cold symptoms" section) that are sometimes Chinese herbal remedies and are sometimes Western chemical medicine, and you don't know which unless you read the ingredients, because they're all equally sold as curing such-and-such symptoms, and equally recommended by the drugstore staff (and your Chinese friends, etc.). It's possible, of course, that some of the herbal remedies actually are effective, but in general none of them have been evaluated. There was a story in Slate yesterday (here) about the Federal Trade Commission going after yogurt producers for marketing their products as having health benefits that are as yet unproven, and I was just thinking how nice it would be if only that kind of thing would happen in China. But it couldn't; the culture here wouldn't support it. There is no conception that traditional ideas should be subject to rational inquiry.
Apart from medicine, Chinese health ideas in general seem like a gold mine for the kind of thing you're talking about. I don't know about fan death in particular, but there are a huge number of similar superstitions here that everyone believes. Often, like perhaps fan death, they seem to relate to temperature in some way. Examples that come to mind include: The idea that baked things are unhealthy because the "heat" stays in somehow, which can make your body "hot". (It's not a literal temperature thing; waiting for the baked item to cool down before eating doesn't help.) The idea that you shouldn't drink cold water when you're hot. The idea that you shouldn't use the air conditioner when you're sick. The idea that when you're hot and sweaty from playing sports indoors you shouldn't go outside into the cool night air. The idea that pregnant women shouldn't go out in the rain. The idea that after giving birth, women should not do basically anything at all for one month.
Most of these things are readily accepted by everyone and anyone, including doctors, so I think that qualifies as being taught by experts. I've been to the doctor here with flu-like symptoms and they gave me some antibiotics or antivirals or something, told me to rest and get lots of fluids, oh yeah and don't eat anything cold or anything spicy. One wonders if they are actually taught this stuff in the Chinese version of medical school, or if they are just supplementing their studied (actual) medical knowledge with their incorrect "common sense" folk wisdom, which you'd think medical school would beat out of you. (And I'm not sure which scenario would be worse.)
The last example I thought of, I don't know if it is being taught by "experts," but I've heard several times that in many places in Africa (and maybe elsewhere), people believe that having sex with a virgin can cure you of HIV/AIDS. Which of course is the opposite of true, since that actually leads more people to be infected instead of less.
posted by jef at 12:05 AM on July 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
Apart from medicine, Chinese health ideas in general seem like a gold mine for the kind of thing you're talking about. I don't know about fan death in particular, but there are a huge number of similar superstitions here that everyone believes. Often, like perhaps fan death, they seem to relate to temperature in some way. Examples that come to mind include: The idea that baked things are unhealthy because the "heat" stays in somehow, which can make your body "hot". (It's not a literal temperature thing; waiting for the baked item to cool down before eating doesn't help.) The idea that you shouldn't drink cold water when you're hot. The idea that you shouldn't use the air conditioner when you're sick. The idea that when you're hot and sweaty from playing sports indoors you shouldn't go outside into the cool night air. The idea that pregnant women shouldn't go out in the rain. The idea that after giving birth, women should not do basically anything at all for one month.
Most of these things are readily accepted by everyone and anyone, including doctors, so I think that qualifies as being taught by experts. I've been to the doctor here with flu-like symptoms and they gave me some antibiotics or antivirals or something, told me to rest and get lots of fluids, oh yeah and don't eat anything cold or anything spicy. One wonders if they are actually taught this stuff in the Chinese version of medical school, or if they are just supplementing their studied (actual) medical knowledge with their incorrect "common sense" folk wisdom, which you'd think medical school would beat out of you. (And I'm not sure which scenario would be worse.)
The last example I thought of, I don't know if it is being taught by "experts," but I've heard several times that in many places in Africa (and maybe elsewhere), people believe that having sex with a virgin can cure you of HIV/AIDS. Which of course is the opposite of true, since that actually leads more people to be infected instead of less.
posted by jef at 12:05 AM on July 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
More info on the drowning response myth mentioned above: Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
posted by vidur at 12:40 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by vidur at 12:40 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Seconding doublehappy: I was taught this at primary school in New Zealand in the '80s. The story still circulates (arguably, more now than ever since the right-wing, anti-Maori backlash stoked by Don Brash's 2004 Orewa speech gained traction), because it's just so politically useful as a tu quoque argument.
posted by Sonny Jim at 1:02 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by Sonny Jim at 1:02 AM on July 21, 2011
As a child, I was always taught that you caught colds and/or pneumonia from not dressing appropriately for the cold, or by being out in the wet cold too long.
posted by doogan nash at 1:08 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by doogan nash at 1:08 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I was in Germany I was told not to drink cold drinks when it was hot outside, because it was bad for me (would make me sick, I think, or was just generally unhealthy). To my knowledge this is not true.
