Random Thoughts-Five Things I've Heard which Are Not True

Well my friends, one month from today I will be 40. Yeah, I know. It makes me little nauseous too. But as I look back over the last forty years I realize there are lots of things that were considered fact or people just believed that have been disproved since then as nonsense. For instance the whole “no swimming for at least an hour after eating or you’ll get a cramp” crap which was probably invented by parents to shut up whiny kids (FYI it’s not true go ahead and jump in). And yet people still think these things are true, in some cases to the present day.  It’s funny when you think about how serious they believed this stuff, and you wonder what stuff we take seriously today will be laughed at in another forty years.

Here are five other examples :



Sitting to Close to the TV will Hurt Your Eyes?

Maybe this is just some nonsense that parents made up, but I heard this a lot as a kid. And what do we have today? People shoving their phones or pads up to their faces all day long. Yeah I’m pretty sure that where we sit in relation to the TV isn’t going to hurt our eyes. I used to love the hate adults would throw at TV calling it “the boob tube” or “the idiot box”. Man if only they could see what TV was like today!!





Floride is good for your teeth?

This may have just been a Mass thing but when I was a kid, floride was a huge thing. It was supposed to be so great for our teeth. We used to literally take time in my class for all of us to take some floride pills, chew them, and swish it around. And today? Well it’s not all bad for you but can be toxic and taking it everyday like we did could be dangerous. Thanks 1980’s. I guess they do still do this but they take more precautions then when I was a kid putting floride into a water based solution rather than just having them directly ingesting the pill.





Dreams only last for seconds?

Yeah this one may not be as commonly known, but when I was getting into Psychology it was understood that dreams may seem like they are taking hours but in reality they last only seconds. Who came up with this? Maybe we don’t remember dreams very well but these days, it’s understood that a dream can last anywhere from miutes to hours.





Radiation in copy machines and Microwaves?

I love this one! People really think that there is deadly radiation in copy machines? Yeah that’s why they hand out lead vests when we have to use them. Ok there is technically radiation, but it a safe kind called light. It won’t hurt you (but don’t stare at the light it can hurt your eyes). People also thought this about microwave ovens which was even dumber! I mean, really?? Same as photo copiers yes there is radiation involved but it wont hurt you!





We need to drink 8 glasses of water per day?


Doctors still love to bring this one up, but folks let’s get real. The only thing you will get if you drink that many glasses of water a day are a lot of bathroom trips. A doctor once told me that that was doable if you have water for meals and snacks. Ah yeah, I like drinking other things once in awhile! It’s not “glasses” but cups which is smaller than what we are picturing. Water is very beneficial (I drink a few bottles a day thanks to kidney stone trouble) but in moderation, like anything else.




Ok, I once did a list of bad lessons movies and TV  taught kids which had some other stuff on it.  Most is rehash or doesn’t apply here but there was one item I wanted to re-share. Since that was three years ago I decided no one would remember it.


The President doesn’t answer to anyone.

Why do people like letting kids believe this one? The presidency is not easy and he has to answer to, I don’t know, the whole country! I get so annoyed when kids think if they become president that means they can boss people around because no one tells the president what to do. Mary Kate and Ashley were nice enough to immortalize that last line as a song, and I’d hate to see the child who finds out being the president ain’t all roses and sunshine. I am so glad I was too old for Mary Kate and Ashley, were any of their lessons positive? This bothers me because of the big picture; I don’t believe you should ever teach a kid it is ever acceptable to be bossy or not to listen to other people. I would like to hear an adult explain to a kid that even the president has to follow rules and listen to people.


And if you do want to see what else was on that list, it’s HERE




It is amazing the differences time makes. When I was a kid I could ride a bike without helmets and pads, eat chocolate and candy anytime I want, drink soda, ride in the front seat unbelted before the age of 9, wait for my mother in the car when she went into the store, and when I got home at the end of the day I was cut off from the world and no one could get to me. Not in today’s social media world.



So I am sure I have left out plenty of other examples, comment and let me know what you were taught as a kid that is total bull today.