Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Things They Were Taught In School That Are No Longer True

People Break Down Which Things They Were Taught In School That Are No Longer True
silviarita/Pixaba

There are a lot of things taught in schools that are not accurate—some more impactful than others. Although many are relatively harmless science misunderstandings such as how tastebuds work. Others are darker and insidious propaganda.

When we were young in elementary school it was taught that when Columbus and the pilgrims came and colonized America that they and the Indigenous societies worked together sitting down to a feast sharing knowledge and meals. Our teachers dressed us up in little offensive costumes to drive the point home. It wasn't true then but we did not know it.


Although most of the answers are a bit more light-hearted, it is important to remember that not everything taught is true.

No_Personality_2723 asked the community:

What is something they taught you in elementary school that is not true anymore?"

The thread had so many relatable answers—80's/90's babies I'm looking at you!

*Scowls at smart phone*

“You won't always have a calculator on you to work things out!avamissle

“I was told this in 6th grade in like 2014 by teacher holding her phone in her hand.” krezzaa

In the Wonder years…

High Five White Bread GIFGiphy

"’Wonder Bread builds strong bodies in 12 ways.’ The cafeteria only served Wonder Bread and kept this slogan hanging on the wall to remind us ‘why.’ The FTC demanded an ad slogan be withdrawn after Wonder Bread added calcium (the 13th way) and claimed it improved children's brain function and memory.” Back2Bach

Wait…there wasn’t one?

“Any time we got in trouble it would be on our permanent record. And a permanent record.” the_loz3r

*Not* lifesaving advice…

“Running zig zag from an alligator will cause a gator to roll over. Of course, this was taught in Florida. Let me elaborate since I've had some people call BS on this and I'm just answering the topic honestly…"

“ 1. It was 1998. 2. 4th grade in Orlando. 3. The teacher was 65+ years old (I can't remember if she was born and raised in Florida; she had an Irish last name). 4. I am an army brat. We lived in another country prior to moving to Florida when I was in third grade."

“So I took it at face value at the time cause how was I supposed to know they were lying to us. 5. During a conversation with my younger cousins, this "fact" came up and not a single one of them ever heard it (they are 10 years younger than us) so I looked it up and found out we were duped." JukieJukes

“You will have to write everything in cursive one day. Outside of my signature I'm still waiting for the day I have to write anything in cursive!" VenatorDomitor

“For 12+ years I signed Tinker Bell on every single delivery invoice that came into my job. Thousands of them. No one said anything even once." Fun_Recording_4935

​Can we agree to just throw the whole rule out?

“I before E except after C. In the UK schools aren't allowed to teach it anymore because there are more exceptions than words that follow it.” LR-II

“Because I agree that we shouldn't leave out words, I took a word list with 370101 words that I use for English language related scripting, and wrote a script to identify words that fit the ‘i before e’ rule and words that do not fit the rule.”

“There are 12816 ‘I before e except after c’ compliant words. There are 4841 non-compliant words. There are 114 words which follow the rule and break the rule.” Asteriad

That’s not how tongues work…

“We were taught that there are different 'zones' on the tongue for different tastes (sweet, salty, bitter etc.). Apparently this is bullsh*t.” smolspooderfriend

So many lies…

​“The food pyramid.” Higbee9093

“The whole thing was ridiculous. The bottom of the pyramid recommended 11 servings of bread/cereal/rice/pasta.” blindsniperx

Yeahhhh, don’t do that…

“Look up when your nose is bleeding​.” LIFESUCKS145

“Oh I hated being told this. I used to get nosebleeds all the time so it happened often. Like, sure, I'll look up but you should be warned that the blood will trickle down my throat and make me cough blood.” tetrapus—7243

“That animals like bears that go through hibernation are sleeping for weeks and months. They just slow down their metabolism." ​Heitus

Bears are just sleepy during the winter to conserve energy, they're not true hibernators. You can wake them up pretty easily. Their heart rate and body temperature drops slightly while they sleep, but that's it."

“Woodchucks, for example, are true hibernators. Their body temperature goes from around 98°F to under 40°F, their heartbeat goes from around 80bpm to 5bpm or lower, and their continually-growing teeth pause their growth."

“They might get up every few weeks to snack and poop, but other than that you can't wake them up at all. Construction crews will sometimes find them, move them aside, and then put them back and re-bury them once they're done working, all without the woodchuck ever waking up." SpySauceSyringe

Ever wonder if half of what you learned in grade school was wrong? We are wondering now. Makes the important point to question everything, then question the answer too.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

person lying on bed reading book
Dessidre Fleming on Unsplash

People Who Sleep Naked Describe The Times It Backfired—And Oof

I make it a habit to travel with nice pajamas that I don't mind having other people see.

One reason why is because years ago on a business trip to St. Louis, Missouri, one of the other hotels near where we were staying had a minor fire in the middle of the night.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kate Shaw; Josh Hawley
C-SPAN

Law Professor Bluntly Debunks Hawley's Conspiracy About Why Number Of Trump Injunctions Is So High

On Tuesday, Kate Shaw, law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the role of the federal court system.

The Republican majority focused primarily on federal judges issuing nationwide injunctions that block the unconstitutional executive orders of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump and the Trump administration's illegal or unconstitutional actions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @joyfullykrisandra's TikTok video
@joyfullykrisandra/TikTok

Mom Slams Bakery's Epic Fail After Ordering $200 Cake For Son's Graduation Party

The time of year has come for major celebrations, especially among families with graduates in their midst.

For those who want to throw a party to celebrate, they have to prepare one of the central features: a cake.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @tallertoddlers' TikTok video
@tallertoddlers/TikTok

Woman Horrified After Accidentally Shattering Roommate's $249 Louis Vuitton Chocolate Purse

There are a few "roommate etiquette" rules we should all be able to agree to: don't use or take something that doesn't belong to you, at least without asking; don't eat your roommate's food; and honestly, don't touch their food, especially with your bare hands.

A leading rule, however, should be: If you break something that belongs to your roommate, you should replace it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Patrick Renna in 'The Sandlot'; Patrick Renna stepping up to bat with the Savannah Bananas
20th Century Fox; @thesavbananas/TikTok

'The Sandlot' Star Surprises Baseball Fans By Stepping Up To Bat At Savannah Bananas Game

Millennials everywhere who weren't at a recent Savannah Bananas game will be sent into a nostalgic spiral when they see the video of Patrick Renna, better known as Ham Porter or "The Great Hambino" in the 1993 film The Sandlot, stepping up to bat.

The Savannah Bananas provide the perfect interactive baseball game experience for fans and families, and inviting well-known personalities is just part of their repertoire.

Keep ReadingShow less