Also, there are several books about health myths (in the USA but probably many are common elsewhere) that are pretty interesting.
posted by ropeladder at 1:50 AM on July 21, 2011
Also, there are several books about health myths (in the USA but probably many are common elsewhere) that are pretty interesting.
posted by ropeladder at 1:50 AM on July 21, 2011
Russians paradoxically strongly believe that going out in cold weather with wet hair will give you pneumonia, AND that swimming in icy lakes is an entirely healthy and vigour inducing activity.
posted by roofus at 2:31 AM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by roofus at 2:31 AM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
And while spreading gross national stereotypes, everyone in the entire UK over the age of 60 somehow thinks that having your bowels open either less than or more than exactly every 24 hours is deeply unhealthy and must be remedied.
posted by roofus at 2:34 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by roofus at 2:34 AM on July 21, 2011
Maybe this isn't quite a myth, but in school in the UK from 1985-1995 I had extensive history lessons in every known UK military victory from about 1100AD to 1984AD. However, never once in my entire schooling were we taught about the roots of conflict and terrorism in Northern Ireland.
posted by roofus at 2:40 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by roofus at 2:40 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Doctors in SE Asia told me to avoid dairy during a respiratory infection, since it makes mucus production worse. Doctors in the US told me to avoid MSG for the same reasons.
Obviously driven by food culture xenophobia than actual health information.
By the same token, official dietary guidelines for Americans still contain dairy as a major food group... when a large percentage of Americans is no longer of European descent and thus likely to be lactose intolerant.
posted by jetsetlag at 3:16 AM on July 21, 2011
Obviously driven by food culture xenophobia than actual health information.
By the same token, official dietary guidelines for Americans still contain dairy as a major food group... when a large percentage of Americans is no longer of European descent and thus likely to be lactose intolerant.
posted by jetsetlag at 3:16 AM on July 21, 2011
"Somewhere in Africa" (sorry that's so vague, I really don't recall the specific region) they say: bathing in hot water will make you get sick.
I don't know where you learned it from, but this is a belief in Ghana. I used to live in Accra and my roommate and I got a lot of concern and sympathy from our neighbors, who knew we were using the hot water to take showers.
posted by whatzit at 3:36 AM on July 21, 2011
I don't know where you learned it from, but this is a belief in Ghana. I used to live in Accra and my roommate and I got a lot of concern and sympathy from our neighbors, who knew we were using the hot water to take showers.
posted by whatzit at 3:36 AM on July 21, 2011
wowbobwow: ""Somewhere in Africa" (sorry that's so vague, I really don't recall the specific region) they say: bathing in hot water will make you get sick. I read about this (maybe?) on MeFi from a traveler (Peace Corps? Missionary?) whose host family insisted he should wash with cold water, bc of this belief."
How interesting. In Central Asia, many people believe that the cold will cause illness. Cold drinks, sitting on a cold floor, or being in a cold environment in general. When I caught a stomach bug, it was obvious to my host family that the culprit was my going up into the mountains the day before.
posted by Gordafarin at 4:07 AM on July 21, 2011
How interesting. In Central Asia, many people believe that the cold will cause illness. Cold drinks, sitting on a cold floor, or being in a cold environment in general. When I caught a stomach bug, it was obvious to my host family that the culprit was my going up into the mountains the day before.
posted by Gordafarin at 4:07 AM on July 21, 2011
Doctors in SE Asia told me to avoid dairy during a respiratory infection, since it makes mucus production worse. Doctors in the US told me to avoid MSG for the same reasons.
I've been told (in the US) that dairy is to be avoided at least during ear infections for about that reason. Can't say whether it's true or not, but it's not just 'food culture xenophobia'.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 4:38 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I've been told (in the US) that dairy is to be avoided at least during ear infections for about that reason. Can't say whether it's true or not, but it's not just 'food culture xenophobia'.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 4:38 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
The idea that drinking milk when you have a cold increases mucus production circulates in the US as well, at least in California. (I haven't lived with roommates anywhere else. I didn't grow up with this idea.)
I think both France and Germany have an idea about a draught blowing across your head causing colds.
posted by hoyland at 4:40 AM on July 21, 2011
I think both France and Germany have an idea about a draught blowing across your head causing colds.
posted by hoyland at 4:40 AM on July 21, 2011
The idea that water goes down the drain a certain direction in the northern hemisphere and the opposite in the southern hemisphere. It is a real effect but has to be observed under controlled conditions with very still water. In real-world settings the effect is swamped by things like container design and shape (and any irregularities) and way the water filled the container (inducing spin in the flow, etc).
Actually, my mother, who was born in 1950, has 2 ever so faint scars on her left cheek, from one of the old style thin double edged razor blades (not the hard edged ones, but the bendy type), which was in an apple she got in her trick or treat bag.
Got a cite? Ever see a police report or newspaper article? Photographs of the apple and razor? Color me skeptical but I did quite a bit of searching on the topic last year and never saw a reliable report Halloween candy laced with razor blades or poison so if you have something I'd love to see it.
posted by 6550 at 4:48 AM on July 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
Actually, my mother, who was born in 1950, has 2 ever so faint scars on her left cheek, from one of the old style thin double edged razor blades (not the hard edged ones, but the bendy type), which was in an apple she got in her trick or treat bag.
Got a cite? Ever see a police report or newspaper article? Photographs of the apple and razor? Color me skeptical but I did quite a bit of searching on the topic last year and never saw a reliable report Halloween candy laced with razor blades or poison so if you have something I'd love to see it.
posted by 6550 at 4:48 AM on July 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
When I was in Kiev in 1992, I was scolded for sitting on marble steps and told that I would not be able to have children if I continued to do so. As best as I could understand, there was genuine concern that fallout from Chernobyl had seeped into the marble and would thus seep into me.
posted by Leezie at 5:08 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by Leezie at 5:08 AM on July 21, 2011
Among southern barbecue champions and experts, it is rather fiercely repeated that the word "barbecue" comes from the French "de barbe a queue" (from beard to tail) as proof that whole hog cooking is the first and most pure form of barbecue. But even wikipedia knows that's not true.
posted by heyheylanagirl at 5:25 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by heyheylanagirl at 5:25 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I had a Russian language teacher (who grew up in the USSR) who strongly believed that the US didn't enter WWII until 1944.
posted by litnerd at 6:02 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by litnerd at 6:02 AM on July 21, 2011
Response by poster: Just to clarify, everyone - I'm able to find plenty of pages listing and debunking common myths, but information on whether they're actually taught by authorities is harder to find, and it's those myths that I'm the most interested in. That's why I'm looking for stories about stuff that you all have actually witnessed being taught in schools, etc.
Thanks for the answers so far!
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:04 AM on July 21, 2011
Thanks for the answers so far!
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:04 AM on July 21, 2011
Best answer: Even in respected law schools, people still teach that the phrase "rule of thumb" derives from the alleged permissible width of a stick with which to beat your wife. Straight Dope is on the case.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:46 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:46 AM on July 21, 2011
Best answer: I was taught the tongue map in school, in the Netherlands in the 1980s. It was in books with diagrams and everything.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:07 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:07 AM on July 21, 2011
"Somewhere in Africa" (sorry that's so vague, I really don't recall the specific region) they say: bathing in hot water will make you get sick.
I don't know where you learned it from, but this is a belief in Ghana. I used to live in Accra and my roommate and I got a lot of concern and sympathy from our neighbors, who knew we were using the hot water to take showers.
Oddly enough hot water does have does tend to leech more contaminates (especially lead) out of a plumbing system, so if you are in a country that doesn't have very strict enforcement around materials used in pipes, cold water is probably going to actually be quantitatively safer than hot water. That's much more of a concern for drinking water though, and I doubt the belief about hot water showers is based on that concept.
posted by burnmp3s at 7:12 AM on July 21, 2011
I don't know where you learned it from, but this is a belief in Ghana. I used to live in Accra and my roommate and I got a lot of concern and sympathy from our neighbors, who knew we were using the hot water to take showers.
Oddly enough hot water does have does tend to leech more contaminates (especially lead) out of a plumbing system, so if you are in a country that doesn't have very strict enforcement around materials used in pipes, cold water is probably going to actually be quantitatively safer than hot water. That's much more of a concern for drinking water though, and I doubt the belief about hot water showers is based on that concept.
posted by burnmp3s at 7:12 AM on July 21, 2011
Squats are bad for your knees
posted by tiburon at 7:19 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tiburon at 7:19 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I was in Kiev in 1992, I was scolded for sitting on marble steps and told that I would not be able to have children if I continued to do so. As best as I could understand, there was genuine concern that fallout from Chernobyl had seeped into the marble and would thus seep into me.
I'm not sure that this is related to Chernobyl, as my Russian mother would tell me the same thing whenever I sat on any cold surface (concrete, etc). It was always very important to keep your butt warm :P
posted by theRussian at 7:46 AM on July 21, 2011
I'm not sure that this is related to Chernobyl, as my Russian mother would tell me the same thing whenever I sat on any cold surface (concrete, etc). It was always very important to keep your butt warm :P
posted by theRussian at 7:46 AM on July 21, 2011
Rumors about MSG being harmful are false. MSG, whether synthesized or formed naturally, is also much more common than people realize, and it sure as hell isn't just limited to Chinese food. Anyone who says that they are allergic to MSG, but who can eat pizza, is mistaken.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:50 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:50 AM on July 21, 2011
I do think we should distinguish between erroneous statements of fact in textbooks, and misconceptions held by teachers who pass them on to students.
For example, I am almost certain some of my (geography, history, etc.) teachers in high school believed that Columbus thought the earth was flat, but I doubt it was actually in the history books we used.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:06 AM on July 21, 2011
For example, I am almost certain some of my (geography, history, etc.) teachers in high school believed that Columbus thought the earth was flat, but I doubt it was actually in the history books we used.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:06 AM on July 21, 2011
Best answer: That dead bodies cause disease epidemics - this myth is spread by mostly local authorities and public health agencies around the world.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:17 AM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 9:17 AM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Doctors in SE Asia told me to avoid dairy during a respiratory infection, since it makes mucus production worse.
This is partially true. It makes phlegm thicker.
posted by cmoj at 10:14 AM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
This is partially true. It makes phlegm thicker.
posted by cmoj at 10:14 AM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
One I've seen/heard in Bolivia - the notion that bread crumb (aka the inside part) is fattening, while the crust is not. More old wives' tale than something formally taught.
posted by O9scar at 10:20 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by O9scar at 10:20 AM on July 21, 2011
The idea that blood types influence personality is popular in Japan.
This notion is popular in the same way that horoscopes are popular in the United States - common and published in the fluff section of the newspaper, but many people also know they're bunk and just ignore it.
posted by illenion at 10:25 AM on July 21, 2011
This notion is popular in the same way that horoscopes are popular in the United States - common and published in the fluff section of the newspaper, but many people also know they're bunk and just ignore it.
posted by illenion at 10:25 AM on July 21, 2011
Feed a cold, starve a fever.
Hippocrates said it, but he meant it like this: “If you eat when you have a cold, you’ll catch a fever, and then you’ll have to fast.”
Like “Drive fast, get a ticket.” Or “Skip school, serve detention.” These are not encouragements to speeding or truancy, but warnings against such behaviors.
posted by LonnieK at 10:38 AM on July 21, 2011
Hippocrates said it, but he meant it like this: “If you eat when you have a cold, you’ll catch a fever, and then you’ll have to fast.”
Like “Drive fast, get a ticket.” Or “Skip school, serve detention.” These are not encouragements to speeding or truancy, but warnings against such behaviors.
posted by LonnieK at 10:38 AM on July 21, 2011
re: the Hippocratic statement - I was always taught it was "starve a cold, feed a fever" which simply meant stay warm.
posted by batmonkey at 11:15 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by batmonkey at 11:15 AM on July 21, 2011
I was taught both that glass is a liquid and that it is not a liquid, and I was taught the tongue map.
So I am not the only person who believed at least one of these misconceptions until this very thread, am I?
posted by jeather at 11:58 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
So I am not the only person who believed at least one of these misconceptions until this very thread, am I?
posted by jeather at 11:58 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The "equal transit time" theory for how an airfoil generates lift is incorrect, but is so popularly believed that it is often taught in classrooms & textbooks.
posted by Westringia F. at 12:06 PM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Westringia F. at 12:06 PM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm looking for stories about stuff that you all have actually witnessed being taught in schools
Please see the book Lies My Teacher Told Me which documents the shortcomings of US high school American History textbooks. The author is a history professor and knows his stuff. The textbooks present a simplified story that is unambiguous, optimistic, and patriotic. Reality is otherwise.
Did you know that President Woodrow Wilson was a racist? Me either.
posted by exphysicist345 at 12:10 PM on July 21, 2011
Please see the book Lies My Teacher Told Me which documents the shortcomings of US high school American History textbooks. The author is a history professor and knows his stuff. The textbooks present a simplified story that is unambiguous, optimistic, and patriotic. Reality is otherwise.
Did you know that President Woodrow Wilson was a racist? Me either.
posted by exphysicist345 at 12:10 PM on July 21, 2011
whatzit: yes! Your previous AskMe comment is what I was thinking of.
posted by wowbobwow at 12:13 PM on July 21, 2011
posted by wowbobwow at 12:13 PM on July 21, 2011
When I was younger, I was taught that Inuit have 300 different words for ice. After working the Arctic, found out this is not true.
posted by snowysoul at 1:25 PM on July 21, 2011
posted by snowysoul at 1:25 PM on July 21, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestion, exphysicist345, but I actually have read (and own!) that book. Since it's about US schools, it's not exactly what I'm looking for, but it's where I got my thread title.
Y'all who are saying you were "taught" something -- who taught you? Your teachers? Your parents? A fluff journalism piece?
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 1:33 PM on July 21, 2011
Y'all who are saying you were "taught" something -- who taught you? Your teachers? Your parents? A fluff journalism piece?
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 1:33 PM on July 21, 2011
Throughout my schooling here in the UK I was taught geography and history using a world map that I now understand to be one of many possible projections. No teacher ever pointed this out, so by default I was taught that the incorrect relative size of the UK to every single other country was a physical reality.
posted by freya_lamb at 1:57 PM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by freya_lamb at 1:57 PM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
A few destructive but still widely believed myths about women's sexuality:
That all women bleed the first time they have penetrative sex. Some do, but most don't.
That the hymen is a tight membrane that ruptures on the first occasion of penetration. 'Taint so.
That any kind of medical or other examination can tell whether or not a woman is a "virgin." No.
Think of the murders, suicides, forced marriages, shunnings, shame, and anxiety.
posted by Corvid at 1:59 PM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
That all women bleed the first time they have penetrative sex. Some do, but most don't.
That the hymen is a tight membrane that ruptures on the first occasion of penetration. 'Taint so.
That any kind of medical or other examination can tell whether or not a woman is a "virgin." No.
Think of the murders, suicides, forced marriages, shunnings, shame, and anxiety.
posted by Corvid at 1:59 PM on July 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Like jef said, a lot of Chinese medicine is bunk. To me, the most interesting belief is that all parts of your body are represented in certain spots in your feet and hands. So visiting a traditional doctor means sitting at a table while they look at your hands for a few minutes.
posted by xinglin91 at 2:41 PM on July 21, 2011
posted by xinglin91 at 2:41 PM on July 21, 2011
Best answer: Glass is a fluid. I'm pretty certain I was taught that at school.
posted by kjs4 at 6:51 PM on July 21, 2011
posted by kjs4 at 6:51 PM on July 21, 2011
Some places in Africa believe that malaria is caused by over exposure to the sun.
posted by tarvuz at 10:10 PM on July 21, 2011
posted by tarvuz at 10:10 PM on July 21, 2011
As a doctor, a lot of the health advice we give actually completely lacks a robust evidence base. Eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, drink 3 litres of water a day, etc. etc.
The only real health advice that actually matters (with a good evidence base) is: calorie intake > calorie output → weight loss; low body mass index and regular exercise correlate strongly with increased lifespan.
posted by inbetweener at 4:10 AM on July 23, 2011
The only real health advice that actually matters (with a good evidence base) is: calorie intake > calorie output → weight loss; low body mass index and regular exercise correlate strongly with increased lifespan.
posted by inbetweener at 4:10 AM on July 23, 2011
Not sure if this is too esoteric, but from a genetic point of view, it is both a common public belief, and widely and incorrectly quoted in a very large number of medical textbooks of a non-specialist nature, that facial characteristics including dimples, cleft chins and free ear lobes are binary characteristics (you either have them or you don't) that are inherited in a simple autosomal dominant matter (i.e. if one of your parents have it, you'll get it).
Both statements are incorrect, they are neither binary or autosomal dominant, but complex multi-gene-related traits with lots of intermediate forms.
posted by inbetweener at 4:14 AM on July 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
Both statements are incorrect, they are neither binary or autosomal dominant, but complex multi-gene-related traits with lots of intermediate forms.
posted by inbetweener at 4:14 AM on July 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by phunniemee at 9:49 PM on July 20, 2011